Thomas and Friends: Legends of Strasburg

Chapters

Prologue-Living in Another Time
Chasing Sunshine Round the Bend
Each Time you Pass you're Older than the Last
You could See the Fire go Out
Casey Jones was a Mighty Man
Squashed Flatter than a Dime
Can you Line Them Track?
The Disappearing Railroad Blues
The Last Train Done Left Town
I'll be gone 500 Miles
Nobody Knew how she Made it Come True
Concluding Credits

Prologue-Living in Another Time

The storm boomed all around one cold night a long, long time ago. Rain poured down from seemingly bottomless buckets and kept the landscape saturated with wetness. Everywhere you looked was wet, wet, wet.

But the cold and the rain didn't mean that work stopped. Even out here the freight had to be kept moving. At a coal loader, the workmen were filling the last hoppers with coal. This was a priority shipment that needed to be taken away as soon as possible.

"Here's the last load!" called the foreman, who walked over to an engineer and handed him a document. "Your orders are to take this to St. Paul to be martialled into a train for the B&O."

The engineer nodded. "Any chance of another engine? I don't think we have enough brake force for this train on one engine."

"You're to set retainers before you start the descent to Dante," the foreman reminded him. "Keep an eye on the line and ensure you don't exceed the speed limit. You've got at least 1,500 tons of coal behind you."

"That's precisely what's concerning me," the engineer replied, but climbed into the cab nontheless. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Right away!" the engine replied, a female voice coming from the smokebox. With a blast of the whistle they were on their way down the line. Eventually, they turned off the branch and onto the main line towards their destination.

The run was smooth and fairly routine up to that point. But as they entered a loop before the main descent, the line dipped down into a steep drop. The engineer applied the brakes, but nothing happened.

"We have no brakes!" he shouted. "The train's too heavy for us to bring to a stop!"

The engine said nothing, but in her mind she knew this probably wasn't going to end well. The train roared down the hill, gathering speed as it did so. Speed continued to climb, Forty, fifty, sixty... the speedometer was reading this, but that was the highest possible figure it could produce on the display.

Suddenly, they flew towards a bridge which curved around to the right. "We're not going to hold the bend!" the engine cried.

And she was right. With a lurch the train left the rails and tumbled into the ravine below. The screams from both the engine and her engineer were audible all the way to the bottom of the creek bed. Coal hoppers piled up behind them, compacted into a space far shorter than designed, and coal flew everywhere.

When all was said and done, you'd have been hard pressed to tell what was once freight car, engine, or even a person. The disaster had claimed three lives and caused thousands of dollars in damage. The resulting fire took hours to put out, and blocked the line for weeks.

There were no survivors... at least of the conventionally living kind. Many years later, another freight was making its way up the line, and paused in the loop before the bridge to let another train pass. The engineer heard interference on his radio, and so went to investigate.

What he saw shocked him. A ghostly engine was running across the bridge, whistling fit to burst and apparently on the verge of exploding. But it never reached the other side.

The story of this ghost engine soon began to spread, to the point it was seen on other railways far from the accident site. The engine was firmly cemented into legend, the subject of spooky stories told around a campfire and of tales told to children by parents to ensure they behaved.

And every night, on the date of the accident, the engine runs again, as a warning to others. Plunging into the gap, shrieking like a lost soul.

Sunny suddenly jolted awake in her bed, and shook her head. "Huh? What's going on?"

There was banging on the door. "Sunny? Are you up yet?"

"Yeah, I think so-" Sunny looked over to her clock. "Oh no! I overslept!"

The door opened, and Goldie stepped through. "Not to worry," she smiled. "I made sure to built lots of spare time in just in case this happened. Your father's down at the station getting the tickets checked, so we'll have plenty of time to pack your case properly."

Sunny nodded, and put the case on her bed. "Should I shower first?"

"That's a good idea," Goldie replied. "I'll put some of the items in like washing supplies which pack near the bottom."

Sunny nodded, and opened the door- and stopped in confusion. "Huh?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

The door was suddenly forced back, and Opaline stepped through. "Miss me, Sunny?"

"N- no! There's no way! We defeated you!"

Goldie looked over. "Who in the blazes are you?" she asked, and walked over. "I'm going to ask you to leave or else I'll be calling the poli-"

She never finished her sentence. Opaline's arm suddenly glowed with energy, and with an animalistic roar plunged it straight into the woman's chest.

Goldie coughed in confusion and looked down, seeing her body start to crumble to dust. "Wha-?" she asked, her mouth frozen in an expression of shock, before her body was seemingly erased. As if she had never been there.

Sunny screamed and backed up towards the wall. "No! This can't be happening!"

Opaline laughed, and closed in on her in a manner reminiscent of a serial killer. "Oh, it is. I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time, Sunny. Seeing as you won't accept your birthright to rule over these pathetic humans, I'll just have to eliminate the competition!" She lunged for Sunny.

Sunny screamed, and covered her face. "STOP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"We can't stop now!" Izzy said. "We're nearly there!"

Sunny looked around her in confusion. She wasn't in her room. She was in a bus. On a road. Somewhere far from home. She looked over to see Argyle and Goldie looking at her concerned.

"Are you OK, sweetie?" Goldie asked, putting her arm around her daughter.

Sunny nodded weakly. "Yeah. Just a nightmare, that's all."

"Is everything OK back there?" asked the driver.

"Yes sir!" Argyle replied. "Just a bad dream!"

"What about this are you guys looking forward to?" Izzy asked. "I've heard they do amazing smores here!"

"It's a working holiday, remember?" Zipp said. "That means we can't be goofing off all the time."

Izzy nodded. "So we only goof off some of the time? Gotcha!"

Sunny looked out of the window, as the bus rolled past a town sign.

Welcome to Strasburg, Pennsylvania. The heart of Dutch Country.

Fimfiction Proudly Presents

A Story by The Blue EM2

Sponsored by the Guild of Equestrian Railroaders

And Based on an Idea by Thomlight Sparkle

THOMAS AND FRIENDS: LEGENDS OF STRASBURG

Starring the Voices of:

Vanessa Hudgens

Kimiko Glenn

Sofia Carson

Liza Koshy

James Marsden

Bahia Watson

Jane Krakowski

Michael McKean

Tara Strong

Enid-Ray Adams

Brian Doe

Costas Mandylor

Chloe Moretz

Robert Duvall

Michael Rooker

John Tuturro

Amy Adams

Jody Benson

And Melissa McCarthy

Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios

A Hasbro and Mattel Co-Production, Copyright MMXXIV

Chasing Sunshine Round the Bend

After a short drive through the streets of Strasburg, the bus pulled up outside a row of houses that sat on an unnasuming street near the main road. Strasburg, like so many American towns, was built on a grid model, with a long street in the middl with other streets spiralling off it.

The doors opened, and the driver looked back. "Have a nice time!" he called, as the passengers dismounted from the bus. He followed them a moment later, and stepped down to open the luggage compartment underneath.

Izzy leaned in to pull her bag out. "That was fun!" she said. "Especially all the bumps in the road!"

"Not on my back it wasn't," Lord Haven complained. "But it was that or walking, I will admit."

Argyle looked inside the cargo bay. "Alright, who brought six cases?"

Zipp walked over. "That's our pile. And Pipp only brought two cases, which is an unusually low number for her."

"Hey!" Pipp snapped, as she pulled one of hers free. "I couldn't decide between the Casa Cheval or the Sassy Saddles lines! So I brought both! Is it a crime to want to wear clothes that make you feel good?"

Isaac snorted. "The struggles of the upper classes. Trust me, my line of work doesn't give me many chances to pull my suit out of storage."

"Engineering tends not to," Argyle added. "Mind you, the University has a fairly informal dress code for its staff."

"I," Pipp said, "for one, am looking forward to a relatively normal, relaxing trip, with no crazy phenomena whatsoever. The last year, whilst fun, has been a bit crazy for my taste. I mean, globetrotting, Opaline, talking engines- it sounds like a fanfiction series on the internet!"

"You missed a few things, but you got the jist of it," Izzy replied, as she dragged her case out. "Besides, who wouldn't want some excitement in their lives."

Zipp had finally finished fishing through the case piles for her own, and glanced to Pipp's pair. "I'm surprised that those two got through the weight limit," she said. "They must be quite heavy."

"15 and 10 kilograms respectively," Pipp replied. "One basically has nothing but clothes in it. I hope the house has an ironing board, although I do wonder who will iron our clothes for us."

"I just wonder what engines out here are like," Zipp said. "As far as I know diesels which cabs at both end are very rare. Which isn't a very efficient layout, when you think about it, as it means you have very poor visibility when driving backwards."

"Or going forwards," Argyle interrupted, having overheard the conversation. "Some early adopters of diesel had the cabs built the other way round so the long hood was leading. It was a recipe for poor visibility."

"I heard tank engines are relatively rare around here," Izzy said. Just as she said that, a lorry suddenly rumbled past with a flatbed- and a blue tank engine was on it.

"What's Thomas doing here?" Hitch asked.

"I don't know," Sunny said. "But I'm pretty certain he doesn't have outside cylinders."

Once they were done getting things moved, they headed next to the depot of the Strasburg Railroad. This was a nicely preserved structure built in the early 20th Century style, with several recreated buildings doubling as candy stores, model railroad shops, and the ever familiar gift shops which permeated every rail operation in the United States.

"So, where's your dad?" Hitch asked Misty.

"He's a bit busy, so Lord and Lady Haven offered to look after me whilst I was here," Misty replied.

"Dear, there's no need to be so formal," Lady Haven said, who was behind her. "You can call me mom if you want to."

"Really?" Misty asked. "Thanks, Lady Ha- I mean, mom! Still feels a little weird saying it."

At last, they arrived at a shed, but not before briefly glimpsing a strange man standing in a flowerpot. Nobody was quite sure what to make of that!

But they were in the shed, and several lines of engines stood there. Between them were two people. One of them was a woman with lightish pinkish skin and purple hair. In keeping with the warm weather she was dressed somewhat casually, in a yellow summer shirt and blue jeans coupled with shoes.

The other person was a man, with a similar shade of skin and green hair. He was dressed very differently to her, in a boilersuit with steel toed boots. He seemed to be friendly, but also a bit tense.

"Good afternoon, everybody!" the woman called. "Welcome to the Strasburg Railroad, the USA's longest continually operating shortline!"

"That's a branch line in UK parlance," Sunny helpfully clarified.

"I'm Gloriosa Daisy, the General Manager, and on behalf of my team here I would like to thank all of you for agreeing to participate in this crew exchange. I'll mostly be in my office or interacting with the passengers, so please pass any locomotive concerns to my brother, Timber Spruce!"

The man waved his hand. "Timber Spruce, chief engineer. If anything goes wrong with any of the engines, let me know and I'll take a look." He glanced at Gloriosa. "Provided we have the time, that is."

Sunny looked at Izzy. "Something's not right here."

"I know," Izzy replied quietly. "There's some sort of tension."

"Anyway," Gloriosa said, taking the reigns once more. "The engines behind us are the ones being operated for the season."

"You'll have two main duties during your time here," Timber added. "These are passengers and freight. Although tourists constitute the bulk of our income, we do still transport a fair bit of freight for the local farmers."

"Are they the fellows in the hats?" Pipp asked.

"Yes. They're called Amish," Gloriosa told her. "Very nice bunch."

Timber once more spoke again. "Unlike in your country, American locomotive builders rarely distinguished between passenger or freight types and built most engines to be able to do both. As a result, you'll be working both types of working with one engine- sometimes at the same time!"

"How would that work?" Zipp asked.

"All of our stock is air braked," Timber helpfully clarified. "Now then, these are our engines. It was a day off for them today as we had the diesel out doing the freight. They are Valentina, Denver, Mastadon, Sherman, Jennifer, and Marilyn. I'll hand out your allocation cards now."

Sure enough, he did this, and the drivers walked off to meet their engines. "What's this, visitors?" one of them, a small tender engine, asked.

Another tender engine looked over. "Keep it down, Valentina! We're all next to each other!"

A tender engine on the other side looked over. "Try to show some cheerfulness to the visitors, Mastadon."

Sunny stopped in front of the small tender engine. "Hi! I'm Sunny, and apparently we're working together."

"Glad to hear!" the tender engine said, with a distinct Canadian twang in her voice. "I'm Valentina."

Meanwhile, Hitch stopped in front of a truly huge engine. "And I thought Rebecca was large."

"Is that how you limeys say hello?" the engine said, with a jokey tone on his voice. "I'm Denver. I'm from Colorado originally, but have lived here for decades. As they say, there's the Great Western Way or the Wrong Way."

Meanwhile, Zipp was with the grumpy engine. "Four leading wheels and eight driving wheels? That's highly unusual."

"For your country and its toy trains, perhaps," the engine replied. "Hopefully you can reach the whistle chord."

"You must be Mastadon, then," Hitch said, based on the markings on the cab.

Elsewhere, Misty had stopped in front of a small green tender engine. "They weren't kidding when they said these engines were big," she said.

"Nope, I'm pretty small in the scheme of things. Then again, you rarely needed anything bigger than me for mule work."

"You pushed mules around?" Misty asked, a bit confused.

"I believe you call them station pilots," the engine said. "I'm Sherman, by the way. US Army. I'm visiting from Steamtown to help cover a loco shortage."

Misty shook her head. "Truly are we two countries divided by the same language."

Pipp, in the meantime, was looking at a black, red, and orange streamliner. "This is stunning!" she said.

"Well, of course I would be!" the engine replied. "Premier passenger demands premier engines, and no doubt the visitors will appreciate such a fine engine. Jennifer, by the way."

"Pipp," Pipp replied. "And it looks like we share the same taste in aesthetics!"

Finally, Izzy was talking to a very brightly painted engine, who spoke with a distinct west coast accent. "Although it's a little smaller than my usual stomping ground of the west coast, I certainly appreciate the change in scenery. Marilyn's the name, and my owners suggested that if we go to where the people are it would make it easier for people to see us!"

"Great idea!" Izzy said. "We have a similar idea with visiting locos for steam galas!"

Sunny, whilst familiarising herself with the cab controls, briefly saw Gloriosa arguing with a man in a suit, before the man in the suit walked away. Gloriosa was quick to take command, however. "Your first full working day is tomorrow, so take the rest of the day to get your things put away and report back to the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum at six for a guided tour!"

As they trooped out, Sunny found her parents in the yard. Argyle was taking photos of the rolling stock whilst Goldie was checking her phone. "Looks like I'll be remote working a few mornings this week," she said. "Good thing I packed my suit."

Sunny spoke up. "Stunning collection, huh?"

"I know!" Argyle replied. "I had no idea they had some of this stuff!"

Goldie pointed to an electric locomotive. "And I remember seeing those on the Northeast Corridor. That does make me feel old."

"I know how that feels," Argyle said. "Come on. Shall we get set up in our home away from home?"

The other two nodded, and they followed. "Are you sure you're OK?" Goldie asked her daughter.

Sunny nodded. "Mom, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream. I've had plenty of those."

Goldie nodded, but couldn't help but feel something wasn't quite right around here.

Author's Note

Hello everybody, and welcome to another story in the Thomas and Friends world. This time, we pack up from our previous UK setting and travel across the Atlantic to Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Whether it or the Puffing Billy Railway was the third preserved railway in the world is still a topic of some debate, but there's no denying the Strasburg is a significant player in American locomotive preservation, not to mention being home to a stunning collection of vintage coaches and stock.

A long hood forward is a type of diesel engine where the rear hood faces the same direction as the engineer. The experience is somewhat similar to driving a Class 20 in reverse, as visibility is very poor.

The engines introduced in this chapter are based on a number of different prototypes.

Valentina is based on CN No. 89, a 2-6-0 originally built for Canadian National. The main engine of the railway right now, it was the engine running when I visited the Strasburg in 2023.

Mastadon is based on Norfolk and Western No. 475, a 4-8-0 built in 1906. The character's name is an allusion to his wheel arrangement, which was rare in the UK but common in the US. 475 also has a connection to Thomas and Friends; the engine played the Indian Sun in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which was partly filmed at the Strasburg Railroad.

Denver is based on Great Western Railroad No. 90, a 2-10-0 built in 1924. The Great Western, not to be confused with the British company of the same name, was a regional railroad in Colorado that largely served the sugar industry. Although often referred to as a decapod, No. 90 actually has 12 wheels; the equivalent UK nickname is Spaceship, an allusion to the 9F.

Sherman is based on Baldwin Locomotive Works No. 26, the resident operating steam engine of Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although the engine spent much of its career working for an iron ore company in Ohio it currently wears a US Army livery. The character is named in reference to General William Sherman, a Union officer in the American Civil War.

Jennifer is based on Norfolk and Western No. 611, a J Class locomotive built in 1950 to work express passenger trains. Like many later era steam engines, 611 had an absurdly short working life, being withdrawn from service in 1959. It enjoyed a mainline career between 1982 and 1994, but was then sidelined until 2015 when it returned to steam. As of 2024 it has continued to operate on the main line, making visits to Steamtown and Virginia.

And last, but most certainly not least...

Marilyn is based on Southern Pacific No. 4449, a GS-4 built in 1941. Built to work SP's flagship 'Daylight' passenger train, it ran until 1956 before being plinthed in Portland, Oregon. In 1976, it returned to steam to work the American Freedom Train to mark the USA's bicentennial, and has been in intermitent railtour service ever since. The character is named in honour of an American relative of mine.

But what shall befall our characters next?

Each Time you Pass you're Older than the Last

Sunny stepped into the lobby of the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum, located just across the road from the Strasburg Railroad's main depot. The lobby had a soaring roof and stunning decoration, with the main entrance and ticket office layed out in the style of the station waiting room. "OK, I was not expecting this."

"Stunning, huh?" a voice said, and Timber Spruce walked over. "The building is layed out like an old railroad terminal, to immerse the visitor in the age of rail travel. We've even got some exhibits outside if you want to see those."

Just then, the others arrived. "Look at all this!" Pipp said. "Did I tell you I just LOVE art deco?"

"No surprises there," Hitch said. "It is a very distinctive art style."

Izzy looked over. "I can't see a deck anywhere."

"Art deco is an art style originally from France," Pipp explained. "It's a contraction of Arts Décoratifs, which is French for decorative arts, and was the dominant artstyle of the 1920s and 1930s. The style makes heavy use of nautical themes and straight lines combined with heavy decorative elements."

"Thanks for the art lesson, Professor Petals," Zipp said.

"Now then, seeing as we're all here we can head in!" Timber said. "My sister's already in there and has secured you all passes to enter. Railroad employees get in free!"

"Handy, that," Hitch said.

As they moved off, Misty protested. "Wait! I haven't finished reading the display!"

They walked through the main corridor, filled with posters of railroads related to Pennsylvania, and then entered the main hall, which was filled to the brim with railroading rolling stock of yesteryear, ranging from steam to electric and everything in between.

"How did that get here?" Misty asked, pointing to the John Bull. "I thought that was in Washington DC?"

"That's a replica, built for the B&O celebrations in 1927," Timber Spruce explained, before leading round another row and stopping in front of another engine. "Now this is a special engine. Pennsylvania Railroad's No. 7002. The first steam engine to achieve 127 miles an hour, 36 years before Mallard."

"No I did not!" said the engine, indignantly. "Such a speed wasn't even possible with my boiler pressure. And I'm not even 7002! They just slapped a different number on me when the original was scrapped."

"Awkward," Zipp said quietly.

"Anyway," Timber said, "Who wants to see the GG1?"

There was a show of hands.

"I thought so."

As the Railroad Museum lacked a cafeteria (instead having a selection of vending machines next to the old departure board at Philadelphia 30th Street Station), the parents had instead decamped to a local cafe on the other side of the road. They sat in the outdoors, soaking up the sun.

"It's unusually warm for this time of year," Isaac said. "Isn't it normally very cold in February?"

"There's a warm weather system blowing through, according to my weather app," Argyle said, glancing at it. "At least it means we won't have to buy winter coats."

"I had to do that once when interchanging through Boston," Goldie said. "I'd been in New Mexico and returning home. Unfortunately my suitcase got loaded onto the wrong plane and that had my winter coat in it. Luckily I found one, or I'd have been a walking block of ice before I got home!"

"We've had similarly harsh winters near Swanage," Lady Haven said. "Once we had to use rags soaked in paraffin to thaw the working parts of engines as they had frozen solid. It was pretty hard work but quite fun at the same time."

"Choose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life," Lord Haven said. "Confucius said so. And he was right on many things."

"Not so sure I agree on that one," Aurora added, as she moved her chair a bit. "Sure, I do love performing, but writing songs does take effort. The public won't accept drivel."

"Maybe you could experiment with writing a nonsense song and see what happens?" Argyle suggested.

"I usually leave that to Izzy," Aurora joked, and the assorted adults burst out laughing. Once they were done laughing, they watched across the road and saw the lorry from earlier drop off the blue engine.

"I wander how they got a Thomas?" Isaac asked. "Doesn't he live on Sodor?"

"According to the internet they built it from a dock shunter, hence the innacurate design features," Argyle said. "Thomas didn't have a crossbar or outside cylinders when we last saw him."

Suddenly, there was a buzz, and they looked over. "Table Number Seven, your drinks are ready!" called the server. "Sorry for the delay!"

"I'll get them," Goldie said, rising from her chair and quickly adjusting her jacket. "Three minutes being considered a delay? I'd forgotten that was a thing around here." She walked over, picked up a tray, and slid the drinks onto it before turning back.

Her path was now blocked by a man with greasy black hair and clad in a badly fitting suit with a crooked tie. He looked very sinister indeed.

"Erm, excuse me, but you're standing where I'm trying to go," Goldie said. "Could you step to one side, please?"

The man looked at her. "You're with the railroad lot, aren't you?"

"Yes. Why?"

The man nodded. "Figures. People stuck in the past. My name's Hoffman. I'm a local developer, keen to bring this place up to scratch and drag it out of the 20th century."

"I see," Goldie said, trying to mask her growing annoyance at this man. "Well, that's all very interesting, but I can't afford to stick about and chat."

The man nodded. "Would six be more convenient?"

Goldie clicked what he was doing, and groaned in annoyance. "No. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to take these to my friends." She moved her left hand into the light so that it reflected off her wedding ring. "First rule of interaction with other people; don't ask a woman you just met on a date, even if she is single. Which I'm not."

With that, she strode away and put the tray down and sat back down. "What a creep. All the stereotypes of the dodgy estate developer all rolled into one."

"You OK?" Argyle asked.

"I'm fine," Goldie replied. "I'm used to being randomly asked out, although most people apologise when they realise their mistake."

Many hours later, a firepit had been built on the outskirts of the museum property. Flanked by the lead car of an old EMU and a large electric locomotive (the one which Goldie had recognised earlier that day), they sat around the fire and cooked marshmallows whilst swapping stories.

At last, Timber Spruce told his story. It was a strange one, to say the least. "This land was originally settled by many people, including Mennonites from Germany. Amongst these early ancestors were my own, and they helped to develop the town. The railroad was a boon to the community, and helped to connect us to the map through the link to the Pennsylvania at Paradise.

"But it seemed the building of the railroad angered something, as one night my grandfather was working on a doodlebug."

"Why did you have a flying bomb?" Izzy asked.

"Doodlebug means railcar out here," Zipp quickly explained.

"Ohhhhhhh."

"Anyway, he heard a loud noise outside, and went to see what it was. Sitting there, in the station, was a monstrous engine, painted jet back and with the numbers 311 on the side. Standing in the cab was a ghostly figure, wearing a dark railroader's uniform. He told them his name was Joe Bush, a man who had died in the construction of the railroad over a century earlier, and that the running of the line was disturbing his peace. He threatened to destroy the town, but my grandfather begged him not to, promising to not run trains at night. Joe Bush agreed, but as he and his engine moved away into the night, he warned them he would not be away forever. One day, he would return to finish the job."

And so, Timber leaned into the fire. "If you hear the whistling of metal or a man walking around late at night, be careful... for it might just be the ghost of Joe Bush."

Suddenly, a loud horn blared, and a diesel rolled past on a nearby line with a works train.

Timber shrugged, seeing the looks of terror on their faces. "That happens sometimes. See you all tomorrow!"

The girls got up and began to head home. Hitch stopped next to Sunny. "Hey, everything OK?"

Sunny suddenly broke from her trance and looked at him. "Huh? Oh, right. Ghost stories, huh?"

"It's probably not true. I mean, the one Zipp told at Halloween wasn't." Hitch then walked away. "See you tomorrow!"

Sunny stopped next to her parents, who had overheard the story. "I'm ready now," she said.

"OK then," Argyle replied. "Creepy story, huh? Timber is a good storyteller." He then glanced over. "Goldie? Is everything OK?"

She looked to her husband. "I can't help but feel aspects of that story felt familiar. I'll look at it in the morning."

Author's Note

And so, another chapter is here, and the mystery continues to build. The Strasburg Thomas makes a cameo (although we all know that the only true Thomas is the one at the Nene Valley Railway).

Goldie's remark about American service culture is modelled on something I have observed about the United States whilst living there. In the UK, a delay of three minutes would not have been considered all that notable.

Again, we have an example of words meaning different things on opposite side of the Atlantic; 'doodlebug' is used almost exclusively in the UK to refer to the V1 flying bombs used by Germany in the tail end of WW2.

And who is Joe Bush? Find out more next time!

You could See the Fire go Out

Sunny suddenly awoke in the middle of the night, and glanced around her in confusion. "Urgh. I hate it when this happens." She glanced to her clock and saw it had just gone four. She had no clue how this kept happening, the random waking up in the night business.

She pulled herself out of bed and sighed. "Oh well. I'll just get some water than try to sleep again."

But as she took one step forward, the house began to shake. "What?"

"I'm here..." said a creepy, distorted voice.

"Who's there?" Sunny asked. "Show yourself!"

"I'm always here, Sunny," said the voic again. "What makes you rebuke the one who has the most in common with you? Who understands your struggles? Who knows the contents of your heart better than anybody else?"

"You've done an ultrasound of my heart?" Sunny asked, confused.

"Not what I meant. But I'm here."

The light flared up outside, and the door burst open. With blinding speed Opaline flew across the room and slammed into Sunny, crashing through the window with her whilst grabbing Sunny by her neck.

"I'M ALWAYS HERE!"

Sunny yelled out as she fell towards the harsh concrete sidewalk below, and shut her eyes before the inevitable impact. She flew closer, and closer, and came into contact-

With carpet.

Sunny looked about in surprise. "Huh? What just happened?" She quickly pinched herself to establish whether she was dreaming or not. The weird thing was she had woken up in her dream. Was it possible to be dreaming on multiple levels within a dream?

She groaned and pushed herself up before rolling over. "That did a number on me."

Moments later, the door opened, and Argyle and Goldie appeared. "Is everything OK?" Argyle asked, extending his hand to help Sunny up.

"Yeah," Sunny said, smiling weakly. "Just fell out of bed. Nothing major."

"What was the yelling about, though?" Goldie asked, confused. "You weren't having another nightmare, were you?"

Sunny thought for a moment. "I guess I was. But it was over so suddenly I hadn't really much time to process the imagery in it. I think I'll be fine, though."

"Is there anything you'd like?"

Sunny nodded. "Some water, please. My throat's really dry."

Both parents set off to the kitchen area to prepare some water, with Goldie shutting both sets of doors between them and Sunny. She then turned to Argyle, who had started filling a glass with water. "Albert, we need to talk."

Argyle looked over in surprise. "It must be serious if you're using my real name. What's on your mind, dear?"

Goldie sighed. "That's the second nightmare she's had in less than 12 hours. It's probably nothing, but I can't help but feel something is wrong. There's something happening in her mind and I can't figure out how to help!"

"She has been through a lot recently," Argyle admitted. "Being mind controlled can hardly be fun. But I noticed she had quite an adverse reaction to that ghost story."

Goldie froze. There was something relating to that story she wasn't telling her husband, but she hardly figured at the moment it was relevant. "Maybe we should look up those figures? If nothing else it'll help to put my mind at rest."

Argyle nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Now I'll drop off this glass of water and then we'd probably best get some more sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be pretty busy."

The next morning arrived, and all seemd to have cleared up. Sunny and Valentina were booked out on the first passenger train of the day, and this left Strasburg on time at 9 in the morning. The train was packed. Passengers occupied every seat, and some even got up to leave their seats and began wandering around the passenger cars and standing on the balcony.

"Is this nornal levels of business?" Sunny asked.

"Sure is!" Valentina replied. "The trains are always really busy. We get a lot of repeat visitors, and we're well placed for picking up tourists! The railroad is a good way to take a break from the other attractions around here."

Sunny checked behind her and saw a group of people near the first level crossing. "OK then, how does this go?" she asked. She reached up and pulled the whistle chord to alert the others of the approaching train.

"You need to do another long, a short, then another long!" Valentina called.

"OK!" Sunny replied, and immediately completed the rest of the sequence. "I'm sorta new to some of this! I usually drive a diesel engine."

"We have a few here, if that's what you're interested in," Valentina replied.

"And leave you guys one steam loco down? Nope!" Sunny replied.

The train continued to roll along through the beautiful Dutch countryside, with fields of corn reaching into the skies as far as you could see. It was a truly beautiful sight to behold, and the landscape seemed to flow away like a watercolour painting.

Partway through the run, the train came to a stop in a loop, as the signal was red. Sunny noticed all these guests standing at the lineside and looking in wonder at the train. "You wouldn't get this reaction back in Britain, that's for sure," she said.

"Where's Britain?" Valentina asked.

"It's the island across the pond where I'm from," Sunny replied.

"Oh! England!" Valentina said. "But you have an American accent!"

"True," Sunny admitted. "But my parents are both Americans who are UK citizens. Also, England and Britain are separate things. England is one of three countries that makes up Great Britain; the other two are Wales and Scotland. Add Northern Ireland into the mix and you've got the United Kingdom."

"Thanks for the history lesson!" Valentina said, as there was a familair rumbling down the line. Sure enough, Denver rattled in with a goods train from the mainline.

"If it seems confusing, think of each bit rather like a US state," Sunny replied, and looked over. "Hey Hitch!"

"Morning Sunny!" Hitch called, as the big tender engine rolled by. "There's a lot of animal feed in these hoppers!"

"I bet the farmers will like that!" Valentina added.

"They sure will," Denver smiled as he pulled up to the signal.

The other signal changed, and Valentina moved off on the train to Paradise.

Meanwhile, Goldie had finished her remote work for now, and had switched to history mode for research. Argyle was looking through books he had pulled out of the library. "I think I've found something!" Goldie said.

Argyle walked round. "Yes?"

Goldie highlighted the entry. "See this? I've found a reference to a historical Joe Bush. It seems that he's a ghost who haunts an old dredge somewhere in Oregon. So what would he be doing down here?"

"Ghosts can move around a lot," Argyle said. "I've seen references to some British ghosts in several different settlements. At least five different Derbyshire towns claim to be the home of Emily Alton, for example. So perhaps the legend somehow got transplanted to Pennsylvania by people from Oregon?"

Goldie rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "This is confusing. Perhaps we should ask the others for some suggestions? Preferably outdoors- I've done quite enough staring at screens for one morning."

"Sounds good," Argyle said. "I'll get them on the phone."

Goldie nodded. "I'll slip into something more comfortable whilst you do that. It'd be a bit weird to be wearing this to a casual coffee meeting."

She exited the room and closed the door, opening the wardrobe as she did so. The mirror in the wardrobe reflected her look of worry back at her. "Sunny," she whispered. "Why won't you tell me what's going on in there?"

Back at Strasburg, things hadn't gone so well. The passenger cars for the next departure had jumped backwards from the impact.

"You shouldn't have brought her in so fast!" shouted the conductor.

"Sorry!" Pipp said. "Jennifer's a lot more powerful than what I'm used to!"

"Clearly," Jennifer said. "But at least the cars are on the rails."

Luckily, their journey to the other end of the line proceeded without incident, apart from a small earthquake near the loop.

"That's weird," Sunny had noted. "We aren't on any fault lines."

Eventually, Sunny and Valentina arrived back at Strasburg with their passengers. But things were not well. Sherman and Mastodon were arguing.

"What were you doing?" Mastodon shouted.

"I don't know!" Sherman said. "I must have misjudged the stopping distance with this crane!"

"Well, you nearly had my smokebox off! Be more careful!"

Sunny hopped down to get Valentina run round, pulling the lever out that disconnected the couplers and brake pipes. "Ready to pull!"

"...Power..." said a ghostly voice. "...Must acquire power..."

Sunny looked around in confusion. "Hello? Is somebody there?" But nobody was. She shrugged her shoulders. "It was probably nothing." She hopped back into Valentina's cab and prepared to run her around the train, ready for the next run.

Unbeknownst to her, a figure was watching them with a sinister smile on his face. "Soon it shall all be mine," he said, rubbing his hands together with glee.

Author's Note

Another chapter is here, and the mystery deepens further. Readers familiar with Legend of Everfree will recognise the nightmare content from the film. Comparing Sunny and Twilight as protagonists is very popular in the MLP fandom, and Opaline is used here in a similar manner to Midnight Sparkle to symbolise Sunny's internal fears. There is, of course, an added parallel in the fact that Tara Strong serves as Goldie's voice actor (much in the same way she voiced Twilight Velvet in FiM).

Many people from outside the UK muddle up England and Britain. This usually manifests in the form of using England and Britain interchangeably; a common one I've heard in the US is reference to 'declaring independence from the English', which is technically wrong as the Continental Congress declared independence from Britain. Having said that, most Brits cannot name most US states, with Florida and California usually being the only ones they can identify. When I mention Alabama in the UK, I usually get blank stares.

Joe Bush is a real ghost, who is alleged to haunt the Sumpter Dredge in Oregon. I visited the area in 2016, and didn't run into him.

Mastodon's incident is an allusion to an accident that happened in 2022, where 475 collided with a digger that had been left out by a permanent way crew. The engine was later returned to service with the spot welds to the smokebox door clearly visible. Of note is the fact the entire accident was captured on film, as a webcam happened to be broadcasting at the time.

Casey Jones was a Mighty Man

At a local establishment, the parents of the group had gathered to watch proceedings on the railway over some warm drinks. At the moment, Marilyn was being prepared for duty on a passenger train, with Izzy oiling the engine round before setting off. The girl had the usual spring in her step, and a smile on her face. Her mouth movements indicated conversation or possibly even singing, whichever was more plausible.

Aurora leaned back in her chair and smiled. "That's my Izzy," she said happily. "Always on the move, never keeping still."

"She does seem to have a limitless reserve of energy," Argyle noted. "I don't think I've ever seen her tired!"

"Encouraging her to sleep was a bit hard in the early days, but now she follows a regular sleep pattern. Admittedly jetlag has slightly messed that up, but at least going this way you wake up early. I'm not looking forward to the sleepless nights going the other way." Aurora glanced to one side. "I've had plenty of those, even before Izzy was born."

"Natural insomnia?" Lady Haven asked. "I've had that a few times."

"Not always," Aurora admitted. "Remember when I said Izzy was always on the move? That was even the case when I was pregnant with her! It was like there was a football match going on in there."

The women nodded in sympathy, all knowing what she was referring to.

Aurora then continued. "Of course, the fact she was larger than normal made things a bit more challenging."

Goldie looked over. "Really?"

"Don't believe me? I looked like I was lugging a beach ball around during the third trimester." Aurora scrolled through her photos on her phone. "I always keep a shot of me holding Izzy for the first time on here, but boy was she a weight to hold up." She finally found the image she was looking for and showed it to Goldie. "There you go. Izzy at the start of her life."

Goldie's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. I can relate to that. Though in my neck of the woods the comparison was usually to a basketball for some reason." She shrugged her shoulders. "Sunny was two weeks late, so I ended up pretty big. Did people think you were having twins?"

"Yep, and it certainly felt like it." Aurora laughed. "Not sure if I could have coped with twins. Izzy's enough of a handful!"

Goldie glanced to Argyle. "Certainly puts having Sunny into perspective, eh?"

"Every experience is valid," Argyle replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And they've all turned out pretty well."

"Thank you," Goldie smiled.

To their surprise, Lady Haven suddenly spoke. "As somebody who has had twins, my condolences to your spine, Aurora."

Aurora looked over. "Really? I thought Pipp and Zipp were different ages. What's it like?"

Lady Haven sighed. "It has benefits and drawbacks. Robert and I had always planned on having two children, so learning I had two passengers onboard brought a sort of relief- after all, it got it out of the way in one go. But that itself was a drawback, as I was effectively going through two pregnancies at once. Shifting all that weight around in the third trimester wasn't fun, and even after they were born we were having to acquire new clothing for both of them at the same time- hand me downs doesn't work when both of your children are the same age." She reached forward for her drink and adjusted her sunglasses. "But to round this off on a positive note, I would say the end results were well worth it."

The women nodded in agreement, as did the husbands too.

Mastodon pulled into the loop partway down the line and came to a stop. "This is ridiculous," he said. "This train won't fit in the loop."

"It doesn't help at all," Hitch said. "The trucks are from another train, as the mixed train had to be switched for more passenger coaches."

"We're not transporting trucks here."

Hitch nodded. "Sorry. I'd forgotten that the word used here is freight cars."

Suddenly, there was a whistle from further down the line, and the other train rumbled into the loop with Marilyn running smokebox first. "Hello!" she called. "Long train, huh?"

"Tell me about it," Mastodon grumbled. "All this work on one engine!"

Marilyn came to a stop at the signal and looked back. "Err, this doesn't look right."

Izzy looked out of the cab and glanced back. "Ah, I see!" she said. "The train is too long to fit in the loop! And so is the goods train! We're going nowhere fast unless we change directions!"

Hitch sighed. "Brilliant. We've got no sidings to dump some of this in, so we're pushing it all the way back to Strasburg."

And so they did. The propelling move was extremely slow going thanks to the weight of the train, and stopped in the sidings at the other end. Hitch dropped off a full half of the train before setting off again. "Well, that wasted time. Who thought that was a good idea?"

"I don't know," Mastodon said. "We'll need another engine to move the other cars."

"Or we do two trips. Either way it produces the same result," Hitch admitted, spotting Sherman moving about in the yard to process the freight vehicles. "We'll be taking those later!"

"Just testing you!" Sherman called.

They finally got underway again, and pulled into the loop, considerably shorter. The passengers on the train were getting annoyed.

"They said this was a one hour round trip! What's the holdup?" a passenger demanded.

"Yes, what is the holdup?" asked another. "I've got a guided tour of the Dutch country booked!"

"Overly long train," Mastodon replied. "Unless you wanted a crash, we had to go and ditch the back half."

At last, the passenger train could move away, and it did, steam blowing from the engine's cylinders. Mastodon could finally move off again, and dropped off his freight cars at the interchange for a Norfolk Southern train. "We can sit here and watch an NS freight. They can take up to half an hour to pass by."

"I'd heard about that," Hitch said. "That sort of train length is unthinkable back in the UK!"

Back at the other end of the line, Goldie appeared to have a moment of realisation. "Argyle?" she said. "I've realised why I recognised the ghost story."

"You did?" Argyle said. "Oh, of course. Sorry. Forgot for a moment. Please do tell."

And so his wife began.

The storm lashed down outside, thunder booming and rain pouring down the windows. Goldie couldn't sleep thanks to the noise. That and her passenger had chosen the worst possible moment to wake up.

"Alright, I get it. You can't sleep too," she said, gently rubbing her bump and climbing out of bed. Perhaps a few moments by the window would help calm them down.

She made her way downstairs and sat down in the kitchen, having set some sleep tea to brew. Suddenly, a loud booming noise attracted her attention, and she wandered over to the window she saw a jet black shape rumble away. It looked like an engine of some sort- Goldie wasn't sure what the class was as Argyle was still helping her learn the differences- but it had an odd number painted on one side. It seemed to be laughing as it pulled away, black smoke pouring into the air as it left Falmouth.

Goldie rubbed her eyes in confusion. "What the Hell?"

"I see you can't sleep," came Argyle's voice from behind.

Goldi turned around, slowly. "Well, it's more a case they can't, but it produces the same result. Did you- no, never mind. Hopefully this storm soon lets up."

Argyle looked in surprise. "Why did you never tell me about this?" he asked.

"I thought I was seeing things!" Goldie replied. "Hormones do all sorts of strange things to the brain. But I'm beginning to think the ghost engine I saw and the engine from this story are somehow connected."

"Possibly best if we try to find out more," Lord Haven said, the first he had said for a while. The parents got up and said their goodbyes, then returned to their respective duties.

A storm front seemed to be moving in. Sunny looked out of Valentina's cab in concern. "That doesn't look good," she said. "Storm front. That usually brings heavy rain and lightning. Two things I don't like."

"Rain storms can be very intense out here," Valentina clarified. "You'd probably best be putting me under cover, so I can be sheltered from the rain. If the weather is bad enough we stop running and put the engines under cover as best we can."

As Sunny began to move Valentina to the shed, her mind was starting to wander. What was causing all this strange activity? Was it truly that there was a ghost around, causing trouble for them and trying to make their lives harder? Or was it something else?

That was the second time Opaline had appeared in her nightmares, and both times it had been very intense. Was Opaline out here too, causing trouble?

"...Finish the work..." said a spooky voice, causing Sunny to flinch. Now she was hearing things? Just what was going on around here?

She hopped down from the cab as she finished stabling the engine. Those questions could wait. Right now what she needed was a nice refreshing drink to take her mind off the situation.

Argyle hummed to himself as he popped into the local library. The library was a place he always felt comfortable and safe. After all, he'd spent many hours in the library of the air base he'd grown up on north of Leeds. He sighed as he stepped in, looking into the local history section. Maybe that would have some more info on the whole strange situation.

Whilst digging through the texts, he thought of the story Goldie had told. She'd requested some time alone, a request Argyle had honoured of course. An important part of marriage was knowing when your spouse needed some alone time, and Argyle felt 20 years of being a married man had made him pretty good at judging it.

A while passed, and Argyle decided to get something to drink from the library cafe. He walked in and ordered a coffee, before taking a seat at a table.

He focused on his phone to see if anybody had contacted him. Nothing yet. Not a problem, though.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a man take a seat opposite him. "I don't recognise your face. You here with that load of kids?"

Argyle was surprised by his bluntness, but decided to answer. "Yes, actually. My daughter's one of the drivers, actually."

The man nodded. "I see. Married man, I see."

Argyle glanced down. "Yes, actually. Coming up on twenty years, actually."

"Lucky you," the man said. "I'm a local developer. Trying to make this place better. Bit run down."

"I think it's quite charming," Argyle said. "I've always felt towns should maintain their heritage instead of knocking down perfectly good buildings. I live on a lighthouse complex, actually. Some people would have just knocked it down, but the house was renovated quite well."

The man seemed to be distracted. "Sorry, I was just thinking about yesterday."

Argyle was starting to recognise him. "Wait a minute. You're the man who hit on my wife."

The man snorted. "You? She married you? You look like a complete nerd. What sort of love potion did you use?"

"You're hardly an exemplary vision of attraction yourself," Argyle replied. "And I prefer the term academic to nerd. I'm a university lecturer."

There was no reply from the other man, who seemed to be annoyed by that statement.

Argyle got up. "I need to get back to reading now. But I'm warning you now- Goldie doesn't take kindly to creeps flirting with her."

The man sighed, and waited until Argyle was out of earshot. "Then I'll just give her an offer she can't refuse."

Author's Note

More clues as to the ghost. I do plan on delving more into the themes discussed here in future stories, but I thought nontheless it would be interesting to give the adults some more development (not to mention highlight a connection they have; their friendships are partly a result of the fact their kids are all around the same age).

Goldie's flashback is loosely based on a scene from one of KaneFan701's fanfilms, whilst the tone of the sequence is inspired by a moment from one of the Saw films. Curiously, my family does have a sort of similar link to railways; my parents went on a railtour shortly before I was born.

Many of my American readers will be very familiar with the intense weather the US is known for. Rain, in particular, is usually more intense than in the UK; during my time in the US I have witnessed heavy rainstorms lasting for hours.

Squashed Flatter than a Dime

Goldie needed some time to herself, and so temporarily excused herself from the rest of the group. She took a turn away from the main street and walked until the sound and hubbub of the human world had faded away, and she was now in the gentle landscape of nature. She took a seat on a nearby rock and looked about her, hearing the familiar whistle of a train in the distance. As she glanced over, she heard the gentle rumble of water over rocks, and the whistling of wind through the trees, and the hum of a nearby generator, and... a piano?

"Hang on a moment," she said to herself. "I know this song." She had always wondered how her daughter and her friends had been able to launch off into sudden music numbers with absolutely no prompting or preparation for the music, and she figured this was how it happened. People just gained the knowledge of the music by osmosis and could just fill it in.

Goldie looked up to the sky and decided she might as well go with the flow. It wasn't very often she got the chance to use her vocal chords for this anyway.

"I know how the moon must feel/
Looking down from the heavens!
Smiling at the silly things/
We put ourselves through.
Missing magic each day/
and not seeing the wonder/
That's how the moon must feel!

"I know how the moon must feel/
Starry eyed and contented!
Everything is beautiful/
as it all should be.
Far away from it all/
Never meaning to hurry/
That's how the moon must feel!"

Figuring the next bit might need a bit more breath, Goldie stood up and walked next to a tree, whilst glancing down into a pond and seeing her reflection in it.

"From up there our worries must seem very small!
Maybe that is why he wears a smile!
I'm sure he knows if there is more to life!
I wish I could be him for a while!

"I know how the moon must feel/
Looking down from the heavens!
Smiling at the silly things/
We put ourselves through.
Missing magic each day/
and not seeing the wonder/
That's how the moon must feel!"

Goldie knew for certain that last sentiment was true to her- being away from her family for so long thanks to her work meant she had missed a lot of Sunny growing up. Since the tragic day that had nearly claimed Sunny's life, she had vowed to spend more time with her family, and luckily her new work arrangements made that a lot easier.

"I'm sure he knows if there is more to life/
I wish I could be him for a while!"

That was an unexpected change. Goldie shrugged and returned to the chorus, as the piano was leading her there.

"I know how the moon must feel/
and I can't say I blame him!
Smiling at the silly things/
We put ourselves through.
Never taking our time/
Always running in circles/
That's how the moon must feel!"

As the last note faded out, Goldie turned to leave, feeling as though she was alone. Having said all that, something in her wanted to find Sunny and check on her. She sighed. "How things have changed so fast for us. Whilst working from the UK certainly fits us being a family unit better, I miss the days when we were just an ordinary family. Being a collective wierdness magnet isn't always that much fun."

As she was about to move off, a voice suddenly came from the nearby trees.

"You have a beautiful singing voice."

Goldie jumped and turned round to see the man in the dodgy suit from yesterday. "How long have you been there?"

"A few minutes," Hoffman replied. "I like coming out here to get away from the world. It's certainly quite peaceful."

Goldie was caught a little off guard by the response. Perhaps she had misjudged him and he'd committed a legitimate faux pas rather than be creepy. "Well, it can be nice for a change of scenery. I live next to the sea for the most part." She turned to leave again. "Now, I really must be going as I have things to-"

"I'm here to make a proposition."

Goldie stopped, and turned around. "I've already told you, I'm taken. Unless you mean something else."

"That kid of yours works for the railroad right?" Hoffman said.

"Yes," Goldie admitted. "Gets it from her father. Ever since she was little she basically dreamed of life on the rails. She never really played with dolls or girls toys. Most Christmasses it was Lego on her Santa list, almost exclusively rail or ship related sets. Having said that I've always been interested in engineering, so I've got a fair bit of Meccano lying about." She then stopped in her mind. "Wait a second. How do you know I have a daughter?"

"I know ways of acquiring information." Hoffman nodded back, and looked unbelievably smug. "Well, I'm certain you wouldn't want your darling little girl out of a job, eh?"

"She's actually average height for her a- what did you say?"

"I'm certain you wouldn't want your darling little girl or your silly husband out of a job," Hoffman repeated. "The Strasburg Railroad is in financial trouble, and probably won't survive the season."

Goldie had no way of independently verifying what Hoffman was saying, so decided to check this later. "I see. Why are you telling me this?" In her mind, she suspected he'd talked to Argyle. The way he's spoken about them was making her blood boil.

"You should know why. You're a businesswoman. We businesspeople have to take chances when we can. And this is a perfect chance to strike. I'm offering to go into business. We could buy out the railroad. Transform it into something better. And you'll make a tidy profit, I'd wager. Clearly fitting for a woman with your looks."

Goldie snorted in disgust. "I will not be complicit in the destruction of local heritage. And stop following me. The day I violate my marriage vows is the day Hell freezes over."

She'd only made a few steps when she felt a hand come into contact with hers. "Will you reconsider your plan if I up my offer?"

Goldie closed one of her palms so he couldn't see. "Consider this my response." She wheeled around and punched him in the jaw, her knuckles slamming into his cheek.

Hoffman staggered back, looking confused. "What?"

Goldie glared daggers at him. "That's me being nice. Stop following. Don't touch me. Consider that a warning- Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

She walked away, shaking her head. "He's worse than Boomer. At least he had a concept of boundaries."

Marilyn ran to a stop in the siding at the front of the headshunt, and looked down with relief. "Phew!" she said. "That was lucky! I was nearly through the buffers there!"

Izzy looked out. "We are a bit close. That was certainly too close to call!"

Marilyn laughed. "At least there are no borders near here for me to go flying over."

"A border with no track?" Izzy giggled. "Who would be silly enough to try that?" She hopped out to change the switches and backed Marilyn into a rest siding when all was said and done. Another engine was now taking over for a bit, so Izzy took a break and popped into the mess hut to see Pipp and Zipp had apparently transformed the interior of the hut into a detective's office.

Cool jaz played in the background in the darkened room on an old record player, and a board was illuminated and covered in information. A desk lamp glowed in the dark, and the blinds were down.

"Ooh!" Izzy said. "I like what you've done with the place!"

Pipp looked over. "I can't get a signal, though. This is really annoying!"

"We've got bigger things to worry about Pipp," Zipp said, glancing at the desk again. "These clues are coming closer to being something coherent."

"Whatcha found, Zipperooni?" Izzy asked, looking over the desk. "Hey! Squiggles!"

Zipp shook her head. "Never call me that again. And a detail in Timber's story got me thinking. He mentioned a running number, 311. Obviously many locomotives carried that number throughout history, but I think I've narrowed down the specific one that he was referring to."

Zipp opened a file and put a photograph down. "Clinchfield 311. Built by Baldwin in 1909 for the Clinchfield Railroad, a coal hauling operation that ran from West Virginia and through Virginia down into Kentucky. Quite an engineering feat. But this is where our story gets interesting."

She opened another file. "Whilst doing some digging I found this accident report in CSX's archive."

"What's CSX got to do with this?" Izzy asked. "Aren't they a car retailer?"

"CSX stands for Chessie Seaboard Consolidated Transportation," Zipp explained. "Clinchfield was one of the companies that made up one of their predecessors, Seaboard. Anyway, the accident report reveals that an engine numbered 311 was lost in a crash on the Haysi Branch in Virginia in 1950. And seeing as ghost trains tend to be engines lost in accidents rather than scrapping, I think we may have found our ghost train. The question, did Timber base it on the story or is an actual engine from the Upper South haunting a portion of Virginia?"

"Or," Pipp said, "here's another theory. What if Timber made the whole thing up?"

"Come on, Pipp!" Zipp protested. "We've seen enough crazy magic stuff these last few years to at least have to consider the possibility that ghosts are real. Now is not the time for arbitrary skepticism!"

"Zipp, that's your limit on fourth wall breaks for the day!" Izzy said. "Hope you had fun doing so!"

Once Izzy had left, Pipp looked to her sister. "Well, that was weird."

Another night passed and another morning rose. The Starshines hadn't had the best of nights. Sunny hadn't slept hugely well and didn't seem to be all that responsive when spoken to. Argyle had some paperwork from the University that he had suddenly needed to attend to, so Goldie offered to walk with Sunny down to the engine shops so she had some company on the journey there.

Goldie herself didn't realise it but she was sleep deprived herself, and running on a rather shorter fuse than normal. "So, how was last night?" she asked.

"Don't want to talk about it," Sunny said abruptly.

What was up with her? Goldie was baffled by Sunny's behaviour. She knew everybody had a bad day, but this was so unlike her. She seemed deflated, somehow. Perhaps she was just moody for some reason. Girls her age sometimes were. Goldie decided to try and lighten the mood with a joke. "Well, somebody got out of bed on the wrong side of bed today! Me namely."

That got a laugh out of Sunny- briefly, who then dropped back to her previous expression. On they went, along the sidewalk, seeing as Strasburg gradually woke up, and people began to go about their business and got their stores ready to go. A buggy even rolled past, the indicators suggesting the intention to take a left turn at the next intersection. It looked so incongrous, a vintage buggy with modern direction indicators, and yet it fitted so well for the area.

But Goldie was struggling to focus on the evironment around her. So much was on her mind. She then spotted a bakery. "Sunny, why not take something with you to the depot?" she suggested.

"I'm not hungry," Sunny replied.

Sometimes, human emotions can be suddenly triggered over the smallest of things, especially in people on very short tempers. The bluntness of Sunny's reply set something off in Goldie that she hadn't felt in years.

She abruptly pulled Sunny to one side of the sidewalk and glared right at her. "Sunny, I've just about had enough of your behaviour. Being moody will not get you out of doing as you're told!"

Sunny blinked in shock, and her eyes starting about, clearly frightened. But Goldie was too angry to care.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Sunny did so, her eyes wide and her body locked completely rigid, with a distinct 'deer in headlights' look.

Goldie by this point was so cross she didn't care what she said. "I thought you knew better than this. You've been nothing but rude to me and your father this whole morning. So stop acting like this RIGHT NOW and answer my damn questions!'

Goldie was breathing heavily, and as she looked down all the anger left her in an instant. Sunny was looking back at her, looking absolutely terrified. "S- Sunny? I don't know what ca-"

Sunny burst into tears and ran off down the sidewalk, in the direction of the depot.

Goldie dashed after her, realising to her horror what she had just done. "Sunny, wait! I didn't mean it!" She had barely any time to react when she suddenly saw it coming. "SUNNY! LOOK OUT!"

Sunny turned her head just too late- as a truck slammed into her. Everything seemed to go into slow motion as her body flew through the air and slammed into a lamp post.

The driver had, thankfully, stopped, and jumped out as Goldie threw caution to the wind and sprinted across the intersection to where Sunny had landed. She picked her up and looked at her. "Sunny? Sunny?"

No response.

To her horror, Goldie realised Sunny wasn't breathing. She tried to administer CPR, but it didn't seem to be working.

She started in disbelief at what had happened. In just one moment her entire life had been turned upside down.

Sunny, her only child, was dead.

And it was all her fault.

"This is your fault, goddammit!" shouted a voice.

"She couldn't have known!" shouted another.

"Sunny would still be alive if you'd just controlled your temper!"

Goldie looked about in a panic, saw the accusing faces all around her, and screamed.

Argyle was suddenly jolted awake by loud screams. "What the Hell?"

He soon isolated the source of the noise. His wife was sitting bolt upright, her eyes staring forward and her face in an expression of terror. "What's going on?"

"Where's Sunny? Where is she?"

Argyle was confused. "I checked on her about half an hour ago. She was asleep."

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Sunny ran in. "Is everything OK? I heard screaming and-" she trailed off when she saw her mother's face. "Mom? Is everything OK?"

Goldie moved with such speed it caught Sunny by surprise. One moment she was in bed, the next she was next to Sunny having pulled her into a hug. Her words were mostly incoherent, but Sunny could make out one phrase, repeated over and over again.

"I'm so sorry."

Sunny was just confused. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Author's Note

Well, this was a tough chapter to write, for a number of reasons. Apart from propelling the story forward, we also take a closer look at character relations and what happens when these relationships are strained.

We also have our first song, which serves roughly the same function as Midnight in Me in the source material. Although a song from a not especially brilliant film, I Know how the Moon Must Feel is fondly remembered by the fanbase, and has become the unofficial theme song of the Strasburg Railroad (where the Indian Valley Railroad segments of TATMR were filmed). As per tradition with characters voiced by Tara Strong, Goldie's singing voice is provided by Rebecca Shoichet. This was mainly done for production reasons; recording the musical numbers required the voice cast and sound engineers to be in the same room, and as Tara Strong was based in California at the time Friendship is Magic was being made she couldn't easily make the journey to Vancouver to join the rest of the cast.

As for the last scene... that might be the darkest scene I have ever penned for this series. I am aware this is based on a show that has a reputation for being sunshine and rainbows, but both MLP and TTTE have explored complex and mature themes, so it only felt fitting to incorporate them.

Can you Line Them Track?

Valentina could sense something wasn't right that morning. The yard staff had already brought her up to operating temperature to hand over to the drivers in the morning, so whomever came in didn't have to worry about that, but as she looked about there was nobody there. "She's running late," she said to herself. "That's unlike her."

She certainly heard the sounds of doors opening and closing, and then Sunny appeared, looking a bit worse for wear. Her eyes were red and a bit puffy, and there seemed to be something smeared on her face.

Valentina called out to her. "Sunny? Are you OK?"

Sunny gave no reply, instead hopping onto the footplate and getting Valentina ready to go. She opened the regulator and released the brakes- too aggresively, as it turned out, as the wheels slipped on the rails.

"Careful!" Timber shouted from across the workshop. "These engines are priceless artefacts of the past!"

"Sorry!" Sunny called back, her voice higher in pitch than normal. It was obvious to Valentina that something was very wrong, but there wasn't exactly a lot that she could do. Hopefully this would clear up after the first run of the day.

Valentina was moved about the yard to couple to the passenger cars at the platform, but as before something was wrong. She was run into them going much too fast, causing them to jump backwards.

"Enough with the aggressive coupling!" the conductor shouted. "You're lucky nobody was trying to board!"

"Passengers aren't allowed to board until the engine is coupled!" Valentina replied.

"And that's a good thing, given your driving," the conductor replied, before heading off to conduct a brake check.

After a few minutes, the passengers started to board and take their seats. Valentina decided to check in on her engineer. "Sunny? Is everything OK? You haven't said very much today. Normally you'd be happily chatting away!"

There was no reply. Valentina focused and realised Sunny wasn't saying anything at all. The complete lack of communication was very jarring, to say the least.

Once boarding was complete, the train set off- a bit more gently this time, but still enough to jolt the passengers. Upon arrival at Leaman Place, Valentina was uncoupled and run round the train, where once again the engine was run into the coaches a little too quickly.

The conductor was very suspicious. Gloriosa Daisy also happened to be there, conducting a track inspection on the loop, and witnessed the collision incident. Both of them headed to the cab. "What are you playing at?" the conductor called.

Sunny shuffled over to that side of the cab and looked down at them. "Please don't yell at me," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Gloriosa looked up and could see something wasn't right. "Come on, Sunny," she said, indicating to a bench. "Can we talk for a bit?" She glanced to the conductor. "Keep an eye on the engine until we get another engineer down here."

The conductor nodded, and climbed into the cab.

Meanwhile, the older woman had indicated Sunny take a seat. "I can tell something is wrong," she said to the young girl. "Something's clearly happened to have you in such a state. It's not healthy to keep things like this bottled up, and when you tell somebody else how you feel it can often help your own recovery."

There was a sigh. "Sorry for messing up. I guess I'm not in the right head space right now."

"Is something happening at home?"

Another pause. "Mom was acting really weirdly this morning. I've not been sleeping well, but last night mom woke up screaming and then started begging me for forgiveness. " Sunny rubbed her eyes. "I can't think straight when I'm this worried."

Gloriosa nodded. "Would going home help?"

Sunny shook her head. "I don't think I can right now. She probably wants some space to herself."

Gloriosa was surprised. "Perhaps being with her could help."

"I'm scared I'd just irritate her," Sunny replied, with the same, dull tone of voice. "She can be pretty scary when mad."

"Sometimes when people look angry, they're just scared," Gloriosa explained. "I know I was plenty of times, especially if Timber was off doing something reckless."

Sunny nodded. "OK. I'll try at some point. I can't avoid her forever." But Sunny had severe guilt on her mind- was Goldie acting weirdly because of something she'd done?

Argyle glanced up from the kitchen table to see the door opening. "Ah! Goldie! How'd it go?"

He stopped when he saw her face. His wife looked downtrodden and worried. "Goldie?"

Goldie simply sat down and looked across the table. "No. It went terribly." She sighed. "I had a nightmare last night."

"What happened?" Argyle asked.

"I was walking Sunny to the depot, and... I lost my temper over something completely ridiculous. Can't even remember what it was now, exactly what it was doesn't matter. What does matter is Sunny ran off crying and was then hit by a truck." She looked down, and closed her eyes, the sound of Sunny's tears running through her mind like a film played on repeat. "I didn't have a chance to tell her I was sorry."

"Goldie, we all make mistakes," Argyle said. "I've made my fair share-"

"But not the 'my own child is scared of me' variety!" Goldie snapped, before realising what she'd done. "Sorry. I'm her mother. I'm supposed to help care for and nurture her. Instead, I fear I'm driving her away. I've been away for so long I don't really know her." She looked away, her eyes painful, recalling Sunny had been oddly subdued during the walk to the depot. "I only wanted the best for her- and now my own child is scared of me. I'm a terrible parent!"

She broke down all at once. Anybody in the same situation would have done so. Argyle walked around the table and put his arm around her shoulder. "You're not a terrible parent. This isn't a game over for any of us. You both have a chance to start again, and that's not an option everybody gets. I never really had a chance to reconcile with my grandfather before he died- and it's something I've regretted ever since."

"How can I reconnect?" Goldie asked, quietly, once she had dried her eyes. "She probably doesn't want to talk to me- not that I blame her. She didn't say a word the entire way."

"That's unlike her, I'll admit," Argyle answered. "Fear makes us do strange things sometimes. But save words like hate for things that truly deserve it, like that Hoffman guy."

"You know about that?"

"I found out about it from some of the locals. They seem him as a nuisance, but only tolerate him because he owns a lot of local land and has a history of kicking farmers of their properties when they can't pay up. I think it's only fair we show him that you can't always get what you want."

"Maybe not now," Goldie said. "There's another wrong I want to put right first. We have to find a way to talk to her."

A few hours had passed. Sunny had finally built up the courage to return home, and slid her key into the door before turning it. She then opened the door. "Mom? Dad?"

To her surprise, a familiar smell entered her nostrils, and she saw both her parents at the stove. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Afternoon, Sunny!" Argyle said cheerfully, although still with his back turned for obvious reasons. "I can handle the stove from here, dear."

Sunny gulped at the thought of facing her mother, and hung her head as Goldie approached. "Mom, if it's something I did, then I'm so, so sorry-"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You didn't do anything wrong."

Sunny blinked. "Huh?"

"Sunny, I was the one in the wrong. I shouldn't have given you the cold shoulder, and for that I'm sorry." She stepped closer. "I know this may be a difficult question, but can we start again?"

Sunny knew what to do, and drew her mother into an embrace. "Mom, I forgive you," she said, gently. "We all do silly things we regret, and it's unhealthy to hold grudges."

There was a notable shift in Goldie's body language as they separated. "Thank you," she said. "Now then, shall we move on like this morning never happened?"

Sunny was still a little shaken by the events of the morning, but nodded in response. "Of course."

Argyle glanced over. "I've cooked a bit of home for us! Finding the ingredients was a little tough, but it worked in the end."

Sunny nodded. "I'll set the table."

"Let me help you," Goldie added.

Denver rolled into the platform with the train. "Valentina's out of action for some reason, and Sunny's vanished," he said. "Whatever is the world coming to?"

Hitch shrugged. "Beats me. Family emergency, apparently."

Meanwhile, Misty was oiling Sherman when she heard a strange commotion. She walked over to a nearby building to hear heated voices.

"What were you thinking?" Gloriosa said. "Now people think the line is in a mess!"

"I had to come up with some sort of explanation!" Timber shouted back. "How else are we going to get rid of the sharks around us?"

Misty glanced about. She couldn't see any sharks.

"Well, it didn't work!" Gloriosa replied. "Thanks to that ridiculous story you told we're in real danger! We can't lose the line, if it's the last thing we do!"

Misty was astonished. The railroad was in trouble?

Amongst many annoying things that can happen in life, one of them is waking up in the middle of the night with a dry throat, as having one makes it almost impossible to get back to sleep. Goldie knew this feeling well, and groaned as she came to her senses. "Great. Midnight exactly. Why does this keep happening?"

She knew that struggling to sleep for long periods of time was a sign of ageing, but given she was only in her early forties this was a bit worrying. She pulled herself out of bed, trying not to disturb Argyle- who, true to fashion, was sleeping like a log. Sometimes it seemed like it would take a thunderstorm to wake him from his slumber.

She slipped out of the room and into the kitchen, grabbing a glass on her way and putting it under the tap. As she looked around, Goldie suddenly heard breathing from the other side of the couch. "Hello? Is somebody there?"

Sunny's head popped over the gap. Unlike when she was out and about, Sunny had a very serious case of bed hair, with purple hair strands and rainbow streaks haphazardly mixed together. "Y- yeah?"

"What are you doing up at this time of day?" Goldie asked.

Sunny blinked. "I- I can't sleep, and thought th- that I would, erm, benefit from doing something to, urm, make myself tired."

Goldie could see Sunny's worry in her eyes, and the stammering suggested a certain level of fear. I must have scared her quite badly, she thought to herself, the guilt from the morning returning with a vengeance. "Sunny, can we talk?"

Sunny nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

Goldie walked around the couch and sat down next to her child, putting her arm around her. "Never think we hate you, Sunny. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love you, and I always will."

"Even after what I did?" Sunny asked quietly.

Goldie quickly figured out what Sunny was alluding to. "That wasn't your fault. You weren't in control." She paused. "You are my daughter, and nothing will change that. But I'm scared. Scared by all that's changing, and what's going on. Please, Sunny, answer me truthfully- what is going on?"

Sunny sighed. "I've been having nightmares, and they all have one thing on common- Opaline. She's in there in some capacity."

"Was she the one who mind controlled you?" Goldie asked.

"Yeah," Sunny said, looking down. "She found a way in through the magic inside me. And I'm scared she'll do it again." She looked up. "Why me? Why did this stuff pick some kid from Cornwall for this role? If I'm some sort of chosen one- then I don't want to be."

Goldie pulled Sunny into a hug. "Life often doesn't go the way we expect, and is full of surprises- your father and I meeting is an example. But what defines us is how we respond. But we will always be here to help. So in future, if you have a problem, tell us."

Sunny nodded as best she could. "Thanks, mom."

Goldie smiled, hopeful that her fractured relationship with her daughter had been healed. "No problem, Sunny. Would you like some water?"

Author's Note

This chapter, in some of its elements, draws on aspects of my own family dynamic; my father was usually out of the house when I was growing up as he was the primary breadwinner, and as a result my mother was the parent I mainly interacted with. Goldie's concern about knowing her child is partly drawn from this.

The comment on coupling, and the rough shunting, is based on a real incident recounted on social media, when a passenger decided to board whilst the engine was running round (which Strasburg advises you don't do) and was jolted as a result.

Finally, I'd like to end by reflecting on family. Although family members don't always get on (I've squabbled with mine a fair bit), ultimately they are a unit to fall back on and rally round when the going gets tough. Always ensure your family members know you love them- you never know how much longer they'll be around

On a more positive note, the mystery deepens tomorrow. Stay tuned!

The Disappearing Railroad Blues

The next morning was, safe to say, much better than the previous one. Sunny arrived at the depot feeling refreshed and more confident, and was keen to see her friends. She popped into the main hut to find them there, looking over their work orders.

"Hey guys!" she said.

"Sunny!" Izzy said. "You're looking a lot better than yesterday!"

"I take it you and your folks figured things out," Hitch replied.

"We sure did," Sunny replied. "But I was wanting to talk with you about something else."

"It's not about the ghost, is it?" Misty asked. "Because I have an update on that. It seems the ghost doesn't exist."

"What?" Pipp asked. "There's no ghost? That's disappointing."

"But I think it's a bit worse. I overheard a conversation between Gloriosa and Timber," Misty continued. "And it got very heated to say the least. He mentioned about sharks circling the line and she said something about a ridiculous story- I can't recall the exact wording, I'm afraid."

"What are sharks doing this far inland?" Izzy asked.

"Figure of speech," Zipp explained. "But it often means that threats are all around. If so, what kind of threats are there around here threatening the railroad?"

It was at this moment Sunny spoke up. "I think I have the answer. I haven't disclosed this to you guys, but I've been having nightmares."

"That's awful!" Pipp said. "Are you feeling better now?"

Sunny nodded. "Sure am. But there was a recurring theme in all of them- Opaline. And I'm certain this situation is Opaline's doing."

Zipp tilted her head. "Explain, if you will?" she asked.

Sunny nodded again.

"Gee, the narrator is using a lot of recycled descriptions," Izzy said suddenly.

"Ignore her!" Hitch said.

Sunny acknowledged this as she opened her mouth to resume speaking. "Opaline wants our magic, and we're away from home. Our power is limited, and we're potentially vulnerable here. So, I think she's creating ghostly activity to try and drive people away, and once we have our guard down she'll come and steal the magic! Given how she travelled so quickly from Essex to Cornwall it's entirely plausible she'd be able to get here quickly too!"

The others looked profoundly unconvinced. "Not so sure on that one, Sunny," Hitch said.

Misty glanced up. "I spent more time with Opaline than any rational person ever should. And I'm gonna say that plan sounds absurdly complex even by her standards."

Sunny sighed. "Can we at least try to be on our guard?"

"Of course!" Zipp said. "How about we go and look for some more evidence for this argument, and then we can try and figure out a solution? I mean, we are working on the rolling Dutch country service, which gives us a good vantage point for strange things going on.

"Good idea!" Pipp said. "The best ghost stories always have an investigation. Makes me think of the time Esmeralda Ghoulington tried to figure out which of her ancestors was haunting her."

The girls nodded, as did the boy, and they headed off for their engines to start the day.

Goldie couldn't recall the clouds suddenly arriving, but the interior of the house had suddenly gone very dark. "That's not normal," she said, as she walked over to look out. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Sitting outside the window was a familiar shape. An engine. The exact same one she had seen in Falmouth all those years ago.

"We meet again, Goldie," the engine said. "Nice of you to pay a visit."

"Stalking pregnant women is not a good thing to do, 311," Goldie replied. "Now what do you want?"

"You did me a favour by coming here," 311 answered. "You gave me what I wanted- though I'd find it eventually."

"You're not making any sense."

"The power I need is within her," 311 said, despite not having a mouth or face. "In fact, it'll make this so much easier."

Goldie glared at the engine. "You hurt Sunny and you'll regret it."

The engine snorted in response. "You think you can do anything to me? How ironic that you continue to defend her. After all, the life you brought into the world nearly snuffed yours out."

"That was out of her control!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Gloria," 311 answered, before fadiing into the distance with a whistle. "We shall meet again!"

With that, the sky returned to normal, and Goldie sighed. "I think I need some air. But I'll get this work done first."

In another part of town, Aurora was in the garden of the house they had been assigned by the railroad, picking at her guitar and uses a pencil to write something down. She was, of course, writing a new song for her upcoming album. The only part she was struggling with with with some of the rhymes.

And I cannot be pulled apart/
From the hold you have on my... cart? Part?" She hummed, then seemingly had a brainwave. "Of course! Heart!" She scribbled this down on the sheet, figuring that she would type this up later.

"And even if the world tells us it's wrong/
You're in my head like a catchy song!"

She quickly went back to strumming, switching between chords. "Hmmm. E minor works well as it establishes the tonal centre. But does moving to a G work?" She moved from one chord to another. "Perfect! Then use A to switch to D for the next verse."

She went back to the piece of paper before scribbling the chords onto the page. She quickly strummed through them. "Doesn't sound so good verticalised. Perhaps switch to arpeggio pattern?"

Suddenly, there was a blast of brilliant light, and this caught Aurora's attention. "What the?" She looked in the direction of the light, then pulled her laptop over and took a look. "That's odd. Why would it be coming from there?"

She grabbed her phone and dialled a number she had set to speed dial.

"Hello honey," Isaac replied. "Everything OK in songsville?"

"I just saw something very odd," Aurora said. "Some sort of column of light from near our position. We need to go and take a look."

"Why us?" Isaac asked, quite reasonably.

"Because the others are all busy, and we know our way around caves."

"It's in a cave?" Isaac said. "A pity I didn't bring my potholing gear. I'll pick up a hard hat and a torch at the railroad for both of us and then we can head into the cave."

"Gotcha. You know where to find me."

Aurora ended the call and put the phone down.

A few minutes later, her husband returned from the railroad, with supplies in hand. He packed a bag with useful equipment. "Some food supplies, batteries for torches, medical bag in case we get hurt, and a radio to broadcast a distress signal." He glanced over to his wife. "You might want to tie your hair back- you don't want that getting stuck in anything."

Aurora nodded, and did so. Within a bit, they were ready to go, and with all the gear in place they set off across the town and towards the cave. "Just like old times, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Isaac replied. "Funny how we both bonded over our love of going in holes in the ground."

Both of them continued on their way, unaware somebody was watching them as they went on their way.

Goldie was out in town, keen to find something to eat. She'd spent the entire morning working, and as such had only just clocked off. Whilst this had made things a little simpler, her family had already popped out to do the things they were doing today, so she was slightly behind the curve.

She put her hands in front of her eyes, even with sunglasses on. "I'd forgotten how bright the sun can get on this side of the pond," she said. "I can only hope Sunny is coping with it."

Suddenly, she heard what sounded like an argument, and snuck up behind a pillar to listen in. She looked round a corner, and her mouth dropped when she saw it. Hoffman was speaking to Gloriosa, and he seemed to be in some sort of position of power over her.

"You fell behind on your payments, Gloriosa," he said, with a smirk on his face. "I own the land the Strasburg Railroad sits on now. And now that it's mine, this small town can finally achieve the greatness it deserves."

Gloriosa looked frantic. "Please. The railroad has been here for nearly 200 years, and a vital part of the local tourist economy for over 60 of those. It's been in the town for generations! You have to let the line stay! You can't just destroy history!"

Hoffman laughed coldly. "Who says I can't? Who says I can't tear it down and replace it with the greatest theme park Pennsylvania has ever seen?"

That'll be a tall order given Hersheypark's not far from here, Goldie thought to herself.

Hoffman then continued. "A theme park that will bring more people and money than a group of sad old men and delusional children playing with their choo-choos ever could? I don't think so. Sentimentality has stood in the way of progress for much, much too long."

Gloriosa tried again, demonstrating her desparation to save the line. "This is the home of these engines! They'll be homeless if you do this!"

But Hoffman cared not. "Sell them to another railroad. No doubt they'll be another group of braindead idiots who'll be keen to gawp at a pile of junk well past its scrap by date."

As he walked away, Gloriosa collapsed onto a bench and burst into tears. "What am I gonna do?" she whispered.

Goldie popped around the corner. "I got all of that recorded, if it helps," she said. "It gives us evidence to use against him. But we can help?"

Gloriosa looked over. "Thank you for the kind words, but there's not a lot you can do I'm afraid. Where am I going to get thousands of dollars out of thin air?"

Goldie then had an idea. "There are people out there who can help you. People who care about engines. Hoffman was wrong to call us delusional children. And I think I know just where to start."

She took out her phone and dialled a number on WhatsApp, before placing the device to her ear. "Hello? Ah, Mr Waterman. I know the timing is a little awkward, but there's a railroading issue that may need your help. Could you see if Rod will get involved as well?"

Author's Note

We now have more lore to work with, as the ghost seemingly does not exist. But if that's the case, what is causing all the craziness?

Potholing is a term used for people who enjoy exploring caves as a hobby. They divide into several types, ranging from those who enjoy visiting show caves up to people who pull themselves through tight spaces. Personally I'm the former type.

The Strasburg having financial difficulties is a reflection of the railway's history; for most of its existence the line was cash-strapped and lived a hand to mouth life with worn out equipment. The resurgance as a heritage line is nothing short of remarkable.

Can any of you figure out who Goldie is referring to in her phone call?

The Last Train Done Left Town

"What in the world are we seeing here?" Isaac asked, as he and his wife stepped inside the cave.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Aurora said, even stopping to take a few photographs along the way. The interior of the cave was absolutely stunning. The landscape inside was similar to some caves they had historically been in, as the interior was decorated with stalactites and stalagmites as well as other formations formed from water, but some of the other objects were utterly unlike things that they had ever seen.

The cave itself was full of large crystals attached to the floor and wedged haphazardly into the walls. Some were even attached to the ceiling, which was odd. But that wasn't the only remarkable thing about these crystals. The crystals seemed to glow with their own energy, producing an incredible amount of light. So much light, in fact, that it illuminated the entire cavern by itself.

Aurora reached up to switch her helmet lamp off. "I won't be needing this lamp, that's for sure. These crystals produce enough light for us to see where we're going!"

"Bioluminescent rocks," Isaac replied. "I've never seen anything like it myself in all my years of cave exploring."

The couple moved onwards into the cave, their eyes continuing to see all the wonders that sat around them and continued to attract the eye of the dedicated explorer. So stunning was it all they took to documenting as much of the cave as they could on cameras, so they had a momento of their unexpected potholing trip on the other side of the world.

After a while of walking through caverns, all of which were comfortably tall enough to accomodate a grown adult standing fully upright, they shifted round a bend. The area soon changed with it, the landscape starting to open up.

"The underground world never ceases to amze," Aurora gasped, when she saw what was in front of her.

The cavern in front opened up in front of her like an enormous room, the ceiling stretching away so high into the air that not even the glowing crystals could capture the top of the ceiling with their light. The room stretched away in all directions, with the tunnels leading away in untold numbers of directions and covering many miles of tunnels snaking away.

"Who know this was here," Isaac said. "We may be the first human beings to explore this underground place."

Suddenly, their eyes were drawn to a small block in the centre of the chamber, which sat there undisturbed like some sort of drinking fountain. Sitting in it was a small indent, which seemed to be a space for something to sit in it. And in that space was something. The two adults got closer to look at them, seeing something small and glowing inside the small indent.

"What do you think it could be?" Aurora asked, looking at the object sitting inside.

"Beats me," Isaac replied. "But it may be dangerous, so let's avoid handling it."

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

Both of them glanced over to see Timber Spruce striding towards them, followed by a black shape. He strode forward before stopping on the other side of the small block. "Remarkable, isn't it? Just what I need to do what needs to be done."

"What are you doing here?" Isaac asked. "I didn't take you for the caving type."

"I may ask the same of you," Timber replied. "This is a historic place, and the place where the world may be saved from."

"What are you talking about?" Aurora asked. "Unless these objects are magical, that doesn't make much sense."

"This very cave is magical," Timber answered. "It's how any of this is here. It's how she survived here past the destruction of her body all those decades ago. Show them, my ally!"

Suddenly, the black shape began to shift and coalesce, becoming more defined. Black smoke spread out and formed heavy machinery. Metal was shifted out of the darkness. Frames, a boiler, wheels, and siderods were attached to this strange thing, and a tender was seen in the gloom. The smokebox gained a headlamp, and soon smoke was rising from the chimney as the engine sat there.

"Finally," they said, confirming them to be female. "I have something resembling the old form. I can finally get my revenge and be free of the darkness that has plagued us all these years!"

"My friends, meet Clinchfield 311," Timber Spruce smiled. "She has been most helpful in achieving the goals I need."

"What goals?" Aurora asked him. "How does a ghost help you do anything?"

"If you only understood the power, little woman," Clinchfield 311 boomed, her voice heavily distorted by the cavern. "You cannot possibly hope to understand that which you cannot comprehend."

Seeing their confusion, Timber decided to explain. "Magic is the answer. The Strasburg Railroad is in trouble, and debtors circle us like sharks looking for their next meal. But I have a way to save us all, and prevent this piece of history from being destroyed. If I can drive the debtors off, it'll keep the line in place forever and ever and ever."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Isaac asked.

"Easy. By scaring them, they cannot come to collect. And each time they send a new one I scare them again until they run out of people. And magic will make it so easy to dispose of the bodies."

"But why ally with her?" Isaac prompted.

"Simple," Timber replied. "We both want the same thing- to see off the humans who put their own pockets before heritage or safety. 311 here died in an accident caused by a poorly maintained bridge- all because the manager wanted to save money on repairs. And those people are coming to drain our coffers. Well, it won't be happening under my watch, that's for sure. Stay back, ladies- it's time to save the world."

With that, he grabbed the crystals in the block and grasped them in his hand. It started to glow, and within an instant the light consumed Timber Spruce. The others covered their eyes to protect them from the blinding light, but it eventually faded, and once they uncovered their eyes what they saw horrified them.

Timber had undergone some sort of transformation. His clothing was replaced by what appeared to be a steampunk version of an engineer's uniform, with hat to match. His eyes glowed bright white, glowing so intensely that they were probably visible from space. He had a variety of tools on his belt, and a spanner sat in his hands.

"Finally, I can save us all," he said.

"Not so fast," said 311, and suddenly black energy began to flow into Timber. He looked over in confusion, and briefly grunted as something seemed to be going on, but after a few seconds he seemingly stopped resisting and stood normally, looking directly at the other humans.

"What a useful tool," said a voice, 311 and Timber speaking in unison as they looked over.

"What have you done?" Aurora asked, still confused by all she had just seen.

"Nothing at all," 311 replied. "Magic did it all for me. But with both of us, and the power of the crystals on our side, I can complete the revenge I began all those decades ago. Mark my words, both of you! These lands shall be changed forever! By the time the sun rises on the next day this land shall be red- red with the blood of humanity!"

As she and Timber left, the walls of the chamber began to collapse. Rocks fell in and blocked the only escape routes out of the chamber, leaving the couple utterly trapped.

"How are we going to get out?" Aurora asked. "Can we cut our way out?"

"Not with these tools," Isaac replied. "The boulders are too heavy."

Aurora then had an idea. "But I think the emergency sequence on my phone can get through the rock! I'll try that!" She took out her phone and pushed the main button twice, which in turn caused it to start broadcasting a distress signal that could be picked up on local devices.

What felt like an hour passed. "Never thought I'd be in a cave in," Isaac said.

"Stay calm," Aurora replied. "I have no doubt the emrgency services are racing to our location as we speak!"

Suddenly, there was a series of loud bangs, and the rocks on one side of the cavern started to fall away, as if being pulled back by some unseen force.

"See?" Aurora smiled. "All it takes is a bit of faith."

Eventually, enough rocks had been pulled free for them to step outside, and step outside they did, drinking in the air as if it was soup.

"Good thing we found you," said Lord Haven. "We got your distress beacon and alerted rescue forces."

"But how did you get stuck in there?" Lady Haven asked.

"Doesn't matter," Isaac said. "We have to get to Strasburg, and fast. They're in danger."

Author's Note

Clinchfield 311 was a real locomotive, albeit very different to the one presented in the lore developed by KaneFan701. The historic locomotive was a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1909. The original character is instead a 4-8-2 (and a reskin of an SLSF T-54 to be precise). For this story, I have blended elements of both narratives.

I am also aware that using Timber Spruce as an antagonist was an unusual change, but his behaviour in the film suggests a person who would be prepared to go to extremes in order to achieve his goals (as demonstrated by his ghost story and his tactics during the film's concluding battle).

On the topic of battle, ready yourself for the climax, which is coming soon.

I'll be gone 500 Miles

By the time they had arrived back into Strasburg, it was clear something had changed. For one, the sky had changed quite noticably, moving away from a previous hue of blue and towards a distinct shade of grey, with a thick wall of fog floating in the way and making seeing rather difficult.

"Quite the fog, this?" Isaac commented, as they returned to town.

"I know," Lady Haven said. "What is confusing is how suddenly it rolled in. One moment the sky was perfectly blue, the next it was simply grey with all this fog, which is quite annoying. I can only hope the others are having more luck than we are."

As they arrived in the town square, they encountered the others, standing in a circle and looking around. "That was quite something," Argyle commented. "An army of ghosts? Never thought I'd face one of those."

"Good thing they were vulnerable to being read boring books," Goldie commented. "I would never have thought to try that."

"I have to admit using force against intangible objects didn't exactly seem a logical solution, given the physical objects would probably pass clean through them."

"True."

Suddenly, a fresh wave began to close in. "Ready yourselves!" Lord Haven called, as he grabbed a nearby tennis ball and threw it at the ghost.

Unfortunately, it went through it, but the ghost was moved backwards by the impact. "Interesting," Lady Haven mused. "They seem to be driven back by tennis balls."

This in turn gave her an idea. As a fresh line of ghosts closed in, she somehow produced a large tennis ball launcher, of the sort you would find in a sports facility, and set it up. With a click of a button, the device began to spin and lob tennis balls at the enemy, driving them back under a concentrated volume of fire.

And with that, the ghost threat seemed to be over. Aurora glanced about, and then began to speak. "Everybody, we've got a serious problem on our hands."

"Then tell us, please," Goldie said. "It's quite likely our kids will need to listen too."

And so, Aurora recounted all that she had seen in the cave. She made sure to leave no details out. By the time she was finished telling the story, all concerned looked very worried.

"I never thought we'd end up in a scenario like this," Zipp said. "We've gone from looking for crystals to battling ghost trains. Whatever next?"

Pipp sighed. "So much for a relaxing period of time out here. Why does this stuff seem to keep following us?"

"And more importantly, how are we supposed to beat something like that?" Hitch asked, looking very concerned indeed. "This is a threat unlike any we've ever faced before. At least our previous foes had some tangible element to them. How are we supposed to bring down something that has no physical form?"

Sunny looked over to him. "But we have to succeed. And we have to succeed tonight. Because if we don't... then we may never be able to stop her."

Later on, Sunny went over the plan she had concocted in her head. She told it to the others, informing them of where they needed to be and when in order to intercept the target.

"Seems risky," Misty said. "The plan does require a lot to go right in one go. Are you sure this is going to work?"

"It has to," Sunny replied. "If it doesn't, then we're doomed."

"We're doomed!" said an inexplicable Scottish voice in the background.

"Now's probably not the time for pop culture references," Hitch said. "I know it's risky, but considering the alternatives on offer we have to try. I'm with you, Sunny."

"And me," Pipp said. "As long as we're together, there's no hill we won't climb. Well, possibly Mount Everest, but that's possibly not too good an example. But still, we'll be in this together."

Sunny nodded. "Thanks, guys."

"No problem," Zipp said. "Looking at the time we should be getting our engines set up and moved into position. Let's go."

Sure enough, they each left their positions and headed off to the engine depot, where the engines currently sat, fully steamed up by the depot crew and ready to go. One by one, they boarded their locomotives and moved them out of the facility to their assigned points.

They all knew the stakes of this particular operation. If this didn't work, the entirety of humanity was potentially doomed.

They would either bring down 311... or they would die trying.

Night fell, and Hitch glanced back down the platform at Strasburg to see if anything had happened. "Any word yet?" he asked Izzy.

"No, nothing yet," Izzy said. "But I'll keep an eye out."

The silence was profound, everywhere, unable to be penetrated and yet absent at the same time. The fog severely reduced visibility, and the sky was jet black, with no moon to guide them. The only light available was from artificial sources, taken from either the station lights or the engines themselves.

And then one of those light sources was lost. The station lights began to flicker, and then abruptly died, leaving them in almost pitch blackness.

"Who turned out the lights?" Denver asked.

Suddenly, there was loud laughter from behind them.

"I think we're about to find out," Hitch said, grimly.

As he said those words, a black shape began to form in on the ground and on the rails. The black smoke began to coalesce, until it formed together into the framework of an engine, its lame glowing a sickly white and punching through the gloom.

"It's her!" said Denver.

"So, it is," Marilyn said grimly, noting that the crews were joining the footplate.

311 laughed, her voice distorted and dripping with some form of unrestrained glee. "So, my prey deliver themselves to me! Well, this should only make hunting you down more entertaining. Come, Timber! Let us destroy them!"

"Yes, we shall!" Timber replied, who was on the footplate. In an instant, the exhaust from 311 began to boom as she moved forward.

"GO, GO, GO!" Denver shouted, as he moved forward onto the main. Marilyn followed him seconds later, and joined the line, staying away from the ghost as best she could.

They thundered down the line as fast as they safely could, with the ghost still behind them. "Running away won't save you from the inevitable!" 311 shouted.

"KEEP AWAY!" Marilyn shouted back, knowing they would soon be at the next major point. Sure enough, she and Denver rattled into the loop, and without a word Mastodon and Sherman moved off.

"Fresh prey!" Timber laughed. "Shall we harvest their souls instead?" Any trace of the former man was gone, and the ghostly spirit corrupting him was in complete control.

The two engines in front lumbered along at speed, barely able to keep ahead of the ghost. "I wasn't designed to go this fast!" Sherman said.

"Well shut up and keep moving!" Mastodon replied. "We'll be scrap metal if we don't!"

They thundered along as fast as their wheels would carry them. Although 311 could easily have caught up, she held her distance, almost as if she was playing with them.

At another set of points up ahead, the two engines were switched off the line, and the switch changed back. At the next switch, there was another whistle, and Valentina moved off. Inside were Sunny and Goldie.

"Here goes nothing," Sunny said, as they moved off in front of the ghost. "Hopefully 311 has no clue what's coming next."

"We'll be in a right mess if this doesn't work," Valentina said quickly.

Goldie looked back. "She's closing fast!" she called.

"YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!" 311 boomed. "YOU SHALL ALL SUFFER AS I DID ALL THOSE YEARS AGO! I SHALL DRAG YOUR SOULS INTO THE FIERY PIT AND PUNISH ALL OF YOU!"

Sunny rolled her eyes. "Who brought the insane ramblings to this engine?"

Sure enough, they thundered along, and suddenly something changed as they rounded a bend. Sitting at the lineside was a heavy anti-tank gun. The other adults were helping with range finding, and Lord Haven was at the controls.

"Target's coming into range!" Isaac called.

Argyle looked up. "Steady... steady... FIRE!"

The gun jerked backwards, the explosive shell flying out of the barrel and towards 311.

But it passed clean through and out the other side.

"Shot did not connect. Repeat, shot did not connect."

Sunny looked back. "Oh no."

"YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL A DEMON?" 311 boomed, as she suddenly vanished.

Valentina shouted back. "BRAKES!"

Sunny looked forward, and 311 had suddenly appeared in front of them! There was a loud bang, and suddenly the engine was leaving the rails!

"HOLD ON!" Sunny called.

Sure enough, Valentina tumbled down the embankment, and both people onboard jumped out and landed on the ground, watching as the engine slammed into the land at the bottom on her side.

Sunny was slammed into the ground, and shook her head as she landed. Through her hazed state, a familiar figure seemed to be walking towards her.

Nobody Knew how she Made it Come True

"How funny," said the voice, presumably coming from whomever was speaking. "Fancy finding yourself in the dirt... figuratively and literally speaking. But why should I not be surprised. This road led you here, Sunny."

Sunny slowly pushed herself up. "Opaline... how?"

"Not how, why," Opaline replied. "This path you've been following has led to nothing but your own destruction, Sunny. I'm your inner voice. I'm here because of what you have done."

Sunny looked confused. "You did this?"

Opaline indicated to the landscape. "No, you did. Your plan caused this disaster. But you have a history of causing mayhem wherever you go."

Sunny blinked as her eyes glowed, and suddenly memories flashed before her eyes.

Stealing the crown from Pipp.

The chaos in Falmouth during the battle against Sprout, and again during her rampage only a few weeks prior.

The nightmares she'd been suffering.

Attacking her own mother that fateful night in their home.

And the derailment just now.

"No..." Sunny whispered.

Opaline leaned in. "You're no hero. Your talents lie elsewhere. I'm here, Sunny, because you won't accept what you've done. It broke you. You needed something to blame, so you chose me... the one who had only tried to save you."

"You did NOTHING to save me!" Sunny said. "You made me do those things!"

"I didn't make you steal, Sunny," Opaline smiled. "You did that of your own volition."

Sunny had no response. She knew Opaline was right about that one. A confused, gargling noise came out of her throat.

Opaline stepped closer and pulled Sunny's face up to look into hers. "I'm going to make this simple. You either accept who you truly are- a monster who ruins the lives of others- or I end this, right here, right now."

Sunny's eyed widened in fear. "What?"

"Stop saying what," Opaline said, as her arm began to glow with mysterious energy. "I'm going to count to five. Make your choice, Sunny. One!"

Sunny quietly whimpered at what was being presented to her.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Opaline smiled. "Two!"

Sunny coughed. "This was out of my control!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Sunny," Opaline said. "Three!"

Sunny closed her eyes. "I never wanted to hurt anybody... please, just let me go!"

"Nobody ever wants to hurt anybody else, Sunny," Opaline smiled, her eyes glowing with intense power. "Four!"

Sunny was terrified. Not just terrified at what Opaline was planning on doing to her, but at what she had become. She knew, deep down, there was no way back from what she had done. She should face justice for her actions? But from a madwoman who wasn't exactly a saint? That just somehow felt wrong.

The silence was deafening in the crash scene, as Opaline looked intently at Sunny. Not that she could see this, of course. Sunny's eyelids were jammed shut, and she couldn't see this as a result.

"Is this really your choice, Sunny?" she asked.

There was no reply. Sunny opened her eyes to see the blade inches from her throat.

"Very well." Opaline drew her arm back. "Fi-!"

Before she could swing, a voice cut through the darkness.

"Don't listen to her, Sunny!"

Opaline drew her arm back, and looked around, dropping Sunny in the process. "What?"

Standing there as ghostly figures were Izzy, Hitch, Pipp, Zipp, and Misty.

"You're our friend, Sunny!" Pipp shouted. "You're the ray of light in our lives! Our lives were changed forever by meeting you!"

"Show her what you've got, Sunny!" Hitch called. "You'll always be our shining hope!"

"You got this, Sunny!" Zipp called. "When things seemed hopeless you always encouraged us to keep going! If we give up now, we may have no hope for tomorrow!"

"Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Izzy added. "You're more than a friend to me, Sunny... you're the closest thing I have to a sister."

Misty was the last to speak. "I was once lost, and hopeless, and couldn't find a way out of the darkness. Things might seem hopeless, but they aren't always what they seem. You inspired me to break free and find my own destiny, and it's now time for me to inspire you! There is nothing that we cannot do, as our faith in each other can move mountains!"

Opaline growled. "SHUT UP! They are nothing! You are nothing! YOU ARE NOTHING!"

Sunny rose to her feet, feeling a new energy flowing through her. She looked at Opaline as her wings flared into being, and the energies surrounded her arms. "No. I am not nothing. My name is Sunny Starscout! I don't know how or why, but the magic chose me for a very special purpose and gave me a second chance. I fight to protect those I love, and to bring about a better world!"

She stepped towards Opaline. "A man chooses, a monster orders. That's a difference between a leader and a tyrant like you! Evil cannot stand when we are united, and my duty is to keep the world safe. So I have only one thing to say to you."

Her hands began to glow, and she lifted them. "GET... OUT... OF... MY... HEAD!"

Two blasts of energy flew from her hands, and in an instant Opaline vanished. All around her, the light shifted, and suddenly she was at the crash site.

She looked over, and in an instant saw her mother, who had risen to her feet and grabbed a baseball bat.

A loud voice boomed from the ghostly form of Clinchfield 311, who looked even more monstrous than before. "I see we meet again, Goldie!" the engine laughed. "And now I can take not just you but the magic wielding grub as well!"

Goldie steeled her eyes and glared the engine down. "Get away from her you bitch!"

311 snorted in derision. "Quite the tongue you have. It'll go nicely in my collection alongside your daughter's corpse!" She laughed. "Timber! Deal with them!"

Timber Spruce, still powered up, leaped forward and swung forward-

Only for Sunny to leap in the way and parry the blow with energy from her arm. "You keep away. You can mess with me, but you don't mess with my family."

"I shall finish you off and save this land!" Timber boomed, as he jumped backwards.

Sunny followed, her attacks quickly landing on him. She took to the air and dived down towards Timber, preparing a blow, but he raised his arm to parry. Both of them wildly traded blows one after the other, neither moving an inch.

Timber swung a punch forward, but Sunny grabbed it and swung him over, causing him to land on the ground. He leaped out of the way as she fired off a shot, then lunged in for a blow. He landed a blast that threw Sunny backwards, but she leaped forward with her wings and slammed into the ground, throwing him backwards.

He brought his arm up to block, but Sunny quickly began pummelling him with blows, knocking him backwards each and every time.

Suddenly, voices were audible from a hill. "GO ON SUNNY!" Zipp shouted. "KICK HIS ASS!"

Sunny sent him flying through the air, then dived down on Timber's position, her fist ready, but he countered and sent her flying backwards. Sunny quickly recovered, and then had an idea. "This isn't working!"

Suddenly, her arms began to surge with energy. "This might work!" she said, and focused. To her surprise, nothing came out of her arms. Instead, she felt something flowing into them. "Wait, what?"

Energy appeared to be moving out of Timber and into her, which caught her by surprise. Timber was slowly being depowered, his former appearance shifting out of the transformed form he had been given. He closed in one more, and swung forward, knocking Sunny back, but then collapsed to the floor, his old appearance returned to him.

There was a voice from behind her. "NO! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"

Sunny swung round. "A power you will never understand. The power of friendship! I have no stomach for those like you, who only seek evil and to harm others! And the magic you refuse to believe in will get the better of you!"

"JUST LIGHT HER UP ALREADY!" Hitch shouted.

Sunny nodded. "Yes, sir!" Her arms lit up, fuelled with all the extra magic she had absorbed, and blasted it straight at the demonic engine.

311 howled as her form was broken apart and weakened. Before long, she had been reduced to nothing but smoke and dust, a whisp floating away into the darkness. "I shall return one day, Sunny! And you shall be unable to stop me!"

Sunny looked at her. "I shall be ready for that day."

As the ghost vanished, Sunny felt herself powering down, and she dropped to one knee. "Wow. I'd forgotten how exhausting that can be."

"Sunny, are you alright?" called a voice. Sunny glanced up to see Goldie running over.

Sunny smiled. "I'm fine."

"You were incredible, dear," Goldie smiled.

"You did a great job, too," Sunny said. "You were about to take on 311 with a baseball bat! I doubt I could have done that."

Suddenly, there was coughing from nearby, and Timber Spruce got to his feet. "Where am I?"

The next morning, Valentina was succesfully recovered. It turned out she had survived the crash largely undamaged, but was still being taken to Scranton to be checked over before being returned to service. The other engines had gathered in the yard at Strasburg to learn what was to come next.

Timber Spruce was very apologetic. "I'm so sorry, everyone," he said sadly. "I just wanted to save the railroad, but 311 tricked me into doing her bidding. I can only hope you can forgive me."

"Of course we can!" Gloriosa said, keen to get her brother back on side. "But I hope this teaches all of us a very important lesson- that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

"And now the railroad is lost," Timber said sadly.

"Wait, what?" Sherman asked.

"Yeah, some context needed," Marilyn said. "I thought we were doing fine here!"

Gloriosa sighed sadly. "We fell behind on our payments for the land, which belongs to that Hoffman guy. Unless we can raise several thousand dollars by the end of the month, he'll be free to rip the line up and replace it."

"And where exactly are we going to get several thousand dollars from?" Denver asked.

Just then, Mastodon seemingly had a brainwave. "How about a fundraiser?" he suggested. "This line used to hold railfest periodically, a big event which usually drew in huge crowds. How about we put one on?"

"And host guest engines as well?" Denver asked. "Where are we going to get guest engines from at this short notice?"

"We already have Marilyn and Jennifer here," Pipp pointed out. "Both of these engines are enormous crowd pullers, and I've heard rumours that the Living Legend will be running through here as well."

"Zachary?" Marilyn said. "Who would want him around here? A Union Pacific engine, no less?"

"He's a big crowd puller," Gloriosa pointed out. "Any chance we could get Cheyenne as well?"

Timber looked over. "I'll get Ed Dickens on the phone. Laramie's two time zones over, right?"

Gloriosa looked to the assembled drivers. "Look, I know this is a lot to ask of you at very short notice, considering the events that have transpired over the last few days. But please, I'm asking- will you help us."

Sunny looked at her friends. "What do you say, guys?" she said.

"We're in!" Zipp said, confidently. "Now let's save a railroad!"

Timber did better than his word, such was his determination to make up for the chaos he had inadvertently caused. He was able to secure Zachary and Cheyenne- and, to everybody's surprise, Challenger. As a result, the event marked the first ever time all three Union Pacific heritage locos had run together.

The existing engines were also kept busy on an extremely intensive timetable, with the true surprise being yet another visitor- an articulated engine from Maryland as well! Sure enough, there was an enormous operating fleet for Railfest, and the sheer size of the event was, I am happy to report, matched in attendance.

It was, put simply, the busiest event the railroad had ever put on. Trains were packed, and some parts of the trains were standing room only.

Later that week, there was even more good news. Goldie's work had born fruit, and they had been able to secure a donation from not just Pete Waterman, the music mogul and railway enthusiast, but from many others who were involved in railways (and had similarly large bank accounts). Donations came in from legends such as Rod Stewart, Tom Hanks, and Jools Holland, all of which contributed to the line greatly.

On the final day of the Railfest, the railroad hosted a special event in one of the old freight buildings, which had been decked out for a formal party, with everybody in attendance.

Gloriosa stepped out onto the stage with a happy smile to address the attendees. "Good evening, everybody!" she called.

The crowd called back in response.

"Thank you all for attending the busiest event in the history of the Strasburg Railroad," she said. "Now then, we've had untold numbers of visitors and locos running here, and I've never seen the local area so busy! Many local businesses are reporting dramatic spikes in business, so contrary to what some people seem to think we are a vital asset to the local community."

There was a round of laughter at that.

"But the best news is yet to arrive," Gloriosa continued. "We have seen money rolling in, and donations from all across the world to keep the dream of steam preservation in Lancaster County alive. I am proud to reveal that we have raised enough money to save the Line! We now own the trackbed outright, and with that secured we are safe for generations to come!"

The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.

"And to mark this event, I think it's only fair that we celebrate. Six young engineers have helped this line survive, and I would like to pay tribute to them now. In no particular order, please welcome to the floor- Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Misty Brightdawn, Hitch Trailblazer, and last, but most certainly not least, Zipp Storm!"

The crowd continued applauding as the six figures took the floor. "Thank you, everybody!" Sunny said, as she picked up a microphone. "It's been a challenging few days for all of us, but if this event indicates anything it shows the sheer power of community spirit. What is a community but one big family? All of you came together and made this possible, and together you guys helped us save this piece of our cultural heritage. And so, as Gloriosa said, let's let our hair down and dance the night away!"

Suddenly, a techno funk backing began to play.

"Positions!"

Izzy looked around. "Oh, what was I meant to do again?"

"Just follow Sunny's lead!" Hitch said.

Sunny led off.

"Somebody give me a shimmy/
Somebody give me a shake!
Give me a twist and shout/
And just feel the bass-"

Before Pipp hoined her on harmony vocals.

"Hey, hey!"

Pipp then took over on lead vocals.

"Come on and let your hair down/
Yeah, buddy, play!"

Before Izzy then took over lead vocal responsibilities.

"You gotta show me/
How you work it today!"

Before they all joined in collectively.

"Dance, feel the rhythm/
Everybody's got the moves! (Show it to me!)
Dance, feel the rhythm/
Everypony feel the groove!" (Ow!)

"That doesn't quite rhyme," Misty whispered.

"Close enough!" Pipp said. "I wrote this in about 30 minutes."

Then they all sang together.

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh!"

"Shake it, shake it, shake it!" Hitch called.

Sunny took over vocals once more.

"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your dancing moves!"

"These lyrics are garbage," Hitch muttered under his breath. The pattern then repeated.

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh!"

"Shake it, shake it, shake it!"

"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your dancing moves!"

The mic then switched over to Izzy, who was more than happy to have solo responsibilities.

"Somepony give me a whistle!"

Pipp then joined in on backing vocals.

"Somepony give me a clap!"

Hitch then took over, the voices bouncing around.

"Give me that rockin' out/
And never look back!" (Uh-huh!)

Sunny was then back on lead vocals.

"You gotta let your hair down/
Yeah, let it sway, yeah!" (Let it sway!)

Hitch then took over once more.

"You gotta show me/
How you're slayin' today!"

Before they all came in together.

"Dance, feel the rhythm/ (Yeah!)
Everypony's got the moves!
Dance, feel the rhythm/
Everypony move your hooves!" (Ow!)

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh!"

"Shake it, shake it, shake it!" Izzy interjected.

Once more they were all singing together.

"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your groovy moves!
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh/
Shake it, shake it, shake it!"

Sunny returned to solo vocals for the final time.

"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your dancin' moves!"

Before they all came in together for the final part.

"Dance, feel the rhythm
Everybody's got the moves (Ohhhh, yeah!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everybody move your groove!"

Goldie spotted her daughter heading outside, and placed her drink down. "Excuse me a moment." She adjusted the hem of her dress and headed outdoors.

Suddenly a voice accosted her. "How? This place was meant to be mine! Curse those meddling kids!"

It was Hoffman. Goldie turned to him and gave him a wry smile. "Terribly sorry, sir, but I don't think you're on the guest list. You can't always get what you want."

"First the slap and now this! I shall call a lawyer!"

"Call them what? They don't take kindly to names, you know." With nothing else to say, Goldie made her way outdoors.

She stepped outdoors and saw Sunny looking up at the stars. "Pretty, isn't it?" Sunny said.

Goldie leaned back on the wall and looked up as well. "Remarkable what was achieved, isn't it?"

"It was good to know the railroad was saved," Sunny admitted.

Goldie sighed. "You and your friends did something very brave- and I don't just mean topping 311. It takes a lot of guts to fight for what you believe in, and yet you pulled it off. I've never been more proud to call you my daughter."

Sunny smiled, and mother and daughter entered into an embrace. "Thanks mom," Sunny whispered.

Argyle joined them moments later. "Stargazing, are we?" he said. "In a sense, the vastness of space reflects who we are- beings with unlimited potential. No matter what comes our way, we face it together- as friends, and as a family."

Goldie smiled and looked back to her husband. "On that topic, the night is young. Shall we go back inside?"

"You may have this dance, my dear," Argyle smiled.

As stories flowed and people celebrated, the world momentarily forgot the challenges of the way ahead. The Falmouth team would encounter tough challenges on the road ahead, and things would not always seem easy to navigate.

But no matter what came their way, they would face it together.

Author's Note

Well, he we are, another story over. The core narrative themes have come to a head here; Sunny's internal monologue is inspired by a scene in the 2012 game Spec Ops: the Line (which was, sadly, recently delisted from digital marketplaces; if you're interested in seeing what the game looks like I have recorded the entire game and uploaded it to my YouTube channel). I also snuck some other references in there as well; see if you can spot them.

The battle scene is loosely inspired by one from the 2023 film Knights of the Zodiac. The final portion closely follows the plot of Legend of Everfree.

Railfest is a major event held by the Strasburg Railroad every year, usually each September. An enormous event that often sees visiting engines, it is the closest that US tourist lines get to a conventional steam gala, often coupled with an intensive timetable.

Although our heroes have now reasserted themselves in the face of adversity, their story is not over yet. Keep an eye out for the next story coming very soon.

Concluding Credits

Voice cast-in Order of Appearance

Melissa McCarthy - Clinchfield 311
Vanessa Hudgens - Sunny Starscout
Tara Strong - Goldie Starshine
Athena Karkanis - Opaline, additional voices
Kimiko Glenn - Izzy Moonbow
Michael McKean - Argyle Starshine
Liza Koshy - Zipp Storm
Richard E Grant - Lord Haven
Sofia Carson - Pipp Petals
Steve Blum - Isaac Moonbow
James Marsden - Hitch Trailblazer
Bahia Watson - Misty Brightdawn
Enid Ray-Adams - Gloriosa Daisy
Brian Doe - Timber Spruce
Chloe Moretz - Valentina
Michael Rooker - Mastodon
Robert Duvall - Denver
John Tuturro - Sherman
Amy Adams - Jennifer
Jody Benson - Marilyn
Felicia Day - Aurora Dawn
Jane Krakowski - Lady Haven
Costas Mandylor - Jack Hoffman
Rebecca Shoichet - Goldie Starshine (singing voice)

Mark Acheson, Johnathan Tan, Amanda Martinez - Additional Voices

"Such power," said a voice, as a man sat in a chair, consulting a screen. "Clearly there's more power in magical artefacts than I had thought. If I'm going to have a chance to take my place in the annals of history, I will need all the power I can get."

He punched a button. "Allura? Ready your men and prepare to deploy. We have a dig to do."

He looked back to a photo, and pushed it aside. "Soon, it shall be mine. You may have been the favourite of us, but I'll be the one who's laughing."

And introducing Henry Shields as Jeremiah Jobling.