Thomas and Friends: Christmas Adventures

Chapters

Snacks and Surprises
Sunny, Salty, and the Magic Cookies
Misty and the Missing Trucks
The Lost Decorations
Sophie and the Missing Christmas Tree
It's a Wonderful Life
Intro
It's Snow Joke!
Credits

Snacks and Surprises

Bad weather had affected the Falmouth area quite badly. The snow was falling thicker than before, and this meant some roads were blocked. As a result, the only way to get supplies and people through was by rail. This meant that several engines that normally wouldn't have been used for this sort of task were being put into service. After all, the supplies had to be kept moving or people would shiver, and nobody wanted that. Well, maybe some people did, but their opinions are automatically invalid because of such a view.

One bright snowy morning, Porter was being prepared for work on one such supply train. He didn't seem hugely happy. "I don't like snow," he said. "It's such a nuisance! All this cold and slippery track, and the terrain being covered in white stuff that reflects the sun! It's a miracle nobody is having vision problems!"

Izzy stepped round the side, clad in a considerable number of layers for the weather, as was appropriate. "There's worse things in the world than a snowy day," she smiled. "A very hot day, for one. Remember that time when Zipp was trying to pursuade everybody to go to the beach and there was a surge in the cases of heat stroke as a result?"

"There was also a steam ban if I recall correctly," Porter added, as he simmered in the shed. "It got really boring just watching the diesels do everything."

"Besides, I think snow is wonderful."

Porter grunted. "Ever considered the possibility that you're wrong?"

Izzy paid this no heed. She knew Porter could be very upfront with his opinions, and didn't let it bother her.

The pair had a lot of work to complete up and down the line, and this meant passing the same landmarks numerous times in the space of a few hours. In a field next to the line, a group of children were building an enormous snowman as part of the Penmere Snowman Competition. As they passed by, the snowman became taller and taller, until when it was complete it towered over everything else in the area. It looked very good, especially when complemented by a top hat and a scarf.

"Hopefully there's no magic in the had they found," Izzy observed.

"I think if it was dancing around we'd have noticed by now," Porter replied. "Not to mention it would be leading them through the streets of town. How would Hitch write that one up?"

At last, the work was done, and Izzy handed Porter over to the depot crew for cleaning and disposal. She headed back home for the day, but when she stepped through the door Aurora was waiting for her. "Hey Izzy!" she said.

"Hi mom!" Izzy replied, as she closed the door behind her. "Boy did we have a wild day!"

"We haven't," Aurora admitted. "We've been trying to get the pipes fixed as they burst from all the frozen water. But the plumber can't get here for a bit, so I'm afraid it'll be microwaved food tonight."

"That's OK," Izzy replied, before spotting a letter addressed to her. "A letter? I haven't received a letter in a very long time!"

The letter stated Open before Christmas, so Izzy did, and took a look inside. The contents of the letter surprised her.

Gathered friends,

The time hath cometh to participate in a Secret Santa exchange. Containeth in this letter is the message that revealeth your gift exchange partnereth. These names hath been drawn at random from the hat, to ensure maximum randomness. Now you may checketh what person your were pickedeth.

Izzy glanced down to see she had been allocated Pipp, of all people. "How is this meant to work? She lives over 140 miles away!"

Now beeth not the time to complaineth, the letter continued, almost as if it knew she would complain. Now go, and acquireth a present for them. You may not spend more than Five Pounds, and the gift must reach them by the 22nd December. The mission awaiteth thee.

Secret Santa.

Izzy blinked. "That was weird. And that's saying something coming from me."

Just then, her phone buzzed with a text calling for a conference call. "Sorry mom! Gotta go!"

Izzy dashed up to her room and fired up her computer before signing into Zoom and clicking on her friend group. They each filtered in one by one.

"Did you guys all get a strange letter written in really bad English?" Pipp asked.

"Yeah," Hitch said. "I think it was supposed to be pigeon Shakespearean English, but the rhyming was all off. Grandma Figgy really tore it apart on that front."

"I did too!" Izzy said. "This is probably going to be quite challenging for those of us who have gift buddies who live far away."

"Statistically that'll be several of us," Zipp pointed out. "Three of you are over there and three are over here."

"Fair point," Misty noted. "Not that I'm saying who I got."

"That's rather the idea," Sunny said. "Still, we've faced challenges before and overcome them. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail, nor gloom of night shall keep us from delivering our presents to our friends!”

There was a sigh from Zipp. "You have way more faith in Royal Mail than I do, Sunny."

Suddenly, Izzy's phone buzzed again, and she checked it quickly. To her surprise, it was from the yardmaster.

Shipment of trucks was misplaced. Coal ended up in wrong place. You and Porter need to move it; no other engine available. Proceed bunker first owing to weather.

"Sorry, gotta go!" Izzy said. "Emergency delivery of some sort!"

The others said their goodbyes as Izzy signed out and headed back to the shed.

Sure enough, Porter was still in steam, and pretty bitter about the cold. "It's very cold," he said simply. "I wonder whose coal it was we were meant to be delivering?"

"I don't know," Izzy said. "But one more run and we'll be home and dry."

The run to take the coal went without issue, but on the return trip things soon went from bad to worse. The weather had become even colder, and near Penmere the points on the mainline had frozen to the siding. Porter knew something was wrong when he lurched to one side and saw the buffers approaching at speed. "Look out!" he shouted.

"Is there a problem?" Izzy asked, before seeing what was going on. She, quite wise, decided to jump as Porter crashed through the buffers, into the field, and into the snowman, producing a steam engine sized hole in it.

Porter was annoyed. "Well, apart from the fact I'm off the rails, and the buffers are gone, and the points are frozen, and this snowman is here, and I'm in it, I'd say there isn't a problem. Now can you get this snow off my eyelids?"

Izzy stepped forward, before noticing a bigger problem. "The snow should fall away," she said. "But the heat from your boiler is melting the snowman!"

"Oh goody," Porter said sarcastically.

"Look on the bright side," Izzy said. "You got your teeth whitened free of charge!"

Unfortunately, help would be a long time coming. There had been a derailment at Newton Abbot earlier in the day, and the crane was there. It was very dark when Salty arrived to tow Porter out. Temporary rails were laid to allow Porter back onto the siding, and with a series of pulls Porter was back in place.

"There you go!" Salty smiled.

"Thanks for getting us out of that one," Porter said.

"Well, you got me out of similar tight spots, so how about we call it even?" the diesel replied.

"I'm not so sure the children will agree with you," Sunny said. "Their snowman has been turned into a slushman!"

And she was right. All the heat from Porter's boiler had completely melted the snowman away.

It was then that Izzy had an idea. "How about you, me, and Hitch build them a new one?" she suggested.

"Wait, what?" Porter asked.

"That's a lovely idea!" Sunny said. "I'll call Hitch and ask if he's available."

Sure enough, Hitch arrived, and the three got to work on putting a new snowman together.

"Gotta work, work, work!" Hitch called. "We've got a lot to do!"

Izzy was rolling an enormous base for the snowman with a tractor. "Hey, I don't mind the work. I get to work with you!"

Before long, the base was ready, and the central section was soon ready. With the help of Harvey, it was craned into position, and without much time at all the head was ready. Izzy climbed the ladder and placed the head, complete with top hat, into place.

"Well done everybody!" Goldie called. "Those children will be very happy!"

"Glad to serve, Mrs Starshine!" Hitch said.

"Do you mind if we pop over to your house Sunny?" Izzy asked.

"Of course not!" Sunny replied. "I'll make some cocoa!"

Porter smiled at the scene. It seemed he, at last, had the Christmas spirit.

Author's Note

This story combines the basic plotlines of the Thomas and Friends episode Snow Engine with the Tell your Tale short Secret Canter. There are also a few Top Gear references sprinkled in there for you to spot.

The crash itself is partly inspired by the Lichfield Trent Valley incident, where frozen points and jammed point rodding resulted in a false alert in the signal box that the points had cleared. As a result, a freight train collided with a passenger train sitting in the platform. This incident also partly inspired the Railway Series story The Flying Kipper; Awdry combined it with the Abbot's Ripton crash of 1876 in the finished product.

It is very common in some writing to use mock Shakespearian English to make it sound old and profound. TV Tropes dubes this Ye Olde Butcherde Englishe, as often it sticks random Es on the ends of words and uses the 'eth' suffix incorrectly. One example in my portion of the United States is Ye Olde Englishe Village Inne, which as an expat Brit is a tad annoying.

Sunny, Salty, and the Magic Cookies

If, by any chance, you see Salty the dockside diesel on his way along the Falmouth Branch and making a rare run away from Falmouth docks, you will see him running towards the small harbour at Newham. This community was the old site of Truro, and where the town's first railway station was located.

However, the goods he is delivering aren't going there. These goods are being delivered to a small village called Calmenick, which sits alongside the line. This small community suffers from poor road access, as many towns in Cornwall do, and as a result the railway has become something of a local lifeline for the community. Safe to say the locals are always glad to see a train of wagons, full of supplies for them. And these supplies were vitally important considering the recent snowfall. It was so severe that snowblowers had been brought down from Scotland to help.

One morning, Sunny was up bright and early. She was busy baking cookies for her friends, but it wasn't going very well. The countertop looked a mess, and something clearly wasn't right.

Argyle wandered in, yawning as he did so. "Morning, Sunny. How are- good grief. What happened here?"

Sunny turned around, some batter and a bit of icing on her face. "This is not going at all well."

Goldie then arrived, having just powered up her phone. Upon seeing her daughter she suppressed a chortle. "Morning, Sunny! Are we playing at being clowns?"

"I'm trying to make my friends' favourite cookies for Christmas!" Sunny replied. "But they didn't supply me with any recipes so I'm kinda having to wing it and guess what might be in them. I mean, who eats key lime at this time of year?"

"People in Key West?" Goldie suggested.

"Apart from them," Sunny answered. "It also seems Pipp and Zipp really like stuff that mixes peanut butter and bananas for some unfathomable reason-"

"MY BANANAS!" said a voice outside.

"That wasn't funny in January and it isn't funny now." Sunny sighed. "Or a marshmallow citrus crumble. This is hopeless."

Argyle put his hand on her shoulder. "Sunny, I know how much your friends mean to you, but there's more this time of year than baked goods and confectionary. Come to think of it I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I know they'll understand."

That last word gave Sunny an idea. "Thanks dad." She grabbed a cloth and some other things. "Anybody want to help me clean up?"

Later that day, Sunny set off into the snow and arrived at Grandma Figgy's house. It was a nice bungalow set in a community away from the railway line. Sunny stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Grandma Figgy answered it. "Hello, Sunny. How can I help you?"

Sunny smiled awkwardly. "I was wondering if I could borrow the recipe for the marshammlow citrus crumble cookies Hitch likes?"

Grandma Figgy looked back. "Sunny, I can't just give you the recipe; it's a family secret!"

Sunny's face fell.

"No, don't look so sad. I can't give you the recipe... but I can show you how to bake them yourself!"

"You will?" Sunny said. "Thank you so much!"

After several hours of baking and trial and error, the duo had a batch ready to go. Well, it was Sunny doing most of the trial and error. She'd taken notes on her phone when Grandma Figgy wasn't looking as how to reproduce the recipe as made here.

Thankfully, acquiring the others had been a lot easier. She had also visited Isaac earlier in the day, and he had given her the recipe. Lady Haven had done the same, simply emailing it to her (the recipe made sense- it was fairly well known that neither Lord nor Lady Haven could cook, hence why they hired a cook).

Sunny had just gotten back in through the door with her victory when suddenly her phone buzzed. She raised it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Sunny? Ah, good, you're there. There's some post that we left behind by mistake that needs to be taken to Calmenick, so could you and Salty deliver it?"

"On my way!" Sunny put the things down and headed back out. The cookies could wait until later.

Before long, the pair were on their way up the track. "It's a cold one!" Salty said.

"You can say that again!" Sunny replied.

"It's a co-"

"Not literally."

Salty laughed. "Well, this reminds me of the old sea breezes. They'd often lash Southampton Docks something fierce! Good thing there are no branches to scape my light!"

As they arrived at Penwithers Junction, they were surprised to see the signal at red. The train came to a stop at the light, and Sunny leaned out of the cab. "What's going on?" she asked a track worker.

"There's been a snowslide on the Newham Branch," a worker explained. "There's a helicopter on its way from the Coast Guard, and Porter will be arriving with supplies from Truro shortly. You'd best get Salty fitted with a snowplough."

Later on, Porter arrived. His train was loaded with useful supplies. There was a coach for the workmen, a flatbed with a bulldozer on it, and several trucks loaded with warm supplies and clothes. "Hello Salty!" he said. "Didn't expect to be doing a rescue today!"

"Well, life can be like waves sometimes," Salty replied. "Unpredictable."

"Well, let's get these two trains joined, then we can be out of the cold."

The two formations were pushed together in no time, and the very odd cavalcade set off. As access to the runround loop at Newham war blocked, Porter remained on the back to pull the train back to Penwithers Junction, and Salty was leading down the branch. Once they had arrived at the blocked section of track, they saw the Coast Guard helicopter dropping supplies to the villagers.

"I hope none of the supplies hit the people!" Izzy said.

"Why would that happen?" Porter asked.

"I'm just referencing a goof, that's all."

Porter looked to the camera. "Sometimes it's best just not to ask."

Soon the bulldozer was also set to work, clearing the terrain with the heavy blade that moved the snow aside effortlessly. And Sunny got involved in helping to distribute the supplies to the villagers, who seemed very happy to see her.

"Well done, everybody!" called an important person. "We'll have the supplies to the general public in no time."

"You're the best Santa Claus the community has ever had!" said a child.

"What's a Santa Claus?" Porter asked.

"It's a film, isn't it?" Izzy asked.

Sunny glanced around. "I'll explain once the children are firmly out of earshot. But the quick version is he's a jolly old man who drops presents down chimneys."

"What if you have a bricked up fireplace?" Porter asked.

"That's a good point, actually," Sunny conceeded. "My best guess is he teleports inside the house."

That evening, Sunny got to work on baking the cookies. It did not entirely go to plan, as it turned out some details were either nonsensical or had been transcribed incorrectly.

And why did Isaac specify she had to throw things over her left shoulder? Wasn't that wasting flour?

This was all very strange. She eventually succeeded in making something that vaguely resembled the cookies, and then placed them in a tin so that they wouldn't be eaten. She then dropped off to bed.

The next morning, Sunny awoke to the sound of a brass band playing in the distance, and the sound of ringing things in the distance.

"It's Christmas Day?!" she exclaimed, and then checked her calender. "Oh. It's only the 22nd." She got out of bed and got ready for the day before heading outdoors to start the day.

What she found in the town centre amazed her. There was a massive Christmas Tree in the square, and the tree was decorated so brightly it produced its own light. Boxes and presents sat below the tree and looked very magnificent indeed.

"Where did all this come from?" she asked, in confusion.

Izzy looked excited. "Maybe it WAS Santa Claus!"

Just then, the familiar sound of a brass band started again, and the band appeared around the corner. And carolers, dressed in their finest Victorian clothes, came around the corner too. And a very important woman too. Sunny recognised her as the Mayor of Calmenick.

"We, the people of Calmenick," she said, "would like to thank Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Salty the Diesel, and Porter the Steam Engine, and the rescue personnel of the Coast Guard for their work in digging our village out of that snowdrift. Without you, we'd all be blocks of ice by now." She turned to the choir and brass band. "And a One, Two, Three, Four!"

Just then, the brass band launched into a familiar tune.

"For they are jolly good fellows, for they are jolly good fellow/
For they are jolly good fellows, and so say all of us!"

"I guess Christmas really did come early," Izzy said quietly.

Sunny, however, knew what this meant. And her heart beamed with pride.

Author's Note

This story combines elements from the Thomas and Friends episode Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure and the Tell your Tale short Foal Food. It also incorporates elements from a Thomas and Friends picture book depicting Thomas attempting to deliver toys to an orphanage and befalling various mishaps along the way.

Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure is well known in the fandom for it's American localisation, which clumsily attempted to turn it into a Thanksgiving story despite the Christmas trappings. The localisation had a number of disastrous effects, not least the fact the narration ends up very out of sync by the end.

Calmenick is a real village near Truro, and much like here is somewhat isolated. This is part of what produces the distinctly rugged Cornish character; used to a lack of communication, people often had to improvise. Unfortunately, this is what also produced the tendancy of other bits of England looking down their noses at Cornishmen.

The song sung at the end is 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow', with modified lyrics to fit the situation. The tune is French, and was first written down in the 1770s after Marie Antoinette heard one of her maids singing the melody. It entered British usage after it's use in Beethoven's composition Wellington's Victory (composed in 1813), and from there made its way to the United States.

In American singings, the last line is often changed to 'which nobody can deny', which doesn't quite scan.

Misty and the Missing Trucks

P. T. Boomer looked over Swanage from a nearby hill, his binoculars focusing in on the area below. The sheer amount of light produced from all the Christmas lights was blinding. He shook his head. Christmas was a time that brought him no joy at all, and if he had his way nobody would ever enjoy it again. He shook his head once more. He had to focus. He had a mission to complete.

He flicked his radio on. "I'm ready to report."

Opaline's voice flowed in over the radio. "Excellent. I have the stream from your binoculars now. What a waste of resources, all this merriment and goodwill to all men nonsense. But enough of that. You have your task."

Boomer nodded. "Recover the equipment and bring it back to you. That way we can initiate the next stage of the operation."

"Very good. Perhaps cause some confusion and delay on the way. Opaline out."

Boomer closed the radio module and stepped down the snowhill. He was close to completing another important mission, and then all would be well in the world. With this power he could finally right the wrong of all those years ago.

And once he had gotten that idiot Argyle out of the way, he would have Goldie all to himself... as it should have always been.

"Where is it?" Misty asked, as she and Bellerophon bustled up and down the yard.

"I can't see it anywhere!" Bellerophon said, in desparation.

"What isn't anywhere?" Zipp asked, as she walked along the platform.

Misty glanced over. "I've been tasked with putting together the train that will deliver the illuminations, decorations, and lights required for the Wonderlights train, but my work order either has a mistake in it or one of the trucks has been moved. They're in a different order to the order they were in last night!"

"And if we can't find the truck, the decorations will never be put up and Christmas will be ruined!" Bellerophon said.

Zipp snorted. "You sound like Pipp sometimes."

"I HEARD THAT!"

Zipp sidestepped. "Uh, never mind. Anyway, this can be fixed. It's not worth panicking over." She took a look at the work order. "Right. You need three vans and seven plank vans plus a brake van. That shouldn't be too hard to find." She glanced over into the yard and took a look. "One, two- there's your two vans to collect. And the brake van is in the next siding." She peered closer into the siding network. "And one, two, three, four, five, si-" Zipp trailled off as she saw there were only six plank wagons in the sidings, not seven. "What in the?"

"This is what I was trying to tell you about!" Misty said.

Zipp tried counting the trucks backwards. "Seven, six, five, four, three, two- nope. Still not seven."

She walked back to the office for a bit, and then came back with some information. "The station yard records indicate that there were seven in the sidings last night. And now there are six. So one of the wagons has been stolen!"

There was a sharp intake of breath behind them, and Zipp swung around to see Pipp there. "Hello."

"A truck has been stolen?!" Pipp said. "This is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!"

"I can think of plenty of worse things," Bellerophon said.

Boomer was very pleased with himself. Truth be told, he had reused a similar strategy he had used in Falmouth to get his hands on the lantern. OK, Misty had gotten the lantern, but he had come up with the plan, and as such the plan was his and his alone. He loaded the items he needed into a sack, and began to make his way back towards a waiting lorry. He would need to be extra sneaky in order to get away with this one.

He didn't notice that there were two sacks in the bed of the lorry as he drove away, back towards wherever he had come from.

Zipp looked to her friends. "Right. Focus. Where could the plank wagon possibly have gone? Are we all certain that no other engine has tried to move it? Been in the yard since?"

"I can't see any evidence of another engine in the yard," Pipp said, consulting the records. "If an engine had been in the yard, we'd have heard it, right?"

"What if it was a battery locomotive?" Misty suggested.

There was a moment of silence. "There's just one problem with that theory- the Swanage Railway doesn't have any battery engines."

"What if somebody brought a battery engine?"

"I think we'd know as well," Pipp added. "This is bad. This is really, really bad!"

Just then Misty had an idea. "Why not ask for the help of the Pippsqueaks? They can help us find the truck!"

Pipp nodded. "Great idea, Misty! I'll get a message sent out tout de suite!"

"Sweets?" Misty asked.

"Tout de suite," Pipp replied. "It's French. It means 'immediately'."

"Or sofort," Zipp added. "Takes far less time to say."

"A fort?"

"Means the same thing in German."

Luckily, the post that Pipp had made had done the trick, and before long the countryside was full of people scowering for the missing truck. The amount of work going on was nothing short of remarkable, and it was very enjoyable to watch. Despite the cold, the people were coming together in a spirit of community and common understanding. Work continued well into the day, with all sorts of interesting leads being turned up as they went along.

Eventually, one of the Pippsqueaks sent a photograph to the team, and they studied it closely. "Pipp, any clue where this is?" Zipp asked.

"Fraid not, Zipp," Pipp replied. "This snow makes many places look similar, and the photographer forgot to turn on geotag, so that doesn't help us."

"But we do know it's in a siding," Misty said.

"We have loads of sidings on this line!" Zipp said. "Searching through them all is going to take ages!"

Even so, they had to get to work. They examined each and every siding on the way up the line, but with little luck. They looked everywhere. In sidings, in sheds, even inside a box of cereal (Pipp had to point out a truck would not fit inside a box of cereal). But after many hours of searching, they finally found it, sitting safely in a siding near Nordon.

"Hooray!" said Bellerophon. "Now the work of getting the decorations set up can finally begin!"

"We'll have to get this truck back to Swanage first," Pipp said. "We're running very late!"

"Better late than never," Zipp observed.

Opaline sat in her throne room, looking very pleased with herself. "Once that prisbeam rod arrives, our plan is one step closer to completion!" she said.

Just then, Boomer stepped in and placed the bag he was carrying down. "One prisbeam rod, as you requested. The energy is a little mobile, so handle with care."

Opaline noticed the bag moving around, and opened it up to see-

"Boomer. In what way is this a prisbeam rod?"

She held up a white dog. "This is the Haven's pet dog, Cloudpuff!"

"There were two sacks in the bed of the lorry. I'll go back and get the other one."

Opaline was not massively pleased. "This is the sort of mixup I thought only Misty was capable of!" she bellowed. "And whilst you're getting the prisbeam rod... get this dog out of my throne room!"

Boomer exited the room, chasing after Cloudpuff. "Opaline pays me not enough..."

Later that day, Zipp started a stream with her friends. "Hey guys. Time for Secret Santa I guess."

The other faces popped in. "Come on, Zipp!" Izzy said. "Show at least a little enthusiasm!"

Hitch spoke next. "I'll go first." He opened a package. "It's a photo album, with pictures of all the things we did this year. I wonder who made this?"

Zipp opened hers next. "It's a magnifying glass... made entirely of opaque materials, meaning that light won't go through."

Pipp opened a box with some rather shoddily made goggles. "Goggles! These will be really useful for when we're in the snow, on a one horse open sleigh, and going over hills!"

"That song's about Thanksgiving, not Christmas," Zipp pointed out.

Sunny went next, revealing a rather deflated cake. "That's tonight's desert sorted!"

The last was Izzy, who revealed she had a diary covered in glitter. "A diary with glitter! Perfect!"

Misty popped open another box with a collection of images as well. Images of the time she had spent with all of them. The people who effectively served as her true family.

"Thanks for signing us up for that Izzy!" Sunny said. "That was great fun!"

Just then, bells started to ring. "Gotta go!" Zipp said. "Wonderlights train to run! See you!"

And it would be a succesful Wonderlights, as the lights and decorations were up. And as long as they had each other, they knew everything would turn out well in the end.

Author's Note

This story combines elements of the Thomas and Friends episode Hunt the Truck with the Tell your Tale short Underneath the Mistytoe. Although I have previously adapted the former, all the way back in 2021, it seemed a perfect fit for Underneath the Mistytoe.

What Zipp says about Jingle Bells is actually true; the song was written for, and the word refer to, Thanksgiving. There is also a school of thought that argues it might have started life as a drinking song, although there is not a huge amount of evidence for this claim.

And Cloudpuff is back!

The Lost Decorations

The Isle of Purbeck was now a shining land of beautiful light. Ever since the Swanage Railway had put up all their decorations for the Wonderlights season, the townsfolk of the towns up and down the line had followed their example. From Wareham to Swanage, houses were festooned with lights and tinsel. And that wasn't all. Many people had put up Christmas trees in their gardens as well as inside their homes. The local logging operation was certainly getting a good trade, that's for sure!

In response to the weather conditions, the railway had made the decision to introduce a commuter service for the locals. These trains used Alexandra to convey people travelling to and from the mainline, as many liked to go into Bournemouth to do their Christmas shopping. They would head out with empty bags, and return with bags full of items ready to be handed out on Christmas Day.

The buildings intended to cater to humans weren't the only ones being lit up. The workers of the Swanage Railway had worked on adding lights to the engine shed as well. This was appreciated by several of the engines- but only by several of the engines. Not by all of them.

Charles, as ever, was grumbling. "Why do we get so few lights?" he asked. "Surely engines as important as us deserve more lights!"

"We've got overhead lights, you half wit," Ray pointed out.

"So do the station buildings, and yet they're covered in bright lights and tinsel! Come to think of it, the Nativity scene is illuminated too! Are they trying to make Swanage visible from space?"

"I doubt it," Sophie pointed out. "We'd need a lot of lights if we were going to make this shed visible from space. We'd need more than Spaghetti Junction!"

"Where's Spaghetti Junction?" asked Bellerophon.

"It's near Birmingham. Lots of roads join up and intersect in a manner that looks like spaghetti, hence the name," Ray explained. "It's quite interesting how they build them, actually. First they need to figure out the length of the bridge decks, and then how they will fit together to make the most efficient use of space, and then they need to ensure that tall lorries don't bump into things that are going under or over the bridge sections, but before they can do any of that they need to figure out how heavy it will be, and how many steel beams will be required to..."

Charles tuned Ray out as he rambled on about bridge construction. "We need to find some more decorations. I'll ask Zipp about it in the morning."

Lady Haven yawned as she got out of bed, and brushed the awkward creases out of her nightgown as she walked over to the window to pull back the curtains. She'd had better nights sleep, to be honest. She'd woken up numerous times in the night, and not from noise. Maybe this was just a side effect of being middle aged.

She heard her husband stirring as well. "What time is it?"

"Seven, according to the clock," Lady Haven replied, as she pushed a button on the nightstand. This button caused a bell to ring down in the kitchen, and the serving staff knew what that meant.

A few minutes later, a tray arrived with a teapot and two cups on it, carried by the butler. "Earl Grey, as you requested, Your Ladyship."

"Thank you, Wadsworth," Lady Haven replied, and then opened the curtains. Their room gave them a lovely view over the terrain near Swanage, as well as much of the lands that they owned. It also gave them a nice view of the garden, which Mr Longtree has given a nice prune before the snow hit.

As her eyes scanned over it, she spotted something was missing. "The tree! It's gone!"

She looked back to the table and pushed another button before turning to Robert. "We must meet in the Great Hall at once!"

Robert sat up. "But dear, I'm still in my pyjamas."

"Doesn't matter! This is important!" Lady Haven replied, as she pulled on a dressing gown.

Everybody soon assembled in the Great Hall- including Pipp and Zipp, the former of whom was still half asleep. "These so far," said Zoom, "are the facts. The tree was there yesterday, but it is not there now. Mr Longtree was not in the garden last night, nor were any other members of the household staff. The only conclusion that we can come to is an outside agitator stole it."

"Can I go back to bed now?" Pipp asked.

"Why? It's seven thirty," Zipp replied.

"Girls! This is serious!" Lady Haven answered, before looking over elsewhere. "I suggest that we go and search for the missing tree. Zipp. As you're the closest to readiness I want you to take Charles up the line and check the sidings. Understood?"

Zipp, seeing that there was no point in arguing, nodded and headed off to get dressed.

"Pipp, can you send out messages on social media?"

"Sure thing," Pipp yawned.

Lord Haven looked over to Emma, one of the maids. "Could you prepare some coffee for Pipp?"

"Yes, my lord."

Lady Haven flipped open a laptop and began to look at security information. "All of this chaos, and before breakfast too!"

Thunder suddenly walked into the room. "Bad news, ma'am... a box of decorations has gone missing, as have a box full of percussion instruments."

Lord Haven looked over. "This is bound to have repercussions."

Lady Haven groaned. "Not now, Robert."

Zipp hopped into Charles' cab and fired him up. "No time to explain!" she said. "There's a missing tree and we need to find it!"

So they set off up the line, and before long they reached Corfe Castle. Sitting there on a flatbed was-

"That's our tree!"

Charles looked over. "And there's two boxes tied down over there. Badly, might I add."

Zipp looked over into a nearby plank wagon. "And lights from the tree as well! How did it get here?"

"Never mind that!" Charles said. "Let's get it back to Swanage before the thief comes back!"

"Not arguing with you on that one!"

Zipp put Charles into reverse and backed him out of the station, before stopping outside the station approaches. The points then changed, and Charles drew forward into the platform and rolled into the trucks. Zipp then hooked him to them, and drew them back out of the station.

Lord Haven was suddenly aware of a loud noise in the garden. He walked to take a look, still dressed for bed and a dressing gown, and looked outside. What he saw surprised him.

A huge crowd of people had gathered.

"We wish you a merry Christmas/
We wish you a merry Christmas/
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin/
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!"

"How kind," Robert said.

"Now bring us some figgy pudding/
Now bring us some figgy pudding/
Now bring us some figgy pudding/
And a cup of good cheer!

"We won't go until we get some/
We won't go until we get some/
We won't go until we get some/
So bring it out here!"

Lady Haven walked over. "What is going on?"

Lord Haven looked back. "They won't go until we give them figgy pudding! What should we do?"

Lady Haven glanced back. "Wadsworth, could you go to the kitchens and ask the cooks to produce figgy pudding 27 times?"

"Yes, Your Ladyship," Wadsworth replied, and began to head towards the kitchens.

Zipp and Charles pulled back into the yard at Swanage with the tree and the other items safely secured. "That was quite the ride," Zipp admitted. "But at least the items are all safe. I'll head back to the house and let them know."

As she walked out of the station, a large amount of snow fell on her, making her hair very wet and droopy. She pushed her way back through the crowd and was about to step through the door when-

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

Zipp looked up to see one of the security guards looking at her. "I'm Zipp. My mom's your boss."

"Doesn't Zipp have a different hairstyle?"

"This is ridiculous! I'm clearly the same person!"

Zoom walked over. "Let her through, Wallcroft. Sorry about that."

Zipp shrugged. "The tree is secure, though. It's ready for pickup from the station."

With a bit of help from a local construction firm, the tree was soon put back up, and the lights and decorations were put back on as if nothing had happened. After a rather frantic morning, things soon returned to normal within the household, and the Swanage Railway was running trains as if nothing had happened at all.

Although they never did find out who stole the tree, they were on guard in case it happened again. After all, lightning can strike twice!

Author's Note

This story is an adaptation of the Thomas and Friends episode The Missing Christmas Decorations. It also incorporates elements from the Tell your Tale short Bridlewoodstock (not to be confused with the Make your Mark special of the same name) and Merry Christmas, Mr Bean, an episode of the classic sitcom Mr Bean.

A number of references to British stately home dramas have been hidden in the text, as well as a reference to the video game Fallout 3. See if you can spot them.

The scene with the carolers is loosely based on a cartoon done by British satirical magazine Private Eye, depicting a home owner despairing about being beseiged by carolers as he lacks the ingredients to make enough figgy pudding for them all (the second verse of We Wish you a Merry Christmas refers to wanting figgy pudding and cups of good cheer).

Next time will bring another tree related adventure.

Sophie and the Missing Christmas Tree

It was Christmas Eve on the Isle of Purbeck, and everybody was very busy indeed. Owing to various different things that had been happening, the final rush to get everything ready for Christmas was finally underway. People were making their last minute shopping before the shops shut for the Christmas period. Trains bustled up and down the line, delivering supplies and other equipment for the citizens of the island.

And a special event that people always looked forward to was the big carol party that was always held to ring in Christmas Day. Every year on Christmas Eve, the citizens of Falmouth would gather in the town square to sing carols, and at midnight, when Christmas Day arrived, the lights on the tree would be switched on to signal the beginning of a joyful time indeed.

And this year was to be extra special indeed. Around lunchtime that day, Lady Haven stepped out onto the platform at Swanage to see Vulcan waiting for instructions. "Ah! Vulcan!" she said. "Just the engine I was looking for."

"Can I help, ma'am?" Vulcan asked.

"I have just received a message that the Christmas tree for the town square has just arrived at Wareham. I want you to collect it and bring it back to Swanage so it can be put up in preparation for tonight's festivities."

"What about these vans, though?" Vulcan asked. "They aren't going to deliver themselves!"

"I'll have Sophie take them," Lady Haven explained. "And don't worry; you'll be back well before the singing begins. If anything we're relying on your voice somewhat."

"That is true," Vulcan agreed. "We've got good Bass and Soprano lines, but we're a little weak on the top tenors. It's also a good thing we have two strong altos as well- yourself and Zipp, of course."

"Why, thank you," Lady Haven replied. "Now off you go!"

Vulcan steamed out of the platform as Sophie pulled in with a passenger train. Pipp hopped out of the cab and set about uncoupling the train. "I'm looking forward to tonight!" she said. "I always look forward to wearing my caroling outfit and singing carols."

"I bet you do," Sophie said. "So do I, as a matter of fact. Singing, that is."

"I've never really heard you sing," Pipp noted, as she made some adjustments.

"I've not had much reason to. How could I hope to compete with a voice as angelic as yours?"

Pipp was about to reply when Lady Haven walked over. "Mom! How are things?"

"Pipp, I need you and Sophie to deliver those vans. They are loaded with firewood for Norden. You will then be needed back here to assist with other duties."

Pipp knew that she still had plenty of time to get ready, and smiled. "On it!"

She was able to quickly get Sophie on the other end of the yard and had her attached to the stock in no time. After a short wait to get going owing to a restricting signal they were on their way up the valley.

About half an hour later, Sophie and Pipp were held at Corfe Castle. The signal in front of them was red, informing them that the line was blocked. But there was no sign of a train approaching. They waited and waited and waited.

"Where is that train?" Sophie asked. "We'll be stuck here all day at this rate!"

Pipp was concerned as well. "What if a train is stalled up ahead?" she asked, more as a rhetorical question than as one which should be answered.

"What if there is?" asked Sophie.

Pipp temporarily left the cab to speak to the signalman, and then returned a few minutes later. "He hasn't heard from Wareham box in quite a while," she said. "Something may have brought the telegraph wires down. He wants us to go and take a look."

"Ok," Sophie said, and they left their train behind before setting off into the distance.

Sophie was given clearance to pass through the signal at Norden by the signaller, who was also concerned about the missing train. As they climbed towards the junction, they suddenly spotted a white mass in the short cutting that ran to the junction.

"Look!" Sophie said. "There's a snowdrift up ahead."

Pipp listened closely. "And there's a voice as well! Come on! Let's help them out of there!"

Sure enough, there was a train within the snowdrift. It was none other than Vulcan, who had the tree with him. "Thanks for digging me out," he said. "I know how much this tree means to the community, and otherwise we might have frozen solid here."

Vulcan's driver nodded in solumn agreement.

Pipp nodded. "No problem. Now all we need to do is deliver you and the tree to Swanage and then get our own train to Norden and back. We're getting a bit tight for time!"

After a busy afternoon of work, the engines and their crews completed their assigned tasks, and as darkness fell most of the residents of Swanage gathered for the festivities. Even Zipp, who was not happy about being required to wear a dress.

"Come on Zipp! You look really cute in a puffy gown!" Pipp replied.

"I'm only wearing this because mom made me," Zipp grumbled. "The second this is over I'm taking it off."

"Wouldn't be cold if you took it off before you got home?"

"You know what I meant, Pipp."

As they stood below the tree after starting with the carols, there was darkness. The nearby buildings had turned their lights off, and the street lights were also switched off. They waited in anticipation for the special event.

The only lights were from candles people were holding, as would have been the case before gas light became a thing. The clock drew closer and closer to midnight.

"Where is everybody?" Zipp asked.

Suddenly, there was whistling from nearby, and Ray and Alexandra suddenly rattled in. The lights came on, and the people gathered cheered.

Lord and Lady Haven appeared a few moments later, having changed into Victorian fashions. "Apologies for the delay!" Lord Haven called. "We had a bit of an issue to deal with!"

Lady Haven spoke next as she reached the podium. "Thank you for joining us tonight, on this most festive and special of evenings," she said. "And now, I would like to introduce our special guest!"

The two girls looked over to the station and gasped. "Is that who I think it is?" asked Pipp.

Zipp looked dumbstruck. "There's no way..."

To be continued...

Author's Note

This is an adaptation of the Thomas and Friends episode Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree, one of two stories written by Wilbert Awdry specifically for television.

Seeing as many seasons of Thomas and Friends concluded with a Christmas episode, it only seems fitting to bring this, the first full year of Thomas and Friends stories, in the same vein. But this is not the last story, for today is only Christmas Eve. Tomorrow will bring the grand finale.

As in Pipp and the Wonderlights, Pipp is wearing the green dress on the right (Lady Haven is in the one on the left):

Zipp is, of course, in this:

And who could the mysterious figure be? Tune in tomorrow to find out!

It's a Wonderful Life

The light had long since faded over Falmouth on a snowy Christmas Eve long, long ago. Well I say long, long ago, but in reality it was probably only about 20 years ago. But it felt like longer. The town clocks had only just gone five, but the light had vanished for the day, only to return with the glorious dawn of Christmas Day.

Most people had returned home to start preparations for the next day. Parents were trying to encourage their children to sleep, promising them that Santa Claus was on his way with all sorts of presents for the boys and girls of the world. And if they were very good they may hear the sound of hooves on the rooftops, and the ringing of the bells. The town carousel was switched off, though, so it wouldn't have any lights on it.

At the edge of town sat the old Lighthouse, with the light long since out of action from its old days of guiding ships in and out of the harbour. RADAR had put the lighthouse keeper out of a job, but the building had been nicely kept.

Inside the adjacent house, a young couple were looking out to sea. "Beautiful, isn't it?" said the man.

"It sure is, Argyle," the woman replied. "I can see why you love this part of the world."

"I sure do," Argyle nodded. "But not as much as I love you, Goldie."

The pair had married only six months prior, and had moved in down here as it was convenient for both of their lines of work. Truro was within easy reach, and Argyle worked within the town whilst working towards his PhD in photography. Already he had filled a room upstairs with all sorts of stuff he'd collected. Give him the slightest chance and he'd start excitedly explaining it all. Something about an island called Sodor.

Goldie glanced back to the tree, and sat down gently in a chair. "Our first Christmas together," she said. "It's a bit hard to believe. I'm still getting used to signing my name Mrs Starshine!"

"You remember how much confusion it caused my mother," Argyle smiled. "Every time at the wedding somebody asked for a Mrs Starshine, two people responded!"

Goldie suddenly heard a noise outside, and looked to the window. "Where did the brass band come from?"

Argyle smiled. "I arranged that, actually. And the tree. I know acclimatising to a new country isn't always easy, so I thought that a little slice of home would help you settle in."

As the band swelled into Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Goldie slipped on a winter coat and stepped outside the door to listen to the players, well, play. It was a marvellous sound to hear, one that came straight out of old commercials.

Argyle stepped out to join her. "Merry Christmas, Goldie. And hopefully someday we can introduce our kids to these traditions as well."

Goldie glanced back at him. "We'll see," she said playfully.

Lady Haven was getting ready for the festivities when suddenly there was a message to the station office. "Hello?"

"Corfe Castle box here," said a voice. "Something large and glowing just landed on the line near us. Is it possible if you could dispatch somebody to take a look?"

"I'll investigate myself," Lady Haven replied, and got out of her chair. Ray had been kept in steam as a backup engine in case one for the Santa trains failed, so she would drive him up to the scene of the incident.

As she left the office, Alexandra rolled in with some items onboard. "Costumes for the party!" Alexandra explained.

"Turn around and follow us up to Corfe Castle," Lady Haven instructed her. "There's something on the line that we need to investigate."

Lord Haven looked out of the cab. "Has something happened?"

"Hopefully it's nothing serious," Lady Haven answered. "But I'm not prepared to take a single chance on this issue, especially on a night like tonight when so much is riding on everything going properly."

"A wise idea, my dear," Lord Haven stated, and walked to the other end of Alexandra to prepare her for running back to Corfe Castle.

"It's all come and go tonight!" Alexandra commented, as she watched Ray back out of the shed, snowplough fitted.

The train was now formed, and the set powered away from Swanage and into the whirling snow. The snowdrifts threatened to bring them to a halt, but Ray powered into the drifts with power and determination. "A little bit of snow never stopped me before!" he said, as he smashed into another drift. "Go away, snow! Stop being annoying!"

They continued their climb across the terrain, with the steam and heat from Ray's boiler keeping the engine crews warm and able to concentrate on their duties. The engines powered along until they reached their destination. They rolled slowly into the platform and stopped upon noticing a strange man standing on the platform.

He had a white beard and moustache, and was dressed from head to toe in red and white. He had a pair of glasses on his face, and he was... how do we put it delicately, a bit plump. "I see somebody saw my distress signal!" he said.

Lady Haven looked in amazement. "Could it be?" she asked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ray said. "He doesn't exist!"

"Then explain the sleigh and the reindeer!" Alexandra said.

"This may be absurd, based on the evidence, but to use Pipp's approach to reasoning," Lord Haven said, "it would appear that the man with the bag is indeed in front of us. Saint Nicholas. Many names he goes by."

"And I need your help," the man said. "I am indeed Santa Claus, and I have still many presents to deliver. But we had a bad landing near here, and I need level ground to launch my sleigh from. Can you help me move it to flat ground?"

Lady Haven nodded. "We have something that will suit your needs." She opened the regulator. "I never imagined that I'd be saving Christmas, but life's no fun without a few curveballs!"

"Reminiscing about Christmas?" Sunny asked, noticing her parents looking at a photo album.

"Our first Christmas together," Goldie replied. "It seems surreal that it was 20 years ago now, but I guess time flies at an alarming speed. So much has changed, and much of it in the last year. Whether it's for the best or not I don't know, but at least we have each other to see the days through."

"That's the spirit!" Argyle smiled, as he heard a familiar sound outside. "It sounds as though they've arrived!"

He stepped over to the door and opened it, letting the wonderful sound of a brass band flow into the house. "The magic of Christmas, everybody."

Sunny walked over as well and smiled as, even though the cold air was coming in, it was lit by the warmth of the season and the heating. Realising moments later that Hitch and Izzy were among the performers below, she called out to them. "Hey guys!"

"Merry Christmas Sunny!" Izzy called. "May you have a cup of good cheer!"

Sunny smiled. "I thought we were supposed to give you the cup of good cheer."

"If we both give each other cups of good cheer there'll be double the cheerfulness to go around!"

Argyle chuckled. "Can't fault the logic of that one." He glanced up. "Goodness! What's that?"

Ray and Alexandra rattled back into the platforms at Swanage with the sleigh attached to a flatbed. A group of bewildered station staff looked at it in a state of confusion.

As the train stopped, Lady Haven was already issuing instructions. "Get this sleigh moved to the fields below the town so that they have a clear launch. The reindeer will arrive as well shortly."

Alexandra rolled into the other platform and stopped, and Lord Haven stepped out to open the doors. Several reindeer stepped out onto the platform and wandered in the direction of the field.

He glanced back to Santa. "It's a good thing they didn't start eating the upholstery. That was not cheap to put back in."

"They're very well behaved and trained," Santa replied. "They have to be in order to fly around the world in on night."

"I always wondered how you pulled that off," Lord Haven admitted. "You'd have to fly awfully fast to visit every single house in one night."

Santa winked. "Trade secret, I'm afraid."

"Robert?" called Lady Haven. "We need to get ready quickly. It's nearly midnight!"

"Is there a gathering?" Santa asked.

"Yes there is," Lord Haven replied. "All the citizens of the town have turned out for the tree lighing ceremony."

Santa smiled at that. "I think I can spare some time to make an appearance," he said.

After they had changed into Victorian clothing to match the revellers, Lord and Lady Haven made their way onto a nearby platform overlooking the town square. "pologies for the delay!" Lord Haven called. "We had a bit of an issue to deal with!"

His wife spoke next, taking the stand and the microphone. "Thank you for joining us tonight, on this most festive and special of evenings," she said. "And now, I would like to introduce our special guest!" She looked to the band. "Number 26!"

She indicated to the guest, and Santa Claus stepped out to adress the crowd. "Merry Christmas, all of you!" he said in a booming, jolly voice. "I am glad to join you this evening, but the Christmas magic is what keeps us all together. May you always keep it in your heart!"

Just then, the reindeer flew overhead, with the sleigh, and Santa hopped in as it flew past. "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

Pipp tapped her sister. "I got that all on my phone!" she said. "Nobody is ever gonna forget this!"

Zipp was too stunned to drop a snarky comment in the scene. "Never thought I'd see the man with the bag," she said to herself. "Clearly magic does exist."

"Well, duh!" Pipp said. "The last year has more than proved that!" She ran the footage back- only to see nothing at all. "Oh, come on! This would have been a perfect seasonal post!"

Back in Falmouth, Argyle looked through a pair of binoculars to see a sleigh and reindeer flying through the sky. "It's Santa Claus!" he said. "And he's waving at us!"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" boomed a voice through the night sky.

Argyle shook his head. "Considering all the things we've seen, Santa being real is one of the least difficult things to accept right now."

"Not engaging in arbitrary skepticism?" Goldie asked jokingly, as she stepped alongside him. The brass band continued to play as Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy joined them in watching the light streak across the sky.

"Quick, somebody wish for something!" Izzy said.

Sunny smiled and looked over. "It already came true. I wonder what gifts he's distributing across the world?"

"Hopefully what the children of the world wished for," Argyle said.

"But we already received the greatest gift of all," Goldie added.

"What was that?" Sunny asked.

Goldie smiled and looked down at her daughter. "You."

As the new day rang in and Christmas Day began, there was joy and merriment and laughter all across the world. The unlikely friends, brought together by the magic of friendship and the gold dust, celebrated the end of a rather chaotic year that, although it had been rather intense, had still yielded positive results.

And with a New Year around the corner, there was a real hope that the world would be a more peaceful place.

Over in Swanage, Pipp looked to Zipp. "This may seem weird, but I can hear backing music in the background! Can you?"

"I can too," Zipp said. "I think there's a song coming on."

As the music flowed into a coherent form, and back in Falmouth, Sunny began to sing.

"I remember when I was little/
Every year, on Christmas day!"

Hitch suddenly took over.

"The sights, the sounds/
the foolin' around with friends and family!"

Before Sunny and Hitch began to duet.

"Yeah, every moment spent together/
was filled with winter wish glee!"

And then, out of nowhere, Pipp sang a responding line.

"And twinklin', singin', dancin', laughter filled/
Christmas Day memories!"

Before, out of nowhere they began to all sing together, with Hitch providing backing vocals.

"Yeah, these precious moments/
will make my winter wish come true! (make it come true, yeah)
I'm counting down the days/
'til I get to make somе memories with you!"

Before they then launched into a chorus with the same arrangement.

'Cause thе only thing that's missin'/ (only thing missin')
Is a little bit of you-ooh-ooh-ooh!
So I am gonna keep on wishin'/
for a little bit of you-ooh-ooh-ooh!

"And if we can't be together/
You know I'll send the love to you-ooh-ooh-ooh!
'Cause the only thing that's missin'/
is a little bit of you, ooh-ooh-ooh!

"You-ooh-ooh-ooh, ah-ah-ah!
You-ooh-ooh-ooh/
A little bit!
You-ooh-ooh-ooh, ah-ah!
You-ooh-ooh-ooh/
A little bit!"

Before they all suddenly switched to rap for a brief period.

"Maybe some sleighin'?" Pipp suggested.

"Then Christmas art!" Sunny added.

"Some singin' and carolin'/
That's a good start!" Izzy noted.

"Takin' traditions and making them new!" Zipp quickly contributed, her first solo contribution to the number.

"Makin' it special is my gift to you!" Hitch finished, lending the section a satisfying sense of symmetry.

They then joined in together, with Sunny this time taking on backing vocals.

"These precious moments will make/
My winter wish come true! (make it come true)
I'm counting down the days/
'til I get to make some memories with you!"

Then they returned to the chorus, with the same arrangements as the first chorus.

"'Cause thе only thing that's missin'/ (only thing missin')
Is a little bit of you-ooh-ooh-ooh!
So I am gonna keep on wishin'/
for a little bit of you-ooh-ooh-ooh!

And if we can't be together/
You know I'll send the love to you-ooh-ooh-ooh!
'Cause the only thing that's missin'/
is a little bit of you, ooh-ooh-ooh!

"You-ooh-ooh-ooh, ah-ah-ah!
You-ooh-ooh-ooh/
A little bit!
You-ooh-ooh-ooh, ah-ah!
You-ooh-ooh-ooh/
A little bit!" (a little bit, a little bit)

As the notes faded out, nobody thought to ask how people hundreds of miles apart knew the same song and were singing in perfect time.

Izzy looked out and upwards, as if in acknowledgement. "A Merry Christmas to all of you reading at home! God Bless Us!"

"God Bless Us, Everyone!"

Author's Note

This is an original story, partially inspired by my own feelings about living in the United States. Seeing as this is the season of goodwill, I also set myself a personal challenge to try and fit as many Christmas cliches into a single story as I could, as given the somewhat crappy state of our world I felt we could use a simple, positive, feel-good story.

Santa has made his debut in this series, and may return. Keep an eye out.

I wish each and every one of you reading this a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hearth's Warming, a Warm Wishiehoof, a Wonderful Wishday, and a Joyous, Joyous Wishentide.

Intro

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Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios

A Hasbro and Mattel Co-Production, Copyright MMXXIII

It's Snow Joke!

It was wintertime in Falmouth, and the temperatures were some of the coldest of the year. Although it was hardly the warmest of times, most of the residents didn't mind. They loved seeing the festive trees and hearing the carolers sing, the lights that were strung up as far as you could see, and the smiles on most people's faces.

There were always lots of things to do. Christmastime is always a big strain on transportation infrastructure, and this meant that the engines of Falmouth and their drivers had lots to do. There were passengers to move, presents to shift, vans to deliver, and many other things that were associated with the holiday.

"It's a shame that Charles and Sophie aren't here!" Hitch said. "We could really do with the extra horsepower!"

"Ay, you're right lad," Salty smiled.

"I just don't understand where all this snow has come from," Porter said, as Izzy came around to light his fire. "Where does it all come from?"

"The sky, silly!" Izzy said.

"Apart from the obvious."

"Still," Salty said, "this time of year is one where being in good voice is very important. Carols aren't that different to a sea shanty, you know, as they tell a story and have harmony parts."

"That describes most songs, mate," Porter replied.

"If the weather stays like this we might have to bring out the snowblower," Sunny said.

"What's a snowblower?" Hitch asked.

"A snowblower," Sunny replied, "is a machine that uses a large rotating set of blades to push the snow out of the way and cut it up into smaller chunks for the work crews. They are convenient, but the one we have does get through a lot of coal."

"Why not rework it to run on cooking oil?" Izzy suggested. "There's a railway that runs an engine on cooking oil."

"Do we have any engines strong enough to push one?" Rebecca asked, and then glanced forward. "Oh. I appear to have answered my own question."

Hitch opened the cylinder cocks and moved Rebecca out into the yard. "Away we go!"

Posey was not enjoying Christmas at all. The waterfront was covered in snow, and the backstreets weren't much better. The streets were perilous enough at the best of times, but the terrain had turned into a terrifying landscape.

And worst of all were the children and adults who had taken leave of their senses and were throwing snowballs at each other! Posey just took to walking quickly through the madness.

"I moved here for a quieter life than in Exeter!" she said to herself. "And this town is full of crazy people!"

As she approached the station, she saw what she regarded as a figure of sanity in this ocean of madness. She began to make her way towards the station- before a badly timed blob of snow flew her way and slammed into her face.

She stopped, moved her glove, and then removed the snow, looking rather annoyed. "That's it!" she said. She stomped over to the station, where Hitch was prepping Rebecca to depart. "Hitch!" she shouted.

"Hello Posey," Hitch said. "How can I help you?"

"The snowball fights and general chaos around here are out of control!" Posey snapped. "Somebody is going to get seriously hurt if something isn't done about it!"

Hitch nodded. "It is pretty frantic, I will admit. Truth be told it's been a lot to get used to. Is there something you needed?"

"I need to be taken away from here. A beach house, a treehouse, I don't care! Just somewhere away from this madness!"

"So you prefer a quieter Christmas," Hitch said. "I can agree to that. I'll give you a cab ride up to Perranwell. They're doing some quiet Christmas things up there."

Just then a workman arrived, and handed Hitch a note. "Ah. We'll need to fit Rebecca with a snowplough before we depart. This snowfall is only getting worse."

Posey huffed. "I thought the planet was getting hotter, not colder!"

The snowplough was a big, heavy, awkward thing, and took half an hour to fit properly. But eventually they were ready to go, and set off up the line, Posey sitting in the fireman's seat as they rattled up the line.

Hitch tried to strike up some conversation as they made their way towards Perranwell. "So, any particular reason you don't like the snowball stuff?"

Posey shrugged. "I never saw the point. That and, as you know, I'm asthmatic. It's why I'm wearing so many layers to keep warm, as cold weather can irritate my bronchial tubes."

"Your what?"

"They're in the lungs."

"Oh." Hitch nodded. "Still, that was interesting to know. And snowmen?"

"Lack of coal for buttons. That and people were singing that certain song from Frozen ad nauseam for the last ten years."

Hitch smirked. "Do you want to build a snowman-"

"NO! DON'T SING IT! I HATE THAT SONG!"

Hitch nodded. "OK, I won't. You're more the chestnuts roasting on an open fire type then?"

"You know me so well," Posey answered. "I prefer to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the lights and sounds. And don't forget the music. I always make sure to have Christmas music on at this time of year given it can only really be played for about 38 days a year if you include up to January 6th."

"True that," Hitch admitted. "Sunny always liked photographing steam locos in this weather. They produce so much more visible steam in cold weather."

"Sorry for the non sequitur, but I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights," Posey said suddenly. "They've always looked spectacular in the photos."

The train came to the top of a hill and began to go down the other side. As they descended, there was suddenly a loud bang, and a large metal object went flying past and into a nearby field.

"What was that?" Posey asked.

"The snowplough's gone!" Hitch shouted. He looked out and saw the wheels skidding. "And we've hit black ice! I'm not sure we'll be able to stop!"

The train rocketed forward like an uncontrollable toboggan. When it reached the bottom of the hill it was doing well over the speed limit. Hitch fought to get speed back under control, and got speed down to something sensible by the time they hit the platform, but a van had been left in the way!

"Oh no!" Rebecca cried, as she slammed into the van.

Hitch was thrown to one side and suffered quite a bang to the head. He was out cold, and an ambulance had to take him away to the hospital.

The guard came up. "Now the revellers will never get their food," he said sadly.

"Revellers?" Posey asked.

"This train is carrying the food for the Truro Christmas Feast. If we can't get it to them the feast will be cancelled and everybody will be sad."

Posey wasn't the biggest fan of the winter season, but at the same time she wasn't a grinch, contrary to what a lot of people believed. "I'll help get the train to Truro," she said. "Driving one of these things can't be that hard."

"Thanks for the help," the guard said. "Let's get back underway."

The train proved to be a little more challenging to get on the move than Posey had expected, but with some work and a careful focus on power over speed, the train made it over the final bank and arrived at Truro Station, where an enormous crowd had turned out to see the train arrive. They cheered.

"Hurrah!" said the mayor of Truro. "The feast shall go ahead as scheduled. We shall unload the passenger coaches and vans, and ensure all is put away." He walked to the cab. "Well done, both of you. What is your name?"

"Posey, sir," Posey replied, as she left the footplate and handed Rebecca over to a member of staff. "Truth be told it wasn't easy. But we got there in the end."

"Superb!" the mayor smiled. "Seeing as you saved the feast, you are hearby invited as our guest of honour!"

The feast was truly wonderful. There was roaring fires, and decorations, and candles, and more tinsel than you could imagine possible. The tables were decorated beautifully, and all the food was cooked to perfection.

And Posey wasn't the only guest of honour. Hitch had been released from hospital and was able to attend, and chose to sit at one end.

"Turkey approaching!" called a voice. "Mind your backs!"

Hitch glanced over to Posey. "So, this is the sort of thing you prefer?"

"Yep," Posey smiled. "My type of Christmas. Just a nice, relaxing period after all the chaos of the year."

"You did a great job out there," Hitch added. "Maybe you should join the regular engine driver roster."

"I don't think it's really my thing," Posey replied, but was happy regardless. After all, she was with friends and with things she enjoyed doing. What more could you want?

Author's Note

Hello everybody, and welcome to my first Christmas compilation. To kick things off, we have a story all about snow. This story combines the basic plotlines of the Thomas and Friends episode It's Only Snow and the Tell your Tale short Snow Pun Intended.

The reference to cooking oil is an allusion to an actual operating practice done on some smaller lines; oil burning steam engines are rare in the United Kingdom, but of those that do exist, some have been adapted to run on old cooking oil.

The comments on snow partly reflect my feelings on it last year, which saw the Winter Wishday special effectively play out for real in southern Britain; it's often nice for a bit, until you have to travel in it, when it truly becomes the silly soft stuff.

And, of course, I dropped in an allusion to Frozen, seeing as that film turns a decade old this year.

Credits

Cast - In order of appearance:

James Marsden - Hitch Trailblazer, assorted voices
Keith Whickam - Salty, assorted voices
Richard Hammond - Porter
Kimiko Glenn - Izzy Moonbow
Rachel Miller - Rebecca
Kimberley Ann-Truong - Posey Bloom
Felicia Day - Aurora Dawn
Sofia Carson - Pipp Petals
Liza Koshy - Zipp Storm
Bahia Watson - Misty Brightdawn
Tara Strong - Goldie Starshine
Michael McKean - Argyle Starshine
Geoffrey Rush - P. T. Boomer
Athena Karkanis - Opaline Arcana
Joseph Swash - Bellerophon
Jeremy Clarkson - Charles
James May - Ray
Teresa Gallagher - Sophie
Jane Krakowski - Lady Haven
Richard E. Grant - Lord Haven
Steven Fry - Wadsworth
Gillian Berrow - Zoom
Arturo Hernandez - Thunder
Matthew Cowlrick - Vulcan
Tim Allen - Santa Claus