The sun rose once more over Falmouth Manor on a cold, but bright January day. Many of its occupants were still asleep; having recently moved all the stuff they would need for half the year there a few days earlier, many of them were tired after having made long journeys.

Zipp wasn't, however. She was looking out of a window at the bright morning sky, and as the sun continued to rise she started to sing.

"Hey, hey, hey, what a perfect day!
The sun is gettin' brighter and it's beamin' my way!
There's somethin' in the air/
I can feel it in the groove!
So everybody, let's go/
'cause it's time to move!"

Zipp dashed down the corridor and knocked on Pipp's bedroom door. "Come on, sleepyhead! Wake up! We've got stuff to do!"

There was a shriek, followed by a loud crash. Moments later, Pipp opened the door. She did not look happy. "Zipp!" she snapped. "Why are you waking me up at this ungodly hour? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I was making very good time, I thought," Zipp replied.

Pipp shook her head. "That's the last time I loan you my copy of Twelth Night." She indicated to her hair. "Now look at this mess! It's gonna take me ages to get it sorted out!"

"I'll let Sunny know we'll be late," Zipp replied, before dashing off. She knocked on Misty's door. "Come on Misty! Time to get up!"

Misty bounded over, looking oddly awake. "The mattress is more springy than I remember it," she said.

"Were you jumping up and down on it?" Zipp asked. "Pipp and I used to do that all the time- just don't tell Mom."

"I won't," Misty said. "I need to get caught up on all the childhood stuff I missed out on!"

After the two sisters and honorary sister were washed and dressed, they headed for Falmouth Lighthouse and stopped in front of the lighthouse keeper's cottage. The familiar crash of pans and bubbling of cooking fat could be heard outdoors.

"Sounds like Sunny's already busy," Pipp said, and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" called a voice, before the familiar figure of Sunny appeared behind the door. (Sunny had opened it in the meantime.) "Just had to put the frying pan down. Who wants breakfast?"

Naturally, the four friends entered the house, and Sunny got to work adding the various food items to the plates before putting the plates on the table. She then glanced to the table, and looked to her friends, and then back to the table. "Hmmm. Somebody's missing..."

"Izzy!" said Pipp. "I'll give her a buzz!"

Izzy then stumbled through the door, sort of on time. "Hey guys," she said. "Sorry I'm late. My alarm clock didn't go off for some reason. I probably forgot to change the batteries!"

"No worries," Sunny smiled. "You're here, and that's all that matters."

As was well established convention amongst the residents of this town, Sunny then started to sing.

"Hey, hey, hey, buddies, don't delay!
'Cause breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
Cookin' up your favorites with a twist or two!
Just a touch of magic from me to you!"

Izzy had picked up a bowl of cornflakes, but on the way she slipped on a puddle and the world went sailing. The bowl landed on the floor, and the cornflakes were likewise on the floor- not in the bowl, which was where they should have been.

"Oh no!" Izzy said. "My cornflakes!"

"Shouldn't those be floorflakes?" said a voice from nearby.

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Charles."

Hitch had, unfortunately, been unable to join them owing to a prior commitment, but as they headed into town, now fully fed, they ran into him directing foot traffic.

"Hey Hitch!" Zipp called. "How you doing?"

"Things have been fine so far!" he replied. "You next!"

"You ready for another day?" Misty added.

Hitch answered those queries in song.

Good times with my buddy/
Is what it's all abo-out!
And things can't get much better!
Shades on, here wе go/
it's time to roll out!"

And then they all sang collectively, before forming what could be considered an impromptu dance party.

"If you feel the magic, let mе hear you say hey!
Come on, feel your magic/
Ooh, feel the magic!
If you feel the magic, let me hear you say hey!
Come on feel the magic/
Ooh, feel the magic!
Just a little sparkle, is all it takes/
So hold on to that vibe, let it take you away!
If you feel the magic, let me hear you say hey!
Come on, feel the magic/
Come on, feel the magic!"

Posey wandered into town, and looked with bemusement upon the impromptu dance party that had broken out in Falmouth's town square. "Ooh, is this a flash mob?" she asked, in a tone of voice that initially suggested complaining. But her face then brightened up. "I love it! Save me a space!"

Dahlia, a local woman who ran a flower shop, dashed over as well. "Let's dance, guys!"

Windy, Posey's close friend, sped in as well. "I've always wanted to do one of these!" she said. "Am I doing this right?"

"Sure are!" Posey replied.

A while later, Sunny was off making smoothies and serving them. It seemed to be going very well, based on what she sang next.

"Smoothies flyin' off the shelves!
Making new flavors and watchin' 'em sell!
Hitch, Windy, smoothie's ready!"

Windy picked up two, then headed on her way. "That's it, Windy! Nice and steady!"

Hitch picked up one and drank from it, before popping it down and giving Sunny a thumbs up. He then went back to directing traffic.

"Keepin' Falmouth town runnin' smooth!
Stop! Go! Come on through!
Hey there, whoa/
Not so fast!
Put 'er there pal if you're havin' a blast!"

The lorry driver just stared at him in confusion. "You stopped my lorry for a weasel crossing the road?"

Meanwhile, Zipp skidded to a stop outside Mane Melody with a box.

"Special delivery on its way!
Apparently people can't live without... hairspray?" she said, her face shifting to a look of utter confusion.

Jazz appeared and took the box inside.

"Thank goodness, Zipp, you saved the day!
Oh, whoa, yeah, you saved the day!"

Inside Mane Melody, Pipp was helping to direct operations. She was having limited success.

"Ooh, you're lookin' gorge!" she sang.

The customer looked over. "Are you saying I look like a hole in the ground?"

"No, because gorgeous doesn't fit the metre!" Pipp replied. She then continued singing.

"A little higher, please?
Hmm, it needs a little something... ugh... more, Misty? (Misty tossed another bottle to Pipp, who then added it to the customer's hair. This promptly exploded with poofiness.)
Magnifique!"

Moments later, everybody was suddenly teleported back to the town square for another flash mob moment. They had long since stopped questioning how any of this worked. Pipp was now singing backing vocals.

"If you feel the magic, let me hear you say hey!
Come on, feel your magic, ooh, feel the magic!!
If you feel the magic, let me hear you say hey! (Feel the magic)
Come on feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic! (feel the magic, comin' over me)
Just a little sparkle, is all it takes/
So hold on to that vibe, let it take you away! (feel the magic, comin' over me)
If you feel the magic, let me hear you say hey!
Come on, feel the magic, come on, feel the magic!" (feel the magic, come on, everybody)

The sky was then filled with spectacular light and sound almost like a fireworks display, and everybody looked up on wonder. "Not a bad way to open the story, eh?" Izzy said, smiling.

"What stor- oh, never mind!"

Meanwhile, a large green engine arrived at Truro. He had large frames which slowly curved upwards, and two large wheel splashers and a shorter third one. His parallel boiler was thick and heavy with a roundtop firebox, and he had two inside cylinders which powered six driving wheels. He had a short tender as well, and was painted in a light green livery with black boiler banding. His tender carried the letters LNER.

"We have arrived," he said, as Allura took a look outside.

"Excellent," Allura said, as she took a drink from a water bottle. "I know it is usually cold at this time of year, but it does get very hot on the footplate." She sighed as she looked at the bottle. "And already the water is hot. I'll need to refill it somewhere."

"I believe the place Sir Percy found for us to use as a base is just down the line," Alfred said.

"Good," Allura said. "Let's keep moving- there must be some place here that isn't so hot."

Izzy was down on the dockside with Porter, shunting trucks. The winter sun hung lazily in the sky, casting all sorts of interesting shadows.

"Everything OK, Izzy?" he asked.

"I don't know," Izzy said. "I don't exactly feel the creative juices flowing right now, and there's only so much shunting trucks can inspire me to do."

"We heard that!" said a truck.

"All you need is a new perspective on things," Porter said, with a smile. "That always worked for me. How about making hats?"

"Did that two years ago and somehow ended up with a record player."

"Sky trails?"

"Did that last week!"

"Sandcastle?"

"The tide'll wash it away!" Izzy sighed sadly, as she looked out to sea. "There's limitless potential out there- and I can't seem to tap into it. Normally I can imagine some new idea from assembled junk, but I'm looking at it and nothing's there." Her eyes widened in shock. "What if the creative block is back?"

That evening, the six friends gathered outside the engine shed to find Izzy looking glum.

"What's wrong, Izzy?" Sunny asked.

Izzy looked up, miserable. "Why me?"

"Are you hurt?" Zipp asked.

"Can we help?" Misty asked.

"And, slightly more importantly, how?" Pipp added.

Izzy sighed again. "I've got creative block... again!"

"Didn't we do this plotline two years ago?" Sophie asked.

"Enough with the meta jokes already!" Salty interrupted.

Pipp sat down next to her. "Trust me, I know exactly what this is like," she said. "I've been left unable to start or finish projects due to it. But that's often an important warning that you're doing too much and not taking rests."

"Really?" Izzy said. "It just feels like I've lost the very thing which defines who I am. If I cannot craft and unicycle, then who am I?"

"I suspect you've got creative burnout," Pipp continued. "Often this can come from a lack of variety in your environment. For example, I was struggling to come up with new song ideas one time, but after taking a holiday I had the idea for a whole new album?"

Misty then chimed in. "Remember this is all temporary," she said, placing a hand on Izzy's shoulder. "It may feel hopeless, and I sure know what that feels like- being Opaline's personal punching bag rather does that to you. But you will always have people by your side who love you, no matter what."

"Why not try going to another place and giving the alternate environment idea a go?" Zipp asked.

Izzy nodded. An idea was starting to form in her mind.

Allura backed Alfred into the cave and glanced around. "Seems oddly stable for a mine tunnel," she said.

Alfred noticed this too. "New pit props, put in within the last two years," he said. "Somebody has been in here recently."

Allura hopped down from his footplate and looked about. "Not perfect, but it'll do," she smiled. She then bent down and spotted something on a rock. "Wait a second. That's a white fibre." She picked it up, and sniffed it. "Perfume, expensively made clothing, probably designer." She frowned. "Just our luck. Turns out those idiots we found in Chicago were in here as well."

"How can you tell that?" Alfred asked.

"The fibre is from one of Pipp's dresses. She left a similar one behind in the Green Door Tavern." Allura sighed. "Oh well. We can hide her un-noticed. Who is going to look in an abandoned mineshaft?"

Izzy snuck around the side of the lighthouse to find the access tunnel to Lighthouse Quarry. "I have an idea!" she said to herself. "If I simply go in search of our friends across the water, no doubt I'll be able to find some inspiration. And maybe this little trinket will help." She held up the Nova Charm, which she had found in Swanage several months earlier. "If you're not feeling your best, it's time to go on a quest!"

The Nova Charm glowed, and Izzy vanished in a flash of light.

Goldie looked out of the window. "Oh? That's funny. Could've sworn there was a bright light."

The mysterious portal spat Izzy out on an island seemingly covered in snow. Izzy looked around her and shivered. "Brrr! This place sure is cold!"

A voice then spoke. "Hey Izzy! Fancy seeing you here!"

Izzy looked over to see Comet walking over. "Hey Comet!"

"So, what brings you to Misty Island?"

Izzy sighed. "I've been having creative block recently, and I was wondering if you had any tips for dealing with it?"

Comet looked surprised. "You sure travelled a long way to try and fix creative block. But I think I have something that may help. I find that stargazing can help get the issue dealt with, but you need to do it in doses or else you might get dizzy."

"COMET! THESE LOGS WON'T CUT THEMSELVES!"

Comet looked over his shoulder. "On my way, Violet!" He looked back. "Sorry, gotta go. Hope that helps!"

Izzy had no chance to react before the Nova Charm opened another portal and sucked her in.

Comet shook his head. "What is it about this place and people falling into and out of portals?"

The portal then ejected Izzy out into a large desert area, with some mountains in the distance. "This place doesn't look at all familiar," she said. "And why is it so hot?"

"PONY EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!"

Suddenly, an engine painted black with elaborate lining, an enormous smokestack, a set of huge domes, and a wooden cab roared out of the distance, blowing its whistle loudly. As Izzy looked, it started to slow down, before coming to a halt in front of Izzy.

"Request stop?" the engine asked, his tender revealing his name to be Nebraska.

"Where am I?" Izzy asked.

"Utah, 1869," the driver said. Izzy recognised her as one of the drivers they'd met on Sodor recently. "Nice to see you again, Izzy, but what are you doing in the past?"

"I'm trying to find a cure for my creative block," Izzy said. "I'm trying to create new things, but it all seems blocked up somehow. How can I get it out?"

Nebraska laughed. "Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like running at high speed. Join us in the cab for a blast down the line."

Izzy clambered up into the cab. "So, how can you feel adrenaline? That would imply you are at least partially biological."

Nebraska rolled his eyes. "Metaphor. That Paul's Vids has a lot to answer for."

Izzy stuck her head out of the cab as they thundered along. "How fast are we going?" she asked.

Blaize glanced out. "These engines don't have speedometers, but I estimate about 40 miles an hour!"

Izzy cheered. "This feels so fast!" The cab floor pitched and rocked about as Nebraska's cylinders pounded back and forth, the coaches also rocking slightly. Thankfully, nobody had put a bath inside the coaches.

Nebraska dropped Izzy off at the next stop, and laughed. "See what I mean?"

Izzy nodded. "Yep. I'm feeling so energised!"

Just then, another portal opened, and Izzy got sucked in.

Blaize sighed. "Well, that was weird. Better get back to work."

No sooner had Izzy found herself in the portal it fired her back out in Chicago, where she stood on the seafront. Or lakefront, if we're going to get technical.

"Now, I wonder why I'm here?" she asked.

"That's one of life's great questions, Izzy!" said a familiar voice. Izzy turned around to see Ten Cents and Anenome standing there. Well, Ten Cents was floating as he was a boat, but you know what I mean.

"What brings you to Chicago, Izzy?" Ten Cents asked. "It only feels like ten minutes since you were last here."

"Well, I need to find a cure for my creative block, but this thing is dropping me off in all sorts of random places."

Ten Cents smiled. "How about a joke? Even if you're feeling down and having a bad day, a bit of humour can often help to lift spirits. How about this one? A man walks into a bar. Ouch, he says!"

Izzy snorted with laughter. "That's a good one!"

Anenome smiled. "It's sure helped the tugs with the Navy Pier renovation. We're putting up all these new rides!"

Izzy was about to reply, but then got sucked into another portal.

The final portal dropped Izzy off in Falmouth proper, revealing very little time had elapsed since she had left. Sitting before her were the ruins of the old Falmouth amusement park. As she wondered through them, she imagined in her mind the fun and laughter that used to fill these corridors and pathways, with rides and sideshows of all shapes and sizes.

Wait, imagined... why just imagine it? Why not do something with it?

In that moment, Izzy had an idea. A strange, wonderful idea.

That night, she resolved to set out on her greatest project yet, and messaged her friends.

Guys, I've got it!

Sunny was the first to reply.

What's going on, Izzy?

I've been seized!

Was it something you ate?

Izzy chortled, and posted her reply. No, seized with inspiration! We're gonna restore the old amusement park to her former glory!

Author's Note

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the fourth volume of Tales from the Mainland! As the first of these anthologies from the Allura Era (as I'm dubbing the final era of G5) the tone shall be a tad different. We kick off proceedings with an adaption of the Tell your Tale special The Blockywockies, with the core plot lightly altered to fit the TTTE setting.

To symbolise the start of a new era, I decided incorporating Alfred, possibly the most infamous Thomas and Friends OC, into the narrative would be a good fit. Alfred made his debut in the 2009 fanfilm Sodor: the Dark Times, and fans latched onto him owing to different he was to most Thomas fan characters of the era. Here, he is modelled on Discworld character Lord Vetinari, hence my choice of Charles Dance as a voice actor (Dance portrayed Vetinari in the Discworld film series).

Creative block is an issue often discussed in the G5 franchise, being the focus of an episode of Make your Mark and Tell your Tale. Although I have been crippled by it sometimes, in several cases utterly bizarre projects emerged as a result. Two notable examples are An Apple a Day and the Rebirth of Magic setting.

The mine tunnel Allura is using as a base is the same one from Portrait of a Crompton (where Pipp and Zipp got stuck).

The locales Izzy travels to are Misty Island, 1860s Utah, and Chicago. All of these are previously visited locations in the series- and for those wondering what happened to the 1860s engines this shall be covered in an upcoming story.

The Blockywockies memorably ended with Izzy's magic restoring an abandoned amusement park to its former glory. I, however, have decided to expand this out into a story arc in its own right. We shall keep checking in on them as the story progresses, so watch this space!