It was Autumn in the United Kingdom, and this meant that schools were out for the holidays. With such an increase in potential footfall, visitors wanted to see all that the United Kingdom had to offer. They had piled into their cars and travelled to all sorts of places within the country, keen to find something to do or some place to take their minds off their troubles if only for a while.

One of these places was the Dean Forest Railway. A small heritage line nestled into the heart of Gloucestershire, it ran through an ancient forest that was so old, nobody was quite sure how old it was. The first references to it had been found in records predating the arrival of the Normans, but apart from that many things about it were mysterious.

This heritage line carved its way through the forest, heading from the small port town of Lydney up to Parkend, where once a short freight branch to a coal mine continued onwards. Today, you'd never have guessed there were industrial remains in the region, but that was part of the area's charm; new discoveries and strange things waited around every corner.

And this October, the line had some special visitors. The engines of the Maritime Line had become rather well known throughout the railway preservation circles of England and Wales (Scotland was yet to give any of them an invite), and as a result they were often getting requests to visit other lines. This time, the railway had requested Bellerophon for the Halloween season, and as such Misty and Bellerophon were more than happy to oblige.

They weren't the only ones going, though. As they were anticipating heavy traffic the railway had decided to hire in Janet as well. As Alphabittle was her driver, this meant that father and daughter would be getting a few days away in the lovely bucholic lands of the Borders.

They also got to know the local engines too. The bulk of trains were worked by Wilbert and Warrior, a pair of saddle tanks that had once worked in coal mines all across the country. The main driver, Torque Wrench, was a good hand and a helpful figure to know, once you got through her rather odd sense of humour.

However, the railway's General Manager did cause some confusion. His name was Sunny Skies, which as you'll recall means he shared a nickname with one of Misty's friends. This meant that in conversation Misty would have to clarify which Sunny she was speaking about, as the other engines would get very confused when she suddenly started using female pronouns when speaking of Sunny.

But, overall, things went well. The trains weren't too heavy for the old tank engine, and together the four ran the line swimmingly. Passengers did turn out in droves to look at Bellerophon, as he was much older than most steam engines they had seen, but they weren't too problematic. They always remembered to stay behind the safety barriers and maintain a sensible distance from the locomotives.

But one day, things took a turn. Bellerophon and Misty had taken the first train of the day up to Parkend, and had had a relatively trouble free run.

"The scenery here is lovely," Bellerophon commented, as Misty uncoupled him from the coaches. "Makes for a nice change from the seaside, doesn't it?"

Misty nodded. "I do like Swanage, but sometimes a change of scenery is quite nice. As mom says a change is as good as a rest."

Bellerophon looked confused. "You know she isn't your biological mother, right?"

"She's the closest thing to a mom I have," Misty said. "Dad's never really talked about my biological mom, and Lady Haven specifically asked me to call her that. I guess I'm still not really secure with this whole family thing."

Bellerophon smiled. "I'll always be by your side."

"Thanks."

As the pair backed up into the headshunt, Misty sounded the whistle to let the signalman know they were clear of the points. But as she was looking round, she spotted a strange sign deeper into the woods.

DANGER

KEEP AWAY

NO TRAINS PERMITTED PAST THIS POINT

BY ORDER

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Misty was surprised. What was a sign doing there- and put there by the Department of Health and Social Care of all organisations? Her understanding of government departments was a bit limited, but she was pretty certain that old railway lines were beyond their remit.

The signal dropped, and she opened the regulator to bring Bellerophon forward. "That was weird," she said.

"What was?" Bellerophon asked.

"The sign warning us to keep out," Misty replied. "Why would the Department of Health and Social Care be regulating where trains can and cannot run? It doesn't make a lot of sense."

After they got back from the run and backed onto the shed at Norchard, she decided to ask Wilbert about it.

The old saddle tank thought for a moment. "That sign has been there for a while, and occupies the old line to the old coal mine. It was abandoned many years ago, and railwaymen put that notice up as a warning. We're not allowed to go that way, and for good reason- legend has it that evil lurks in the forest beyond the line."

"Is this a local legend?" Bellerophon asked.

"Yes," Wilbert said. "Ancient stories tell of things too horrible to describe that lie beyond the end of the forest, and that we must, for our own safety, never go there. I shan't tell the stories- I hardly want to give you nightmares, do I, especially when we have hard working days ahead of us."

This just left Misty even more confused. Why was the Department of Health and Social Care concerned with an old railway line and ancient stories and myths? This wasn't making any sense at all, so she decided to mull it over in her sleep that night. Or so she planned.

The next morning, the sun shone, and the first order of the day was a goods train to Parkend. Janet had been booked on this working, so Misty accompanied her father for the run down the line, sitting in the secondman's position for the journey.

The run was relatively easy for the most part- the speed limits were low and the goods was light, so there was not much to worry about.

Misty hadn't thought over the strange things in the forest, so was a little apprehensive about going down there again. But as they reached Parkend, it happened.

Alphabittle looked concerned as he moved the brake handle. "I'm not getting any response from the train brakes!" he said, adjusting them more. Nothing happened.

He applied the locomotive brake, but this didn't seem to have much effect either. "Something's not right here," he said.

And it was about to get worse. The line down into the headshunt at Parkend is on a gradient, and the line drops continously to the old coal mine site. As the train rolled through the platform, they began to pick up speed.

"Misty, take the controls," Alphabittle said. "I'm going to apply the hand brake."

Misty nodded and hopped over, doing her best to stay calm.

By the time they'd swapped positions, the train had continued to gather speed. They flew down the grade towards the barrier, which was now looming closer and closer.

The barrier had been built as a warning to stop, not to prevent the weight of a train smashing through it. And the diesel went clean through the barrier and out the other side.

"I can't see!" Janet called. "The barrier's in my face!"

Alphabittle was still turning the handbrake wheel as hard as he could, but it was having minimal effect. They continued to go faster, and faster, and faster down the hill.

Misty slammed the brakes into emergency, which started to have an effect. The speedometer was starting to show dangerously high speeds. She leaned up and blinked in shock.

"We're not gonna hold the bend!" she shouted. And they didn't. Janet's wheels left the rails as she tipped onto her side, followed by the trucks following down. They clattered into a heap and piled up on the ground by the side of the embankment.

And everything went black.

When Misty came to, she was still in the cab. The cab door was on the ground, so she climbed over the controls and out the other side. "Dad?" she called.

"I'm over here, Misty!" Alphabittle called. "I'm going to try and get a phone signal!"

Misty climbed out of Janet's cab and landed on the floor. She knew she was in a place she shouldn't logically be, but she had to get out of there. She began to move as fast as she could, but her foot got caught in a tree root, and she rolled down a small slope.

She came to rest in front of a strange orange plant with blue spots, attached to the base of a tree. As she looked at it, the plant started to open.

Author's Note

Hello everybody, and welcome back to another story. It's been a while since I did a horror story, and with Nightmare Night coming up it only seemed fitting to write one. This time around, I am taking inspiration from an episode of the seventh season of Friendship is Magic.

The Dean Forest Railway is a heritage line in Gloucestershire, which runs from Lydney to Parkend. It preserves a section of the former Severn and Wye route to Cinderford and is well known for its rural character.

Wilbert and Warrior were two core engines on the line in its early days as a heritage operation. The former is named in honour of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, and appears as a character in one of the books. Warrior, another member of the same class, appears in the same book as 16. The fanbase gave the character the name Sheffield, a rather odd choice given that Bickershaw Colliery, where the engine worked, was in Lancashire.

On the topic of collieries, the Dean Forest was once a hive of coal mining activity- which to a modern visitor seems implausible considering the woodland present today. Locally, coal mines were called gales, a holdover from legislation from the 14th Century. The last ones closed in 1965, but many of the buildings still exist today.

But now our heroes are in the dangerous place they were warned not to go! What will happen next?