Chapters The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
Fimfiction Proudly Presents
An Story by The Blue EM2
Sponsored by the Guild of Equestrian Railroaders
Inspired by the works of Admiral Producer
And Based on an Idea by Thomlight Sparkle
Starring the Voices of:
Tara Strong
Michael McKean
Vanessa Sears
Elizabeth Perkins
Jenna Warren
J. J. Gerber
and Joshua Graham
in
THE STARSHINE LIFE
Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions
Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios
A Hasbro and Mattel Co-Production, Copyright MMXXIV
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
Goldie had no clue that four months could pass so quickly.
It felt like only yesterday that she'd held her child in her arms for the first time, a moment which held a considerable amount of weight in her mind owing to the circumstances of her daughter's conception. A moment which Goldie thought would never happen had been made possible through modern science, and for that she would always be greatful.
As previously agreed, she and her husband Argyle had decided to name her Sarah. Safe to say, the last few months had seen them have to adapt very quickly to the circumstances of being new parents.
Obviously, Goldie had been on maternity leave, but Argyle had also been asked to take this new concept called paternity leave. He was somewhat confused at first by the concept, given, as he had pointed out, he wasn't the one who had given birth, but had been more than happy to take such leave as it helped him split the childcare workload with his wife.
And boy had they had their work cut out for them.
To put it politely, Sarah had been a very noisy baby. Goldie had lost track of the sleepless nights to go and comfort her daughter, but felt if she didn't she'd be a bad parent. She was certain that things would get better- after all, she'd faced challenges in the past and worked through them. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, so to speak.
Argyle's sister, Veronica, had been a great help in that regard. Her job had moved her to Truro not long before Sarah was born, and this meant that she could help with childcare on select days. Though something in Goldie wondered if the possibility of working on Salty was part of what drew Veronica in. Truth be told Goldie had something of a mechanical background- she had worked on a dockside whilst in college, after all, which gave her a good sense of how cranes worked and how to fix machines- but she didn't feel up to repairing a loco yet. Not least as she didn't own one, and Sarah was rather her priority right now.
Five months in already. How the months seemed to fly by. Goldie had noted this to Argyle one night.
"It's May already," she said commented to him, as she got ready for bed.
"I know," Argyle said. "It's already getting quite warm outside. We'll soon be sleeping with the windows open!"
"Not quite what I meant," Goldie replied. "I meant that it's already four months since Sarah was born. Where did the last four months go?"
Argyle nodded. "I know the feeling. It only feels like a few moments since you showed me the test, but that was over a year ago."
"I hope this doesn't keep happening," Goldie said. "Or else she'll be an adult and we'll wonder where the time went!"
Argyle laughed. "Baby steps, Goldie. Let's walk before running and get this stage right."
Suddenly, crying started up. "Speaking of baby steps, I'll see to Sarah this time. You deserve some sleep."
One May day, it was lunchtime, and Goldie was out in public taking a walk, Sarah in her stroller. Goldie had rather hoped she'd stop getting unwanted attention now that the pregnancy was over (people constantly asking her when she was due had gotten very annoying, though she did rather understand kids being intrigued), but her hopes had been dashed as people were constantly gushing over her baby.
Goldie had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, she did appreciate some of the advice she was getting (and of course she loved Sarah- what sort of mother wouldn't love their own child?). But she was at the same time getting unwanted information from people who, although they meant well, usually didn't seem to know what they were talking about.
Goldie came to a stop on the seafront, and sat down at a bench before securing the stroller in place and taking Sarah out. She'd grown up in an age when babysnatching had been an issue, and as such was taking no chances. She'd had a hard enough time having a child, so nobody was taking her baby from her.
Besides, she knew from the noises Sarah was making what she wanted. "Just a moment, Sarah. Mommy just has to get ready first."
Breastfeeding. Sometimes this had to be done in slightly awkward locations, but Goldie didn't mind it. If it helped her child's health, that was fine by her.
"Afternoon, Gloria."
Goldie glanced over to see a woman with pink skin and a yellow 'beehive' hairdo walking over. Goldie recognised her pretty quickly. This was Phyllis Cloverleaf, who had joined the Falmouth maternity group towards the end of Goldie's time there. She'd recently had her own child, a boy. Goldie had interacted with her a few times, but nothing really long term.
Goldie looked up. "Hello, Phyllis. Just breastfeeding Sarah here quickly. Anything you wanted to discuss?" She then noticed something. "Where's Samuel?"
Samuel was the name of Phyllis' son, and was somehow even noisier than Sarah. Goldie had no clue how Phyllis coped.
"He's in the care of my sister," Phyllis answered. "How's it going with Sarah?"
"Ups and downs, but then again that's true of almost all life," Goldie admitted. "I'd say it's worth it, though, though I must admit I'm looking forward to when she's a bit older, and we can start teaching her things."
Phyllis nodded. "Well, I've got a few things I'd like to raise with you on that front."
Goldie internally rolled her eyes. Oh boy, more unwanted advice, here we come.
Argyle had just finished paying for his shopping, and was loading it into bags. As per their existing arrangement, they took turns when doing jobs. Goldie had Sarah today, so he was handling shopping and supplies. In truth, this was what he did normally owing to the fact his job was in Falmouth whereas Goldie worked in Plymouth. He was also the one with a formal job right now (Goldie being on maternity leave), so he was fitting in these runs in between lecturing at the University or conducting research. Usually, he tried to work on Salty at least once a week as well.
"There we go," he said, picking up the bags. "I'll drop this lot at home, sort it out, then head back for the afternoon classes and office hour."
He was no sooner out of the door when a voice addressed him.
"Fancy seeing you here, doing shopping."
Argyle looked over and saw a face he wasn't hugely keen on standing there. This man was Carl Cloverleaf, another relatively recent father. He'd run into him a couple of times when picking Goldie up from her maternity support group, as his wife had joined... well, about five months ago. Safe to say Goldie had not massively appreciated being compared to a balloon.
"Fancy seeing you here, doing nothing," Argyle replied.
"Well, I'm not on deployment so I've got time. Private Security Contractors have downtime, you know? There's a limit to how many pipelines need guarding."
Argyle nodded. "I see. Well, I'm in a bit of a rush, so we could schedule a time to talk later and-"
What Carl said next threw Argyle for a loop.
"Good luck. You know, guys like you are best suited to raising girls."
Argyle stopped in his tracks, and turned around in surprise. "Excuse me?!" he asked.
Carl looked confused, as if what he'd just said was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, let's be honest here," he said. "You're not the most muscular of guys. You bury your nose in books. Your wife has a higher paying job than you."
That remark particularly irritated Argyle. Why in the Seven Seas did it matter which spouse had the higher paying job?
But Carl was already continuing, before Argyle had a chance to respond. "Let's face it; if you'd lived in the Stone Age there's no way in Hell you'd survive the dinosaurs and pass on your genes- and by that I don't just mean not getting eating by the local T-Rex."
Argyle was astonished at just how confidently wrong this man was. Had he slept through history class? He facepalmed in utter disbelief. "There is so much wrong with that sentence. The dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago. Modern humans appeared about 300,000 years ago. We've not been on this planet very long in the grand scheme of things." As an academic, he found such ignorance painful.
Carl completely missed the hint. "Well, keep telling yourself that."
"You can't use that in response to basic facts."
"And you completely missed the point I was making," Carl said. "It takes a certain type of man to raise a boy. And my point being that I'll raise my son to be a man."
Carl seemed to be stuck in another decade.
"You might be a little lost," Argyle said. "You're mindset is right out of the 1890s. There's more than one way to be a man. There's more to being a man than being male, and trust me most women don't want guys who can punch people through walls." He thought of a previous relationship his wife had mentioned to him, where it had become pretty clear early on that the guy was only interested in going to bed with her.
Carl snorted again. He was rivalling a horse for this. "Right. Says the man who works at a university. You must tell me what sort of love potion you were using to bag Goldie."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Argyle found this concept of 'love potion' quite problematic to say the least.
"You sit in an ivory tower and hypothesise about the hypothetical whilst we get baggage moved and mechanisms concluded."
Argyle rolled his eyes. "You know, the ability to use big words does not make you clever."
"It's a man's world out there!" Carl shouted, as he walked away. "Wheat from the chaff. We'll be the ones who make it what it is!"
"Then I'll be sure to teach Sarah that such outdated attitudes belong with those dinosaurs you think lived alongside modern man," Argyle replied, and began to walk away. "I hope he doesn't rub off on his son. God knows we don't need more people like him around here."
"You should ensure that she's wearing a hat at all times when outdoors, or else she may catch a chill," Phyllis finished.
"Even in this sort of heat?" Goldie said. She'd finished breastfeeding by now, and was now just holding her child.
"Always. I never go out without a woolly hat for Samuel."
Goldie could understand a sunhat for hot days, especially since Sarah had considerably less hair than she suspected she would eventually have, but a woolly hat? Really?
She turned to Phyllis. "I appreciate you want to be helpful, but what works for you as a mother doesn't neccesarily work for me. As such, the decision for how I choose to raise my child ultimately falls to me."
Phyllis straightened out her jacket. "Well, I'd best be on my way. It's almost two, and Samuel's sure to throw a fit if I don't give him his digger. He's very particular about that."
"Digger?" Goldie asked. Although she had lived in the UK for a while now, she still got confused with certain words specific to British English. "Oh. Excavator."
Phyllis laughed. "You Americans have such a funny way of talking. See you sometime!"
Goldie went back to focusing on her baby. "Don't mind her, Sarah."
"Hello dear!"
Goldie looked over her shoulder to see Argyle arrive. "Got the shopping, I see," she said, smiling.
"That's us good to go for another week," Argyle smiled. "Had to deal with Carl though- that level of wrongness made my head hurt."
"Phyllis is also a fountain of unwanted advice," Goldie said. "I know she means well, but some of it was just silly. And something in me is worried she just gives her son whatever he wants."
"Not for us to worry about," Argyle said. "We'll raise Sarah our way, not theirs."
Both parents were more than happy to agree to that.
Author's Note
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to a side story! This is my first ever side story compilation, and a sequel to another side story (a first, I know).
This first chapter is based on a story my mother told me about when I was a relative newborn. When out in public with me, she would often receive unsolicited advice about raising children from random strangers. Many of them were older women, and although they meant well their advice was often counterproductive. A common one was to ensure I always had a woolly hat on outdoors, which could be counterproductive on hot summer days.
The segment with Carl is loosely based on a conversation about bad science depicted in a video by science YouTuber SciManDan, which included the bizarre claim that the men who survived to pass on their genes were the ones who could defend women from velociraptors. Carl is a character created by Tomlight Sparkle 1 for his Star Wars continuity, partly to explain where Sprout got his bigoted attitudes from.
For those wondering where Argyle and Goldie's kid is called Sarah here and not Sunny, well... next chapter shall be most illuminating on that front.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
"A long, long time ago, there lived an inventor."
"What's an inventor, daddy?" Sarah asked, looking up in awe at her father.
Argyle smiled. "An inventor is a person who creates new machines that help people. And this inventor lived a long way from here. You see, he had a problem that he wanted to solve."
"What was that, daddy?"
"He had been working on a problem involving something called steam. Steam is what you get when you boil water; if you'd like I can show you tomorrow with the kettle. People before him had built very big machines that used the power of steam to run, but they were not very powerful as a pressure was low. People feared that if they increased the pressure of the steam, there would be an awful accident."
Sensing his daughter's lack of comprehension, Argyle changed tack. "Pressure is sort of like power. The higher the pressure is, the more power the machine has. But you also need to be able to hold the pressure in, or you risk an explosion."
Sarah nodded, her eyes still wide at her father's story.
Argyle took this as the signal to continue. "This was the problem. The inventor had been trying to find a way to increase the pressure without causing an accident, and had struggled to find a solution. Then, one day, he had an idea."
"What was that, daddy?"
"He watched his kettle boiling, and saw the steam rising from it. 'Aha!' he thought, in a moment of triumph. 'That kettle uses high pressure steam, but the kettle doesn't break! If I can somehow harness that power, I can build a more powerful engine!' And he did. His new engine used a similar shape to the kettle, and could succesfully contain the high pressure steam, and furthermore he stored the steam in a separate piston, which moved the machine."
Argyle then leaned slightly closer. "And eventually, another inventor was able to take this machine and add wheels to it, creating the first steam locomotive. But that story will be for another time."
"Could I hear another story? Pleeeeeease?" Sarah asked.
Argyle glanced at the clock on her bedroom wall. "Alright. I guess we have time for a short one." He thought for a moment for which story to tell. "Many miles from here, there is an island called-"
"Sodor!"
"Very good. Now then, this island is surrounded by beautiful blue sea. It has fields of green and sandy yellow beaches. There are rivers, streams, and lots of trees where the birds sing. There are windmills and a coal mine; and docks where visitors to the island arrive. The island also has lots and lots of railway lines. And our story concerns one of the engines.
"Once upon a time, three engines lived in one shed on this railway. One of them was called-"
"Edward!"
"Edward was very old, and hadn't run in a long time. The other two engines were rude to him about it. 'They won't choose you!' they said. 'They want big, proper engines, like us!'
Sarah looked sad. "That's horrible!"
"Edward thought so too. He wanted to pull trains again, and see the outside world. Luckily, the driver and fireman saw just how sad Edward was, and decided to take him out for a run that day. You should have seen the looks on the other engine's faces as he steamed away!"
Argyle showed Sunny a picture from his scrapbook. "That's Edward. He had a wonderful day, pulling passengers across the island. And the next day he would prove himself very useful indeed." Argyle then closed the book. "But that, Sarah, is a story for another time."
Sarah seemed to be happy, but also very tired, as she yawned and slipped back in her bed. "I'd love to see a steam train someday," she said drowsily.
"Well, someday you will, I promise you that," Argyle said, as he stepped towards the door and flipped on his daughter's night light.
"Goodnight daddy."
"Goodnight, Sarah," Argyle said, as he closed the door. He then walked back to his room. "Now to get ready for bed without waking Goldie up." However, an idea was already forming in his mind.
"So, how was your first week at school?" Argyle asked, as he put some plates down on the table.
"It was great!" Sarah replied. "Apart from the teacher getting my name wrong. She called me Sunny!"
Argyle looked surprised. "That's funny. How did she get to that from Sarah?"
"Mrs Tearose said that somebody mis- mis-" Sarah's face scrunched up in frustration as she tried to recall the word, then gave up. "Miswrited it!"
"Oh! Mistyped it!" Argyle popped a drink and a cupcake down on Sarah's plate. "Though quick tip; the past tense of 'write' is 'wrote'."
"That doesn't make sense," Sarah said. "English is weird."
"That's because English involves a lot of influences. For example, what is the past tense for go?"
"Went."
"So why is the past tense of 'go' 'went', when so many other words just stick '-ed' on the end?"
Sarah thought for a moment. "Because it's a word they changed from something else?"
"Good guess, but not quite. Went comes from the word 'wend', which is a really old way of saying 'go'." Argyle then thought for a second. "How did we get here again?"
"The teacher got my name wrong, and the other kids all started calling me Sunny."
"Was that an issue?"
Sarah shook her head. "I actually kinda like it. I don't mind being called Sunny."
Argyle thought aloud to himself. "Yeah. It has a nice ring to it, and fits not only your personality but the family name. Besides, your mom and I often go by nicknames as well, so it only makes sense you have one too."
Sunny quickly drank from her cup- only a small amount, to avoid spilling it down herself. "Thanks."
Argyle smiled. "No problem, Sunny Bunny." He laughed. "That has a nice ring to it. But I've got some good news. We're going somewhere special tomorrow!"
"Where?" Sunny asked.
"If I told you it would ruin the surprise," Argyle answered. "But we'll have to be up bright and early tomorrow. We're travelling a fair way- by train."
Sure enough, Sunny was off to bed early that night, but the next day the family was up and ready to go fairly early. All the things they needed were packed well in advance, and they headed for the station. A short train ride later and they had arrived at Truro, where a mainline train rolled into the platform.
"Where are we getting off?" Goldie asked.
"Bodmin," Argyle replied. "Just a few stops up the line." He knelt down. "Not long now, Sunny."
Sunny had to do all in her power to keep her excitement in check.
Once they were onboard, they seemed to fly through the Cornish countryside, the scenery changing so rapidly it was as if they were flying. Through towns with quaint names like Par and Lostwithiel they flew, the rolling hills giving way to pleasant forests and lush plantlife.
Safe to say, Cornwall was a very varied place.
At long last, they arrived in Bodmin and got off the train, before crossing via a footbridge to another platform sitting to one side. This platform looked quite different to the others, having benches with the text G W R on them, and an old hut made of tin.
"I'll just go get the tickets," Argyle said. "Sunny, stay with mommy, OK?"
Sunny nodded.
Just as they split up, a whistle echoed in the distance.
Sunny immediately looked in the direction of the noise. Her eyes widened in wonder as something green rumbled round the bend, with a formation of other things behind it. As it rolled into the platform, she soon realised what it was.
They'd brought her here to see a steam train!
The train rolled to a stop, and Argyle returned to the party. "Welcome to the Bodmin and Wenford," he said. "This is your first time on a steam train, Sunny, so let's go!"
Goldie was last to board. "This sort of childlike enthusiasm is precisely why I married you, Argyle."
Once they were onboard, Goldie shut the door and closed it, sitting down in the compartment. "These seats are well sprung," she said. "They could do with fitting these to the commuter trains."
As everybody climbed aboard, the engine was moved to the opposite end of the train, ready to head to wherever it was going. A few minutes passed by, and Argyle handed Sunny something.
"You'll need these in case you choose to look out of the window," he said. "Helps to keep the soot out of your eyes."
Sunny nodded and slipped them on. The set of goggles seemed to make everything go funny, and she giggled at how the world was distorted.
A voice called down the platform. "RIGHT AWAY!"
There was a loud whistle, and a few seconds later the train started to pull away from the platform. Within a minute, the world of the 21st Century had vanished in its entirety, and the train has seemingly travelled backwards in time as it rolled through landscapes that had seemingly changed little since the 1930s.
Partway through its journey, the train stopped somewhere else, and Argyle leaned his head out of the window. "May I ask why we've stopped here?" he asked.
"We've halted to let the engine change ends!" said a friendly looking man. "We'll be here a few minutes, so feel free to hop out and stretch your legs. Tell me, have you had your tickets punched?"
"Not yet," Argyle said, and leaned back. "The man's here to punch our tickets," he said. He then opened the door. "Let's get them punched, then go and watch the engine running round."
Safe to say, Sunny was delighted to have her ticket punched, just as it would have been done back in the days of the old railway. Once the engine was on the other end, they reboarded the train and waited for departure.
The engine was working incredibly hard as it climbed towards the end of the line. The fierce gradient saw the driver and fireman working the engine as hard as they could, and Argyle pointed something out to Sunny.
"See that red glow?" he said. "That's the fire. That's an engine hard at work!"
Indeed, the constant percussive blasts from the exhaust made it sound as though the engine was speaking. Sunny hadn't noticed if the engine had a face like some of the engines in daddy's old books did, but she'd be sure to check if it did.
With a final blast of steam, the engine was over the summit, and rolled into the next station before coming to a stop in the platform.
"All change, please, all change! This is Boscarne Junction! Change trains for Wadebridge!"
The family had a lovely day out as the train pottered about the Cornish landscape. Sunny, though, noticed something odd when the engine was at the big station at the end of the line, where their journey had started.
"Why doesn't he have a face?" she asked.
One of the workers looked saddened, clearly having no idea how to explain the lack of a face to a small child. "I don't know how to say this, but... he lost the power to speak a long time ago. It was as if he went to sleep and never woke up."
Sunny's face fell, and she turned to Argyle. "Is that true?" she asked, tears in her eyes. For the young child, such a thing happening to anybody was a horrible thought. Could it befall her?
Argyle nodded. "Sadly, yes. There are fewer engines who can speak than when I was your age. But nothing's gone forever, Sunny. One day, they may return."
Sunny made a promise in her heart as she stood there. Someday, somehow, they would return. Somehow, she would find a way to bring them back.
Author's Note
Hello again! This chapter is intended to explain the origin of Sunny's hobby as a railway enthusiast (or railfan for US readers). The narrative is loosely inspired by an early memory of mine of visiting a heritage railway.
The two stories that Argyle tells are references to common stories told to children. The first is based on the popular legend that James Watt, a Scottish inventor who helped to advance stationary steam engines through the use of high pressure steam, got the idea from watching his kettle boil. The story is most likely apocryphal; the potential applications of high pressure steam had been known about since Ancient Greek times, but the engineering hadn't caught up. The story does have an element of truth to it, though; Watt used his kettle during his experiments into high pressure steam.
The scond story is based on an early draft of Edward's Day Out that Wilbert Awdry recalled in an interview conducted shortly before his death in 1997. In the interview, he revealed that the story started life as a series of questions and answers between him and Christopher, and this helped him flesh out the plot. He soon found he had to write the wording down to ensure no detail was left out, and even did some basic illustrations to go with it. From this developed the first book in the series, and the rest is history.
The Bodmin and Wenford Railway is a real heritage line in Cornwall, and runs from Bodmin Parkway to Boscarne Junction. The line is well-loved for its bucholic character and selection of rolling stock from the China clay industry. It's also the home of Alfred and Judy, the engines Bill and Ben are based on.
Argyle giving Sunny a pair of goggles is based on something I do at heritage railways, mainly to keep ash and soot out of my eyes. With oil burning, it's becoming less of an issue.
The locomotive in the story is a GWR 5700 Pannier Tank, specifically No. 4612. This class of tank engine is an icon of the GWR, as their low axle load, good adhesion, and simple design made them common across the network. 4612 belongs to the same class as Duck and has resided at the Bodmin and Wenford since 2002. The photo above shows the engine in the livery it carried between 2002 and 2019. As of 2024 the engine is undergoing overhaul.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
It was a lovely summer Saturday. The sun shone and the birds sang, and all seemed well in Falmouth. Behind the lighthouse complex that the Starshines called home, there was an old quarry. This had operated until somewhat recently, then closed when the stone became economically unviable to extract. The last train had left Lighthouse Quarry in 1987 (Argyle had found a photo of the last train pulling away from Falmouth Yard), and since then the track had been simply left in place.
The old engine shed had also been left, as the cost of dismantling it was greater than any potential profit from doing so. The structure had proven convenient, as for some reason it had been included in the land package for the lighthouse complex, and Argyle had stored Salty in there whilst working on him.
And today that was precisely what he was doing. Veronica had popped over to help, and Goldie had taken Sunny out for the day to Penzance. This gave Argyle plenty of time to focus on Salty.
Today, he had replaced some of the electrical systems, and had done some work on the roller bearings. Veronica had helped him see what bits needed replacing, so Argyle's next job was to see if he could source any replacement parts.
"Where will you find them?" Veronica had asked, putting down an oil can.
"I'm in contact with the Diesel Shunter's Alliance," Argyle replied. "They sometimes put in bulk orders for parts, so I may tag along with those."
Salty looked over. "Thanks for your help, mateys!"
"No problem!" Argyle replied.
Salty smiled. "If this be the end of the work party, I wish to perform an old shanty, or at least part of one."
"How does he know so many shanties?" Veronica asked.
"He worked on a dockside, remember?" Argyle pointed out.
Salty then drew in some breath, and started to sing. The many years sitting in a siding out of use had affected his voice not at all, and it was almost a shame there were no trucks to join in with the harmony.
"Kind friends and companions, come join me in rhyme!
"Here's a health to the company and one to my lass!
Veronica looked over. "I'll need to be on my way," she said. "My train leaves in about half an hour, and I've got a date tonight."
"Good luck!" Argyle smiled. "The same guy as before?"
"You bet," Veronica said. "We're off to the Admiral's Head tonight. Looks promising too!"
Argyle then closed the shed up. "See you soon, Salty!"
"See you later, matey!" Salty said. "Smooth seas and clear skies!"
Once the work was done, Argyle began to make his way back towards his home. Goldie and Sunny were supposed to be back at six or so, which gave him an hour or two to get other things done.
Just then, he spotted something odd coming from a cave. He looked in confusion. "Does light normally come from caves like that?"
The Cornish coastline is dotted with many caves, which were historically used by pirates to store loot when on the run from either the police or the Royal Navy. Many of these caves were long since empty, much to the relief of Salty. Ironically, despite talking like a pirate he was terrified of meeting real ones.
But, truth be told, Argyle didn't think being fearful of being robbed was too strange a fear. He walked along the old line towards the cave. He looked towards it- and suddenly his sense of apprehension was replaced with one of curiosity. What if there was some great discovery sitting in there? What if a legendary pirate captain had left his loot in there, for somebody else to find?
The chance was too good to pass up, and he stepped inside the cave. It was cold and dank, but Argyle figured he'd only be in there for a few moments.
As he made his way inside, he suddenly saw the source of the bright glow. A large glowing circle was sitting there, which was what was producing the rather strange light he had seen outside the cave in the yard.
Suddenly, the light grew in intensity, and before he could react Argyle was pulled in.
The next thing he knew was landing on the floor, and he stood up as quickly as he could. "Where am I?"
Where he was now bore little resemble to Lighthouse Quarry. A massive harbour stretched out before him, with vast dock cranes and heavy machinery moving goods. Warehouses were stocked full of goods, and engines were at work on the dockside.
But what caught his attention was the fact the engines were all talking to one another.
Argyle walked back a bit, and then saw a sign
YOU ARE NOW ENTERING TIDMOUTH PORT AUTHORITY CONTROLLED LINES.
SWITCH TO RADIO CHANNEL 045 AND AWAIT INSTRUCTIONS.
"Tidmouth," Argyle said to himself. "Wait a second... I'm on Sodor!"
"Hey! You!" shouted a voice.
Argyle looked over to see a man looking at him. He looked very officious and a bit annoyed. "Were you talking to me?"
"Yes! I was!" said the man. "Don't just stand about there staring! Get to work! We've got some trucks that need shunting! Ring Haw's over there!"
Ring Haw was a large saddle tank with inside cylinders, with his smokebox and chimney clear of the saddle tank. He was painted green with black lining, combined with red connecting rods, and a set of nameplates that red RING HAW in block capitals.
"You good to go to work?" he asked. "I assume you're new?"
"I guess you could say that," Argyle said, hopping onto the footplate. "Now then, let's see if you can remember how to do this."
Truth be told, he had some familiarity with these engines. When he was growing up, an industrial line backed onto his home, and a small saddle tank had worked the line there. Argyle had gotten to know the engine, Brookes, very well. He wondered what had happened to him, but safe to say Ring Haw was very similar. Just a big bigger.
The driver and engine got to work, moving trucks from siding to siding, and marshalling loaded vehicles into larger trains ready to go to places far away. The narrator then resisted the urge to make the obvious joke.
"Mr Narrator, you're not supposed to break the fourth wall!"
"Izzy, you're not in this story!"
"OK! See ya!"
The work continued for over an hour, until at last the cleaned sidings were filled with trucks, and stock was pushed into other sidings and locations.
"You're not bad for a landlubber," Ring Haw replied.
Argyle parked Ring Haw on another siding, and simply looked out in wonder. After so many years, he had found it after all these years.
Those blue skies were Sudrian. The clouds were Sudrian. The soil beneath his feet was Sudrian. He was breathing Sodor's air.
He had achieved the dream of so many railway enthusiasts worldwide and actually gone to Sodor. But how was he going to get back to Cornwall? His wife and daughter were due home in an hour or so, and he needed to get the water primed for the shower- seeing as they'd gone to the beach, they'd undoubtedly want to shower.
Just then, he saw another portal nearby, and headed for it. Hopefully that would be his route home.
Another portal, another series of bright flashes, and Argyle was back in Lighthouse Quarry. He checked his watch, and noted he had about fifty minutes to get the house ready.
So, he got to work, cleaning things up a bit and setting the water heater to have the shower water heated for about an hour from now. He worked closely and smartly, making sure to keep things in order, and his mind focused.
He was done sooner than expected, and so went back to his study to fish out a book he'd been reading. He'd wait in the kitchen and greet them when they got in.
Sure enough, he heard two familiar voices from nearby.
"Can we go again?"
"Of course we can. But we'd probably best wait a bit. After all, if we did it all the time, it wouldn't be special, would it?"
Argyle got up and opened the door. "Greetings, you two! How was it?"
"It was great, dad!" Sunny said excitedly. "I've never seen so much wildlife! And there was so much stuff parked at the depot!"
"You'd probably best be getting your shower," Goldie said.
As Sunny disappeared off, Goldie smiled at her husband. "Anything interesting happen?"
"Nothing beyond the usual," Argyle said, suspecting his wife wouldn't believe him even if he told her.
Author's Note
This chapter is very, very loosely based on the Tell your Tale Tiny Trot, reusing the episode's basic premise of a portal to another place. Otherwise, the episode's content has entirely been replaced, as to be completely honest by that point the age regression storylines Tell your Tale was fond of had grown very, very stale. The title is taken from a sea shanty recorded by Colm McGuinness in 2022.
The sea shanty near the beginning, Health to the Company , is a very old one. The oldest known written version of it dates from 1875, but other sources claim it was first performed in 1836. Most people are familiar with the version recorded by The Longest Johns in 2020, and their version was used as a reference point for the lyrics.
Ring Haw is another real locomotive. Built by Hunslet in 1940, it spent its entire working career in an ironstone quarry near Peterborough, before being retired in 1970. Purchased by the North Norfolk Railway the same year, it returned to service in 1972, and has rarely been out of traffic since. If the silhouette looks familiar, Ring Haw belongs to the same family of locomotives as Brookes, the only real difference between the two engines being that Ring Haw's cylinders are 2 inches wider in diameter.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
Argyle was on the phone when Goldie entered the room.
"Yes? Oh, that's unfortunate. You won't be back until the afternoon? I see. Monday? I can't do Monday, I'm afraid. Yes, I know it's the end of the holiday and that the kids have an inset day, but I still have to work! Right, Carl is elsewhere. OK then, I'll see what I can do. Bye, gotta go."
Goldie spoke up as Argyle put the phone down. "Who was that?"
Argyle turned round to face his wife. "That was Phyllis. Apparently she needs Sprout babysitting next Monday, which I cannot do as I've got a training day that Monday before term resumes at the University."
"Monday, you say?" Goldie said.
"Yeah," Argyle replied. "Last day before they go back to school."
Goldie then had a brainwave. "I could look after them. I work from home on Mondays, remember?"
Argyle looked worried. "Dear, I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think you know what you're letting yourself in for."
Goldie laughed. "I haven't had the chance to really get to know Sprout, so this should provide a good chance to get up to speed. Besides, I've handled Sunny on my own. How hard can it be?"
Argyle looked nervous, but nodded. "Erm, if you're sure then. But if things get out of hand I'm always on call, or failing that text me, OK?"
Goldie acknowledged. "Of course." Unfortunately, Goldie had no clue what she was letting herself in for.
The day arrived, and Argyle set off for the University, passing Phyllis and Sprout on the way. "Thanks for asking your wife to look after my darling today," Phyllis said.
Argyle looked at Sprout, whose face seemed to be stuck in a pout. "You might want to try smiling," he said, jokingly. "If the wind changes your face might get stuck like that!"
Sprout looked incredulous. "That's not how wind works!"
Argyle sighed. "It was worth a try. Be on your best behaviour, OK?"
Phyllis looked at him. "You're so harsh on the boy, you know that?"
"And you're too lax," Argyle said.
"At least you won't be able to put silly ideas about talking trains into his head," Phyllis said. "I've always thought that was weird, brainwashing the kids with your nonsense."
"It's called research, Phyllis," Argyle replied. "I leave the brainwashing in this town to you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the University."
Back at home, Sunny and her mother were in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" Sunny said, who hopped up from the table and opened the door.
She produced a tray from nowhere and held it up. "Unicorn cupcake? Freshly baked!"
Phyllis waved her hand in Sunny's face. "Heavens, no! Those are far too sugary for my taste!"
Sunny briefly looked down, but backed up into the kitchen and placed the tray down.
Goldie looked up. "Phyllis, you could have said that a bit more politely."
Phyllis didn't acknowledge. "Make sure to return Sprout in one piece, OK?" She then left and shut the door without saying another word.
Goldie thought this was very odd, but decided to get the greetings going anyway. "Well, good morning Sprout. My name's Goldie, and I don't believe we've met- I'm usually at work when you're over."
Sprout looked puzzled. "So you don't stay at home?"
"No. I work in an office several days a week. Why?"
"Dad says women should stay in the home to raise kids. That's the way the world is."
Goldie looked surprised at this statement, but decided to use this as an opportunity for education. "That's because in the past men had a lot of strange views about women. Nowadays, there's absolutely no reason a woman cannot be whatever she wants and work a job, or have children, or both- as I have. Now then, I'll be in my office for much of the day, but lunch is at 1. I'll be coming to check on you two periodically, but try to keep the noise down."
Sunny nodded. "Come on, Sprout! I've got something I want to show you!"
Sprout followed after her. "The paint in this corridor is ugly."
Goldie was a bit shocked at the way Sprout was behaving. "By the stars, he's rude," she said to herself. "Somebody needs to teach him basic manners."
"I think this more or less wraps this meeting up," said one of the heads on the other end of the line.
"Excellent," Goldie said. "Shall we pick this up next week and discuss the transfer process?"
"Of course," said another talking head. "Always a pleasure doing business with you, Ms Starshine."
"Please, call me Goldie," Goldie replied. She bid the other speakers farewell, then glanced at the clock. "Time for lunch, I think."
She stepped out of the door, and looked up the stairs. "Sunny! Sprout! Lunch!"
About a minute later, Sunny and Sprout appeared. Sunny was busy talking excitedly about an idea she'd had, whilst Sprout looked fundamentally uninterested.
"Could you two help me set the table?" Goldie asked. "Knifes and forks are in the top drawer on the left hand side of the dishwasher."
Sunny happily walked over and removed some cutlery, whilst Sprout just stood there, doing nothing.
Goldie had started rinsing some plates in readiness for lunch, and spotted out of the corner of her eye that Sprout was doing nothing. "Aren't you going to help set the table?"
"No, that's a woman's job."
Goldie turned round. "Is that so? And who told you that?"
"My mom."
Goldie was getting quite concerned at what Sprout was being told by his parents. "Well, I think I'll be having a word with your mother about that. In the meantime, could you get some glasses and put them on the table?"
Sprout still didn't move.
Goldie's face shifted. "Sprout, you're beginning to test my patience. Sunny, show him how it's done."
Sunny nodded. "Yes mom." She walked over to the cupboard, removed some glasses, and filled them up before placing them on the table.
Goldie looked at Sprout. "Not so difficult, is it? Now do as you're told."
Sprout moved off, dragging his heels the entire way. Goldie got some food out and placed it on a plate on the table, before sitting down. "Now then, what have you two been doing up- Sprout, no . Don't just grab things, ask somebody to pass them to you."
"You're not my mom. I don't take orders from you."
There was a clattering noise as Sunny dropped her fork in surprise. "You can't talk to mom like that!"
Goldie looked equally shocked. "Sprout, that was very rude. I don't ever want to hear you speaking like that to me or to anybody else ever again. Do I make myself clear?"
"But mom sa-"
"I don't give a monkeys what your mother said. Do I make myself clear, yes or no?"
Sprout nodded. "Yes."
Goldie noticed Sunny had backed up slightly, and changed her demanour. "As I was asking, what were you two getting up to?"
Sunny started excitedly telling her all the things they did, whilst Sprout just seemed to sulk. Goldie had noticed that, and wondered if Sprout was like that if he was genuinely remorseful or just annoyed he got told off.
She had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.
So, she decided to speak up. "How's hanging the plane going?"
"Dad was going to help me do it later today."
This seemed to raise Sprout's spirits. "Can I see after lunch?"
"Sure!" Sunny said. "Just don't touch it, OK?"
And that seemed to be that.
"And, therefore, I think this new stock could really suit your needs. It's compatible with your line's FastCharge technology and this would speed up commuter operations great-"
Suddenly, there was a loud thump from upstairs, and the noise of something breaking.
"What the hell is going on up there?"
"Is everything alright, Mrs Starshine?"
"Sorry, I'm looking after my daughter and a friend of hers today, and-"
Just then, Goldie heard a sound that always caused her blood to run cold.
She could hear Sunny crying.
"Could you excuse me a moment, please?"
"Take as much time as you need."
Goldie dashed up the stairs and opened the door to Sunny's bedroom. "Sunny, is everything O..."
She trailed off as she saw the scene of destruction. The model plane, which Curtis had made for Sunny, was lying on the floor in pieces. Sprout was sitting smirking on one side of the room, whilst Sunny had moved to the other side and was clutching her arm whilst sobbing.
"Sunny, what happened?" Goldie asked.
"She was me-"
"I asked Sunny, not you." Goldie's words silenced Sprout instantly, and she walked over to Sunny. "Sunny, did you fall?"
Sunny looked up at her mother, and Goldie saw something in Sunny's eyes that upset her even more. Fear.
Sunny was clearly scared of Sprout.
"Sunny, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened?"
Sunny nodded, talking through tears. "Sprout tried to remove the plane, and I tried to stop him, but he hit me!"
"Is that why you're clutching your arm?"
Sunny pulled part of her shirt back to reveal red, inflamed skin. "Mom, it hurts!"
Goldie turned around. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Sprout. "Wipe that smirk off your face. Samuel Cloverleaf, you are in a lot of trouble. What even made you think this was appropriate behaviour?"
Sprout started to stammer, realising just how deep a hole he'd dug himself into. "S- Sunny tried to push me, and-"
"Not to me."
Sprout looked visible confused. "Excuse me? You're mad over this?"
Goldie looked at him coldly. "Oh, I'm not mad. I'm furious. You won't be explaining this to me. You'll be explaining it to your mother, and I'll make damn sure she knows exactly what you did. I'm taking you home. Sunny, get your coat."
Goldie had partly said that to get some distance between her child and Sprout, and Sunny had scurried out of the room without hesitating.
Sprout was flabbergasted. "What? Goldie, No!"
Goldie wanted to throttle him, but knew the trouble with the law wasn't worth it. "That's Mrs Starshine to you. You lost the right to use my given name when you attacked Sunny. I'm taking you home, even if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming. Now get your butt off the floor and grab your coat."
Goldie finished her call (keeping Sprout within watch in her office), then they set off into town. The walk back to the Cloverleaf home was not a huge journey, but it seemed to take forever. Sprout seemed to be quiet- well, good on him. Hopefully he was feeling remorse for what he did. Goldie kept Sunny on the other side, to ensure Sprout couldn't interfere with her.
Goldie knocked on the door, and waited for a response.
Just then, Phyllis opened the door. "Oh, hello Goldie. I wasn't expecting to see you at this time. Did something happen?"
Goldie looked down. "Sprout, explain what happened, or I will."
What happened next caught both Goldie and Sunny completely off guard.
Sprout instead burst into tears. "Mrs Starshine was horrible to me!"
Phyllis hugged him. "Now, now, I'll make it all better. I'll get you something as compensation later. Just go and have a lie down, OK?"
Sprout ran off into the house, whilst Goldie looked on, concerned. "Phyllis, your son is lying."
"Whyever would he do that?" Phyllis said. "Let's discuss this over a hot drink."
Goldie stepped inside, indicating for Sunny to follow inside. Once hot drinks were brewed, Phyllis turned to them. "So, what is this you claim happened?"
Goldie sighed. "You really, really need to do something about Sprout. I have not seen such a poorly behaved child in all my years as a parent. Sprout was constantly rude to me and Sunny, said some very concerning things, wouldn't do as he was told-"
"You must run your house like some sort of prison camp," Phyllis commented. "Children are children, and should be allowed to have fun."
"We're raising the next generation of adults," Goldie said, starting to get frustrated. "Sprout needs to learn basic manners and that the world doesn't bend to his whim, or he's in for a rude awakening. But we're not onto the worst of it. Your son broke a model plane my brother in law made as a birth gift for Sunny and which he knew he wasn't allowed to touch."
Phyllis looked completely unconcerned. "Well, if it was nice you can hardly blame him for wanting to touch it."
Something inside Goldie snapped. "YES YOU BLOODY CAN, BECAUSE IT'S CLEARLY NOT HIS!" she bellowed, at a volume that surprised even her. She looked round, and saw Sunny and Phyllis had both recoiled in fright.
Phyllis was the first to recover. "I don't like your tone of voice," she said. "I don't think I'll let Sunny round here, knowing she has such an arrogant and rude mother."
Goldie got up, and poured the rest of the tea down the sink. "And I won't babysit Sprout again. You need to start parenting, or else your son is going to seriously hurt someone. Good day."
Goldie and Sunny sat on the seafront, not far from where the old amusement park was. Sunny spoke up. "Mom, are you OK?"
There was a moment of silence. Then Goldie spoke. "Sunny, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone with Sprout. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course," Sunny said, and mother and daughter embraced.
"I'm going to make this up to you," Goldie said. "There was that heritage railway you wanted to go to near Exeter, right?"
"Hello, you two!" Argyle said, as he walked over. "How'd it go?"
Goldie sighed. "You were right, Argyle. Sprout's a right terror, and put simply I won't be babysitting him again. His mother's also a right piece of work. I just wasn't aware of all this as I'm away from town so much. I should have listened to you."
"It's OK," Argyle said. "You weren't to know about that. But what's this about going to Exeter?"
"I need to make this up to Sunny," Goldie said. "So I've suggested we go to the Paignton and Dartmouth at the weekend."
"Can I come?" Argyle asked. "Let's make this a family trip!"
"Of course!" Goldie said, and got up. "Come on Sunny, we'd best be heading home. I've got tomorrow to prepare for."
As the family walked down the path alongside the seafront, the discussion turned more positive for the future, with plans being proposed and ideas being bounced about between them. When they arrived home, Argyle suddenly had an idea.
"This place could be the ideal venue for a sleepover," he commented, then turned to Sunny. "Sunny, do you think Hitch would fancy a sleepover?"
Author's Note
This is an original story, intended to serve as the origin of the emnity that exists between the Starshine and Cloverleaf families. It also establishes the origin of Sprout's attitudes towards the family, as well as provide a bit of foreshadowing to later.
A number of different references have been hidden in the text. Can you spot them all?
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
Sunny wandered onto the beach, carrying a tin and a beachball with her. She'd been told that there was something going on there, and naturally she wanted to join in.
Sure enough, she saw some kids playing beach volleyball, and naturally she wanted to join in. "Hey guys! Wait for me!" She dashed across the sand and came to a stop in front of where the group were playing.
The smile on her face evaporated when she saw who was there. One of them was Sprout, who still had an ugly sneer locked into his face. "Oh, if it isn't the little liar," he sneered. "You got me sent to bed without desert because of what you said!"
Sunny knew what this was about. Sprout had basically faced no consequences for hitting her when he'd been over for a playdate, and to be sent to bed without desert (which was probably something unhealthy if her knowledge of the Cloverleafs was anything to go by) wasn't that big of a deal. Sunny knew if she'd acted the same way she'd have been grounded. For a week.
"No I'm not!" Sunny protested. "You hit me!"
Then another person turned around, a girl with yellowy hair. It was another person who seemed to have an axe to grind with Sunny for no obvious reason.
"Well, if it isn't Sunny," she said.
"Not now, Mandy," Sunny said. "I just wanna play."
"Well, you can't," Mandy smirked, walking towards Sunny. "Not since you got me in trouble for no reason."
"You pushed me down the slide!" Sunny protested.
"Not to mention that this beach is only for English kids. And you're not."
Sunny was pretty confused. "But I am British," she said.
"Not with that voice you're not," Mandy replied, and abruptly snatched the tin from under her arm.
"Give that back!"
Mandy pinned Sunny in place whilst she looked through the tin. "What are these?" she asked.
"Those are cookies," Sunny started.
"Cookies?!" Mandy said. "You can't even talk properly. Those are American words. We don't speak American here."
"Uh, guys, her mom's American," one of the other boys pointed out.
"Well, no wonder!" Sprout snorted.
Mandy laughed, and closed in on Sunny. "I bet you'll end up really fat. Your kitchen probably smells like Burger King!"
"If an American cuts themselves, they probably bleed cooking grease!" Sprout laughed.
Sunny had backed up onto a rock. "Dad does most of the cooking anyway, and who cares if I sometimes use different words? You know what I mean!"
Mandy was about to say something else, when suddenly another voice spoke.
"How about you pick on somebody your own size, eh Mandy?"
Sunny glanced over to see a boy with yellow skin and green hair standing next to her. He didn't look hugely happy.
Mandy looked at him. "The hero speaks."
The boy still looked stern. "Just because Sunny's mom is from somewhere else doesn't give you the right to be mean to her. Besides, you've eaten at KFC, which is originally from Kentucky, which is in America. So you're a hypocrite. Besides, I don't think Mr Marshall would want to hear you've been bullying people, would he?"
Mandy growled at him, and walked off, tossing the tin to the floor. "Come on guys! Let's move the game somewhere else. Let's leave Hitch and his girlfriend alone."
Sunny looked like she was about to speak, but Mandy and Sprout were already out of earshot. "Thanks," she said.
"I couldn't just stand there and let them bully you, could I?" the boy said, before extending his hand. "Hitch Trailblazer."
"I'm Sunny," Sunny replied. She showed the tin. "Wanna try one? It's a recipe from Rhode Island, where my mom's from."
Hitch tried one, and smiled. "Wow. These are really good. Now then, fancy some volleyball?"
"You're on!" Sunny said.
"Hitch, would you like to come over for a sleepover at my house?" Sunny asked. It was the end of the school day, and they were busy packing their bags in preparation to meet their parents.
"Is your dad cool with that?" Hitch asked.
"He suggested it!" Sunny replied. "Mom's overseas, so the house will be really quiet and we won't interfere with her work. Besides, school isn't until Monday again."
"I'll ask my mother," Hitch asked, as they began to file out into the playground to meet their parents. Sunny made her way over to Argyle, whilst Hitch went over to his mother.
"Hello Hitch!" Marigold said, with a smile. "How was school?"
"Great, Mom," Hitch replied. "Hey, uh, can I go to a sleepover at Sunny's tonight?"
Marigold thought for a moment. "Well, I don't see why not. Let me just clear this up with Sunny's dad."
Sunny and Hitch waited, whilst their respective parents discussed arrangements for the next day. And then they turned back to their respective charges.
"I'll be over to pick you up around lunchtime," Marigold said to her son. "Make sure to do what Dr Starshine tells you, OK? Be on your best behaviour."
Hitch nodded. "I will, mom."
"Good boy." Marigold began to walk in the direction of her home. "Have fun!"
"I will!"
Hitch had never been to Sunny's house overnight before. True, he had been over for morning and afternoon playdates (given that Sprout was persona non grata in the home and could only be there if Hitch was there also), but staying overnight in somebody else's house was quite the novelty.
He and Sunny placed their bags down next to the door and sat down at the table. "Wait here," Argyle said. "I've got a special treat lined up for both of you. But I propose we eat first, and it's a Starshine specialty- a pizza recipe that's been in the family since the time of the Chicago Starshines."
"Thank you Dr. Starshine," Hitch said.
Argyle laughed. "Call me Argyle. I prefer not to use my title for a number of reasons- not least as people think I'm the other kind of doctor."
Sure enough, once dinner was concluded, the trio stepped out of the kitchen and into the corridor. But the corridor had undergone an astonishing transformation. Argyle had turned it into a jungle!
"Welcome to some live action roleplay!" he said. "Deep within this jungle lies a powerful artefact, which is at the top of a tall tower. This tower has been lost for generations, so today we shall follow some clues and hopefully find it!"
Hitch looked around him, astonished at how much work had gone into creating this spectacle. Plants had been added, and books had been rearranged to create rockwork and other scenery. "You really pulled out all the stops," he said.
"I used to do a lot of this sort of thing at University," Argyle explained. "And we have game night on Sundays, which you're welcome to attend if you want."
"Let's go find the treasure!" Sunny said, looking quite excited. Hitch smiled. One thing that had always amazed him about Sunny was how easily she could immerse herself in fantasy scenarios created for this sort of work. Once they'd been required to tell a fantasy story as part of a creative writing assignment, and Sunny had gotten so engrossed in creating an entire world for the story to take place in they'd had to mark her worldbuilding notes (as she actually hadn't gotten round to starting the story). She'd gotten a good grade for them, though, so it wasn't all lost.
Sure enough, they got to work searching for the treasure. They searched high and low, through jungle and treasure hall, but at last they found some steps to what seemed to be the tower. Argyle led the way, his lamp glowing in the darkness as they climbed through the tower. "These are steeper than I remember," he said.
Hitch figured out where they were, but as he didn't want to ruin the immersion he chose to keep quiet. But soon they reached the top, and there it was- the ancient artefact.
"We've found it!" Argyle said, with a smile. "Now then, let's see what it does." He walked over to the side and pushed a button. Suddenly, with a rumble some machinery started into life, and some machine began to rotate, with a light being produced.
"You got the lighthouse working again?" Hitch asked.
"Didn't need a huge amount of work if you know what you're doing," Argyle said. "Just the foghorn to work on now."
Hitch pulled himself into a sleeping bag as Sunny hopped into her bed. "Thanks for coming over, Hitch," she said. "That was great fun."
"I'd love to do that again at some point," Hitch said. Then he noticed something on one of Sunny's walls. "Hey. What's that?"
Sunny hopped out of bed and pointed to it. "Oh, this? That's a map of Sodor."
"What's Sodor?" Hitch asked.
And so, Sunny began. "The Island of Sodor is surrounded by beautiful blue sea. It has fields of green and sandy yellow beaches. There are rivers, streams, and lots of trees where the birds sing. There are windmills and a coal mine; and docks where visitors to the island arrive. The island also has lots and lots of railway lines..."
Author's Note
Hello again! A question I've often been asked is how Sunny and Hitch's friendship began, given that they are pretty close already at the start of Thomas and Friends: a New Generation . This chapter is that answer.
The opening sequence of this story is modelled on common attitudes British people have towards Americans. Many are only really familiar with the common stereotype of people eating fast food and going everywhere in gas guzzlers, and it is common to query US English as 'modern' (which is ironic as many common American turns of phrase such as 'trash' are Shakespearian in origin). Many are not aware that the United States is an incredibly diverse place, and is arguably 50 countries in one.
Mandy is a reference to this story:
TSunny.exe
Rainbow Dash finds a strange game cartridge that opens a new world of horror.
SigmasonicX ·
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The story is a parody of old creepyastas, particularly Sonic.Exe. However, it contains a set of flashbacks which give Sunny a backstory loosely modelled on the creepypasta Jeff the Killer (complete with Argyle being reworked to be an utterly incompetent parent).
The passage explaining Sunny's approach to worldbuilding is an allusion to Tolkien. Tolkien, who is best known for creating Middle-Earth (the setting of Lord of the Rings amongst other stories), was rather critical of the concept of suspension of disbelief. This is because, as he articulates in his essay 'On Fairy Stories', if a reader is having to willingly suspend disbelief for a story to work, the author has failed to engage the reader. Instead, Tolkien proposed an alternative called secondary reality; if the world a story takes place in functions according to an established set of rules and laws, the reader is more willing to accept fantastical things occurring within the story. This requires the creation of an internally consistent fictional world, and this can be a lengthy process; Middle-Earth took the best part of a decade to create. One notable reader of this essay was Wilbert Awdry; he mentions it in a letter to his brother George, and Tolkien's approach would prove to be a profound influence on the creation of the Sodor setting, with all the history and lore developed for the backstory. It's a writing approach which influences my own work too.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
Argyle was working in his study when it happened.
His duties as a professor did not just include teaching and research; they involved marking as well. Students would be submitting their coursework throughout the year (sometimes multiple pieces a semester), and this meant Argyle was often kept busy marking it.
And some of the responses that students gave could be interesting to say the least. Whilst Argyle was all too familiar with the notion of art being subjective and open to interpretation, he couldn't help but feel some of his students had come to some very odd conclusions regarding the paintings of the Hudson River School.
One student had clearly not done his research and/or hadn't been paying attention in class, as his essay was insisting a particular painting was a response to a historical event that hadn't happened when it was painted. Argyle didn't understand why students would engage in such poor research, given the amount that tuition cost.
He finished marking the piece, and in the feedback box wrote Please see me after the lecture at the bottom. Hopefully that would send the message.
Just as he moved his cursor onto the next piece he had to mark and was about to click, he then heard it.
"Damnit!"
His office sat right next to the bedroom he shared with his wife, and he knew that voice all too well. He got up from his chair and headed to the bedroom, closing the door behind him to ensure Sunny didn't get any bright ideas. Not that she did. Unlike Sprout, she seemed to have a solid grasp on the idea that there were rooms she needed special permission to go in.
He opened the bedroom door to find a scene of chaos. Clothing was placed in piles around a suitcase, as Goldie was currently packing for a business trip, but one item sat at the front.
"Is everything OK?" Argyle asked.
Goldie glanced over. "No. It's not." She lifted up a garment, which Argyle recognised as her evening gown. "That dry cleaner ruined it!"
And he had. The colour seemed to have run, turning a previously maroon gown pink. Not only that, the fabric was clearly damaged in places.
"That's awkward," Argyle said. Truth be told he didn't know what else to say, worried it could only make the problem worse.
Goldie sighed. "Just the thing you want to find when you're packing for a multi-day business trip to Nuremburg. Good thing there's no posh meal at the end of this trip, or I'd be stuffed."
"I'm certain they'd understand if you'd explain," Argyle said.
"Hopefully," Goldie said. "Look, I know it seems silly that I'm getting worked up over a dress. But, although I do have interests in historically male dominated hobbies I do like to keep in touch with my feminine side."
Argyle nodded. "I understand completely. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Goldie sighed again. "It's fine. I'll look for another one after I get back from Germany."
Just then, Argyle had an idea.
Goldie set off for the airport the next morning. Argyle saw her on her way, as was his custom, and then headed back to the house in order to set his plan in motion. He went up the stairs and knocked on Sunny's door.
"Come in!" Sunny said, and moments later the door opened. Sunny had popped a book down on her table, and sat back on her bed.
"Why were you reading on your bed rather than in a chair?" Argyle asked.
"I like variety from time to time," Sunny replied. "Is something wrong?"
Argyle closed the door behind him. "I presume you heard what happened yesterday?"
Sunny thought for a moment. "Mom seemed a bit stressed, but I can't think of anything else."
Argyle nodded. "Unfortunately, it was because of something that happened. You know the place where we went to get some clothes dry cleaned?"
Sunny nodded. "We picked those up yesterday after school!"
"Well, unfortunately they ruined your mom's evening gown."
Sunny looked confused. "The one that made mom look like a princess?"
Argyle nodded. He was fully aware that Sunny didn't have much of a concept of different types of formal attire (and why would she when her only point of reference was Disney?), so often used princess as a point of reference. "Yeah. It ended up pink with some damage, which means she can't really use it anymore."
Sunny looked surprised. "That's awful! Is there anything we can do?"
"Luckily, there is," Argyle said, sitting down next to his daughter. "Now then, what day is coming up soon?"
Sunny thought for a second. "The weekend?"
"Close, but no cigar."
"Halloween?"
"Not quite. Something else happens before then that we celebrate with cake and giving of gifts wrapped in colourful paper."
Sunny then got what her father was hinting at. "Mom's birthday!"
"Exactly!" Argyle smiled. "Now then, here is the plan. Today, I'll pick you up once school is over, then we're going to head home and pick up our roller blades. Then, we'll go to the station and catch a train to Truro. Once there, we'll go to Hemline's Fashion Emporium and, if luck is only side, find something for your mom. After that, we'll go roller blading and then head home. Sound good?"
Sunny nodded. "I can't wait! Though of course I'll have to."
Argyle laughed gently at Sunny's enthusiasm. "Good girl. Now then, we'd best be getting off to school and university respectively."
As the pair set off, Argyle knew what he was planning was risky. He knew from experience that fancy clothing wasn't always cheap- the suit he wore for formal events had been somewhat pricey, for example (not helped by the fact he was a somewhat, ahem, broad man), but he knew it would be worth it if it meant his wife was happy.
And Sunny seemed just as keen to ensure her mother was happy too, so that was two of them united in their purpose.
After talking to the student with the strange essay (and clearing up his misunderstanding), Argle collected his things and headed for the school to pick Sunny up. That was easy, as when he arrived through the school gates she shot over to him like a bullet.
"You ready?" Argyle asked.
"You bet, dad!" Sunny replied.
"Excellent," Argyle smiled. "You can tell me all about the school day on our way to Truro. But first we need to pick up our roller blades."
Sure enough, they did, and then they boarded the train which would take them up the valley to Cornwall's only city. The DMU's engine had a satisfying roar as they rattled along, the October sun gently illuminating the interior whilst Sunny excitedly told her father what she had learned. Clearly she had inherited his thirst for knowledge.
Once they arrived in Truro, it was a relatively easy walk to Hemline's Fashion Emporium, which sat only a block or two away from the railway station (handy for those on foot).
Argyle opened the door. "Watch where you tread, Sunny."
Sunny nodded.
As they entered, a woman with light grey skin and pink hair, dressed in a grey suit, looked over. "Good afternoon, Albert. How may I help you?"
"Afternoon, Prim," Argyle said. "My wife's birthday is coming up and I was wanting to buy her a gown as a present."
Prim nodded. "Yes, I understand. Are there any particular cuts or styles your wife likes? It's been quite a long time since I fitted her for a gown and I understand tastes can change quickly."
Argyle nodded. "I have an image of her previous gown if that'd help. Unfortunately it got ruined at the dry cleaners."
Prim sighed. "There's a good one in Truro I could recommend- the Falmouth one's a bit of a novice if I do say so myself." She studied the image closely, then placed it down. "I have bad news and good news, I'm afraid."
"The bad?"
"I don't have anything in that colour. However, the good news is that I have the same thing in a different colour. Dark blue, to be precise."
Argyle took note of this. "That's actually quite useful. Blue is Goldie's favourite colour, so it seems a good fit for her."
Prim smiled. "Happy to help. I'll go get the box now, and ring it up."
It wasn't what you'd call cheap, to be honest. Argyle had been a little surprised by the price, but had paid it anyway. As far as he was concerned, anything that made his wife happy was worth it in his eyes.
Once they were done with the process, Argyle stored it carefully until they got home, and then hid the box in a secure place, so he could wrap it later that week. After all, by some stroke of luck Goldie returned from her business trip on her birthday.
And she was in for quite the surprise, or so Argyle thought.
"Sunny, Argyle, I'm ho- why is it so dark in here?"
Suddenly, as if by magic the lights sprung on, and Goldie was greeted to a kitchen which had undergone a surprising transformation since she was last there.
The table was decorated with presents and a cake, and a pile of cards sitting waiting to be opened. Near it was another card, with the text HOPPY BIRTHDAY! on it.
Goldie instantly recognised her daughter's handwriting, so chose not to mention the spelling mistake. She knew Sunny had the best of intentions at heart.
Argyle and Sunny then appeared. "Happy birthday!" they both said.
After Goldie had showered and changed her clothes, the three celebrated her birthday with a special meal and cake (Argyle had cooked meatloaf to an original Rhode Island recipe, which Goldie thought was sweet. The act, not the meatloaf. She'd always preferred hers with a more savoury taste).
Once the meal was over, it was time for cake and presents, and sure enough Goldie received all sorts of unusual gifts. Most of them were from friends and family, and the jumper her parents had sent her was certainly appreciated in the colder weather (not to mention they'd resisted sending a hideous design).
Goldie had noticed Sunny hadn't given anything yet, though. Usually Sunny gave her present first.
"And last, but not least, this one is for you," Argyle said, picking up a box and handing it to his wife.
Goldie studied the box closely, noticing it had a certain weight and shape. She then read the tag.
To my beloved wife,
The Very Best on Your Birthday.
Argyle.
And below it, in somewhat messier handwriting:
Dear mom,
Happy Birthday!
Sunny.
Goldie smiled, and then carefully opened the wrapping before opening the box.
Her jaw dropped when she saw what was inside. "Oh my word," she said. "Where did you find this?"
"Bought it at Prim's store," Argyle said. "It's the same design as your old one, but in dark blue."
Goldie beamed. "I... I don't know what to say. Thank you so much!" She then popped away to try it on.
She emerged a few minutes later. "How do I look?"
Now it was the turn of Argyle's jaw to drop. His wife was wearing a strapless dark blue evening gown with a bit of train that seemed to shimmer like stars, which she had combined with dark blue opera gloves.
Argyle glanced to Sunny, then back to Goldie. "To borrow some phraseology from Sunny, I know this is cliche- but you look like a princess."
Goldie laughed. "I feel like one." Her face then shifted to a more serious look. "You didn't break the bank, did you?"
"Money's no object if it means you're happy."
Later that night, after Sunny had gone off to bed, Argyle and Goldie discussed the next few days.
"You know, tomorrow is Saturday," Argyle smiled. "So how about we go dancing?"
"I'd love that," Goldie replied. "Just as much as I love you."
There was a moment's silence. Argyle felt his wife's happiness was reward enough.
Author's Note
This chaper is loosely based on The Last Posh Frock , an episode of BBC sitcom The Good Life . Whilst the basic premise has been reused, much of the original plot has been jettisoned; the original episode focused on a husband apparently completely incapable of understanding why his wife's clothes being ruined was such a problem for her, despite it being spelled out to him numerous times.
The Hudson River School was a collective of landscape painters active in the Eastern United States between 1825 and 1870, largely operating out of Manhattan. As a collective, they were part of a wider movement to develop a distinctly American style of art (a movement retroactively called the American Renaissance).
Prim Hemline is a minor character from Friendship is Magic, who only appeared in the show's Fourth Season. The character's human counterpart appears in the EqD Digital Series episode Display of Affection . This design was the reference point for how she is described here, but the skin tone has been lightened as the original design bears a rather unfortunate resemblance to a Blackface caricature.
And finally, here's what the dress Argyle bought for Goldie looks like:
We've seen Goldie in this a few times before. I selected the Opera gown from Anastasia as it is both elegant and restrained, which fits with Goldie's 'less is more' mindset.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
The Adventure of the Missing Smoothie
The sun shone over Falmouth, the eye of the large star looking down upon the seaside town with a happy smile. Whether he had his hat on was a mystery that could not be answered owing to his being too far away to see clearly, and nobody had a sufficiently good telescope to take a proper look.
But, down on the seafront, a little scene had developed. Sunny was carrying a big box full of ingredients, and walking alongside her was Argyle, carrying a table and pulling some machinery along in a trolley behind him.
"Good luck, Sunny," Argyle said. "You're first time selling smoothies!"
"Well, with how hot it's been I think the townsfolk could do with some cool drinks," Sunny replied, a smile on her face. "Besides, you taught me how to do this."
Argyle nodded. "That's true. But there's only so much this art can be learned. Sometimes, you need to experiment and see what works with the crowd."
Amongst many things, Argyle had been taught from a young age the importance of financial literacy and maintaining a steady income. As such, he had started a career in selling homemade drinks at school. Part of this was to meet a school need (as owing to budget cuts his school had been forced to reduce its drinks provision), but it was also in line with something his father had taught him.
"It's always important to have your own income," he had told Argyle. "It gives you a firm sense of independence, and allows you to maintain a separate life. Not only that, there's nothing more liberating than earning your own money, as it shows that you're contributing to the world. And we should always aim to leave this world a better place than when we found it."
Argyle had found this lesson immensely useful, and as such had decided he would teach it to Sunny too, when she was old enough. He'd started at the age of eight, so he felt Sunny, who was herself now eight years old, was old enough to learn the tricks of the trade.
Sunny, it turned out, had been all too eager to learn how it was done. Being very familiar with her dad's drinks, she was all too eager to learn how to do it herself, and the father had spent many evening showing her how the machine worked, what to drop in the blending hatch, and other useful tips and tricks.
The first few attempts had been rather interesting, but Argyle remembered he'd been just as ropey when he'd started- many of his early experiments had been so strong (particularly the lemon based drinks he had tested) that people had made all sorts of strange faces, and somebody else had complained of it hurting the backs of his eyes.
So Argyle was patient, and gave Sunny constructive criticism on how to make her drinks better. Eventually, she'd mastered making a strawberry and banana blend (or 'strawnana' as she'd one called it), which was actually pretty tasty.
And so, they felt it was now time to try and sell these items to the crowd. Sunny was keen to do what others would term market research, and see how the crowds reacted to her concoctions, which sold the best, and which performed poorly. The only way to do this was out in public, so off they had gone to the town square.
Argyle had made sure to clear this with the local council, of course, who had approved the request for a street vendor license. To avoid any legal issues the stall was registered in his name, although Sunny of course would be the recipient of the profits- these were her drinks, after all, and not his.
Sunny got to work on putting the box down and unpacking her equipment whilst Argyle set up the table and got the machine configured. He plugged it in at a side box linked to the local power supply, and flipped a switch on the machine to run the cleaning program before use. He always did this before using the machine long term, as otherwise it could lead to problems.
Sunny had finished unpacking her box, and placed all the ingredients on the table before placing the box under the table. "Well, here we go!" she said.
Argyle walked back from the board he'd put up, which had a list of drinks and prices on it. "I'll be here if you run into any problems," he said, with a smile.
Sure enough, people began to walk up and take a look. "What is this?" a woman asked.
"A smoothie stand," Sunny replied. "The board over there has a list of prices and items you can order. Well, items strictly speaking, but-"
"One berry blast, please." The customer then placed some coins down on the table, which Argyle put into a box.
Sunny nodded, and poured some different pre juiced liquids into the hopper. The machine whirred and rolled as liquids were combined, processed, and mixed together to produce a single beverage. Sunny slid the cup out from under the nozzle, added a straw and lid, and handed it over. "Here you go!"
The customer gave it a sip. "It's quite strong, but it's an effective way of waking somebody up in the morning." She then walked away, satisfied with her purchase.
"One banana, please!"
"A strawberry, if you wouldn't mind."
"Raspberry, please!"
"Raspberry and banana, please!"
Sure enough, customers soon began to arrive in larger numbers. Many of them were people who had come into town to do their weekly shopping, and as the stand was there they decided to stop off and check out the stand with the girl making smoothies.
Business was going superbly, and the crowds were generally very happy, even if Phyllis had ordered one, declared the lemon blast disgusting, and compared it to drinking raw sewage.
This confused Sunny. Did Phyllis drink raw sewage on a regular basis? If she did, that might explain why Sprout wasn't such a bright spark (and why his homework was often in his mother's handwriting).
As lunch approached, a problem suddenly broke out. Sunny received two orders at once.
"A lemon berry blast, please!"
And then the same order from somebody else.
"A lemon berry blast, please!"
Sunny looked down into her box, and gulped. In the box for lemon she only had enough to make a single drink. "Houston, we have a problem."
"What's the problem, Sunny?" Argyle asked.
"Two customers have ordered the same drink, but I've only got enough to make one!" Sunny replied. "What should I do?"
Argyle thought for a moment. "The star that burns half as bright burns twice as long."
Sunny thought for a second. Why was her dad telling her about stars when they were dealing with drinks? That made no sense, as-
Wait a second. The star that burns half as bright burns twice as long.
Half as bright. Half as bright and twice as long.
OF COURSE! She had it!
Sunny looked back to the machine and threw a dial which read 'thickness', putting it to the half setting. She then added half the usual amount of lemon juice and mixed in something else to remedy the issue, adding strawberry on top of the other berries she mixed into a lemon berry blast.
Sure enough, two drinks flowed out of the machine, and Sunny handed them over. "Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!"
One customer took a drink, and his face lit up with delight as he tasted the flavour. "That packs quite the punch, but doesn't overdo it. The strawberry nicely offsets the mango too. What do you call this?"
Sunny thought for a second. "Lemon berry blast, a la mode!"
"I'll have what he's drinking!" shouted somebody else.
Later that day, when all was done, Argyle and Sunny packed up the stand and began to head home.
"So, how did you figure out to thin the drinks?" Argyle asked.
Sunny smiled. "Well, you said that the star that burns half as bright burns twice as long. From this, I figured out that I needed to adjust the flow in order to ensure the liquid lasted longer, so I changed the settings on the machine to reduce the flow. In order to compensate for the reduction, I tossed a different drink in there as well."
Argyle smiled. "Well done, Sunny. You're a clever girl."
Sunny looked up. "This was a puzzle?"
Argyle looked ahead as they walked along. "In life, the world often doesn't tell you what to do in any case. But it can give you clues as to how to proceed. All you need to do is fit the pieces of the puzzle together. In this case, you were able to figure out what to do from the clue I gave you."
Sunny smiled. She always wanted to make her parents proud, and sure enough she had done it.
Maybe this whole smoothie selling thing could become a regular fixture.
Author's Note
This chapter is based on Sunny's flashback from Cutie Mark Blossom Bash , and is intended to serve as the origin story for Sunny's smoothie business.
Argyle's story is inspired by Robert is Here, a fruit stand based on Homestead, Florida. The stand was started by Robert Moehling in 1959, who gave the stall its unusual name in an attempt to attract customers. It worked; the store is still going more than 65 years later, and is very popular for its smoothies. I bought one whilst in Florida on a holiday a few years back, and can confirm it was delicious. Robert was also There, which was a nice bonus.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
"Come on, dad! We're nearly there!" Sunny said.
"OK, Sunny, it's fine!" Argyle laughed. "It's still going to be there no matter how quickly we walk!"
It was a nice afternoon in Truro, and Sunny and Argyle had made the journey up from Falmouth to engage in one of their hobbies.
Roller blading.
Argyle had grown up right when the roller blading craze was taking off in the UK, and as such had gotten very acquainted to travelling around on a pair of roller blades. They were quiet, clean, and didn't take up a huge amount of space, making travelling about quite easy.
Not to mention having his own set of wheels granted him an impressive level of freedom to travel about. True, he didn't have space in them to move big things (handy thing the USAF had supplied his dad with a car), but it was what they symbolised that mattered most.
Argyle had tried to introduce Goldie to the wonderful world of roller blading, but she'd been less than enthusiastic on that front. Ah well. At least Sunny had taken to it like a duck to water.
Though teaching Sunny the tricks of roller blading hadn't been easy (there had been an awful lot of bruises back in the early days, hence why Argyle's first major purchase on the roller blading front for his child apart from the roller blades themselves was a set of knee defenders and shin guards, not to mention elbow guards and a helmet), she had eventually gotten the hang of it. Proof that if you put your mind to something and put the work in, you can achieve it.
Sure enough, they arrived at the large building which Sunny had alluded to. This was the brand new Truro Roller Rink, built to serve the recent resurgance in interest in roller blading. A huge floor, plenty of speakers, a music system, and a full cafeteria which switched its theme depending on the month. This time around they were set up as a pizzaria. Argyle wondered to himself if the pizza was a part of the popularity. Truth be told he liked it as well, but it wasn't something he made very often as he preferred to cook from scratch and the ingredients couldn't easily be sourced.
They stepped inside and Argyle went up to the desk. "Albert Starshine. I emailed you earlier this week?"
"Got your membership right here. And Sarah, right?"
"Correct. That's my daughter."
Sunny pouted at being called her birth name, but a quick glance from Argyle caused her to switch back to her usual cheerful mode.
The desk officer handed Argyle a key. "Excellent. Have fun!"
Argyle nodded, and headed for the bench where the potential rollers were sitting. He took his shoes off and put them in a locker number which corresponded with the key he'd been given, then popped Sunny's in on top of his. It didn't really matter if his shoes got scuffed. He wore an old pair to these sorts of things for that reason.
He slipped his roller blades on and did up the straps, before helping Sunny with hers. Both of them then rolled over to the rink and with a bit of wobbling climbed into the rink itself, with the grip rail at the side being quite the aid.
"You ready, Sunny Bunny?" Argyle asked.
"You bet!" Sunny replied. "Race you there!" She then shot off at speed.
Argyle laughed. "Oh, we'll see who the slowpoke is!"
After about two hours on the rink floor, rolling about at speed and generally just having fun, Argyle and his daugher retreated to the cafeteria. Truth be told, this was something they loved doing, as it gave them a chance to bond. Not that Argyle and Sunny weren't close, but things like this helped their bond stay firm.
Whilst Sunny watched a band consisting of animatronic animals performing a rather strange rendition of Good Vibrations, Argyle placed an order for a pizza. This arrived a few minutes later.
"Sunny, food's here!" he called.
Sunny dashed over, and looked in surprise at what was on the table. "A pizza?" she asked. "I'm not complaining, it's just not very often we have pizza."
Argyle smiled. "Well, you did well on that test so I figured you deserved a treat." He popped open the box, and looked in surprise. "Oh. This is rather bigger than I'd expected." There was more than he and Sunny could realistically eat, and he hated wasting perfectly edible food.
"I can help!" said a voice, and a woman skated to a stop in front of the table. This woman had light blue skin and orange eyes, and once she removed her helmet a spectacular mane of yellow and orange hair seemed to poof into existance. She grinned when she saw who was seated there. "Hey! Monty! Fancy finding you here!"
Argyle looked in amazement. "Tracy!" he said. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Well, St. Austell isn't too far from here by train, so I figured I'd dust the old skates off and give it another whirl," Tracy said, and took a seat next to them. "So, who's the girl?"
"This is Sunny, my daughter," Argyle said.
Tracy looked over at Argyle, noticing the wedding ring on his hand. "You got married?" she asked.
"Yeah, about a decade ago," Argyle replied. "Sunny was born a few years after that."
Tracy smiled. "Lovely to meet you, Sunny!" she glanced around. "I'm Tracy Tailspin, I was friends with your dad when we were teenagers."
"We used to do a fair bit of roller blading back in the day," Argyle said.
"A fair bit?!" Tracy said. "We were practically the dominating team back in the day! Little got in the way of the Hunslet Hammerheads! Remember our win against the Thornaby Titans and the Carlisle Commodores? That was front page news! Our little suburb had outperformed the bigger teams!"
Argyle nodded. "Yeah, those were fun times." He sighed. "Of course, I chose to hang my skates up and pursue another path, whilst Tracy decided to do roller derby as a sports career."
"I'm currently taking a break from all that," Tracy said. "Don't think raising a family is for me, though. I might make a return to the field someday, though."
Argyle, however, was deep in thought. He was wondering something to himself. What would have happened had he chosen to do roller derby professionally?
That would probably have ruled out a university degree- he'd have needed to focus his full time on honing his skills to compete with the bigger teams, and this would probably have ruled out overseas trips.
That would have meant no trip to Dresden to photograph Kriegsloks. No chance meeting with Goldie. And probably no Sunny.
He glanced over at his daughter, who seemed to be listening in awe to Tracy's story. The thought of Sunny not existing was one he preferred not to consider, and as such blanked it out of his mind. He sighed. His life might not have gone in the direction he expected, but he still found it a fulfilling life nontheless.
"Yo, Earth to Argyle!"
Argyle shook himself and saw Tracy waving in his face. "Yes?"
"You totally spaced out there! Your pizza's gonna get cold!"
Argyle looked down and grabbed a slice. "Sorry. Just thinking."
Tracy laughed. "You always were the thinker amongst us. Seriously, the amount of strategising he did was incredible! It's why we used to nickname him Monty."
"After who?" Sunny asked.
"The WW2 General?" Argyle said. "What are they teaching in history class these days?"
"We've only got as far as the 1930s."
"Oh, my mistake." Argyle looked back to Tracy. "You don't resent me leaving, do you?"
Tracy snorted, then took a sip of her drink. "Not at all! Our lives were pulling in different directions anyway." She grinned. "But how about, once we're done here, we tear it up on the rink just like old times?"
Argyle smiled. "I'd like that very much!"
Once they were done with food and drink, they headed back down to the rink at speed before launching into it.
Tracy sped through the middle of Sunny and Argyle at speed. "Hammerhead, on a run!"
"Not so fast!" Argyle shouted.
"Is that your catchphrase now?" Tracy teased, before speeding off.
Argyle shook his head. "She was always much better at the trash talk than me." He thundered forward to try and keep up, but Tracy was well ahead. Suddenly, she started to slow down.
Argyle recognised the move, and adjusted his boot to compensate. As she dropped past him, he turned to the left whilst she also turned left before grabbing onto each other's arms and rotating at speed.
They then released and shot off in different directions.
"That trick always confused them!" Argyle said.
As the trio hammered around the course, Argyle had a chance to reflect. Although his past was firmly that, and much of life had skated by, there was no harm in revisiting the past every now and then.
Author's Note
This is an original story loosely inspired by the Kenbucky Derby G5 comics (which I adapted in Tales from the Mainland Volume 4). I found the idea of Argyle and Tracy being old friends one that was narratively too good to pass up.
Rollerblading culture in the UK took off in the 1980s, and became a popular fixture of the era, with rollerdiscos being a popular pastime amongst teens. Whilst roller derby was never a big sport in the UK, it had its fans. Today it is mainly associated with roller rinks, although Starlight Express recently enjoyed a revival.
The animatronic band Sunny is watching are are based on the Rockafire Explosion, the house band of the Showbiz Pizza chain of restaurants which operated from 1979 to 1994. The band played cover versions of popular songs and the members were parodies of real musicians; Fats Geronimo, for example, was modelled on pianist Fats Domino. Showbiz later merged with Chuck E. Cheese, and the animatronics were converted to Chuck E. Cheese characters. This era of restaurant would later form the inspiration for the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. The band is performing a cover of Good Vibrations, a 1966 song by The Beach Boys fondly remembered for his it subverted pop music conventions and its complex soundscape.
Tracy Tailspin is a character originally introduced in the Kenbucky Roller Derby comics, a veteran skater who is encouraged by Sunny to come out of retirement.
Monty is the common nickname for Bernard Law Montgomery, a British General of the Second World War best remembered for commanding the British Eighth Army (AKA the Desert Rats). He is a household name in the UK, and has rougly the same reputation that Patton does in the United States.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
"Now then, let us check this again. How much have you got on there?"
Sunny quickly checked the notepad sitting on the table. "I've got £45 left. I've got most of the items I need already in there though."
Goldie nodded. "Excellent. So far you've been doing well." She consulted her own notepad. "Not so much luck over here, I'm afraid." She then looked back to the board. "Let's see if any of our luck turns."
For those just entering the story, I do appreciate the above exchange is rather confusing. So, let us make it rather less confusing for the reader.
One of the most important skills a child can be taught is financial literacy, or how to budget and the importance of valuing money. This is taught in a number of different ways.
In Sunny's case, she had an allowance, a set amount of money each month. Once this was all spent, she had to wait, but anything left over rolled over to the next month. Her parents thought this was ideal as this was rather similar to having a salary (and Sunny could supplement it with income from her smoothie operation).
The scenario we have just stepped into is another of the techniques Goldie used to teach this lesson. Sitting in front of them was a board that was set up to resemble a supermarket, and the aisles had different items on them. The idea was that they were working their way round a store with a shopping list of items they had to collect in order to win the game. However, other items did sometimes turn up that weren't on the list, and yet could be added if the player so wished. (This was to simulate special offers and impulse purchasing, which could be awkward at times, especially if it was something you actuall didn't need.)
"OK, I'm ready for the next round," Sunny said.
Goldie popped down the round counter. "OK then. You're now in the special offers pile. And as you're looking through the special offers, you suddenly spot- a Hornby starter set!"
Sunny and her dad had recently started work on a layout in the loft, so Goldie knew this would be something on her child's mind to acquire.
Sunny checked the price tag and compared it against her budget. "Perfect! I can fit that in!"
So she did, whilst Goldie internally sighed. She fell for it , she thought. So many shoppers cannot resist the siren song of special offers.
Sunny then made her way further round the store, and then found the last two items she needed to win, popping them into the representative trolley on the board.
Goldie looked up. "I'm afraid you can't get those. Look at the prices."
Sunny looked at the prices on the objects, then back to her budget. She then did some quick mental math. "I don't have enough money."
"Indeed," Goldie replied. "You've gone over budget. In order to actually be able to win, you'll have to put something back in order to ensure you have enough money to buy those things. Think carefully."
Sunny quickly figured out what had to go back, and put the Hornby starter set back on the special offer section. This cleared the funds needed to pay for the other items, and she could now get a winning result."
Once they were done, Goldie took her daughter over to the sitting area. "What did you learn from that round, Sunny?" she asked.
"That money is... sorry, what's the word that means it only exists once?"
"Finite. There's only a limited amount of it, and you can only spend it once. This is why I'd be very cautious about impulse purchasing. You need to ensure that you have the things you need before you can start to consider the things you might want- non essential items, we'll call them.
"When I budget, I always prioritise things like food, water, the various bills we might have to pay, and toiletries- without them we won't be able to live. Only then can we consider luxury goods or consumer items, and even then I'd strongly advise against impulse purchasing. If you find an item in a store that you want, always consider whether you can buy it for cheaper somewhere else, as sometimes a bit of market research can yield wonders. Take Lego, for example. Often you can find it being sold cheaper elsewhere than the stated price on the website."
Goldie hoped Sunny would take this lesson to heart. After all, she'd had friends who'd been drowning in debt from almost the moment they left the nest owing to poor financial literacy.
A few days later, Goldie decided to see if the lesson she had taught had stuck, and as Argyle was stuck with university work she took Sunny shopping on Saturday. Usually it would be Argyle handling this, but the poor guy needed to get his own pile cleared.
As they went round the various stores (Falmouth still having separate bakers, butchers, and greengrocers rather than a supermarket replacing them), Goldie asked Sunny to look at and read the prices to her. This was not because Goldie couldn't read them (although Hodges the Greengrocer often set the lights a bit too low for her taste), but so that Sunny could put a direct mental image to the price and have a sense of how much things did and should cost.
This continued throughout the morning, with the items they needed for the coming few days soon entering their inventories. Sunny seemed to be quite happy to help, and they even stopped off and grabbed a quick drink partway through their journey in order to refuel.
Goldie checked off elements of her budget as she continued to go around. It honestly amazed her how many people didn't make a list of what they had or what they needed to get before they went shopping. It was honestly no wonder that so much food got wasted in the UK, which she thought was a shame.
Maybe being required to have a shopping list should be made a law.
Last, but not least, she decided to see if Sunny had truly being paying attention to her advice- as attentive as Sunny was, her mind could sometimes wander as she tried to process all the things around her.
So, they stepped into the model shop. This place stocked everything a prospective model maker might want- kits, glue, paint, scenery, track, and all sorts of other things. They also had a dedicated Lego section, which was part of Goldie's thinking.
"Now then, is there anything you'd like?" she asked, noticing exactly where her child's eyes were looking.
Sunny had spotted some sort of construction vehicle in the selection of boxes, and looked at it. "Lego City is somewhat short of construction vehicles," she said. "That would fit really nicely."
Goldie stood back and waited. Moment of truth.
Sunny examined the price tag, looked closely, and seemed to be lost in thought.
Goldie decided to give her a prompt. "Well? Would you like it?"
Sunny thought for a bit longer. "On second thoughts, I don't need it right now. I'll wait."
Internally, Goldie breathed a sigh of relief.
Once outside, the pair sat on a bench looking out to sea. There was a moment of silence, before Goldie decided to speak. "So, what prompted you to wait instead of buying now? We could have afforded it."
Sunny was silent for a moment. "Well, you said that if I find an item in a store that I wanted, always consider whether I can buy it for cheaper somewhere else, as sometimes a bit of market research can yield wonders. I think that was the gist of it?"
Goldie smiled, and hugged her child. "Well done, Sunny. That's an important lesson to take with you in life. Remember that any amount of money can be spent, and that using it wisely is one of the most important lessons you can learn in life."
Sunny smiled. "Thanks, mom."
"No problem, Sunny. Now, we'd best be heading home. No doubt your father is wondering where we are."
The pair returned to their home next to the lighthouse, to return to the smell of food being prepared. Sure enough, Argyle was hard at work getting food put out on the table.
"Hello!" he said. "Got the stuff we need?"
"Sure do, dad!" Sunny said, smiling. "I even helped with the budgeting!"
Argyle laughed, as he turned to his wife. "Maybe Sunny should consider a career in banking!"
Goldie put the bags down and started to unpack them. "Well, they're always saying we need to improve the country's financial and mathematical literacy."
As they enjoyed a lunch together, Sunny found herself thinking about what had just happened that day. Maybe she should try doing this budgeting thing more often. True, she'd been doing that with her allowance for years, but it actually seemed quite fun.
After all, having an idea of how much things should cost is always a bonus.
Author's Note
This chapter is another one which draws on personal experience, as it is loosely based on something my mother used to do. Another major influence was a famous anecdote about Elvis Presley's 11th birthday, where he initially wanted to purchase an air rifle. However, his mother succesfully pursuaded him to purchase a guitar instead, little knowing the impact on global culture this one decision would have.
Financial literacy is a vital skill in the modern world, but I am sorry to say that a lot of people lack it. A certain Mr Chandler is one of them, who has accrued an absolutely obscene amount of debt owing to poor use of credit cards (who thought giving him a credit card was a good idea needs to have their head examined) and taking out loans with punishing interest rates. Don't end up like Chris. Balance your books.
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
"Well, I haven't been to one of these in a long time," Goldie said, checking in the mirror. "Though I have gotten somewhat used to being a plus one."
"Well, the balls are always open to family of faculty," Argyle replied, checking his tie was aligned correctly. "That's part of the point of them- you can't dance with only yourself, after all."
"Unless the person you're dancing with is imaginary," Goldie joked, adjusting the skirt of her gown. "Is my makeup on correctly?"
Argyle took a glance. "Looks fine to me. Now then, let's find Sunny and remind her of what's going on tonight."
Both parents walked through the house and down the stairs to find Sunny sitting on the sofa, reading. "Sunny?" Goldie called.
Sunny popped her head over the top of the sofa. "Yes mo-" She stopped, trying to process why her parents were dressed so fancily. "Is there a ball on?"
Argyle knew Sunny was asking this as a joke, and laughed. "At the university, yes. We'll be out probably for all the night, and probably won't get back until after you go to bed."
Sunny nodded. "Can I come?"
"I don't think you'd enjoy it," Goldie said. "To be completely honest they can get a bit boring at times. But I'm going to support your father, and truth be told the music can get pretty good."
Argyle nodded. "Your Aunt Veronica's currently on her way, and we'll stay until she gets here. We'll be back by tomorrow."
Sunny looked happy. "It'll be nice to see her again!" Sunny preferred her Aunt Veronica to a babysitter. This was mainly as she wasn't a baby and hated being sat on.
"Now then, just some reminders for tonight," Goldie said. "There's a warning of bad weather coming, so stay indoors and don't go outside. Veronica should be able to handle anything you might need, but if there's any trouble call us, OK? I'll have my phone set to silent, but I'll check it regularly."
"I'll do the same," Argyle said. "If one of us doesn't respond, try the other. Food is in the top drawer in the fridge- only one cupcake, understand? I don't want a repeat of the Easter incident."
Sunny nodded. That had been a mistake. "Gotcha."
Just then, the door buzzed, and Argyle went to open it. "Ah! Veronica!"
Veronica smiled, bowed, and then stepped inside the house. "To whom do I owe the pleasure, Your Highness?"
Argyle snorted. "I'm just a professor, nothing too important. And aren't women supposed to curtsy instead of bow?"
Veronica shrugged her shoulders. "I'm wearing jeans, so that doesn't work. Besides, it's still kinda surreal seeing you dressed to the nines."
"Not too often I need to bring my suit out of storage," Argyle admitted. "Anyway, we'd best be on our way. The carriage awakes. Tell me, have you seen the pumpkin recently?"
Goldie immediately spotted what Argyle was referencing. "I'll try not to leave a shoe behind. It would be awkward if a prince found it, given I've already found mine."
"The weather out there looks bad," Veronica commented, glancing over from the stove. The rain had arrived in ernest, and was starting to lash the waterfront quite violently.
Sunny was looking out of the window. "I feel sorry for anybody who has to be on a boat out there."
"The fishermen came in a while back," Veronica said. "I got an alert about it on my weather radio. Anyway, you wouldn't mind helping to set the table, would you?"
Sunny nodded, and started collecting the required items. "On it!"
Veronica looked behind her for a moment, then went back to the pan. "So, how have things been for you?"
"Pretty good," Sunny replied, as she laid some cutlery out. "Dad's teaching me how to cook now- he says it's always important to know how to prepare meals from scratch."
"Very true," Veronica said. "You'd be surprised at how many people don't know how to prepare food from ingredients, or just buy ready meals and toss them in a microwave. It's less work, but also not as good for you."
"Well, dad always says that hard work brings its own reward," Sunny replied, as she arranged the glasses. She frowned, and adjusted one slightly. "That was out of alignment."
Veronica laughed. "You're just like your dad, you know? He'd move glasses if they weren't the same distance apart. Something about maintaining symmetry. Guess he was an artist even back then!"
After a few more minutes, the food was ready, and Veronica served it up into bowls and put them on the table. "Drinks?"
"Uhh, what would you like?" Sunny asked.
"Do you have any of the lemon cordial?" Veronica asked.
"Got it!" Sunny replied, pouring herself some water before filling Veronica's glass with the same and putting it down at her place. "Shall we toast?"
Veronica nodded. "Zum Wohl. I picked that one up from your mom."
Sunny looked confused. "Why are we talking about voles?"
"It's German, and means 'to your health'. It means roughly the same thing as 'cheers'." Veronica smiled. "Now then, let's eat. We don't want the food to go cold, do we?"
As they ate, the weather grew worse. The rain was soon joined by thunder and lightning lashing the area, and the skies were soon black with rain.
"Nasty weather out there," Sunny commented. "I'm glad we're in here and not out there."
"We'd be soaked to the bone if we were," Veronica commented, as they looked out of the window. "And I certainly pity the old souls who are forced to work in it. I just hope Argyle's OK out there, and they got there before the bad weather hit."
Thunder boomed overhead. Veronica tuned a radio to try and pick up a weather broadcast, but suddenly received an odd message.
"Mayday, mayday! This is HMS Dauntless! We are in danger, over! Our engines are offline and the RADAR is offline! Requesting urgent assistance!"
Sunny looked over in surprise. "That sounds bad!"
At Falmouth University, the Ball was going strong despite the inclement weather outside. The string band was playing well, and the floor sounded to the careful footsteps of dancing couples.
Argyle and Goldie had taken a break from the dancing and were sat at the edge of the room. "Band are in good form tonight," Argyle said, looking outdoors. "I just wish the weather was nicer."
There was a loud thunderclap outside, and the sky turned black again as if to prove his point.
"Good thing we set off when we did," Goldie said. "If we'd arrived any later we'd probably look like drowned rats. And I'd rather not have that, having just had my hair done."
A waiter walked past with a tray of nibbles on it. "No thanks," Argyle said, before turning back to his wife. "I just hope Sunny's OK. I know Veronica always takes good care of her, but I still can't help but worry."
"That's because she's our daughter," Goldie replied. "I worry about her too, you know. We both just want the best for her- and we both know this is probably the only shot we'll get. Hence why I want to be the best mom I can possibly be."
"I'll second that, just switch mom to dad in my case," Argyle said. Suddenly, he felt his phone buzz. He clicked a button and read the text. "It's from Sunny."
"She's probably asking where something is," Goldie commented.
Argyle looked at the message with growing concern. "What?" he asked. "Sunny's just messaged me to say a ship's in trouble out at sea. Why is she telling me that?"
Argyle looked in the direction of the sea, and suddenly saw what looked to be a Royal Navy vessel in the harbour. It was drifting dangerously about. "That's not good."
Suddenly, a bright light flashed across the harbour.
"Captain, we're dangerously close to wrecking!" shouted a sailor.
"Keep the engines at full power!" the captain replied. "Turn rudders to port, as hard as you can! We are not hitting the shoreline!"
Another sailor sprinted back. "Captain, the searchlights are out. The engineers are trying to get them going again, but we're constant power issues!"
"See if anybody can be raised on the radio!" the Captain replied.
As he looked around, the brutal weather making navigation incredibly difficult, he seemed worried. "I can only hope we haven't annoyed Neptune somehow."
As he looked out to sea, he suddenly saw a bright light flashing across the harbour. "What in the world?" he asked. "When did they get that working again?"
"Sir! I can confirm light! Flashing across the harbour!"
"I know," the captain said. "It's the old Falmouth light. Follow it to safety! All rudders hard to port, bring us about! Set course, bearings to follow!"
"Aye, sir!" said the helmsman. "Setting course, Eastward. Engines to Flank Speed!"
The ship began to move once more, heading towards what was hopefully safety.
Inside the lighthouse, Sunny was frantic. "Aunt Veronica, we have to do something!" she said.
"Like what?" Veronica said. "We're two people. It's not as if we can save a ship that floundering on the waves!"
Just then, Sunny had a brainwave. "There is!" she said. "This building is linked to the old lighthouse, and dad recently got it working again! If we can get the light fired up, we can get those sailors to safety!"
Veronica thought for a moment. "Good thinking, Sunny!" she said. "Let's do it!" She flung open the door to the lighthouse proper. This door connected the house to the lighthouse itself, and they stepped inside and found themselves at the bottom.
Veronica walked over to the nearby box and pulled it open. Inside were three large switches. She pulled down the first one, and looked over. "The foghorn's operational! Set that running!"
Sunny nodded, and flipped a switch. The foghorn soon began blasting at regular intervals to warn any ships.
Veronica then threw the second switch. "Light is on! Just need to power up the rotation generator!"
She reached over, and pulled the third switch. "All switches are armed, now we need to get upstairs and get the lense rotating!"
The pair of them dashed up the stairs to the top, and soon found themselves in the lense room. The lense sat static, as without power it wouldn't move.
Sunny pulled a lever, and sure enough the lense started to rotate, sending out a regular light signal.
"I know that sequence!" Argyle said. "The lights over there!"
Goldie looked out, and her jaw dropped. "Good heavens," she said. "They've powered up the lighthouse!"
Argyle looked over. "They're in trouble! We have to get down there!"
"Not in this weather we won't," Goldie said. "We don't want to get stranded ourselves, do we?"
Argyle had to conceded that point. His wife was right. "I'll try and get Sunny on the line and- except we can't. I haven't finished linking up the telephones in the lighthouse!"
Veronica was trying to signal to the ship using a morse code indicator, but the light wasn't doing much good in the storm. The foghorn was still going strong, and the light from the lighthouse cut through the gloom like a beacon of hope.
"The ship's coming closer!" Sunny called, looking through a telescope. "I think it's trying to dock near us!"
Sure enough, the ship closed in on their position, and came to a stop at the mooring point. The crew of the ship threw out mooring ropes, and secured the ship in position.
Veronica looked at Sunny. "I'll head downstairs and see if they need anything. Stay in the house, OK?"
Sunny nodded. Although they had saved the day, she had technically disobeyed her parents in leaving the house. Hopefully her parents would understand.
She looked out to sea, the light continuing to shine out to sea and illuminating the town below. Falmouth was saved.
The next morning, the storm had subsided, and HMS Dauntless was still docked at the lighthouse dock. The crew were working on repairing damage to the vessel, and the residents of the lighthouse complex were asleep. Veronica had fallen asleep on the couch, and Sunny was in bed, still asleep at eight in the morning.
Suddenly, Sunny was stirred by a familiar voice. "Sunny? Sunny?"
Sunny sat up in her bed. "Huh? What time is it?"
Her bedroom door opened, and Argyle and Goldie entered the room, still dressed in their finery from yesterday. "Sunny? Thank the stars you're OK," Argyle said, pulling her into a hug.
"Is everything OK?" Sunny asked.
"Well, the captain of the ship informed us of what happened," Goldie said. "And I have to say that what you and Veronica did was very brave. Without your actions and quick thinking they'd probably have foundered on the rocks."
Sunny nodded. That didn't sound fun. "Where's Aunt Veronica?"
"We found her asleep on the couch," Argyle said. "Given the circumstances I can't really blame her."
Sunny felt the adrenaline from yesterday returning, and remembered what she'd feared. "Dad, I know I left the house when you'd told me not to, and-"
"The lighthouse is part of the same building, so I think I'll excuse it," Argyle said. "Besides, you had a very good reason to go in there and power the light on."
"You've made us proud, Sunny," Goldie smiled. "For that, we'll let you sleep in. You look like you need the rest."
Sunny nodded, but slid out of bed. "I think I'm ready to get up."
The rest of the day passed more or less as normal, with the family living their usual weekend pattern. But even so, the hard work they had done that day more than added up.
That evening, Argyle prepared Sunny's favourite meal for dinner, and as they gathered around the table, Veronica joining them, Argyle proposed a toast.
"Sometimes," he said, "life requires acts of great bravery, and stepping outside of our comfort zone. Often, we find ourselves helping others in distress, much as last night. When people are in trouble, those who step up to the plate are the true heroes.
"And so, to this end, I propose a toast. A toast to those who did just that and answered the call of duty and, in doing so, saved lives. Ladies and gentlemen, a toast to Sunny and Veronica, the heroes of the hour!"
"Cheers!" everybody said, as their glasses knocked against one another. Sure enough, there was much merriment and cheerfulness as the stories were unravelled, food and drink was shared, and merriment spread around the table.
Sunny knew this was the sort of family which was best. For it was hers, and they loved and cared for her.
Argyle felt this was the happy ending he had sought all along- family, a positive community, and a loving wife.
Goldie felt the same way, for in this town she had achieved one of her dreams- becoming a mother.
Together, they had a good life. This was the Starshine Life.
Author's Note
Hello, and welcome to the grand finale of this collection! For this one, I decided a dramatic action story would be ideal, and so a storm was the topic I selected. Elements were taken from another story on this site and the Dad's Army episode A Man of Action .
I hope you enjoyed!
The Starshine Life-a FalmouthVerse Side Story
CAST - IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
