The sun was now set completely, and the sky was dark. The landscape had been plunged into blackness, and nobody could see very far apart from the street lamps, which cast a powerful light into the gloom. Down in the yard, Sunny fired up Salty's lamp and checked the windscreen wipers. "Wipers are running!" she said, with a smile. "We should be able to see into the dark quite easily now."

Porter worked round to the back of the train whilst people bustled back and forth on the platform, loading the vans with parcels and gifts for the children in Truro. They continued to work even as the storm got worse, trolleys rattling up and down the platform and leaving deep grooves in the snow. The wind was making a lot of noise as well.

"Good luck!" he said, as he cleared the points at the back of the station. He then moved forward and buffered up to the brake van. "We had some similarly nasty winters back in the north west. One time the roads to Rawtenstall got blocked and the railway was the only reliable way of getting people and goods up and down the valley."

"We've been in that situation before," Salty admitted, as his engine rumbled in the darkness. "I can only hope we can get up the bank with this lot."

"We'll be receiving the help of Porter as a banking engine as far as Penmere," Sunny said. "But from that point onwards we're on our own. This may be the toughest thing we've done in a while." She looked down. "I'm not sure why you're shivering. Haven't you got fur?"

Pony Sunny was also sitting in the cab. She glanced up. "Earth ponies have shorter fur as they come from a hotter climate than unicorns or pegasi. I also left my cold weather clothing at home- I didn't really have a chance to pick it up when the Emperor invaded our homeland."

The sound of doors slamming down the platform confirmed loading was complete, and Sunny glanced down the train (getting a fair bit of snowfall on her snowhat) to see a green light shining her way. "Right, clear to go!" she said, and sounded Salty's horn.

"Away we go!" Salty called.

Porter's whistle blasted in response. "Let's go!"

Sure enough, the yard soon sounded the combined roar of a diesel engine and the snorting of a steam locomotive. They soon rolled into the grade and were climbing magnificently. As the formation rolled through Penmere, Izzy shut off Porter's regulator and brought him to a stop.

"Good luck!" she called ahead, as she saw the tail lamp of the brake van vanish into the distance. "Come home safe, Sunny," she added.

Sure enough, the freight rolled over the grade and began running downhill towards the bottom of the valley. Shortly before the climb to the viaduct lies a collection of old trees, some of which have overhanging branches.

And as they got closer, there was suddenly a loud bang.

"OW!" cried Salty. "Got one in the headlamp!"

Sunny brought the train to a stop and got out to take a look. "Err, this is bad," she said.

Down at Falmouth, the situation was continuing to get worse. The storm was throwing vast amounts of snow and ice about, and those who couldn't easily get home had taken refuge at the Fisherman's Arms in order to escape the bitter cold.

Argyle and Goldie were in the lighthouse cottage looking out into the storm. The heating was firmly on full blast to keep the occupants warm, but the storm wasn't helping the situation.

"It's been a while since we had snowfall this bad," Argyle mentioned.

"I don't think it's ever snowed in Maretime Bay," pony Argyle commented, as he peered at the silly soft stuff in confusion. I once used a snow machine to create the illusion of snowfall so Sunny could experience a wishday like in the storybooks she loved to read, but I haven't seen natural snow in a very long time."

"It often snowed where I grew up," Stella said. "Part of the reason wishday was my favourite time of year."

"Wishday?" Goldie asked.

"It's our winter holiday, where we exchange presents under the wishing star and spend time with those we love," Stella explained. "It's also a popular time to go to the theatre, if I recall correctly."

"So rather like our Christmas," Argyle said. "Interesting to know what else is the same on both sides of the portal.

Just then, fog started to roll in, reducing visibility to effectively zero. "That's not good," Goldie said.

"I'll got and get the lighthouse started up," Argyle said. "Ships may need help navigating in the fog."

As he vanished upstairs, Goldie said down and looked out of the window. Stella hopped onto a chair and looked up. "I know how you feel," she said.

"Sorry?" Goldie asked.

"You're worried about her," Stella said. "Remember, I'm a mom too." The pony sighed. "And I regret leaving. Sunny ended up growing up with only one of her parents, I fear, and for that I shoulder the blame."

"Based on what you've said you couldn't have known that would happen," Goldie said. "Sometimes we just have to muddle through and give it our best shot- I once heard parenting described as dealing with one last minute disaster after another, and while I think disaster is a bit strong I've certainly had to think on my feet a lot."

Both parents laughed at that, before looking out into the cold again. "Should we try and help?" Stella asked.

"If we end up getting stuck out there it won't help other people, as they'll need to help us," Goldie pointed out, as the whirr of the generator for the lighthouse kicked in. "I'll brew some hot drinks for us. Can ponies drink tea?"

Stella nodded, and looked out to sea once more. "Sunny, if you can hear me... then please come home safe."

"OK, this is really bad," Sunny said, as she examined the problem with a flashlight. "That branch has badly damaged the light- the glass is smashed and the bulb is broken. We'll be blind in these weather conditions."

Pony Sunny looked at her. "Can't you fix it?" she asked.

"I don't have the parts I need out here," Sunny replied, sighing. "Just our luck. Just the one time we need the proper light things go wrong. We'll just have to muddle through with my existing route knowledge and the signal lights."

As the pair climbed back into the cab, pony Sunny looked over. "You know, I had a similar experience to this. Me and my friends had gone to see Pipp and Zipp perform in a concert in Zephyr Heights- that's the pegasus capital- but when it ended after six acts we couldn't find the Marestream."

"Marestream?" Sunny asked.

"It's our flying machine we use to get about. Anyway, one of us made a wish and the aircraft flew over to us, providing a light in the darkness. Maybe if we could do something similar it might work?"

Sunny had an idea, but then dismissed it in her head. "No, ponying up wouldn't work," she said. "I need to be at the controls, and if I were ponied up it would make the cab look like an overexposed photo."

She glanced down to her companion. "Any suggestions, Sunny?"

Just then, pony Sunny smiled. "I've got it, Sunny! It's based on what my mom told me the last time I saw her..."

Sunny looked in wonder at the small telescope she'd been given. But why had she been given one of these?

Daddy had picked her up to allow mommy to speak to her. She smiled at Sunny. "Just remember to watch where you're going, Sunny," she said, before hugging daddy. "I love you both. Look after each other. I'll be back before you know it."

"Watch where you're going," pony Sunny said. "And if we can get through to the stars, we should be able to find our way!"

"Good luck doing that with all this snow about," Sunny said.

"Well, Starscout is in the name," pony Sunny said. "Now you wouldn't mind opening the cab door? These cabs are not ergonomically designed for ponies."

Sunny leaned over and popped open the cab door, letting pony Sunny hop out. Seconds later, she saw the pony start to glow, and she seemed to be reciting some sort of mantra.

"I am all three pony kinds wrapped up into one. My cutie mark comes to life with hope bright as the sun!"

"Well those are a handy way of padding out the runtime," Sunny commented.

Just then, there was an incredible blast of light, and the pony who had been next to Salty was comprehensively transformed. There was a pony with glowing wings and a horn. "Yes!" she said. "Now let's cut our way through this storm and deliver those presents!"

Author's Note

The core of the plot of this chapter is based on an old Thomas and Friends picture book, where Thomas' light gets damaged and he is forced to struggle on through the darkness with minimal light. Interestingly, projecting lamps were not really a thing until after the steam age came to an end; before the 1970s lights were intended for the train to be seen, not to allow the driver to see. This is why route knowledge is so important.