Thomas' Tasty Trick: ThomasNATION Fanstory
August 15, 2020
It was a calm summerās morning on Sodor. The birds were chirping, there wasnāt a cloud in the sky, and the light from the sun reflected on Thomasā paintwork as he puffed cheerfully down the Main Line pulling the local train. He pulled into Kellsthorpe Road as he breathed in the warm, crisp air.
āAh, isnāt it just the most beautiful day?ā said Thomas.
āYouāve been saying that at every station.ā Annie called out. āI understand that itās a lovely day, but you donāt need to go on and on about it.ā
āSorry, Annieā Thomas said, ābut I canāt help it! Itās just absolutely beautiful! I donāt think weāve had this lovely a day on Sodor in years. Nothing can possibly ruin it!ā
āWhy do I get the feeling he just tempted fate?ā Annie asked.
āI have that feeling as well.ā Clarabel chimed in.
Just then, James came dashing into the station, screeching to a halt. Thomas, Annie and Clarabel winced at the terrible sound.
āTada!ā James cried out. āHereās James! Oh, hello, Thomas!ā
āJames, you need to stop braking so hard,ā Thomas warned him. āyouāre going to have another accident.ā
āI canāt help looking this gorgeous, Thomasā, James said snootily. āJust look at how my paintwork glimmers in the sunlight! But I guess it would be easy to be jealous of my natural glow, I mean, your paintwork is old and bland.ā
āOh, come on, James,ā Thomas responded. āeveryone knows that blue is the only color for a Really Useful engine.ā
āPah!ā James scoffed. āRed is the most splendid color for an engine you can get, and besides; red engines are few and far in-between on the railway, while everyoneās seen an old, bland, blue engine to the point where seeing it is just boring.ā
Thomas took great offense to that comment. āBlue engines arenāt boring! We can be just as really useful as you!ā
āReally? Because I have to take the Duke and Duchess of Boxford to Ulfstead Castle for an important gala!ā James said. āAnd what are you doing? Pulling an old, slow and, quite frankly, an unimportant local train.ā
āWell, youāre pulling a local train too!ā Clarabel called out.
āStay out of it, Clarabelā¦ā Annie whispered as the guard on Jamesā platform blew his whistle.
āCanāt stay and chat, Thomas!ā said James as he left. āI have some important work to do.ā
Later on, Thomas had to pull some cargo to Wellsworth. On his way, he was still seething about what James had said.
āThomas?ā Edward called out. āWhatās the matter with you? Whatās Diesel done this time?ā
āItās not Diesel this time,ā Thomas replied. āitās James. He said blue engines like us are boring and unimportant, while red engines are grand and wonderful.ā
āOh dearā¦ā
āI just need to find a way to pay him back, to show him that Iām not boring.ā Thomas said.
Edward thought for a moment. āWell, payback is never really the mature option, Thomas. I suggest you forget about it and get on with your work.ā
āOkay, fineā¦ā Thomas said, still mad. āI suppose I should get to the coal plantā¦ā Then, he had an idea.
āEdward, it just hit me! Whatās the one thing James cares about the most?ā
āHis paintwork?ā
āYes!ā Thomas said with a glimmer of inspiration. āSo all we need to do is get Jamesā paintwork dirty!ā
Edward thought for a moment. āThatās actually not a bad idea, Thomas.ā he said. āItās simple and harmless! I think youāre onto something.ā
āThanks, Edward!ā Thomas said as he left his cargo. āNow, how do I get his paintwork dirty?ā
Then, Thomas passed Mr. Jollyās Chocolate Factory. He started to plan out his little schemeā¦
The next day, stormy clouds came rolling in as the Steam Team woke up.
āGood morning, everybody!ā Nia called out as she did every morning.
āMorning, Nia!ā Percy said, yawning. Then he noticed the empty berth next to him. āHey, guys, have you seen Thomas?ā
āNo, I havenāt.ā Rebecca responded.
āI think he said something about going to Wellsworth?ā Emily said with confusion. āHe must be visiting Edward.ā
āActually,ā Thomas said, by a siding next to the sheds, āIām over here!ā
āOh.ā said Emily.
As James rolled out of his berth, he began to scowl. āUgh, not another summer storm, and on the one day I need to look my bestā¦aside from every other day, of course.ā
āWhy?ā Thomas asked. āWhatās so special about today?ā
āTonight, Iām supposed to take the Duke and Duchess back home to the Mainland,ā James responded, āand I need my paintwork to be 100% spotless!ā
āOh, alright.ā said Thomas with a cheeky grin. āDonāt suppose youāre going to Killdane, are you?ā
āYeah, one of my jobs goes right through Killdane.ā James responded, confused on why Thomas was asking so many questions.
āOh, okay, good to knowā¦ā Thomas chuckled to himself.
At Knapford, James was waiting impatiently for a goods train he had to take to Abbey. The rain was starting to drizzle down.
āOh, not now!ā James pouted. āNow my shiny paintwork will be all damp!ā
āYou know, James,ā Emily chimed in, āyouāre sounding a lot like Henry right now!ā
āI canāt help it if I want my paintwork to look its best!ā James argued back. Neither him or Emily realised that Thomas was hiding behind Emilyās coaches.
āItās just a few drops of rain, James,ā said Emily. āI mean, you canāt spend the day stationary at Knapford all day!ā
Just then, Nia puffed through with trucks full of chickens. A feather flew off a chicken, landing on Thomasā nose, and prompting him to sneeze. āAchoo!ā
James looked over, and examined the coaches, beforeā¦
āHere you go, James!ā Stanley called to James as he coupled the goods train up to him.
āOh, about time!ā James said, exasperated. He looked back at the cargo, buying Thomas just enough time to flee.
Thomas had managed to stay far away from James for a while when he finally made it to Mr. Jollyās chocolate factory. He switched the points leading to the siding, when he heard Jamesā whistle. āShowtime!ā
As James approached the trap, Thomas hid behind some boxcars. Soon, James was hurtling towards the chocolate factory at full speed, expecting to go over to the next track to Abbey, but the points didnāt change. He didnāt diverge.
āOh no!ā James cried out, as he crashed through the chocolate factory. When he emerged from the other side, he was drenched from funnel to footplate in sticky, melted chocolate. āYuck! My splendid paintwork!ā
Thomas emerged from his hiding spot, barely able to contain his laughter. āLook at this!ā he taunted, āChocolate express coming through!ā
āThomas?! You did this?!ā James asked, fuming.
āWhoās boring now?ā Thomas teased as he left.
āOh, how can this day get any worse?ā James asked to himself. Just then, the rain started getting really heavy, and the chocolate started seaming into Jamesā paintwork.
Soon, Thomas pulled into Knapford, still chuckling about his little prank. Rebecca was there, talking with Sir Topham Hatt.
āOh, Thomas, there you are!ā Rebecca called. āHave you seen James anywhere? He was supposed to take some rubbish up to Whiffās Waste Dump.ā
āLetās just say that James had himself a bit of a sweet surpriseā¦ā Thomas chuckled, much to Sir Topham Hattās confusion.
Just then, a slew of ambulances came racing through the roadways of Knapford.
āOh my!ā Sir Topham Hatt yelled. āWhat on earth is going on?!ā
āThereās been a crash at Mr. Jollyās chocolate factory, sir!ā said one of the paramedics. āEight people have been severely injured, and James is in serious need of repair!ā
āWhat?!ā said Sir Topham Hatt. āHow did this happen? Thomas, I need you to take me to that chocolate factory at once!ā
āBut sir,ā Thomas protested, āI need to work on my-ā
āThereās no time, Thomas!ā Sir Topham Hatt cried as he climbed aboard Thomas. āWe need to go, toute suite!ā
Thomas soon arrived at the scene of the accident. Luckily, there were no casualties, but a lot of people were injured and being hauled away to the hospital.
āOoh, hello, Thomas!ā said Judy and Jerome, who were lifting James onto a flatbed.
āJames!ā cried Sir Topham Hatt. āWhat on earth happened? How did you crash into the chocolate factory?ā
āWell, sir, just know that it wasnāt my faultā¦IT WAS HIS!ā James yelled, as he gestured to Thomas.
Sir Topham Hatt was absolutely livid. āThomas the Tank Engine! You have caused a great deal of confusion and delay!ā
āIām sorry, sir,ā Thomas said sadly, ābut yesterday, James made me cross because he said I was bland and unimportant.ā
āThatās no reason to send him crashing into a chocolate factory!ā Sir Topham Hatt barked. āYou do realise I have to punish you for this.ā
āBut sir-ā
āNo buts, Thomas!ā Sir Topham Hatt yelled again. āIāve had it up to here with your excuses! For your punishment, Iāll be putting you strictly on waste duty and taking your branchline away for three weeks!ā And with that, Sir Topham Hatt left.
āWHAT?! You canāt do this, sir!ā
āItās your own fault, Thomas.ā said Edward. āYou shouldāve known that this was a bad idea.ā
āEdward, you said this was a good idea!ā Thomas protested.
āBut I just thought you meant spraying him with coal dust or mud,ā said Edward, ānot costing Mr. Jolly thousands in repairs! I understand you were upset at James, but causing him to have a massive accident doesn't make you any better.ā
As Edward left, Thomas was nothing but ashamed.
A few days later, James was fully repaired, and Thomas was still on waste duty. James had to take the last of the debris to the waste dump.
āHello, James!ā Whiff said.
āHey, Whiffā¦ā James pouted. He absolutely loathed going to the dump, and seeing Thomas there was no help. āOh, helloā¦you.ā
Thomas was still ashamed. āJames, Iām really sorry, I didnāt mean for this to happen. I really didnāt think about the consequences this would bring, I just assumed it would be closed, and-.ā
āYouāre just saying that to make yourself look good!ā James interrupted. āYou arenāt saying this because youāre genuinely sorry, youāre only saying it because you want your precious little branch line back!ā
āI tell ya what, James,ā Thomas suggested, āif itāll make you feel better, why donāt I give you one free revenge shot?ā
āOkay, fine. Hold still.ā James said as he switched to the track behind Thomas, which was right next to the garbage chute. āI am going to enjoy thisā¦ā
And with a mighty shove, James shoved Thomas right under the garbage chute, sending trash plummeting down on the two. Scruff took notice of this.
āThomas, James, quit mucking around.ā said Scruff. āWe have work to do.ā
āSo, James, how did you enjoy your free hit?ā Thomas asked with a chuckle.
āI felt a little left out, soā¦ā James responded. Now, he was covered in pure, vile garbage. āā¦I had a go at it myself!ā
āBut what about your shiny red paintwork?ā
āAh, who needs it?ā James replied. āAfter all, my paintwork doesnāt need to glimmer in the sunlight all of the timeā¦ā
Thomas and James had a good chuckle. The two were finally glad to be friends again.
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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