A Visiting Frenemy: ThomasNATION Fanstory
March 27, 2021
It was a busy day on Thomas’ branch-line. That day, Sir Topham Hatt called for Nia to help out with extra passengers, and as you could probably guess, it was a lot of hard work. But the two did eventually have a break, so they could finally relax in a shed near Knapford.
“You know, Nia,” said Thomas, out of breath, “I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated a break more than I have now.”
“I hear that,” Nia remarked. “I haven’t worked that hard in years.”
“If you can believe it, we’re supposed to get more passengers tomorrow.” Thomas groaned.
“Nipe nguvu...” Nia sighed. “May as well enjoy this break whilst it lasts, eh?”
“True,” Thomas responded.
Then, Percy rolled up next to the shed that Thomas and Nia were having their break. He looked rather excited.
“Guys! Big news!” Percy clamored as he rushed in.
“What is it, Percy?” Thomas asked. “Is Alicia Botti doing another concert?”
“No.”
“Is the circus in town?”
“Again, no.”
“Did some supernatural anomaly generate a giant energy field, mind-controlling the inhabitants of Suddery, that’s in the exact shape and size of a giant hexagon?”
Nia and Percy stared at Thomas, confused.
“…I mean, I’m just saying hypothetically…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Thomas.” Nia smirked. “What’s the actual news, Percy?”
“Wellsworth is hosting a massive race rally across Sodor!” Percy cried in excitement.
“Wow,” Thomas thought. “I was way off.”
“Who’s going to be racing?” asked Nia.
“They’re bringing in race cars from all over the globe,” Percy explained. “There’ll be racers from Norway, Sweden, Germany, France…but the big headliner is the racer they’re bringing in from Australia!”
“Really? Who is it?” Nia asked.
“His name…is Ace!” Percy announced.
“Yes!” Thomas yelled.
“No…” Nia yelled.
Percy looked at Thomas and Nia in curiosity. “You two know him?”
“Yeah, we travelled the world with him!” Thomas explained. “Heck, he’s the one who convinced me to see the world to begin with.”
“But it was evident that me and him didn’t get along,” Nia continued. “he manipulated Thomas into abandoning me in Arizona.”
“Oh.”
“Give the guy another chance, Nia,” Thomas convinced his friend. “I talked it out with him when I last visited Australia, and I think he’s really changed.”
Nia was skeptical, but ultimately decided to give Ace the benefit of the doubt. After all, that was three years ago - surely he would have changed in that time!
The next morning, a yellow blur came racing into the road entrance of Knapford, surprising the passengers and buses. The blur drifted to a stop to reveal - who else - Ace.
“Yeah!” Ace cried. “I forgot how nice these roads felt on my wheels!”
“Ace!” Thomas called out.
“Thomas!” said Ace. “How ya been, mate? It’s been a while!”
“I know, long time.” Thomas reminisced.
Just then, Nia rolled up, immediately noticing Ace. “Hey, Ace. Uh, long time, eh?”
“Yeah,” Ace responded. “hey, about all that business in Arizona, I gotta ask, no hard feelings, right?”
“No worries, Ace,” Nia responded. “We’re good.”
Well, not entirely. Nia was still distrusting of Ace, but still wanted to see if he really had redeemed himself.
“Anyway, I gotta get over to Wellsworth,” Ace said as he left. “those racers aren’t gonna beat themselves! Great seein’ ya guys again!”
“You too, Ace!” Thomas called out.
“Yeah, good seeing you!” Nia yelled.
This left Thomas confused. “i thought you were concerned about seeing Ace again.”
“Yeah, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Nia responded. “I mean, it’s been three years, maybe he did learn from his mistake.”
“Trust me,” Thomas responded. “once he’s done here, you’ll forget you even hated that guy.”
Later, Nia was pulling into Vicarstown with a goods train, pleasantly surprised with her run-in with Ace. Percy was at another platform collecting mail for the night’s run.
“Hey, Nia,” Percy asked, “did you have any thought on whether or not you’re attending the rally to cheer Ace on?”
“Well, honestly,” Nia responded. “I think if he keeps this good behavior up, then maybe.”
Then, Gordon rolled in, looking a bit grumpier than usual.
“Oh, my,” Nia gasped. “what’s the matter, Gordon?”
“It’s that Ace fellow, Nia,” Gordon grumbled. “he passed me on the way to Kellsthorpe Road, and he said I should leave the express to a stronger engine. Like, what’s that meant to mean?!”
Nia gasped in disgust. “He really said that?”
“I heard it, clear as day…” Gordon moaned.
Upset over this news, Nia groaned in anger. “You see, Percy? I should’ve known better than to actually trust that yellow demon!”
Percy gasped. “Nia, calm down. Maybe he’s just taking things out of context.”
“What context is there to take it out of?” Nia asked as she stormed away. “He has no right insulting Gordon like that!”
As Nia left, Percy noticed something peculiar about Gordon’s express train. “Uh, Gordon?”
“What?”
“Does your express train look a bit…uh…longer? Or is that just me?”
Soon, Nia had to take wood up to Wellsworth to build bleachers for the rally. But she was still too distracted by thinking about Ace, so much so that she wasn’t looking where she was going.
“Uh, Nia?” Rebecca said as she rolled up beside Nia.
“Yeah?”
“Uh, you may want to look where you’re going.”
“Why?”
But before Nia could do anything else, she careened into an abandoned siding, crashing into the buffers and derailing.
“Um…” Rebecca continued. “…that’s why. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nia called out, “but can you do me a favor and take the rest of this wood to Wellsworth?”
“Alright.” Rebecca replied.
As soon as Rebecca left with the wood, Ace darted through the woodland roads beside the siding, briefly stopping to observe the damage.
“Whoa, you alright there, fumbles?” Ace quipped. “Looks like you’re in quite the muddle there, eh?”
“Not now, Ace…” Nia sighed.
“Hey, look, I’d love to chat, but I gotta continue my time trials,” said Ace. “Hang in there, Nia!”
As Ace drove away, Nia couldn’t help but feel offended.
“WHAT?! Oh, sure,” Nia yelled. “just like you to abandon an engine in need!”
Ace stopped dead in his tracks and started listening to what Nia was saying.
“I mean, I could just rust here, be abandoned by all my friends,” Nia continued, “but just as long as your time trial is finished! I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that!”
Ace took time to consider what Nia was saying until he drove off.
At Wellsworth, the rally was just about to begin, but something was off with Ace. He looked concerned - almost guilty.
“Everything okay, Ace?” asked Thomas. “You look a little down.”
“I’m fine, just…” Ace explained. “…have you ever felt like you let someone down when you didn’t mean to?”
“Sometimes.” Thomas responded. “Why?”
“I think I messed up bad, mate.” Ace continued. “I feel like I was too focused on winning the race that I think I abandoned a friend.”
“Well…” Thomas thought. “…there are more important things in life than just winning races all the time, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is being there for your friends.”
“Who told you that?”
“I just learned from natural experiences.”
Ace smiled. “Thanks, mate.”
“ALL RACERS TO THE STARTING LINE!” the announcer cried. “THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!”
All the racers lines up at the starting line. All, of course, except Ace, who simply drove away from it.
“Where are you going?” Thomas asked.
“To make amends.” said Ace.
As the sun set on the island, Nia was still derailed, until she began lifting off of the ground.
“What in the…” Nia asked before noticing Rocky hoisting her up.
“Don’t worry now, Nia,” said Rocky. “we’ll have you back on the rails before long!”
“But, wait, who…” Nia pondered, confused.
“Thomas was told to bring me here.” Rocky explained.
“By who?”
“Me.” said a familiar voice. Nia looked around to see who it was. It was Ace! “Surprise!”
“Ace?” asked Nia, confused. “But why? I don’t understand. I thought you had a race!”
“I left the circuit to help you,” said Ace. “it didn’t feel right just leaving you there.”
“Oh, so now you grow a conscience?” Nia chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah.” Ace rolled his eyes.
But Nia was confused about one more thing. “Wait, I have to ask, what was all that with you and Gordon, down near Kellsthorpe?”
Ace explained everything, about how he was only making a snide remark to Gordon, since he was carrying what he believed to be too many coaches due to the extra passengers, and that he didn’t mean to hurt Gordon’s feelings.
“Oh…” Nia gasped. “So you weren’t mocking Gordon, you were just making a joke?”
“Pretty much,” replied Ace. “I guess I could’ve worded it a little better. So, whaddya say, Nia? No hard feelings?”
Nia smiled, having understood everything. “Yeah, no hard feelings. Samehe na Sahau.”
Ace paused for a moment. “Yeah, I don’t know what that means.”
“Forgive and forget, Ace.” Thomas chuckled. “Now, I believe you had a race to win?”
“Forget the race,” said Ace, “before I get home, I’m gonna spend the day with you two!”
Thomas, Nia and Ace simultaneously chuckled, glad to all be friends again.
“You know, Nia,” said Thomas, out of breath, “I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated a break more than I have now.”
“I hear that,” Nia remarked. “I haven’t worked that hard in years.”
“If you can believe it, we’re supposed to get more passengers tomorrow.” Thomas groaned.
“Nipe nguvu...” Nia sighed. “May as well enjoy this break whilst it lasts, eh?”
“True,” Thomas responded.
Then, Percy rolled up next to the shed that Thomas and Nia were having their break. He looked rather excited.
“Guys! Big news!” Percy clamored as he rushed in.
“What is it, Percy?” Thomas asked. “Is Alicia Botti doing another concert?”
“No.”
“Is the circus in town?”
“Again, no.”
“Did some supernatural anomaly generate a giant energy field, mind-controlling the inhabitants of Suddery, that’s in the exact shape and size of a giant hexagon?”
Nia and Percy stared at Thomas, confused.
“…I mean, I’m just saying hypothetically…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Thomas.” Nia smirked. “What’s the actual news, Percy?”
“Wellsworth is hosting a massive race rally across Sodor!” Percy cried in excitement.
“Wow,” Thomas thought. “I was way off.”
“Who’s going to be racing?” asked Nia.
“They’re bringing in race cars from all over the globe,” Percy explained. “There’ll be racers from Norway, Sweden, Germany, France…but the big headliner is the racer they’re bringing in from Australia!”
“Really? Who is it?” Nia asked.
“His name…is Ace!” Percy announced.
“Yes!” Thomas yelled.
“No…” Nia yelled.
Percy looked at Thomas and Nia in curiosity. “You two know him?”
“Yeah, we travelled the world with him!” Thomas explained. “Heck, he’s the one who convinced me to see the world to begin with.”
“But it was evident that me and him didn’t get along,” Nia continued. “he manipulated Thomas into abandoning me in Arizona.”
“Oh.”
“Give the guy another chance, Nia,” Thomas convinced his friend. “I talked it out with him when I last visited Australia, and I think he’s really changed.”
Nia was skeptical, but ultimately decided to give Ace the benefit of the doubt. After all, that was three years ago - surely he would have changed in that time!
The next morning, a yellow blur came racing into the road entrance of Knapford, surprising the passengers and buses. The blur drifted to a stop to reveal - who else - Ace.
“Yeah!” Ace cried. “I forgot how nice these roads felt on my wheels!”
“Ace!” Thomas called out.
“Thomas!” said Ace. “How ya been, mate? It’s been a while!”
“I know, long time.” Thomas reminisced.
Just then, Nia rolled up, immediately noticing Ace. “Hey, Ace. Uh, long time, eh?”
“Yeah,” Ace responded. “hey, about all that business in Arizona, I gotta ask, no hard feelings, right?”
“No worries, Ace,” Nia responded. “We’re good.”
Well, not entirely. Nia was still distrusting of Ace, but still wanted to see if he really had redeemed himself.
“Anyway, I gotta get over to Wellsworth,” Ace said as he left. “those racers aren’t gonna beat themselves! Great seein’ ya guys again!”
“You too, Ace!” Thomas called out.
“Yeah, good seeing you!” Nia yelled.
This left Thomas confused. “i thought you were concerned about seeing Ace again.”
“Yeah, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Nia responded. “I mean, it’s been three years, maybe he did learn from his mistake.”
“Trust me,” Thomas responded. “once he’s done here, you’ll forget you even hated that guy.”
Later, Nia was pulling into Vicarstown with a goods train, pleasantly surprised with her run-in with Ace. Percy was at another platform collecting mail for the night’s run.
“Hey, Nia,” Percy asked, “did you have any thought on whether or not you’re attending the rally to cheer Ace on?”
“Well, honestly,” Nia responded. “I think if he keeps this good behavior up, then maybe.”
Then, Gordon rolled in, looking a bit grumpier than usual.
“Oh, my,” Nia gasped. “what’s the matter, Gordon?”
“It’s that Ace fellow, Nia,” Gordon grumbled. “he passed me on the way to Kellsthorpe Road, and he said I should leave the express to a stronger engine. Like, what’s that meant to mean?!”
Nia gasped in disgust. “He really said that?”
“I heard it, clear as day…” Gordon moaned.
Upset over this news, Nia groaned in anger. “You see, Percy? I should’ve known better than to actually trust that yellow demon!”
Percy gasped. “Nia, calm down. Maybe he’s just taking things out of context.”
“What context is there to take it out of?” Nia asked as she stormed away. “He has no right insulting Gordon like that!”
As Nia left, Percy noticed something peculiar about Gordon’s express train. “Uh, Gordon?”
“What?”
“Does your express train look a bit…uh…longer? Or is that just me?”
Soon, Nia had to take wood up to Wellsworth to build bleachers for the rally. But she was still too distracted by thinking about Ace, so much so that she wasn’t looking where she was going.
“Uh, Nia?” Rebecca said as she rolled up beside Nia.
“Yeah?”
“Uh, you may want to look where you’re going.”
“Why?”
But before Nia could do anything else, she careened into an abandoned siding, crashing into the buffers and derailing.
“Um…” Rebecca continued. “…that’s why. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nia called out, “but can you do me a favor and take the rest of this wood to Wellsworth?”
“Alright.” Rebecca replied.
As soon as Rebecca left with the wood, Ace darted through the woodland roads beside the siding, briefly stopping to observe the damage.
“Whoa, you alright there, fumbles?” Ace quipped. “Looks like you’re in quite the muddle there, eh?”
“Not now, Ace…” Nia sighed.
“Hey, look, I’d love to chat, but I gotta continue my time trials,” said Ace. “Hang in there, Nia!”
As Ace drove away, Nia couldn’t help but feel offended.
“WHAT?! Oh, sure,” Nia yelled. “just like you to abandon an engine in need!”
Ace stopped dead in his tracks and started listening to what Nia was saying.
“I mean, I could just rust here, be abandoned by all my friends,” Nia continued, “but just as long as your time trial is finished! I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that!”
Ace took time to consider what Nia was saying until he drove off.
At Wellsworth, the rally was just about to begin, but something was off with Ace. He looked concerned - almost guilty.
“Everything okay, Ace?” asked Thomas. “You look a little down.”
“I’m fine, just…” Ace explained. “…have you ever felt like you let someone down when you didn’t mean to?”
“Sometimes.” Thomas responded. “Why?”
“I think I messed up bad, mate.” Ace continued. “I feel like I was too focused on winning the race that I think I abandoned a friend.”
“Well…” Thomas thought. “…there are more important things in life than just winning races all the time, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is being there for your friends.”
“Who told you that?”
“I just learned from natural experiences.”
Ace smiled. “Thanks, mate.”
“ALL RACERS TO THE STARTING LINE!” the announcer cried. “THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!”
All the racers lines up at the starting line. All, of course, except Ace, who simply drove away from it.
“Where are you going?” Thomas asked.
“To make amends.” said Ace.
As the sun set on the island, Nia was still derailed, until she began lifting off of the ground.
“What in the…” Nia asked before noticing Rocky hoisting her up.
“Don’t worry now, Nia,” said Rocky. “we’ll have you back on the rails before long!”
“But, wait, who…” Nia pondered, confused.
“Thomas was told to bring me here.” Rocky explained.
“By who?”
“Me.” said a familiar voice. Nia looked around to see who it was. It was Ace! “Surprise!”
“Ace?” asked Nia, confused. “But why? I don’t understand. I thought you had a race!”
“I left the circuit to help you,” said Ace. “it didn’t feel right just leaving you there.”
“Oh, so now you grow a conscience?” Nia chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah.” Ace rolled his eyes.
But Nia was confused about one more thing. “Wait, I have to ask, what was all that with you and Gordon, down near Kellsthorpe?”
Ace explained everything, about how he was only making a snide remark to Gordon, since he was carrying what he believed to be too many coaches due to the extra passengers, and that he didn’t mean to hurt Gordon’s feelings.
“Oh…” Nia gasped. “So you weren’t mocking Gordon, you were just making a joke?”
“Pretty much,” replied Ace. “I guess I could’ve worded it a little better. So, whaddya say, Nia? No hard feelings?”
Nia smiled, having understood everything. “Yeah, no hard feelings. Samehe na Sahau.”
Ace paused for a moment. “Yeah, I don’t know what that means.”
“Forgive and forget, Ace.” Thomas chuckled. “Now, I believe you had a race to win?”
“Forget the race,” said Ace, “before I get home, I’m gonna spend the day with you two!”
Thomas, Nia and Ace simultaneously chuckled, glad to all be friends again.
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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