It's a Wonderful Railway - ThomasNATION Fanstory
December 24, 2023
āYou doing okay, Thomas?ā asked Percy. āYou look like youāre struggling.ā
āIāll be honest, Percy,ā said Thomas, āIāve been a little stressed out with all this work. Iāve got to get this hay to Kellsthorpe Road for their nativity scene, then I need to get the kidsā presents over to Town Hall, then I need to get a sleigh over to Suddery, and if I have to plough through a snowbank one more time, I think Iām gonna burst!ā
āWhoa, sorry I canāt help you, Thomas,ā replied Percy. āThat sounds like a real pain.ā
āNo kidding.ā chuckled Thomas. āAre you sure you canāt help? Youāre headed to Suddery, right?ā
āI wanna help,ā said Percy, ābut Iāve still got all this mail to deliver - not to mention the Christmas tree for Ulfstead Castle.ā
Thomas was disappointed, but even then, he still understood. āOkay, no worries. Iāll see you back at the shed.ā
As Percy left, Thomas was left all alone, with no help and no break in sight, but a heap of work to do. But he still had to keep his head on his footplate. āItās just some extra work.ā he said to himself. āHow bad could it be?ā
Very bad, evidently. Throughout the day, Thomas kept running into trouble one way or another. Presents kept falling onto the snow. The icy rails made him bump into engines left and right. Snow kept getting sprayed all over him by one of the faster engines. He even nearly derailed on a sharp turn, damaging the sleigh for Suddery. And not a single engine offered to help him. By the end of the day, Thomas was feeling burnt out, weak, and pretty insignificant.
When he came back to Tidmouth Sheds that night, he wasted no time venting his frustrations to Percy. āToday has been one of the worst days of my life.ā
āI know it mustāve been hard,ā Percy tried to assure his friend, ābut it gets better. I promise.ā
āYeah, Iāve had days that bad,ā said James, ābut it never got me down.ā
āYou know what the worst part is?ā continued Thomas. āNo one, no one offered to help or check if I was doing okay. I felt so useless.ā
āYouāre not useless, Thomas,ā said Nia.
āI donāt know,ā sighed Thomas, before saying something the engines at Tidmouth were hoping theyād never have to hear anyone say. āRight now, Iām starting to think this railway would be better off if I never came here.ā
āDonāt say that!ā gasped Percy. āThatās not true at all.ā
āHow do you know?ā grumbled Thomas. āI mean, if I just packed my shed and went back to the Mainland, would anyone even care? Would they even notice?ā
āWell, fine. Go back. Come visit once in a while.ā Gordon sighed.
āGordon!ā gasped Nia.
āOh, come on, Nia,ā groaned Gordon. āHeās not going to do it. Heāll just moan about it for a couple more minutes, sleep on it and wake up like this conversation never happened.ā
āWould it kill you to be a little more sensitive about this?ā muttered Percy. āThomas matters to this railway!ā
āYouāre just saying that, Percy.ā sighed Thomas. āBut the truth is, maybe I donāt after all.ā
āWell, thatās not true at all.ā Gordon rolled his eyes.
āWhose side are you on?!ā shouted Nia.
And with that, Thomas drifted off to sleep. He still couldnāt shake his feeling of worthlessness from his mind. And in the state he was in, what could?
āThomas?ā a strange voice called out as he slept. āWake up, Thomasā¦ā
Thomas slowly woke up to be greeted byā¦ āHiro?ā
āKonnichiwa, old friend!ā cried Hiro as he laughed. āWhatās wrong? You look like youāve seen a ghost!ā
āButā¦how?ā asked Thomas. āHow are you here? I saw you leave for Japan three years ago.ā
āLet me put it this way.ā Hiro explained. āYou saved me from worthlessness, so itās time I return the favor. Think of me as a guardian angel.ā
āWhat in the world are you talking about?ā
āIām here to show you how much of an impact you left on the island of Sodor. I know youāve been contemplating leaving.ā
āYeah, Iām starting to think everyone here doesnāt care about me.ā
āThatās not true.ā Hiro began. āYouāve really had a wonderful life on Sodor. Donāt you want to see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?ā
Thomas was pretty hesitant. āIām not sureā¦ā
Hiro chuckled again. āHere, let me show you.ā
Hiro then let out a mighty wheesh from his pistons. Steam filled the area, sending Thomas and Hiroā¦back to Tidmouth Sheds.
āThatā¦didnāt do anything.ā said Thomas.
āććć©ććć.ā chuckled Hiro. āThis is a veryā¦different Sodor. One where you were never brought onto Sir Topham Hattās railway. Behold.ā
Thomas then witnessed Edward leaving his old berth. āWait, whyās Edward there? James didnāt crash into the sheds because of me.ā
āYou never inspired Rosieās red paint job, so the crash didnāt happen and Edward never moved out.ā Hiro explained.
āReally?ā
āYes. And Nia never filled his berth.ā
āAnd what about Rebecca?ā
āShe still lives here. Just in what was meant to be your berth.ā
āā¦so that meansā¦ā
Just as Thomas was speaking, a very nervous Henry was slowly turning around on the turntable, whimpering as he looked up at the cloudy sky. āOh, come on now! Turn, turn!ā
āWhatās the matter with him?ā Thomas asked as it started raining. Henry, in a panicked frenzy, reversed into his shed.
āHenry never conquered his fear of the rain.ā Hiro observed. āEvery storm, hurricane, or even light drizzle, he coops up in his berth and never comes out.ā
āBut why?ā
āDonāt you remember? There was no you. You convinced him that the rain was okay.ā
Thomas thought about that for a second. āI completely forgot that.ā
āWeāve still got a lot to see, Thomas,ā Hiro chimed. āThis is only the tip of the iceberg.ā
In another puff of steam, Thomas and Hiro found themselves at Dryaw.
āSo if I never came to this railway, whoās running my branch line?ā asked Thomas.
Just then, a familiar whistle blared through the branchline. āRight on cue.ā chuckled Hiro.
And speeding down the track was none other than James, still in his black livery and pulling Annie and Clarabel. āTadaaaa! Hereās James!ā
āJames? My branch line belongs to James?ā gasped Thomas.
āYes.ā Hiro explained. āBut he doesnāt get a lot of passengers because of hisā¦reckless manner. This line is more so a laughing stock to the other engines. He doesnāt even have any help for the line - Percy works exclusively in the shunting yards and Toby never came to the island. There wasnāt that issue with the policeman.ā
āHuh.ā thought Thomas. āI do have another question: what about Glynn?ā
āYou werenāt there to save him. He was sent away to the scrapyard.ā
Thomas gasped. āNo!ā
āYes. Not just that, but I wouldāve met the same fateā¦as well as one other.ā Hiro let out one last puff of smoke. Now, they were in the plains of Kenya.
āUmā¦are we in Africa?ā Thomas asked, confused.
āKenya, to be exact.ā Hiro said. āRemember how Nia told you that she never found a shed back here?ā
āYeah?ā
āLook over there.ā
Thomas looked over at an old siding. Over there was the rusty, dilapidated remains of an engine. āWhoās that?ā
āThomasā¦meet Nia.ā Hiro sighed, solemnly.
āWhat?ā Thomas gasped. āSo if I never came to Sodor, my friends would be entirely different engines, my branch line would be in ruins, andā¦ā
āNia never wouldāve found a home.ā Hiro sighed. āSo, you see? Itās strange, isn't it? Each engineās life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around, he leaves an awful holeā¦doesn't he?ā
Thomas deeply considered Hiroās words. Maybe he wasnāt worthless. Maybe he affected more lives than he thought. Maybe he actually did belong on the railway.
Niaās whistle blared through Tidmouth Sheds as she greeted the morning. āGood morning, everyone!ā
Thomas woke up with a jolt. He didnāt know how he was back, but he didnāt care. He was over the moon to be back! āIām back? Iām back!ā
āWhatās that, Thomas?ā asked James.
āLong story,ā chuckled Thomas, ābut Iām so glad to see you all!ā
āTold you heād wake up like nothing happened.ā grumbled Gordon.
āWill you stop?ā groaned Nia.
āGlad to see youāre in a better mood.ā smiled Percy. āI heard we have even more work to do today than yesterday.ā
āIs that so?ā asked Thomas.
āYeah,ā replied Percy. āDonāt suppose I can help you out with some of them?ā
āAbsolutely!ā smiled Thomas.
āGreat,ā said Percy as he rolled onto the turntable. āWe should probably get going, though. We gotta be at Knapford immedately. Sir Topham Hattās orders.ā
āIāll be there in a bit, Percy.ā chuckled Thomas, before looking back up at the sky, thinking of his friend. āThanks, Hiro.ā
And so, Thomas left to get on with his work, overjoyed to feel like he actually belongs with his friends on Sodor.
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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