Railshamon - ThomasNATION Fanstory (Part 3)
March 30, 2025
The constable closed his notebook. Every bit of Percy's side of the story was documented."Much obliged, Percy." he said. "You're excused."
"But you have to understand, it wasn't my fault. I only wanted to lead the parade!"
"I think I'll be the judge there." smirked the constable.
Percy escorted the constable back to Thomas and Diesel. The two of them looked at Percy, their tension easing a little bit.
"How'd it go?" asked Thomas.
"I have almost everything I need to piece this together," the constable explained, "but there's still one more piece of the puzzle I need."
Diesel sighed. "Alright, I know where this is going. Let's get this over with."
Percy leaned in as the constable led Diesel to the shunting yard. "Good luck down there."
"How much did you tell him?"
"Pretty much everything I know."
The constable led Diesel to the shunting yard. A resounding "tsk-tsk-tsk" escaped his mouth.
"Diesel, Diesel, Diesel." the constable smirked. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Not how I imagined this reunion either, Horace." Diesel grumbled. "Now, you wanna get this over with? I have places to be."
"Now, now, Diesel. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." the constable warned. "I want every detail. No games, no biases. I want this story exactly as it happened."
Diesel rolled his eyes. "Alright, I understand. It started this morning when I was shunting at Tidmouth."
"Good morning, everybody!" called Nia that morning. Diesel was busy shunting the trucks by the sheds. He was half-asleep and was in no mood to hear anything.
"What's the matter, Diesel?" asked Paxton. "It's not like you to be upset on Sodor Day."
"You won't believe what Sir Topham Hatt told me last night." Diesel complained. "I've done nothing but prove my usefulness all week to him, and he tells me the leader of the parade is Percy?! Honestly!"
"What's so special about leading a parade?" asked Paxton, naively.
BANG! Diesel bumped his trucks hard, resulting in a loud biff that woke Thomas up and interrupted Percy.
"You wouldn't get it, Paxton." groaned Diesel. "Every Sodor Day, I ask to be the first diesel engine to lead the parade, and every year I'm told no!"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Last year he let Charlie lead the parade." Diesel sighed. "CHARLIE. I swear, if it weren't for me, this railway wouldn't be as revolutionary as it is. There must be a way to prove him wrong."
Diesel looked over at Percy puffing out of the sheds. "Where's he off to?"
"I think Sir Topham Hatt sent him to the quarry." Paxton recalled. "Something about getting gravel somewhere."
Then, an idea popped in Diesel's head. "Paxton. It just hit me. Percy can't lead the parade if he's all dirty, so all we need to do is make a mess of him!"
"Diesel, you can't!" Paxton tried to talk him out of it. "This won't make you the parade leader!"
"Just hear me out, Paxton." Diesel explained. "If Percy's all dirty, he's not gonna lead the parade. Then Sir Topham Hatt sees me, shiny and clean, and I finally lead the parade!"
"This won't end well, Diesel." said Paxton. "I don't want any part of this."
"Alright, so I'll do it myself. It'll be easy!"
Diesel noticed Percy at a junction near Crosby. Percy was a right mess, covered in dust and gravel.
"It's all going according to plan..." giggled Diesel.
Diesel raced up to Percy, pretending to be out of breath. "Percy! Thank goodness I found you!"
"Um...hi, Diesel." Percy said, raising his eyebrow. "You doing okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, I just have an urgent message from Sir Topham Hatt! He needs some china clay up at Vicarstown right now! You're the only engine that can do it!"
"Me?" asked Percy. "Well, I suppose so." Diesel tried to hold in his laughter. This was too easy!
"Just let me get a wash and drop off this gravel, then I'll rush right over." continued Percy.
"Percy, there's no time for a wash!" fibbed Diesel. "He needs it now!"
"But I'll only be five minutes!"
"Percy, I assure you." Diesel punctuated for emphasis. "There. Is no time. For a wash."
"Well, alright. I'll head over now."
"Thanks, Percy." sighed Diesel. "I owe you a ton."
Percy disembarked for the clay pits, completely ignoring the washdown.
"Hook, line and sinker." Diesel chuckled victoriously.
āTell me you didnāt actually get him dirtier!ā sighed Paxton at the Dieselworks. He, Diesel, Den and Dart were talking at the sheds.
āI did,ā smiled Diesel, āand soon, itās going to be me leading the parade!ā
āDonāt you think youāre taking it too far?ā asked Den.
āWhat he means is,ā Dart explained, āPercyās been looking forward to this moment for years. You could be ruining his dream.ā
āPlease, itās all a bit of fun!ā sighed Diesel. āI swear, once you see the state of Percy, youāll be laughing along with me! Itās hilarious!ā
āReally?ā Den asked before getting an idea. āCome over here for a second.ā
Den led Diesel next to an old generator. āSo what is this? Whyād you lead me here?ā
āNow, lads!ā called Den.
One of the workmen activated the generator. The generator spluttered until it sprayed soot all over Diesel. āOh, what?! DEN!ā
Den, Dart and Paxton all laughed at Diesel. āYou were right, Diesel! This is hilarious!ā
āNo matter,ā sighed Diesel, āIāve been needing a wash for a while anyway.ā
Before Diesel left to get a wash, Sir Topham Hatt arrived. āJust a moment, Diesel! I need you for an important job!ā
Diesel gasped. āA special? For me?ā
āNothing less, Diesel!ā
Diesel was over the moon. āBoys, this is it!ā
āIām never doubting Diesel again.ā muttered Paxton.
āIāll do it, sir!ā declared Diesel. āYouāve got the right engine for the job!ā
Sir Topham Hatt was a bit puzzled. āI only need you to deliver supports for the funfair rides.ā
Dieselās smile dropped. āā¦oh.ā
āBut you said it yourself, youāre the right engine for the-ā
āOh, uh, sir?ā lied Diesel. āI just remembered I need to work with Percy.ā
āReally? But I still need him to lead the parade at teatime.ā
āAnd Iām going to begin doubting him again.ā mumbled Paxton.
āBut sir, letās say hypothetically he was too dirty to lead the parade, like, he couldnāt get to a wash down in time. Whoād take his place?ā
āHmm, I havenāt thought about that.ā Sir Topham Hatt thought. āTruth be told, I was counting on Percy. Tell you what, Diesel, if he canāt pull through, you can lead the parade!ā
āReally?ā Diesel gushed. āOh, this is so unexpected! I donāt know who to thank! This is such an honor!ā
āRemember, itās only if Percy canāt make it.ā Sir Topham Hatt said as he drove off in Winston. āDonāt get your hopes up right away!ā
Diesel was ecstatic about getting the chance to finally lead the parade. He was telling the other engines at Vicarstown about it.
"But I thought it was Percy leading the parade." thought Henry.
"It was, but Sir Topham Hatt asked me personally!" Diesel boasted. "On account of him being too dirty."
"But you're dirty too," noticed Stanley, "you're all covered in soot."
"I can get that washed off."
"So, if you can get it washed off, why doesn't Percy just wash off all his dirt?" asked Henry.
"I sent him to do a little work," smiled Diesel, as he noticed Percy pulling in. "Oh, wait, shh! Watch!"
Diesel laughed hysterically as he watched Percy make a fool out of himself. "HAHAHA! Are you seeing this?!"
"How is this funny?" asked Henry. "You deliberately made Percy look like a complete dullard."
"Oh, lighten up, Henry!" Diesel laughed. "He does this all the time, all I'm doing is-"
Diesel was interrupted when he saw Percy's truck fall apart, spilling clay all over the tracks. "OH! Trembling tracks!"
"Oh dear!" Henry gasped. "Look what's happened!"
"Someone needs to tell Harold!" Diesel said. "He's up by the Steamworks, he can alert the Search and Rescue team!"
"But I need to take this fish to the mainland!" Henry declared. "You have to tell him!"
"But..." Diesel winced. "...do I have to?"
"Thanks for letting me know, Diesel!" Harold called after inspecting the trouble. "I'll get the team ready right away!"
As Harold flew off, Diesel thought that was the end of it. "Whew. Crisis averted."
Just then, he heard a familiar whistle. It was Rebecca with the express. She was headed straight for Vicarstown.
Diesel gasped. "REBECCA!" He began chasing after her trying to slow her down, eventually meeting up with Thomas and Percy. "Oh, this is bad, this is baaad!"
"Diesel?!" gasped Thomas. "What's up with you?"
"No time to explain! I need to stop Rebecca!" Diesel explained.
"Why are you trying to stop her?" asked Percy.
"I SAID THERE'S NO TIME!" screamed Diesel.
"You've been saying that a lot today." Percy rolled his eyes.
The three of them chased Rebecca to Vicarstown. Thomas got a bit close to her.
"Rebecca! REBECCA!" cried Thomas. "Stop this train!"
"What? Why?" asked Rebecca, before noticing the clay blocking the tracks.
"Rebecca! Slow down!" cried Nia, who was at another platform.
Rebecca gasped in horror. "STOP THIS TRAIN!"
Her driver applied the brakes, but it was no use. Rebecca flew right off the rails, and...well, you know what happened.
Diesel looked at the chaos in horror. "What did I do?"
"I think you mean..." said Thomas. "...what did we do?"
Back in the present, the constable closed his notebook. Every side of the story was now officially documented.
"Thank you, Diesel." he said. "You're excused."Diesel took the constable back to the scene of the crime, and back to Thomas and Percy.
"How did it go?" asked Percy.
"I think I've got my verdict." declared the constable.
"Sir, it's okay, I think we know already." Diesel sighed. "...sorry, Percy, it's off to jail for you."
"ME?" cried Percy.
"Don't start, Diesel." the constable warned. "All three of you are equally to blame for this. As a result, I'll ask Sir Topham Hatt to assign all your jobs to other engines until the three of you clean up this mess."
The three of them sighed, knowing this was for the best. "Okay, sir."
"Well, I think my work here is done. All I can say now is, Diesel, always wait your turn. Percy, don't be afraid to ask questions, and Thomas, try and get a good night's sleep."
As the constable hopped into his car, Diesel approached him one last time. "Horace, if you don't mind my asking, who would you say really caused all this?"
"I think you know, Diesel." smirked the constable as he drove off.
Percy was more than upset about this situation. "This is the worst Sodor Day ever. I'm sorry for lashing out at you, Thomas."
"And I'm sorry for biffing your train." Thomas added.
"And I'm sorry for tricking you, Percy." Diesel finished. "We deserve this."
"There's one thing I still have to ask, though." thought Percy. "If we're all here, then who's leading the parade?"
Just then, the parade came booming through Vicarstown, being led by...Paxton! "Hello, Diesel!"
"PAXTON?!" gasped Diesel. "But that's not fair! Is it, Thomas?"
Thomas didn't hear him. He had already gone back to sleep. Diesel scowled. "Yep. Definitely the worst Sodor Day ever."
And with that, the three of them (once Thomas woke up, of course) were hard at work cleaning up the mess. They didn't know how it all happened, but with everything that went down, one thing was for sure: this is one Sodor Day they would never speak of again.
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