It was nearly Easter on Sodor. Knapford Station had been decorated for the holiday and the engines across the railway were excited. There was to be an egg hunt for several children that Saturday across the island and several engines were wondering who would take the children on the hunt this year.
That Friday evening at Tidmouth Sheds, the Thin Controller came by with some news.
"It will be Easter Saturday tomorrow," he said. "There will be plenty to do for most of you, but I have some special news for one of you. I need an engine to take the children on the Easter egg hunt across the island."
All the engines watched and listened closely as the Thin Controller paused, then spoke again. "This year, I have chosen Emily to take the Easter train."
Emily's eyes widened and she smiled happily. She was very pleased to be given this job.
"Oh! Thank you, sir!" she bubbled. "I'd be very happy to make the children happy tomorrow with hunting for eggs!"
"Very good, Emily," said the Thin Controller. "Be sure to come in good time tomorrow." And he left the sheds.
"Congratulations, Emily," said Henry. "You're sure to do a fine job with the Easter egg hunt. I hope the children do well in their search."
"So do I, Henry," said Emily.
The next morning, Emily arrived at Knapford Station and fetched two of her own coaches. As she stopped at the platform, the Thin Controller came out of the office with a large basket with a white sheet covering the top and walked toward Emily.
"What's this, sir?" asked Emily.
The Thin Controller winked as he handed the basket to her driver. "You have four places to stop to let the children hunt for eggs, Emily. Elsbridge, the Bluebird Café, Farmer McColl's and then back here. As for the basket…we'll keep this a secret until you return here later today after the egg hunt."
Shortly after the Thin Controller went back to work, a large group of children began arriving at the station, all carrying a small basket to collect any eggs they could find. Emily gave a friendly smile as the children arrived and boarded her train. Then the guards whistle blew and Emily was off on her way for the Easter egg hunt.
As she went along the line, she wondered what the children would find, and what she might have a chance to see. Her first stop was at Elsbridge Station on Thomas' Branch Line. The children were let off and now they could take their first chance of looking for any eggs. While they looked around the station, Emily was left to think to herself. She felt a little lonely again to work on Thomas' Branch Line, since he wasn't there to run it until whenever he would come back from his adventures around the world. But she remembered that she wasn't alone. She still had Percy to share a night with every now and then, and she had David to talk to. As she went over these thoughts, she waited to hear for any children's remarks in case they found any eggs, but she didn't hear anything.
Eventually, the children came back to the platform to continue to their next stop. None of them seemed very enthusiastic.
"Any luck yet, children?" Emily asked.
"Not a single egg here," said a boy.
"Nothing at all," said a girl.
"Never mind. There's still plenty places for you to look," Emily replied as the children boarded her train, and soon, they were off again. On her way to her next stop, Emily saw Percy taking Annie and Clarabel.
"Happy Easter, Percy," Emily whistled.
"Happy Easter, Emily," Percy whistled back as he passed by. Emily hoped the children would find some eggs at their next stop. All she wanted today was to make the children happy.
Emily continued on her way until she reached a place called the Bluebird Café. A quaint little place that had quite a large meadow beside it. The children were let off and spread out to look for more eggs. Emily watched them look along the meadow, hoping they would have a better chance here than they did at Elsbridge Station.
Then suddenly, she heard a few voices. "Oh, look! I found the first egg!"
"So have I!" said another one.
"Quite a few more over here!" said a third.
"Keep up the search!" encouraged Emily. It seemed that her hopes were coming true. The children had managed to find a few eggs so far. Now she wondered if they'd find more throughout the day. The children continued to look until they had to continue their trip again. At least they managed to find a few eggs.
On her way to her next stop, Emily had to stop at a red signal. As she waited, Edward came by.
"Hello, Edward. Happy Easter," said Emily.
"Happy Easter, Emily," said Edward. "Enjoying the day?"
"I am, Edward," said Emily. "I'm taking the children on the Easter egg hunt this year. They've found a few eggs already. I just hope they can find more later."
"I'm sure they will, Emily," said Edward. "It's the same every year. There's bound to be eggs somewhere."
Then Emily's signal went green and she had to go on. "See you later, Edward," she said.
"Good luck to the children," whistled Edward.
Eventually, Emily arrived at Farmer McColl's. This was the final stop for the egg hunt before she'd have to take the children back to Knapford. As she stopped by the farm, she saw Farmer McColl walking up to greet the children, followed by Katie.
"There you are, Emily," he said. "I was expecting you to come by." Then the children all came out to look for eggs one more time.
"And hello to all of you," said Farmer McColl. Katie barked and wagged her tail.
"Hello, Mr. McColl," said the children. Emily watched and waited as Farmer McColl escorted the children across the yard to his hen house.
"Here. See if you can find any more eggs, boys and girls," he said. "Easter eggs, that is. Not any belonging to the hens."
The children looked through the hen house, and to their delight, they managed to find a few more eggs in some of the nests. From outside, Emily could hear some laughter and excited voices from the children, and a few barks from Katie. All too soon, the children had to take their train back to Knapford and finish their egg hunt. As Emily looked at them all, she could see that their baskets were not very full. They only had a few eggs each and some disappointed children whose baskets were still empty. She hoped that they wouldn't be too disappointed in the end.
Back at Knapford Station, Emily let the children off so they could take one last search for any eggs in the station. By now, she suddenly remembered what the Thin Controller had said that morning. As the children checked window sills, corners and shelves, every yard of the platform, Emily waited to see the Thin Controller come along. Soon, all the children returned, but there were no eggs to be found. Then Emily saw the Thin Controller come out of the office again and begin approaching her.
"Oh, well," some of the children said. "We still have a few eggs to enjoy today. We'll have to go home soon anyway." The children with empty baskets sighed and said nothing. They all began to leave the station, when they suddenly heard the Thin Controller's voice speak up.
"Hold on, children," he said. "I think there's something right here. Emily seems to have a little present for all of you."
"Oh?" Emily pondered.
The children all watched as the Thin Controller approached Emily's cab and checked inside. He found the basket he gave her before and brought it out again. The children all looked eagerly. Then the Thin Controller removed the white cover. The basket was full to the top with Easter eggs of all colors and patterns. The children all cheered happily and gathered a few eggs each until the basket was empty. Now, all their baskets were full. It was quite a surprise to them all. Even Emily.
"Thank you, Mr. Percival!" said the children.
"You're most welcome," said the Thin Controller.
"And thank you, Emily!" the children added. "You've made this the best Easter ever! You're such a dear engine to us all!"
"Aww. You're all welcome, children," Emily smiled. "And happy Easter to you all!"
All through the rest of the day, and everywhere Emily went as she carried on with her other work, she could see children admiring their egg collections, sharing some with each other and even sharing with their parents. She really did make this Easter the best for those children, and it made her quite proud.
That evening, Emily told the other engines all about the egg hunt and how happy the children were with their surprise back at Knapford.
"It sounds like you did an excellent job with the egg hunt, Emily," said Henry.
"Like I did an excellent job making Bridget happy on her birthday when I had my pink undercoat," said James.
"I knew those children would love the hunt," said Edward. "And I think Thomas would like to hear this when he comes back."
"Indeed, Emily," said Percy. "I think you made Easter wonderful for those children."
"Thank you," Emily smiled. "This was indeed a happy Easter." And she and the other engines all settled for the evening until the stars came out. Emily kept smiling as she thought about how happy she made the children. And like Edward said, she wondered about what she could tell Thomas whenever he'd come home again. It would just have to wait. But during the rest of that wait, another couple on Sodor would have a few things going on for themselves. A couple that no one else on Sodor knew anything about. But that's another story.
There you have it, my first Easter story. Based on the Annual story "Easter Egg Special", I thought it was only appropriate. Next time though, we're FINALLY getting to Belle and Flynn's story, we've held it off for too goddamn long already. So look forward to it, though it might take awhile since we still need to work it all out, and NO ONE tell me to hurry up, EVER! You guys have no idea how long these things take to make! Anyway, tell us your thoughts, see ya next time, and have a Happy Easter.