Chapter 7

Back in Ponyville, the diesels were still having a party. They hooted and honked. Daisy twirled on the turntable. All the ponies inside her were spun so much, they all felt too dizzy.

Then, Devious Diesel charged in. He blared his horn and stopped the others. "Head to the Castle of the Two Sisters and find the Elements of Harmony. Diesel 10's orders."

"But we just got here," argued Den.

"What he means is," said Dart, "we ain't leaving."

"Then you're sillier than I thought! Thomas is here, and he's going to stop us with the Elements of Harmony!"

The diesels were hushed.

Den spoke up. "I think we should..."

"Go?" asked Dart.

"Yes."

So Daisy unloaded her woozy passengers, and off they went to the Everfree Forest. By the time the pony villagers came to their senses, the diesels were gone. But that was the least of their concerns.


Much later, Spike had finally woken up with a shock. "We got to stop Nightmare!" He looked around to see he was back at the library. When he came out, he was shocked.

Ponyville was a left in ruin. Homes were left with holes or toppled over. The plants were flat as flails. And the ponies were left with almost nothing.

Spike groaned in sorrow. "This'll take forever to clean up." Suddenly, there was a rumble and a clackity-clack. They could tell it was headed toward them, so they ran and hid. Their eyes peeped out and watched.

Then the steam engines charged in. Percy and Hiro lead their friends. The ponies were surprised. Spike came out to them. "Please! No more! Just leave us alone!"

The steamies were puzzled. "What do you mean?" asked Percy. "We just got here."

Now, Spike was confused. "You mean you're not with him?"

"'Him' who?"

"HIM! What were they called? Weasel Ben? Measles Den?"

"Diesel 10?!" The engines shuddered and shook. "So they did this!"

"You're not with the diesels?"

"No. We're the Sodor Steam Team. We came to rescue Thomas and take him home. But if the Diesels are here, we'll help to stop them."

Apple Bloom stepped up. "Is he the blue guy with the number one?"

"Exactly!" uttered Percy.

"We haven't seen him since the diesels invaded."

The steamies were depressed.

Then, Spike remembered something from earlier that day. "Do you have the letter from Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yes," answered Percy. "It's in my cab."

Spike climbed into Percy's cab and found the note. He remembered that Twilight charmed it to return to her, ho he threw into Percy's firebox.

A puff of smoke flew from Percy's funnel and flew to the east. And Spike shouted, "Follow that puff!" So be and the steamies followed the puff into the Everfree Forest… and into the shadow of Nightmare Moon.


Meanwhile, the ponies continued through the forest. They still giggled and guffawed. It wasn't so much at the trees anymore. They were sharing funny stories with each other to liven things up a little.

"So then," Thomas laughed, "that's when Henry said, "It isn't wrong, but we just don't do it.' And Gordon never complained about him again!"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped them all when they bumped into her. They all looked ahead. In front of them lay a large river. The waves were bouncing around like peas in a frying pan, and there was no easy way to cross.

"Now what?" asked Fluttershy.

Then, they heard what sounded like crying. Not too far away was a long purple serpent. It was splashing around in the water and weeping loudly. "What a world! What a world!" he repeated.

"Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?" Twilight asked as they approached him.

"Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this weird creature zoomed past me and clawed half of my beloved mustache clean off!" The serpent leaned in to show them where it was torn. "And now, I look simply horrid!" He said as he flopped on his back into the water, soaking all of the ponies.

"Oh, gimme a break." Rainbow remarked, a little annoyed.

"That's no reason to get your tail in a twist!" Applejack Added.

"Why, of course it is! How can you be so insensitive?" asked a voice. It was Rarity. She was cross at the other ponies, and she felt sorry for the serpent. "Oh, just look at you. Such lovely, luminescent scales," she began.

"I know!" The serpent replied, still sniffling a bit.

"And your expertly coiffed mane."

"Oh, I know, I know!"

"Your fabulous manucure."

"It's so true!"

"All ruined without you beautiful mustache."

"It's true, I'm hideous!" The serpent exaclaimed.

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" So Rarity made a decision. She clamped her teeth on one of the serpent's scales and yanked it off.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" The serpent asked.

Rarity used the razor-sharp point of the scale and sliced off her own tail. Then, she used her magic to attach the cut part of her tail to the ruined half of the serpent's mustache.

"My mustache! How wonderful!" He exclaimed with a jubilant laugh.

"You look smashing." Rarity complimented.

Twilight was worried. "Rarity, your tail!"

But Rarity wasn't upset at all. "Oh...it's fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season." Rarity replied. "Besides, it'll grow back."

"So would the mustache." Rainbow Dash murmured to nobody in particular.

Twilight was amazed. Rarity gave up something seemingly valuable for someone she didn't know. And she also did so to keep them on track. That made the purple unicorn smile. And it made her question more and more about not having friends. Twilight looked at the river. The waves had receded. "We can cross now!"

"Allow me!" The serpent stretched his body across to the other side, forming a bridge.

The ponies quickly yet carefully galloped across to the other side, and off they went to continue their journey. Thomas looked back and waved at the serpent. "Thank you! Goodbye!"

"No. Thank you! Au revoir!"


The group then approached a mist-choked abyss, with a tumbled ruin of the castle standing on the far side. "The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony. We're almost there!" Twilight exclaimed. She looked down. In front of them was a broken rope bridge.

"On it," Rainbow Dash flew down into the mist.

After grabbing the bridge ropes, she flew to the other end of the abyss and tied one of them to a post. However, before she could tie down the other rope, she heard a voice.

"Rainbow…"

The Pegasus girl dropped the ropes and looked around. There was no one there. She couldn't see anyone.

"Rainbow..." The voice repeated. The mist began to thicken around her, blocking her view from the others.

"I ain't scared of you! Show yourself!" Rainbow exclaimed while punching at the air in a fighting stance.

"We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria." The voice started.

"Who?"

"Why, you, of course."

"Really? I mean... oh, yeah! Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the WonderBolts that, would you? 'Cause I've been trying to get into that group forever!"

"No, Rainbow Dash. We want you to join us." Three shapes zoomed in from the fog. They looked like her admired WonderBolts, though their uniforms were much darker. The called themselves… "The Shadowbolts! We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon, all of Equestria. But first...we need a captain." one of them explained.

Rainbow Dash's eyes grew wide and a big smile formed on her face.

The mare began to slowly fly in circles around her. "The most magnificent... swiftest... bravest flyer in all the land." The mare she leaned in and whispered this into Rainbow's ear. "We need... you."

"Woo-hoo! Sign me up!" Rainbow exclaimed, leaping up in excitement. But she hadn't forgotten about the others on the other side of the ravine. "Just let me fix this bridge, and then we can head out." And she was just about to do so when the Shadowbolt mare zipped into her path to stop her.

"NO!"

Rainbow Dash was surprised. "This'll only take a second. Literally."

"It's them or us!" The mare said in a far more menacing tone.

Rainbow Dash recoiled slightly. She didn't expect to have to choose between her life-long dreams or being loyal to her friends.

However, before she could say anything, she heard a voice call out to her from the other side of the abyss. "What's taking so long?" Twilight asked. Then she looked to see Rainbow Dash talking to the Shadowbolts through the mist. Seeing that this was probably one of Nightmare Moon's tricks, Twilight tried to warn her. "RAINBOW!" She yelled again, hoping that the said Pegasus would hear her.

Before Rainbow Dash could interpret what she was saying, the mare's eyes began to blaze yellow behind her goggles, causing the fog around them to thicken even more, drowning out Twilight's voice.

"Don't listen to them!" Twilight exclaimed, but as a result of the fog, her voice came out muffled to Rainbow Dash.

"Well?" The mare asked as she awaited her final answer.

After a long silence, Rainbow Dash made a decision. "Thank you for the offer." She merged through them and tied the other rope to its post, fixing the bridge. "But I'm afraid I have to say no." Rainbow finished as she flew away to the other side of the chasm and to her friends.

The Shadowbolts gave her one last malevolent glare before they turned into three puffs of a familiar vapor, which slithered away.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the abyss, the six ponies cheered as Rainbow Dash stood triumphantly in front of the reconstructed bridge. The fog also began to slide away as the group crossed over the gap between the cliffs.

"See? I'd never leave my friends hanging." Rainbow said to the others as they reached the other side.

Twilight smiled. At first, she who had originally opposed the idea of befriending other ponies. But now, she was beginning to understand what it meant to have something to care about other than books or the princess.


The vapor reappeared inside the castle and revealed Nightmare Moon. The castle was old and ruined. It covered in plants and moss. And it was full of diesels.

Nightmare Moon sighed. "Is there nothing that can stop them?"

All the diesels stared at Nightmare Moon. And their leader cracked his claw. "I have one last idea. Boys, get down there and block the way up here." As the others did as they were told, Diesel 10 looked at Nightmare Moon. "Can you set up a barrier that will delay them while we search for the Elements of Harmony?"

Nightmare Moon smiled. "My magic cannot keep fellow Equestrians away, but I can do this…" Her horn glowed, and bubble engulfed the castle ruins all the way to the bottom of the hill. "Now, no pony can use their talents except for me."

Diesel 10 smiled his biggest smile. "One last thing…"


As the ponies approached the bottom of the hill, the bubble closed in around them. Rainbow Dash Laughed. "HA! Too slow!" But then, she and Fluttershy fell to the ground with a thud. "What just happened?"

Twilight already knew. "Nightmare Moon's barrier. A spell that keeps ponies from using their natural talents."

They looked up at the castle. The mountain it was on was rocky and rough. There was no way to just walk up the hill.

"Now what do we do?" asked Pinkie Pie.

Twilight looked around. "There should be a delivery tunnel we can use to go straight to the castle courtyard." Then she saw some tracks not too far also saw two or three diesels leaving the tunnel. "Aha!"

The ponies hurried into the tunnel. It was very dark and damp, just like the forest. But they could feel the tracks under their hooves.

"Almost there," said Thomas. "We'll be through this tunnel in no time."

Then there was trouble. There was a rumble and a horn and a clackity-clack as a bright light approached them on the track. The diesels came in the opposite way of the ponies. They were blocking their way through. "Get lost, puny ponies!" snapped Diesel. "You have no business here!"

"We have more business here than you do, 10W-40 Breath!" Twilight shouted.

The diesels behind him laughed at the response. Diesel himself growled.

Thomas stepped up to him. "Diesel! What are you doing?"

"What's it look like, puffball?" he asked back. "Keeping you from finding the Elements of Harmony. The boss and Nightmare Moon have probably found them right now."

"You know helping her isn't right. Let us pass or I'll… I'll…" Thomas was silent.

"You'll what? Dent my buffers? This barriers keep ponies from using magic, or flying, or whatever. You can't do anything!" Diesel laughed.

Behind them, they heard more rumbling. More diesels came in to block the way out. They were surrounded. It was a trap. Slowly the diesels approached the ponies. Soon the ponies were so close to one another, they were practically climbing onto one another. There was no where to run. There was no where to hide.

Devious Diesel cackled. And he started to brag. "What can you ponies do to us? We diesels can do whatever we want. We cannot be stopped. We are revolutionary!"

Thomas was worried. Then he thought of what he just heard. This gave him an idea. "I always tell my friends they should never give up. Neither should I," he said, confidently. Thomas pointed his horn at the diesels. He grunted and groaned. He grumbled and growled. The diesels laughed. The ponies were scared.

Then... it happened. Thomas' horn started to glow, and slowly, Diesel started moving backwards through the tunnel. Thomas followed them slowly. The ponies were surprised, and very impressed. They trotted behind.

Thomas huffed and grunted. He puffed and he groaned. His knees were knocking, and his hooves hurt. But he kept moving forward. At last, they made it out of the tunnel, and into the castle. The unicorn boy pushed the diesels onto the sidings and switched the points. They couldn't come back onto the main line. And Thomas stood tired but triumphant. "I did it… I did it! How do you like that, Mr. We-Are-Revolutionary?!"

Rainbow Dash dashed over to him. "And just how did you do that?" she asked suspiciously. "Nightmare's spell was keeping all ponies from using our talents! You are a spy, aren't you?!"

Twilight tugged on her tail. "What is it with you and jumping to conclusions?" She turned to the blue unicorn. "I don't think he's a spy, but he obviously knows something we don't know. Don't you, Thomas?"

Thomas knew he hadn't been very truthful with his new friends. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you this whole time. The truth is…"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie spoke up. "You're actually a tank engine from the Island of Sodor, and your steam train friends stood up to Diesel 10 for you when he was bullying you, so he challenged you to a Diesel Duel, but during said duel, you lost control, and you were knocked out by a fallen branch, and when you woke up, you were a pony, here in Equestria, so you were hoping to find a way back home and change back to a tank engine after you helped up save Equestria from Nightmare Moon and the diesels!"

Thomas and the diesels were very surprised. Their eyes were wide, and their mouths dangled open.

"Yeah… I'm pretty sure that isn't the reason," said Rainbow Dash.

"Um… Actually…" said Den.

"What he means is," Dart cut in, "she's pretty mush spot-on."

Thomas looked at Pinkie. "How did you know all that?"

"Just a hunch." She smiled cheekily.

"Wait a minute!" Applejack jumped in. "Let me get this straight. You're a train?"

"You're a steam engine?" Twilight asked.

"Thomas the Tank Engine?" Fluttershy added.

Thomas gulped and nodded silently.

"That is… AWESOME!" yelled Rainbow Dash. The other girls oohed and awed the blue unicorn pony, who felt much better.


As they continued through the castle ruin, Thomas was being asked one question after another.

"Where do you stay?"

"Do you wear anything?"

"Is it fun?"

"What do you eat?"

"How does steam make you tick?"

"Would you say Sodor's just as awesome as me?"

Thomas chuckled. "I want to tell you all that I can. I really do," he told them. "But I think there's something more important to do right now." As they walked into the next room, he pointed to its center.

There, in the middle of the room, stood a large pedestal. It had a large orb in the middle and a number of smaller ones surrounding it. Each of the smaller orbs had a round shape on one side.

Twilight Sparkle knew what they were. "The Elements of Harmony." They finally found them.

Thomas carefully lifted the elements with his newly-acquired magic and placed them before her. Pinkie Pie counted them, but she only saw… "Six. Where's the last one?"

"The book said, 'When the six are present, a spark will cause the seventh Element to be revealed.'" Twilight explained.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Thomas, think you can form a barrier to counter Nightmare's spell?"

"Let me see…" Thomas' horn glowed, and a bubble engulfed himself, Twilight and the Elements.

"Excellent. Everypony else, stand back. I'm not sure what will happen." Twilight closed her eyes. Her magic aura began to take shape around her horn.

"Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate." Applejack said as she led everyone else out of the room.

But Nightmare Moon's vapor cloud slithered past the group of ponies unnoticed. It made its way behind and past a straining Twilight and a focused Thomas. The cloud then spun around the stone tablets in a swift circular motion, causing a small, but growing whirlwind to form around them. The increasingly loud windstorm broke Twilight's concentration as she opened her eyes, and let out a cry upon sight of the cyclone.

The other ponies had left the castle and were retreating back to the bridge. But they heard a yell emerge from the room that Thomas and Twilight were in and they galloped back inside.

The whirlwind inside the room had nearly reached the ceiling. It had also sucked up all of the round stones and lifted them up into the air. Thomas and Twilight dove in the whirlwind to catch them. They were just in time to disappear with everything else in the room.

Seconds later, the other ponies returned. They were puzzled and very scared.

"Twilight! Thomas! Where are you?" Pinkie Pie called out.

"Look!" Rarity exclaimed as she gazed out a window.

She saw a number of steam trails puffing toward them. One puff came up through the window, past the ponies and toward an old tower. Then there was a rumble and a clackety-click as the steamies and Spike chuffed in, screeching to a halt.

Applejack stepped up to Percy. "Friends of Thomas?"

"Yes," replied Percy.

"Bullied by diesels?"

"Uh-huh."

"Diesel Duel?"

"Right."

"Couldn't find him?"

"Nope."

"Letter from Twilight?"

"Mm-Hmm."

"Nightmare Moon?"

"Bingo."

"Saw the signs?"

"Yep."

"Return to sender?"

"Correct."

"And you were scared that Thomas might in danger of Nightmare Moon and the diesels, so you came here to rescue him?"

"Exactly!" Percy finished.

"Well, for corn sake! Let's go!" Applejack said as she and everyone started towards the tower, and to the rescue.