Here's chapter three!

Sub-Volume 5 - Demons Within

Chapter 3 - Behind That Locked Door (Harrison, 1970)

DECEMBER 19, 2015

It was six days before Christmas, and it was also the day that Sunset and her family would begin their holiday in the United Kingdom. Vincent's family were seeing her family off.

"Have a wonderful time, everyone," smiled Page Turner warmly.

"Oh, we will," said Celestia. "It will be absolutely amazing to be seeing all those engines being preserved in the UK."

"Shame you couldn't come with us, Vincent," said Solar Crystal.

"We'll be sure to send you postcards," added Nyx.

"I'll miss you, Vincent," Sunset gave her boyfriend a hug.

"So will I," said Vincent, trying not to cry.

"All passengers for the next flight to the United Kingdom, please start boarding from gate number five," came the loudspeaker.

"That's us," said Sombra. "You guys have a wonderful Christmas and we'll be back before you know it."

"Maybe we can invite mom, Scootaloo and First Base over," said Fictionary. "That would be fun."

"It would be interesting to see how Scoots' and First Base's respective relationships are going," said Flash.

"And how have you been going on yours, Flash?" chuckled Fictionary.

"It's only been a few months," Flash insisted. "I'm the oldest out of the five of us, and yet I was the last to be in an official relationship."

"Well, out of Twilight's group, Fluttershy is the only one who hasn't found anyone yet," Fictionary pointed out. "Though she does deserve someone to love her..."

"Big Mac doesn't count, right?" asked Vincent.

"Well, I mean, they were into each other for a while, and then Sugar Belle came into the picture," Fictionary sighed. "But at least they are all on good terms."

"Apparently, Sugar Belle has known Big Mac since they were both in middle school," Flash admitted. "And they also went to the 2010 Fall Formal together."

"I guess they did have more of a chance from the start," said Fictionary.

"Has he proposed to her yet?" asked Vincent. "Or is he working on some crazy way in doing so?"

"I believe Shining Armor's been drafted in to help with a crazy proposal," chuckled Flash.

"Oh dear," laughed Fictionary. "Poor Sugar Belle will be so confused."

"I guess we'll have to see what happens for them," said Page Turner, checking his watch. "It's getting close to lunch. Why don't we get something from one of the nearby fast food places?"

"Ooh, yum!" said Fictionary. "Can we get some pizza, please?"

"Yeah, pizza sounds good," said Flash. "And maybe some garlic bread too."

"And dipping sauce," said Vincent. "Can't forget the dipping sauce."

"Okay guys," smiled Page Turner. "Let's go to a nice pizza place."

Down at the nearest pizza shop, Butterscotch was with his grandparents.

"Hey Butterscotch, Rose Petal, and Bumblestripe," greeted Page Turner.

"Oh, hello Mr. Turner," said Butterscotch.

"Great to see you, Butterscotch," said Fictionary, giving him a hug in greeting.

"Hey Fictionary," he smiled back. "How are you doing so close to Christmas?"

"Doing wonderful," she replied. "Oh, I have your gift wrapped up for you back at my house."

"I can't wait to see it," said Butterscotch.

"Maybe you guys can come to our house so you can get it," Page Turner suggested.

"That would be lovely," said Butterscotch. "Thank you, Mr. Turner."

"We could all get our lunch and sit down to eat together," said Rose Petal. "It's nice and warm in the cafe area."

"Yeah, way better than standing out in the snow, waiting for the bus or train to arrive," said Vincent.

"The trains have snowplows, right?" asked Butterscotch. "Well, if Thomas bothers to wear his," he added with a laugh.

"After his stunt the first time where Terence had to pull him out, I'm surprised he didn't wear his snow plow again when Emily had to take Annie and Clarabel instead," said Flash.

"I guess he's a bit stubborn," said Bumblestripe. "That can happen."

It wasn't long before everyone ordered their food and were tucking in.

"I have your present ready at my house too," said Butterscotch to Fictionary.

"Oh, yay!" she grinned. "We can do a present swap! I can't wait."

"I got a cool gift from Twilight during my visit to her on Hanukkah," smiled Flash. "She loved the gift I gave her too."

"I... hadn't been able to give Sunset her Christmas gift yet," said Vincent quietly.

"You can give it to her when she comes back," said Page Turner.

"Why, where'd she go?" asked Butterscotch.

"She's gone to the United Kingdom with her family," Vincent explained.

"That's really cool," said Butterscotch. "Maybe she'll show us some pictures when she returns."

"And maybe she'll bring back something from the UK to show us," said Rose Petal.

"Yeah," sighed Vincent.

After lunch, the Sentries went back home while Butterscotch and his grandparents went to their houses to collect the gifts that Fictionary and Butterscotch got for each other.

"Come on, guys!" cried Fictionary excitedly. "Let's get it to Butterscotch."

"Hold up, I've got the key," called Page Turner.

The family jumped into the car and they drove off. On the way, they passed by the twins' house and they saw Scootaloo and First Base exchanging gifts with Rumble and Silver Spoon out the front.

"Aww, that is sweet," said Flash. "Looks like Scoots and First Base are doing well with their lovers." Whilst Flash and Fictionary felt happy for their half-siblings (step-siblings, in Fictionary's case), seeing all four of his half-siblings (full-brother, in Flash's case) with their own lovers made Vincent feel more lonely than ever.

"Oh, Sunset..." he trailed. "I wish you were here..."

Meanwhile, all the way in the United Kingdom, Celestia, Sombra, Solar, Sunset, Luna and Nyx had just checked into their hotel room at the Hilton Bournemouth.

"Here we are, everyone," said Luna. "What do you think?"

"Wow, this looks fantastic," said Nyx. She was already at the window, looking out over the snow-covered landscape.

"Okay, girls, you go and claim your beds," said Celestia, "and maybe we'll go and see what the United Kingdom has to offer."

"Alright, mom," said Solar Crystal. She was already bolting to the bedrooms, dragging her suitcase behind.

"Hey, don't leave us with all the luggage!" cried Sunset, chasing after her.

"Cousins, wait up!" Nyx quickly followed.

"Oh, the rooms look really nice," said Solar. She put her luggage down and got out her toy bear, Paddington.

"Indeed," agreed Nyx. She took out her own toy, an orange cat she called Whiskers.

"I think we're all going to have a good time," said Sunset. She got out her toy as well; a toy version of Nala from The Lion King.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see those heritage railways that we've looked up online," said Nyx. "And one of them was in the Railway Series, wasn't it? The Bluebell Railway?"

"Yep, and one of their engines there is called Stepney," Sunset confirmed.

"Oh yeah, the feisty terrier tank that... Rusty saved and brought to Sodor?" Solar blinked. "Wait, just how did that happen?"

"Well, I've spoken with Vincent, Math and Song Cue about it," said Sunset, "and Song Cue believes that because Rusty hadn't received his own story from Awdry for some reason, they decided to make the story based around him rescuing Stepney. Vincent also admitted that exposition from Percy to Douglas would have been a bit of a boring episode. And Math also commented that it was like a bridge-gap between the narrow gauge and standard gauge stories."

"That does make sense," said Solar.

"Plus, the bond with Stepney and Rusty is pretty cute," agreed Nyx.

"Are you girls alright in there?" asked Sombra from outside.

"We're okay, uncle Sombra," said Nyx. She and her cousins quickly put their toys down and rushed to the living room.

"Alright, guys," said Luna. "We've been searching online and we're trying to figure out where to go today. Do you have any suggestions?"

"What about Penny Lane?" asked Sunset. "Or Abbey Road?"

"Sounds good to me," said Celestia. "What do you the rest of you say?"

"Yeah, I think we could do that," said Luna.

"I think that's a good idea, Sunset," agreed Solar. "How do we get there?"

"I have the destination on Google Maps," said Sombra. "Let's get in the car."

"I call shotgun!" cried Sunset, dashing to the car.

"You got shotgun last time, baconhead!" argued Solar Crystal, giving chase.

"Hey, no fair!" cried Nyx. "Wait for me!"

"Girls, I have the... keys," sighed Celestia. "Oh well. Come on, Sombra and Luna. Let's follow them."

"Sunset can drive, can't she?" asked Sombra.

"But she probably doesn't know that we drive on the other side of the road in the United Kingdom," said Celestia.

"That would make sense, Celie," Luna agreed. "Come on, let's go catch up."

The family went to where the car was parked.

"Uh... is it just me, or is the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car?" asked Sunset.

"That's what I was trying to stop you for, Sunset," chuckled Celestia. "People in the UK drive on that side of the road."

"They do?"

"Yes, I've been here before," said Celestia. "Even before we took you into our family."

"Oh..." Sunset looked embarrassed. "Well, now I feel stupid..."

"Never mind, Sunset," said Sombra. "Come on, let's get to Abbey Road, and then we'll go to Penny Lane."

Everyone got in and Celestia started to drive down there.

"So, Abbey Road is known for being associated with the Beatles somehow," said Nyx.

"It's got one of the most iconic album covers of the 60s," said Sunset. "And it even sparked a rumor that Paul McCartney had died in 1966."

"Now that's the strangest rumor ever." said Solar. "Paul's still alive."

"Some people will believe anything," sighed Sunset. "If anyone told me that Paul was dead, I'd say that they're crazy."

"Well, I thought it was crazy when Blossomforth told me in 2012 that the original Wiggles were retiring," said Nyx, "but that actually turned out to be true."

"Especially after Greg's sudden comeback earlier on in the same year," agreed Solar.

"Well, we can't change things now," said Sunset. "And besides, everyone involved has moved on from that."

"Indeed, Sunset," said Luna. "Oh, it looks like we're almost at Abbey Road."

"Whoa!" gasped Sunset. "This is what it looks like in person?"

"Indeed, Sunset," smiled Celestia. "What do you think of the place?"

"I could just imagine what it was like to be John, Ringo, Paul and George when they did that album cover," said Sunset.

"It does look amazing," said Nyx. "Maybe you should take some pictures back to show Vincent. He'll love it."

"That's a good idea," said Sunset. "He'll love it." She eagerly got her phone out and took pictures as the family drove along.

"Those pictures look awesome, Sunset," said Nyx.

"Thanks," said Sunset.

"I wonder what Penny Lane will be like," said Solar.

"Covered in money?" chuckled Nyx. "That might be hard to drive down."

"It's not like that," giggled Sunset.

"Then... what is it really about then?" asked Solar.

"It became the basis of a song Paul wrote about his childhood whilst he was waiting for John at a bus stop," explained Sunset.

"Oh, I see," nodded Nyx. "That's sweet that he included a childhood memory in the song."

"Indeed it is," agreed Sombra. "This was a great idea, Sunset."

"Thanks, dad," she replied. "I think this is the start of a wonderful holiday." But if only Vincent were here with me as well... she thought to herself.

As the family carried on their little holiday, it didn't escape Celestia and Sombra's notice that Sunset was feeling a bit down.

"Sunset?" asked Celestia. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about... you know... Vincent and how much he would have loved this trip," Sunset sighed.

"He's a big fan of the Beatles too, isn't he?" said Sombra.

"He sure is," nodded Sunset. "He taught me a lot of things that I wouldn't know about them otherwise."

"Well, there's an old saying, Sunset," said Celestia. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"I guess so," Sunset said quietly.

"It won't be too long a holiday," said Sombra. "And think of all the pictures and souvenirs and stories you can show and tell Vincent when you get back."

"That is something I guess," Sunset admitted. But what Sunset didn't know, was that some darkness was about to set in back at Rainbow Falls...

FOOTNOTES

Big Mac and Sugar Belle's 2010 Fall Formal was touched upon in Rachel's AU, though in the main timeline, events would be more or less unchanged.

As Discord is out of Big Mac's age group, it's Shining Armor helping Big Mac with his crazy proposal to Sugar Belle.

Butterscotch's grandparents' names are finally revealed in the actual story.