MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY

Based upon the episode by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

The quarry being discovered had sparked up quite the discussion among the engines, and those on the Ffarquhar branch line were no exception.

"A quarry where the standard and narrow gauge tracks run side by side?" Mavis was saying to Toby and Henrietta at Ffarquhar station.

"That's what Oliver was told," Toby confirmed. "I don't know why we haven't heard of it before now."

"You'd think Skarloey and Rheneas would know something," Henrietta added. "They have been around for longer than most of us."

"They've seen far more than any of us," said Mrs. Kyndley when she stepped off Toby's train. "I remember visiting their line when I was a little girl along with my sister."

"Your sister?" remarked Toby with surprise. "Why have we never heard of her before?"

"Oh, she moved to the mainland before any of you got to Sodor, Toby," Mrs. Kyndley explained. "I do keep in touch with her via letters, but it hasn't been quite the same. I'd love for you all to meet her."

"So would we," said Mavis. "I'd imagine she heard quite a lot about us."

"Indeed," nodded Mrs. Kyndley. "I keep her up to date with the goings on of the railway. She was very proud of your bravery, Mavis, when you rescued Toby, and she almost cried with happiness when you and Thomas got that surprise Christmas visit together, Toby."

Both engines blushed when they heard this news.

Meanwhile, Daisy the diesel railcar was not feeling very happy.

"Why should a beautiful engine like moi take some of these trucks from the quarry on top of my passengers?" she huffed to Thomas, Annie and Clarabel while they were at Elsbridge. "Toby and Mavis should be able to tackle them all. Or Percy should help them."

Thomas frowned crossly at the diesel railcar's remarks. "Daisy, why don't you think about something or someone else for a change?" he suggested. "You'd be surprised at how much better you'd feel if you do."

"Huh!" scoffed Daisy. "Being important is the only thing for me to think about." And she flounced away when her guard's whistle blew.

"Is Daisy always like this?" asked Lily to Thomas and the coaches.

"Be thankful you weren't around when she first arrived," sighed Thomas. "The only reason why I'm upset that I wasn't here when she first came was because she was very rude to my coaches and I couldn't give her a piece of my mind!"

"Oh?" asked Lily. "What did she say?"

"She called us 'rubbish'!" snorted Annie. "I swear, if Clarabel and I have to be pulled by her, we'll put her in her place."

"Quite right, Annie," huffed Clarabel. "I bet she doesn't truly understand humility."

"Okay, ladies, settle down," soothed Thomas. "We don't want to upset our passengers."

"And it's time to get moving," said Lily, blowing her whistle, waving her green flag and hopping in Clarabel.

"If only we could get Daisy to cheer up somehow…" Thomas said quietly to himself.

Up in the skies, a yellow and red biplane was flying high with a large banner tied to its tail. It read, "Visit Harry Topper's Fair at Hackenbeck!"

"Oh!" gasped Percy when he, Mavis and Toby were at Ffarquhar sheds. "I haven't seen that plane before. Have you, Toby and Mavis?"

"I heard he's called Tiger Moth," said Toby. "He's that new biplane that arrived not too long ago at Dryaw airfield."

"Oh, so that's why Harold sounded like he was talking to someone when I passed by," Mavis realized. "Er… what's a biplane?"

"It's a plane that has two sets of wings, one above the other," Toby explained. "Unfortunately, I know probably as much about biplanes as your average engine, so I don't really know what else to tell you."

"I just hope that Tiger Moth doesn't cause much trouble," said Mavis. "It sounded like Harold and Tiger Moth were arguing when I went by Dryaw."

At that moment, Thomas arrived with Annie and Clarabel. "What are you three up to?" he asked.

"We're waiting for our crews to get back so we can pick up a special load to take to Hackenbeck," said Mavis.

"We believe it's something to do with the fair," smiled Percy.

"That should be exciting," said Thomas.

"And we've got more exciting news," said Annie. "When we were stopped at a red signal at Mrs. Kyndley's cottage, she said her sister was coming to the island."

"None of us have seen her before," added Clarabel, "so this should be an exciting visit!"

"I bet Mrs. Kyndley's sister lives up to her last name as well," smiled Percy. "Oh, maybe both of them will go to the fairgrounds together."

"We'll have to make a good first impression," said Toby. And it wasn't long before the three engines set off to collect their delivery.

Unknown to the rest of the Ffarquhar engines - or coaches, for that matter - Daisy was being forced to take more trucks with her passenger run.

"Dustier and dustier!" she complained.

"Oh, come on," grunted her driver. "You know that everyone's very busy at the moment."

"But to leave all their trucks onto me?" Daisy fumed. "It's just not fair! Even Thomas is out on his passenger runs without any trucks to pull!"

Her driver just rolled his eyes as they continued down the line. Eventually, they came to Mrs. Kyndley's cottage where her window was open and the signal was red.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Kyndley gasped. "What's happened, Ethan?"

"I'm afraid that Jemima had broken her leg," he explained. "She tripped when she was coming down the stairs, and she was rushed to hospital."

"How long will she be in for?"

"Quite a while," said Ethan. "She'll be on crutches, but I'm afraid that she won't be making any long distance trips anytime soon."

"Oh… Well, thank you for letting me know about her condition, Ethan," sighed Mrs. Kyndley. "Give her my love for me. I'll come as soon as I can arrange it."

"I will, Kitty. Goodbye."

Mrs. Kyndley hung up and sadly shook her head, walking outside to get some fresh air.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Kyndley?" asked the diesel railcar's driver.

"My brother-in-law just called and said my sister ended up in the hospital," she sobbed. "And I was looking forward to her visit too…"

Poor Mrs. Kyndley, thought Daisy to herself. It's hard enough when engines are forced away from their kin when they move railways, but to have a visit cancelled like that… that's just terrible.

"And with it being so close to my daughter's wedding too," Mrs. Kyndley added. "We were both looking forward to seeing it together."

"She'll get better eventually, dear," Daisy soothed. "And we're all here for you."

Mrs. Kyndley managed a small smile just as Daisy's signal dropped.

"I'll make sure the others know," said Daisy as she pulled away.

It wasn't long before Daisy arrived at Dryaw, where she found Harold and Tiger Moth.

"Oh, watch out, Tiger Moth!" snapped Harold. "You almost hit that tree on the way down."

"Oh, lighten up, you great whirly bird," snorted Tiger Moth; his goggles raised themselves off of his eyes and onto his forehead. "Learn to have a bit of fun every once in a while."

"Safety comes above everything else," retorted the helicopter. "I swear, this could land you into trouble one day…"

"Oh, did I come at a bad time?" asked Daisy.

"Ah! Hello there, Daisy," said Harold. "I was just lecturing the Yellow Baron over here about air safety."

"Oi!" snapped Tiger Moth. "You know I don't like being called that."

"Anyway…" Harold rolled his eyes. "How have you been doing today, chap?"

"It's Mrs. Kyndley," Daisy explained. "Her sister broke her leg and she can't come to see her. I don't know how to cheer her up."

Harold was quiet and pondered the situation. "Maybe I could take her around the island up in the sky. I don't think she's had a ride with me before."

"Wouldn't she rather have the flight of her life aboard me?" boasted Tiger Moth. "I put on the best shows, after all!"

"I imagine she'd want a smoother ride," Harold muttered under his breath.

"Killjoy…"

"Well, I think she'd like that, Harold," said Daisy. "Go for it."

"I'll pick her up right away," the helicopter smiled, and his propellers started to spin. Unfortunately, Harold had forgotten about Daisy's stone trucks coupled behind her.

"Aah!" exclaimed Daisy as dust flew all over her. "Harold!"

"Oops! Sorry about that!" called Harold as he flew away. But Daisy couldn't stay too upset for long; she was hoping that Mrs. Kyndley would like the surprise.

Mrs. Kyndley, meanwhile, was tending to her flowers outside, when she heard a buzzing noise.

"Harold?" she exclaimed. "It's a bit early for his next patrol. Either that, or my watch is wrong."

Harold chuckled as he landed by the cottage. "All present and correct. I'm here on a flying visit; hurry aboard, Mrs. Kyndley, and fly the sky with me. Compliments of Daisy."

"Oh," gasped Mrs. Kyndley as she hopped aboard. "What a lovely surprise from the two of you."

As soon as Mrs. Kyndley was buckled in, Harold took off.

"I've never seen the island like this before," she exclaimed happily. "Oh, I think I can see Mavis, Toby and Percy at the harbor."

Down below, the three engines were awaiting their delivery.

"I wonder what it could be," said Percy.

"Oh, I think that crane is playing a lucky dip in the cargo hold," chuckled Mavis.

The crane gently lowered the cargo onto the quayside and the workmen took the tarps of it.

"Why, those are wooden horses!" gasped Toby. "They're most likely for the carousel ride."

"They are in such bright colors too," added Mavis. "Pink, purple, blue, yellow, orange, white. Can you imagine real horses being like that?"

"According to my driver," said Toby, "while some horses appear white, they are actually gray. They are born a very dark color, and their coats gray out overtime."

"Oh wow," gasped Percy. "We should keep a lookout for horses like that when we pass by the farms."

More things were being unloaded onto the quayside as well, ranging from various games for the fair to some prizes such as soft toys.

"I think my daughter would love this," said Mavis' driver when she saw a box of teddy bears.

"It's a pity engines can't hold things," said Mavis. "That looks so soft."

Toby and Percy could only agree with the quarry diesel. Before the trio or their drivers and firemen (or lack thereof in Mavis' case) could say anymore, Daisy came into the harbor.

"Hello, you three," greeted Daisy.

"Hello, Daisy," said Percy, biting his lip. "W-what happened to you?"

"A bit of a dust up courtesy of Harold," Daisy explained. "But Sir Topham Hatt has ordered me to stop taking these trucks and go to Knapford instead. Something to do with Mrs. Kyndley."

"Oh, that's right," gasped Toby. "Her sister's coming to stay with her. You must be going to pick her up."

"Er, no, it isn't that," said Daisy. She explained about what had happened to Mrs. Kyndley's sister.

"Oh, the poor lady," exclaimed Percy. "I hope she gets better soon."

"The hospital is like the Steamworks for people," said Toby. "I wouldn't worry too much, Percy. They'll have her better as soon as they can."

"I sure hope the Dieselworks is up and running soon," muttered Daisy. "That's been put on the backburner enough times already."

"Regardless," said Mavis, "we'll all keep our metaphorical ears open for any news regarding Mrs. Kyndley's sister."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that," purred Daisy, and she hurried away.

Down at Knapford, Harold had landed.

"Thank you for that ride in the sky, Harold," smiled Mrs. Kyndley. "That was great fun."

"Glad to be of service, ma'am," smiled Harold.

Mrs. Kyndley then went over to the station to catch her next train back to Hackenbeck, when Sir Topham Hatt came over.

"Ah, Kitty," he said. "I was looking for you. Daisy will be due down here shortly to give you a mystery ride and I'll meet you at your destination."

"A mystery ride?" gasped Mrs. Kyndley. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

It wasn't long before Daisy rolled into the station; she had just been cleaned and her paint looked smart again.

"I couldn't bear to let Mrs. Kyndley see me all dreary and dusty," she said to herself. She then turned her attention to the woman in question. "All aboard, Mrs. Kyndley."

"This is going to be quite exciting," she smiled as she got aboard. As soon as the guard's whistle sounded, Daisy set off for Mrs. Kyndley's mystery tour.

"Oh, we're going back down the branch line?" she asked in surprise.

Daisy chuckled. "While it may seem that way, it's not what you're expecting."

Mrs. Kyndley soon found out what it was when they returned to Hackenbeck.

"Oh my!" she gasped. "That fairground wasn't there before!"

"Surprise!" cried Thomas, Toby, Percy and Mavis.

"We were organizing the fairgrounds all day," Percy explained. "Though it isn't open yet."

"We were expecting you to do that," smiled Mavis.

Mrs. Kyndley grinned as she hopped down over to the fairgrounds to a small stand, where Sir Topham Hatt was already waiting for her. "I now declare this fairground open!"

Just like that, all the stalls opened up and the rides came to life.

"I'd love to ride on the carousel," Mrs. Kyndley commented. "Those wooden horses look beautiful."

"Maybe they could have added wings or horns onto some of them," chuckled Percy.

"You mean like unicorns and pegasi?" asked Thomas. "Now that would be something to see on a carousel."

Mrs. Kyndley was among the first to ride on the carousel and the Ffarquhar quintet happily watched as the people - their crews among them - enjoyed the fair.

"You were right, Thomas," whispered Daisy. "Making someone happy does cheer you up."

"I sure hope Mrs. Kyndley's sister will be able to come to Sodor for her daughter's wedding," said Toby. "I wouldn't want her to miss that."

But would she be healed up enough to go? I'm afraid that's another story for another day.

THE END

Author's Comments

Here's episode twenty to Series 5 Redux! In a season that's filled with over-the-top crashes and explosions, Make Someone Happy was probably one of the few episodes to capture the real spirit of the show. Something that Rachel and I noticed when rewriting series five was how the characters were randomly assigned to places from where they usually worked. Thomas and Percy at Brendam docks, James on the Ffarquhar branch line, no one running the Kirk Ronan branch line, the list goes on. This was very much the reason we gave Daisy the lead role, her second following Rumors and Speculation; it's to make up for the fact that she didn't appear in the classic series outside of the Branch Line Engines adaptations.

Upcoming stories:

- Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday

- Henrietta and the Naughty Coal Truck

- Happy Ever After

- Bye George!

- Duncan Gets Spooked