HAPPY EVER AFTER

Based upon the episode by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

A couple of weeks had gone by since Henrietta's trip to the Little Western, and she was working with Toby again. However, the news wasn't exactly what the other engines and coaches were hoping to hear.

"You sure about that, Percy?" asked Mavis when she saw the little tank engine come into the quarry.

"That's what Henrietta found out," Percy confirmed. "I mean, I guess it's not easy to tell someone how you feel about them."

"I wonder how long it took for Toby and Henrietta to do just that," chuckled Mavis.

"There may be more to it than that, you two," said Toby as he and Henrietta trundled in.

"What do you mean, Toby?" asked Mavis. "Er, not that Percy or I have any prospects, but we do understand it takes a lot to confess."

"What he means is," said Henrietta, "we're afraid that… not everyone is on board with couples who are of the same gender."

"Oh…" said Percy quietly, immediately getting where the tramway coach was coming from.

"That's just stupid," grunted Mavis. "Love is love, no matter what gender you are. As long as the relationship is a healthy one, who cares?"

Percy stared at the young diesel, impressed with what she was saying.

"You've got a lot of common sense, Mavis," he smiled. "Everyone should take those words to heart."

Mavis couldn't help but blush as she went off to collect her trucks, and Percy smiled as she dashed off. Toby and Henrietta couldn't help but grin.

"Are you two okay?" asked Percy.

"Never mind," chuckled Toby.

Later, Mavis was taking her stone trucks down to the harbor, when she saw Terence in the field at a red signal.

"Hello, Mavis!" greeted the tractor. "Lovely weather for it, isn't it?"

"Oh, it sure is lovely weather for… wait, what's 'it'?" asked Mavis. "Is your driver going swimming later?"

"No, too much work for that, I'm afraid," chuckled Terence. "I meant for Sophia's wedding."

"Oh, rattle my cowcatcher, that's today?!" gasped Mavis. "I almost forgot. I'll have to congratulate her and Jack when I get the chance."

The signal clunked down.

"See you later, Terence," she called as she departed. "A wedding. Oh, I've never seen one before. What are they like, driver?"

"Oh, it's a happy day where a dating couple officially ties the knot," her driver explained. "I remember having one myself. That was such a special day. My niece was the flower girl and my nephew was the ring bearer."

"Was your niece in a flower costume?" asked Mavis.

The driver chuckled. "No. She sprinkled petals when she was walking down the aisle for the bride. I think it's supposed to be good luck."

"Wow," Mavis gasped. "It would be nice to see a wedding for myself, but I've got so much to do."

Eventually, Mavis got to Mrs. Kyndley's cottage. She was hoping to see her so she could wish her daughter well, but much to her surprise, Mrs. Kyndley was waving a red flag.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Mavis' driver.

"We've been so busy planning Sophia and Jack's wedding that we've forgotten about the good luck package," Mrs. Kyndley explained.

"A good luck package?" asked Mavis. "Are there flowers involved?"

"They could be," said Mrs. Kyndley. "But it's basically Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue."

"Now that's a bit of an odd rhyme," Mavis blinked.

"Please, do you think you could help?" asked Mrs. Kyndley.

"I'm not exactly sure what to look for, Mrs. Kyndley," said Mavis, "but I'll do my best."

"Thank you, Mavis," smiled Mrs Kyndley.

Mavis had to take on oil at Dryaw station when she saw Thomas, Annie and Clarabel.

"Thomas, Annie, Clarabel," Mavis called. "It's Sophia's wedding today."

"That's today?!" gasped Thomas. "I almost forgot. We'd better wish Sophia and Jack well when we see them."

"I'm trying to find a… err… good luck package, I think Mrs. Kyndley called it," Mavis explained. "Do you three know what that is?"

"Oh, do we ever," said Annie. "Something Old, Something New…"

"Something Borrowed and Something Blue," finished Clarabel.

"Yes, that's it," said Mavis, "but where can I find them?"

"They're probably staring you in your radiator, Mavis," chuckled Thomas. "Oh, we'll see you in a bit. Annie, Clarabel and I may need to pick up guests for the wedding."

"Thanks for the tip, Thomas," replied Mavis. She thought about what Thomas had said. "Staring at me in the radiator… oh!" she gasped. "I know, I could be the 'Something New'. I was a new build when I first got here, and I'm still the youngest of the engines on the island."

"Well done, Mavis," smiled her driver. "Come on, let's see if we can find the other things."

Mavis continued on her way to the harbor where she saw Toby shunting some trucks.

"Toby," she called. "Are you going to be shunting for the next couple of hours or so?"

"I'm afraid so, Mavis," said Toby. "What's wrong?" The quarry diesel quickly explained about the good luck package for Sophia and Jack.

"And so, I was hoping you could be the 'Something Old' for the wedding," she finished.

"I wish I could help," replied Toby. "But there's way too much for me to do here. I think I could make it to see the end of the wedding, but that's about it."

"I understand, Toby," replied Mavis. "I'll see what else I can do."

Toby watched as Mavis headed back along the line with her trucks.

"Maybe there is someone else, actually," he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Mavis was heading back down the branch line, when she saw Mr. Kyndley at Elsbridge.

"Hello, Mavis," he smiled. "I'm just waiting for Thomas to collect me for Sophia's wedding. I was trying to get ideas for the good luck package."

"That's exactly what I'm doing," replied the quarry diesel. "I'm the Something New for the package, but I haven't had much luck so far on the other things."

"Well, you're doing better than I am," he sighed, walking over to some pots of flowers growing on the platform. "Oh, lilacs are Sophia's favorite. If only I'd bought some for the wedding."

Just then, the stationmaster came up. "Did I overhear you say you were putting together a good luck package for Sophia?" he asked.

"That's right," Mr. Kyndley confirmed. "So far, Mavis is the Something New."

"Well, why don't you borrow that pot of lilacs?" said the stationmaster. "That could be your 'Something Borrowed' for the wedding."

"That would be wonderful, thank you," smiled Mr. Kyndley, shaking the stationmaster's hand.

"That's two down," grinned Mavis. "Oh, now what about the other things?"

As Mavis continued the line, she heard a commotion.

"A-ah-ah… CHOO!"

"Rattle my cowcatcher!" cried the young diesel, braking to a halt. "Thomas? Are you alright?"

Mavis could see that some streamers had flown out of Thomas' funnel and landed all over him.

"I am, thank you, Mavis," said Thomas. "But someone thought it'd be a funny idea to drop party poppers down my funnel! I'll bet it was that junior trainee guard!"

"You mean Mr. Baldwin's cousin Mr. Rodgers?" groaned Mavis. "I don't believe this. I wasn't as bad as that in my first few months here, was I?"

"I reckon that Junior would rather laze about on the beach than take his duties seriously," remarked Thomas. His coaches grunted in agreement.

"He pulled our brakes too hard when we were coming into the station," Clarabel groaned.

"If only that darling Lily was working here today," agreed Annie. "She's down on the Little Western, I believe."

"Considering that she and Patch have been getting closer, it doesn't surprise me," Mavis said quietly, then she remembered. "Oh, I'm about halfway done with the good luck package. The Something New and Something Borrowed are covered. I just need Something Old and Something Blue."

Thomas didn't say anything at first, before he gave a knowing smile. "Well, you're looking at Something Blue, aren't you?"

"Well, you're on your way to the wedding anyway. It's perfect!" Mavis grinned. "Now for the Something Old. Toby's preoccupied at the moment, so…"

"I've got it!" called another voice. Percy steamed into the station, and behind him was…

"Old Slow Coach?!" gasped Mavis. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Henrietta was a bit tired and needed a rest and Duck finished his last passenger run early," Old Slow Coach explained. "Harold flew by the harbor, Toby passed the message to him, and here I am."

"Well, what do you think of that, Mavis?" chuckled her driver. "That's all four items covered!"

"Indeed it is," smiled Mavis.

"Well, since you have everything covered," said Percy, "I… I guess I'll get back to work."

"Oh, no you don't, Percy," chuckled Mrs. Kyndley, who was on board Old Slow Coach. "I would like for you to attend as well. You have helped with the good luck package too."

"Looks as though the whole branch line's been invited," laughed Thomas.

"I hope Toby can get there in time," said Mavis. "I wouldn't want him and Henrietta to miss it."

The three engines and the coaches made their way down to the church, smiling as they anticipated Sophia and Jack making their wedding vows.

"This will be such a happy day for those two," said Thomas.

"I can't believe we've been invited to a wedding," gasped Percy.

"I can't believe Thomas, Old Slow Coach and I are part of the good luck package," chuckled Mavis.

Just then, the engines heard a soft bell chime through the air, but it wasn't the church's.

"We're not too late, are we?" called Toby as he and Henrietta rolled up alongside.

"Just in time, actually," said Thomas. "Glad you both could show up after all."

"So are we," said a cheerful voice, and two figures stepped out from Henrietta; the woman was on crutches.

"Oh, what happened to you?" gasped Percy.

"I fell down the stairs a while ago," she explained, "but I wasn't going to miss our niece's wedding."

"Oh, you're Jemima; Mrs. Kyndley's sister!" cried Annie.

"It's so nice to meet you, and it's great you and your husband could make it," Clarabel added.

"Likewise," smiled Ethan. "Come on, dear, let's go inside."

"Wait, what's happened to you, Thomas?" asked Henrietta, glancing over at him.

"Long story," sighed the blue tank engine. "Let's just say a certain Junior thought it'd be funny to have me all dressed up for the occasion, though party poppers down my funnel weren't my first choice."

"Oh dear," chuckled Toby.

Just then, Sir Topham Hatt came out with the Kyndleys and Jack's parents, along with the bride and groom and the other guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the good luck package," he said proudly. "Something Old." He pointed to Old Slow Coach. "Something New." He pointed to Mavis. "Something Borrowed." He pointed to the lilac flowers. "Something Blue." He pointed to Thomas. "All found by Mavis, Percy, Thomas and Toby."

Thomas and Percy whistled, Toby rang his bell and Mavis tooted her horn happily.

"Thank you, all of you," smiled Sophia. "You have made this day truly worth remembering."

"Mavis did most of the work, Sophia," Percy admitted. "I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Aww, thanks, Percy," giggled the quarry diesel.

The engines watched as the wedding guests, bride and groom enjoyed the festivities, when Sophia remembered something.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She turned away from everyone and tossed her bouquet of flowers. The female guests tried to catch it, but much to everyone's surprise, it landed right on Mavis' bufferbeam.

"Oh dear, Sophia lost her flowers!" gasped Mavis.

Her driver laughed at the diesel's confusion. "That's what's supposed to happen. The woman who catches the flowers is the one who is supposedly getting married next."

"I-it is?" Mavis stammered in surprise. For a split second, it looked like she and Percy were exchanging a glance, both blushing bright red. This didn't go unnoticed by Thomas and Toby…

When the wedding was over, everyone was leaving, and Daisy pulled up at the sheds that evening. "Stupid steamroller was delaying me on the crossing," she grunted. "Now, what have I missed?"

"A fantastic wedding," smiled Percy. "Sophia and Jack got married today, and Thomas, Mavis and Old Slow Coach were part of the good luck package-"

"And I think Percy has a crush!" Thomas, now cleared of his streamers, interrupted.

"Wh-what?!" spluttered Percy, blushing redder than James' paint.

"Ooh, is that right?" smirked Daisy. "Who is the lucky engine?"

"Well… he did exchange a look with Mavis after her driver explained what the bride's bouquet meant," Thomas chuckled.

Percy tried to drown out the other two, but it was no good.

"Easy, you three," said Toby. "We've all worked very hard today and need some sleep."

"Thank you, Toby," sighed Percy with relief.

Thomas and Daisy, despite their teasing, were actually quite happy for the little saddle tank engine, and hoped he and Mavis would have a bright future together.

THE END

Author's Comments

We're now onto the home stretch with Series 5 Redux with a rewrite of Happy Ever After, as well as the final standard gauge-focused episode for it! Once again, Mavis takes the spotlight, and along with Mavis and the Lorries, that's more than what she got in Stepney Gets Lost, further continuing her character growth towards series six onward. Not much more to say here other than that there's a few hints building up towards the rewrite of Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Upcoming stories:

- Bye George!

- Duncan Gets Spooked

- Rusty and the Boulder