APOLOGY IMPOSSIBLE

Since his arrival, Philip the Diesel Boxcab has made a lot of friends on the railway, particularly with the steam engines.

"Goodbye, Thomas! See you later!" Philip called. Thomas whistled in reply and rolled away with Annie and Clarabel. Philip then noticed Percy puffing past.

"Oh, hello, Percy!" Suddenly, he heard a whistle and Duck rolled in.

"Morning, Philip. Are my trucks ready yet?" he asked. Philip grinned eagerly.

"Oh, yes, let me fetch them!" Philip hurriedly reversed away, quickly running back with a goods train.

"Here we are, Duck!" He panted as he came to a stop.

"Phew! These are really heavy trucks, you know, but I shunted them really quickly! I must be so strong, maybe even as strong as you!" Duck rolled his eyes and chuckled as Philip continued chatting to him. On the other side of the yard, a black shape watched the scene with anger. He was so cross that he didn't notice Paxton rolling alongside him.

"Hello, Diesel!" No reply.

"...Diesel?" Diesel's eyes finally snapped to him.

"What?" Paxton grimaced.

"Sorry, Diesel, I just wanted to say hello. What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong, Paxton," Diesel snarled, "Look over there." Paxton glanced across the yard, where Philip was still talking excitedly to Duck. Paxton raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… I'm not sure what's wrong, Diesel."

"It's so obvious, Paxton; he's a traitor! Always being so friendly to not just steam engines, but the worst steam engines…" Diesel growled at Duck, who was now leaving the yard with his trucks.

"Oh. Well, um, does that really matter, Diesel? I talk to Thomas all the time, but you're still my friend, aren't you?" Paxton asked nervously. But Diesel wasn't paying attention to Paxton; the gears were turning in his head.

"If he wants to act like those steam engines, I'll treat him like one…" he muttered before smirking.

"Yes, of course!" Diesel started to laugh as he rolled away. Paxton watched him leave with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, phew! We are still friends!"

Philip sat in the yard, waiting for his trucks to be loaded before shunting them away. Suddenly, he heard a loud horn and gasped as Diesel rounded a bend and came towards him.

"Diesel, look out!" Philip shouted, but Diesel didn't listen. He bashed straight into a flatbed of crates, all of which fell onto Philip's track. Philip yelped and jerked backwards, causing the drums of oil on Philip's trucks to topple off.

"Philip, what are you doing?" a workman cried in horror, "We just spent ages loading that!" Philip's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"S-Sorry!" he stammered. Diesel snickered.

"Making mistakes again, Philip? No wonder you're such friends with those steam engines; you're just as clumsy as they are!" Philip looked away in shame as Diesel continued to snicker. Diesel looked down; right in front of him on the rail was a drum of oil. He glanced between it and Philip to make sure he wasn't watching. Then, Diesel raced forward, knocking the drum over and splattering oil all over Philip.

"Hey!" Philip cried. Diesel gasped in mock horror.

"Philip! What did you do that for? I was only having a bit of fun with you."

"I-I didn't do anything," Philip spluttered, "that was you! And you should say sorry!" Diesel rolled his eyes.

"Me? Couldn't possibly be. I'm much too careful, unlike clumsy you always getting in the way!" Diesel burst into laughter as he hurried away, leaving Philip to groan.

It took a long time to clear the mess up, and by the time Philip could shunt the train again, it was very late.

"Hurry up, Philip! You've delayed me enough as it is!" Henry called back, annoyed.

"Sorry, Henry! I'm going as fast as I can!" Philip panted as he shunted the long train, with the drums of oil noticeably missing, behind Henry. Henry rolled his eyes and puffed out of the yard. Philip sighed sadly.

"At least I can have a wash now…" he muttered as he reversed away.

When he arrived at the washdown, James was already there, getting hosed off.

"Ah, I do love a good wash!" James sighed happily to himself before whistling and rolling away. Philip smiled and trundled forwards, not noticing a familiar shape roll past. Just before Philip was about to stop by the reservoir, he saw Diesel reversing towards him.

"Huh?"

"My turn now!" Diesel snickered as he braked beside the reservoir. Philip spluttered in disbelief.

"No it's not, Diesel! I got here first, and I'm actually dirty!" Diesel smirked.

"I'm just as dirty as you are, you just can't see it because of my black paint. So insensitive, Philip, mistaking my paint for oil." Philip gaped as Diesel started to be hosed off.

"W-Wait, you can't do that! You need to go back and say sorry for cutting in line!"

"Just why would I do that? It's not my fault if you're too slow to get here first." Diesel laughed as Philip scowled but could do nothing.

Philip was eventually washed, and he slowly and sadly made his way back to the shunting yard. He rolled into Wellsworth, where Edward was sitting at the platform with some coaches.

"Hello, Philip!" He then noticed Philip's frown.

"Oh dear, you do look glum. What's the matter?" Philip sadly looked at the ground.

"It's that Diesel," he mumbled. Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Diesel? What's he done now?"

"He won't leave me alone, Edward, and I don't know why! How could someone be so… mean?" Edward sighed.

"That's not an easy question to answer, Philip, I suppose he's just that sort of engine. All the same, if he bothers you again, tell him to stop and stand your ground. If he doesn't, speak to the Fat Controller about it. A few words from him will sort Diesel out." Philip gave a small smile.

"Alright, Edward, I'll give it a try. Thank you!" He honked his horn and started rolling away, Edward giving him an encouraging smile.

When Philip finally arrived back at the shunting yard, he groaned as he could see Diesel in a crowd of engines. He was about to reverse away when he saw that Diesel and the others were crowding around the Fat Controller.

"Right. This load of rubbish has been stinking up the station for far too long," the Fat Controller said, gesturing to a long line of rubbish trucks on a siding, "Whiff and Scruff haven't had time to come up here and fetch it, so I need someone else to take it to the dump for them. Any volunteers?" The engines present, including Diesel, squirmed as the Fat Controller looked at each of them. Philip saw this and got an idea. He rolled up alongside the crowd and smirked.

"Why not let Diesel do that job, sir? He's very careful and never makes mistakes!" The other engines were confused by this comment, but the Fat Controller didn't seem to notice as he turned to Diesel.

"If you could, Diesel, that would be very helpful." Diesel grimaced as the engines' eyes landed on him.

"Oh, I would love to, sir, I really would, but… there's a lot of shunting to do at the Dieselworks! Yes, that's right! Lots of shunting, just what I'm built for. I better go and finish it now!" Before anyone could object, Diesel hurried away.

"Wait a minute, Diesel!" the Fat Controller called out, but Diesel had already gone. He sighed.

"Anyone else?" Almost immediately, the other engines started rolling away, all except for Philip, who was left spluttering. The Fat Controller grinned.

"Ah, Philip, I knew I could count on you. Now we won't have to deal with any more complaints from passengers!" The Fat Controller chuckled and walked away before Philip could object. Philip growled in annoyance.

Reluctantly, Philip backed down onto the trucks and rolled away, trying his best not to be noticed. Soon, Philip approached the Fenlands, where he was surprised to see a bunch of workmen repairing one side of the bridge. He came to a stop as one of the workmen flagged him down.

"Phew, what a pong!" the workman exclaimed, making Philip wince.

"Er, sorry. One side of the bridge is closed for repairs, Philip, so we have to make sure the track is clear before you go on." Philip waited patiently as the workman turned around to make sure no other trains were coming.

"Okay, you're all clear!" Philip honked his horn and continued onward, not noticing the workman holding his nose as he passed with the rubbish trucks. Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, Diesel was chuckling darkly to himself as he made his way along.

"Got out of that one… Silly Philip, thinking he could trick me like that. No one tricks ol' Diesel." He was so busy thinking how clever he was that he didn't notice he was approaching a workman waving a yellow flag. The workman waved his arms as Diesel raced past.

"Diesel, stop! The track isn't clear! Stop!" But Diesel didn't stop as he didn't hear him, instead continuing onto the bridge. On the other side, Philip could see Diesel coming towards him in the distance towards Philip.

"Oh no, Diesel… What does he want now?" Philip muttered bitterly before honking his horn and slamming on his brakes. Diesel, hearing the horn, was surprised to see Philip. He scowled and braked to a stop, the buffers of the two engines barely touching. Philip opened his eyes and looked up at Diesel.

"Heh heh… hello again," he smiled meekly, feeling very small. Diesel glared down at him, now genuinely annoyed.

"Get out of my way, you silly little boxcab! I haven't time for your nonsense." Philip's eye twitched and his meek smile morphed into a scowl.

"And I haven't time for yours!" he retorted, surprising Diesel, "Why should I get out of your way because of your mistake? You didn't stop at the flag!" Diesel looked back, noticing the workman still waving his arms wildly. Diesel gritted his teeth to hide his embarrassment.

"Because I said so!" he snapped, rolling forward and bumping Philip back. Philip gulped, starting to feel scared when he remembered what Edward said earlier.

"I don't care what you say! You need to stop this and say you're sorry! You're being very unfair and, quite frankly, not very nice!" Philip had expected this to be what made Diesel apologize, but to his horror, Diesel rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, you really are a steam engine in disguise. Now, get out of my way!" Diesel tried bumping Philip again, but this time, Philip was prepared and had his brakes locked on. Diesel was puzzled as he found he couldn't move him.

"Huh?" he exclaimed. Philip smirked.

"That's right! If you want me to move, you'll have to make me!" Diesel growled furiously and tried pushing Philip again, but his wheels merely spun helplessly.

"Why should I apologize to you?" Diesel fumed.

"Well, for one thing, you didn't say sorry when you knocked those crates over, or when you splattered me with oil, or when you jumped ahead of me at the washdown, and now, you're blocking the bridge!"

"Er… Philip?" Philip looked back, surprised to see Duck, Paxton, and Henry all on the bridge behind him.

"Wow, look at all these engines!" Paxton cried excitedly, "Are we having a party?" Henry rolled his eyes.

"No, Paxton, we're just being held up by Philip here." Philip glared back.

"It's not me, it's Diesel!" Philip glared up at Diesel.

"So you need to say sorry! ...please?" Diesel glared back down at him.

"Pah, what would you know? You just work in your silly little yard, socializing with all those steam engines." Philip's confidence waned at this remark, but Duck spoke up.

"Have some respect, Diesel. Philip is an asset to our railway, whether you realize it or not. Certainly more than you are, in any case. You're the one holding up the bridge." Diesel looked so cross that Philip was afraid he might explode.

"I am not, Montague," Diesel spat angrily, "If it weren't for Philip, I would've passed through already, and none of this would have happened! Instead, we're all stuck here since someone wouldn't move!" As Diesel and Philip were arguing, Paxton was looking down into the water and starting to grow nervous.

"They're still repairing the bridge, and there are a lot of engines on it!" He gasped. "What if it collapses?!" Henry sighed dully.

"Paxton, calm down, the bridge isn't-"

"He's right!" Philip called, his voice rising over Henry's, "We have to get off the bridge now!"

"Then move!" Diesel snarled. Philip put on a brave face.

"Alright, I will!" he cried. Diesel smirked slyly.

"At last… I knew you'd cave in. Just as weak as the rest of-"

"And if Diesel isn't going to reverse… then I'll make him!" Diesel's eyes widened.

"Wait, what-" He got cut off as Philip surged forward, bashing straight into him.

"Ouch!" Diesel still had his brakes off and rolled backwards. Diesel gnashed his teeth.

"So, you want to play that game, do you? We'll see about that!" With all of his strength, Diesel stopped Philip's advance and actually started pushing him back. Suddenly, the two heard a whistle and were each equally surprised as Duck bumped into the back of Philip's train of rubbish. Duck grimaced at the smell, but continued pushing regardless. Paxton looked conflicted.

"What do I do, what do I do?" he fretted, but didn't have a say in the matter as he felt a bump from behind.

"Whoa!" Henry pushed him into Duck, and the four engines easily pushed Diesel off the bridge. Diesel was horrified as with one final push, they bashed him into a siding. Diesel gaped as the engines reversed and passed him on the main line, each giving him a glare - except for Paxton, who instead looked away in shame.

"Er, sorry, Diesel, I didn't mean to!" he called as he rolled away, but Diesel was too stunned to reply.

Word of the incident soon spread to the Fat Controller, and he ordered all the engines involved to head to the shunting yard. Philip, Henry, Duck, and Paxton watched as the Fat Controller paced back and forth in front of Diesel.

"Oh dear... Are we going to get in trouble?" Philip said worriedly. Duck smirked at the nervous look on Diesel's face.

"Seems to me that he's the one getting into trouble, as he should."

"Then what are we doing here?" Henry grumbled, "I have things to do and sights to see." Duck shushed him so they could listen as the Fat Controller scolded Diesel.

"Honestly, Diesel, what were you thinking about? That flag was not hard to spot, but since you didn't, the entire main line was delayed!"

"I was... just distracted, sir, but if there's anyone you should blame, it's Philip." Diesel glared back at Philip.

"If he had just done what I said and moved for me, we-"

"He shouldn't have to move just because you didn't pay attention," the Fat Controller interrupted sternly, "Even worse, I've heard from Edward that you've been targeting Philip all day. Care to explain yourself?" Diesel grimaced.

"I... I..."

"Er, if I may say something, sir?" Everyone looked in surprise at Paxton, who smiled sheepishly.

"Since Diesel can't say so himself, uh, I think he didn't like that Philip was talking to steam engines." Diesel's cheeks turned red as the Fat Controller turned back to him.

"Diesel, if this is true, whoever Philip befriends is none of your business. Just because he's a diesel doesn't mean he has to have the same feelings as you do." Diesel spluttered, but the Fat Controller continued.

"I think it best you apologize to Philip. It's the least he deserves." Diesel groaned but nonetheless took a deep breath.

"I'm... sorry, Philip," he mumbled. Philip grinned.

"Apology accepted! Thank you, Diesel!" Diesel didn't look nearly as happy as Philip, but was relieved as he thought he could finally leave. He started rolling away, but the Fat Controller held up his hand.

"Just a moment, Diesel. I think you also ought to apologize to everyone else you've held up as well." Diesel gaped.

"B-But sir! I-"

"Now, Diesel." Diesel gritted his teeth.

"And I'm sorry... Paxton, Henry, and... Mo- I mean... Duck." Duck rolled his eyes but didn't comment.

"Right. Now that that's all sorted," the Fat Controller said, "Who's going to be helping Whiff and Scruff on waste collection this week?" He winked at the other engines. Henry and Duck caught on and started reversing away.

"Sorry, sir, would love to help, but we're just too busy!" Duck called. Henry noticed Paxton was still absentmindedly looking around and whistled to get his attention. Paxton smiled sheepishly and hurried to follow them. This only left Diesel and Philip, the latter smirking.

"I would, sir, but there's just too much shunting to do! Isn't that right, Diesel?" Diesel gaped as Philip honked his horn and rolled off, giggling to himself. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Ah, Diesel! Perfect engine for the job! Off you go now, the rubbish can't stay there forever." Diesel was left spluttering as the Fat Controller turned on his heel and walked away. Diesel growled furiously as he reversed away to collect his trucks, grumbling to himself the whole way.

Author's Note: Probably one of the most contentious Sodor episodes of the season, here's Apology Impossible, written in early March! I feel like James was the wrong character to use in the original episode, so I replaced him with Diesel and gave him a motive. The engines on the bridge are also different, Rebecca and Thomas being swapped for Henry and Duck respectively. This wasn't done just because I dislike either of those characters, but more so since the two fit the new plot better. Plus, it was fun contrasting them with the younger and more immature Paxton and Philip. Speaking of which, Paxton stuck around and got an upgrade in his role which I like since it gives him more to do. From here, we've got one more S22 rewrite to go, one that I've very recently written, and from there we'll see. In the meantime, thank you for reading!