It was spring on the Island of Sodor. Thomas the Tank Engine was finishing up his Branch Line duties, heading to Knapford stations. It was a year and then some in terms of activities, first James crashes into the sheds, despite of the warnings he was being received by everyone around him, which caused Thomas and Edward to move out of Tidimouth sheds for awhile, with a glaring possibility of Edward moving out completely, but thankfully he wasn't and Philip got company in the form of Rosie, then there was this big snow storm and the engines had to work with a very limited supply of coal and multiple accidents were happening, but now Spring came and everything is working like clockwork. Thomas then heard a ever familiar whistle, it was Emily.
"Emily!" Thomas whistled in return.
"No Thomas! Don't!" began Annie.
"You know how the Fat Controller hates it when..." began Clarabel as she was then interrupted by a sudden burst of speed by Thomas, both he and Emily were racing along the tracks again, Thomas was one victory ahead of her.
"You know you aren't going to beat me this time Thomas!" said Emily.
"You can say that again after my inevitable victory!" replied Thomas. Both Thomas and Emily were going faster and faster, they were determined to win the race, Emily then had to stop because of a red signal "Ha ha! Better luck next time Emily!" said Thomas as he puffed away, which prompted Emily to blow a raspberry. Thomas was soon reaching Knapford, but his signal then became red and a new engine rudely passed by him "Hey! Watch where you are going!" said Thomas then Emily passed by him.
"See you later Thomas! Hope you enjoy the view of my coaches!" teased Emily as she entered Knapford stations "And I win! Now we are both even." said Emily to Thomas and she saw the engine that passed by in front of Thomas. It was the same model as Edward, except he had a dark green and red aesthetic to him "Hi there." greeted Emily to the new engine "You must be new from around here. I am Emily. And what's your name?"
"Well my name is William, thank you for asking." replied William and by that same time a very cross Thomas appeared "Oh, hello Thomas."
"Hey William." replied a very mad Thomas "How was work on the Main Land?"
"It was boring without you being there."
"Well that's good to know cause I was feeling a lot better before you appeared." Thomas' guard blew his whistle and Thomas steamed away. Emily was confused by what's happening, one moment Thomas was having the time of his life but then the next it looks like he had a really bad day.
"Um Thomas... why are you acting like this?" asked Annie and Clarabel.
"Hey Thomas!" yelled William "Are you going to shunt my trucks for me? You are a Yard's engine!"
"No William, I have my own jobs to do." replied Thomas, which made William cross.
'He just had to show up.' Thought Thomas to himself. That night, Thomas was heading to Tidimouth sheds, when some Mail Cars were shunted to his direction "Fizziling Fire Boxes!" Thomas put on his brakes but both he and the Mail Cars came off the tracks "Percy! This isn't funny!" said Thomas, but there was no sign of Percy "Emily?" Thomas called out of morbid curiosity but no reply from her either. Instead it was William.
"Thomas, you should have known the consequences of when a small engine like you tries to ignore a big engine like me." said William.
"Just leave me alone William! You had to follow me around!" said Thomas "Can you at least get Rocky or the Breakdown Train?"
"No, I am just going to leave you there." said William as he puffed away. Emily soon arrived with Rocky and placed both Thomas and the Mail Cars back on the tracks, thankfully neither were damaged by a terrible degree and were still able to function properly, but before Thomas could leave.
"Thomas... what happened?" Emily asked.
"I wasn't looking correctly." replied Thomas.
"But how..."
"Get off my back about it and shut up! Just leave me alone!" Thomas then steamed away, which made Emily feel hurt at Thomas' comment. He was acting exactly like her when Timothy was manipulating her. The next morning came and Thomas had to shunt Gordon's coaches for him. William was present but was impatient.
"Come on Thomas! Make it snappy!" whistled William.
"Just shut up! Your turn will come." said Thomas, but he wanted to ditch William, but he couldn't. Soon he left Gordon with his coaches ready and then brought William's coaches that were perfectly fine and functional. Gordon the whole time was left in a awkward cringe state, he never treated Thomas that badly and wondered what was going on. Thomas soon came to the station with Annie and Clarabel.
"Um... Thomas... what's happening?" they ask.
"Just shut up like normal coaches and leave me alone about it." replied Thomas as he then steamed away. Emily saw when Thomas yelled at Annie and Clarabel but he left before Emily could say anything. Emily soon found Percy pulling coal trucks.
"Hey Emily." said Percy.
"Percy, I have a question. Was Thomas ever angry with you or something?" asked Emily.
"Obviously, we had our moments where we fight over the smallest things, but we made up for it the next day or we become even, like when we had incidents with coal, or how I scared him and he then scared me." replied Percy.
"What about something that... its hard to describe it, but what about him being spontaneously angry? And it extends to the next day." Percy thought and thought, but nothing was coming to mind.
"No, not really. But why do you ask?"
"Its because, yesterday, I asked him what happened, when he and your mail cars were derailed, and for some reason he avoided the question and rudely left me, which honestly hurts just thinking about it, and today, just now, I saw him insult Annie and Clarabel."
"That's odd. He talks about you all the time and in a really high regard, and Annie and Clarabel are like his sisters, he always treats them nicely. There has to be an explanation about this." Emily agreed with Percy, something was definitely wrong with Thomas. It might have something to do with William is what she came down to. Thomas was puffing along his Branch Line when he met up with Bertie.
"Do you wanna race Thomas?" asked Bertie nicely.
"Not now Bertie, we have jobs to do." replied Thomas, he was then expecting a reply but got none "What? You're going to call me weird because we race every chance we get?!"
"No Thomas... I am just surprised..."
"Why?! You think I can't take responsibility of things?! Agh forget it!" Thomas then left a cloud of steam behind him, which blinded Bertie. He was swerving left and right on the road, and when he got his senses in order, he almost hit a tree, but he moved out of the way in time.
"THOMAS!" yelled Bertie but Thomas was too far to hear Bertie. When they arrived at Ffarquhar, Bertie was cross with Thomas "Thomas! You are indeed irresponsible!" But Thomas was confused.
"What happened Bertie?"
"You know what happened! You left a cloud of steam behind and I almost crashed!" Thomas was then shocked.
"Oh my God Bertie! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to just cause you to..."
"Save your steam Thomas. I can trust an engine, but his name isn't Thomas now!" Bertie then left Thomas. Thomas was feeling guilty over what he had just done, he decided to give Bertie some time and they can make amends. When Thomas arrived at Knapford, he was disappointed that he couldn't find Bertie, but then Sir Topham Hatt arrived with William.
"Thomas, would you mind explaining something for me?" he asked.
"What is it, Sir?" Thomas asked.
"Why did you give William, on his first job, old coaches? The coaches that have a leak in their pipes, which makes the brakes hard on." he asked. Thomas was beyond surprised.
"But sir! They were perfectly fine when I got them!" he said.
"Stop Thomas! Don't lie to me!"
"But I am not! I swear!" he said. Sir Topham Hatt thought about it, he is hearing two contradictory stories. What happened was that William was banging the coaches, like what James used to do, but he blamed Thomas for giving him old coaches. Sir Topham Hatt, however, heard Bertie's situation of almost crashing because of Thomas first, which made the Fat Controller's decision.
"Thomas, I may have to demote you from Branch Line duties though."
"WHAT SIR?! WHY?!" wailed Thomas.
"How about you listen to what others have to say?!" said Annie and Clarabel very rudely.
"Yes Thomas, you are just overreacting." said William.
"Shut up William!" said Thomas.
"Thomas the Tank Engine! Just stand down and go to the Yards! First I hear complaints from Bertie that you almost caused an accident, and now this?!" says Sir Topham Hatt sternly.
"But sir! I swear..." but before Thomas could say anything.
"Enough! Just stay quiet and go in the Yards! I will also be giving your Branch Line to William!"
"Sir! You can't just..."
"Yes I can! Now go to the Yards, Thomas!"
"Yes sir." Thomas left as he began to cry.
"Now Thomas! Make sure my coaches are perfect the next time you shunt them!" said William, Thomas couldn't reply anymore, he was too sad to think properly. Thomas now began to work at the Yards, organizing the coaches and freight cars for the other engines, just like what he did at his beginning years at Sodor and in all of his time at the Main Land. Emily then returned to Tidimouth Sheds and she found all the engines there, except for Thomas, instead William took his place "I have to say, Thomas has really good taste in picking sheds."
"What is he doing here?!" asked Emily in concern for Thomas.
"Apparently Sir Topham Hatt said that because of the recent things Thomas has done, he will be sleeping at Knapford sheds and William is taking his berth." said Edward.
"Well its not the same, first Thomas, Percy and Emily are staying more at Ffarquhar Sheds, then the few times they return, Thomas isn't present. I just don't like change." said Gordon.
"Change is inevitable Gordon." said Henry as Emily entered her berth.
"Besides, me and Thomas are able to start work much more easily, and Emily's jobs are becoming easier as well now that she stays more at the sheds. And it is nostalgic staying there." said Percy. Emily was wondering what was happening with Thomas the whole time the engines were talking, maybe she should stay with him tomorrow in case something happens again.
"So guys, do you wanna hear a story about Thomas?" asked William. Emily heard that and whilst she was curious, she could tell that he and William have a history together, and not a positive one, based on how Thomas acts around him.
"You know William. Whenever I see you with Thomas, it seems like there is something going on, and not in a good way. So no, I don't want to hear what you have to say about him, it might be better not to learn anything personal about Thomas." she said.
"Yeah, we don't wanna touch on any sensitive topics about him without his consent." added Gordon, the other engines also agreed. William was surprised, he remembers how in the Main Land, everyone wanted to hear about Thomas and William would talk about Thomas' more humiliating moments before he came to Sodor, but he had an idea on who to talk to. Thomas was very lonely at Knapford Sheds, Annie and Clarabel didn't want to keep him company and he didn't want to worry any of the other engines, so he decided to stay alone.
"I wish Emily was here at least." said Thomas to no one in particular "That stupid William, he is just an outdated Gordon.". The next morning, Thomas was shunting some trucks and William arrived with his own set of trucks.
"Not bad Thomas, still organized as ever." said William "Now Thomas, an important engine like me needs some good looking coaches, not old trucks, so can you get me those orange ones?" he was referring to Annie and Clarabel.
"But William, those coaches are..." began Thomas.
"Get me those coaches NOW, THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!" said William "Or I guess can tell the Sir Topham Hatt how you misbehaved again." Thomas sighed in defeat and coupled up to Annie and Clarabel, still angry with him with how rudely he acted, which made him sigh in sadness. He coupled them up to William when he was at the station. William then had an idea in his funnel that might stir up Thomas "You know Thomas, I think you have eyes for someone, right? In a very... intimate way, beyond friendship." which made Thomas get flustered "Is it that female red tank engine? With the number 37." Thomas was starting to calm down until "No, its that emerald green tender engine." Thomas now got really flustered, his cheeks were as red as James' paint "Ah yes, she is a looker alright, very beautiful indeed. I think I might take her out on a date. Besides, I am certain its more fitting for a tender engine dating another tender engine, rather than having a tender engine dating a little tank engine." he said, as the guard blew his whistle and William steamed away.
"Aw..." said Thomas, sad that he now can't confess his deepest desire to Emily, he always loved Emily, she was everything he wanted in his life, but he has trouble showing it to her and is very shy whenever someone like Rosie tries to get them together, but if Emily were to be happy with someone like William, he will be happy for her as well. Suddenly the Trucks William brought started to sing.
"Thomas' brothers were useless after all. Thinks he is a special deal. 'I want to be a really useful engine' that's the best joke ever! When they all crash in those sharp turns, snapping our coupling... Pop Goes the Tank Engine." sang the trucks. This hurt Thomas deeply and now he was beyond frustrated.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" said Thomas as he shunted them violently and blew steam at them, but the trucks wouldn't stop singing and every time they did, Thomas got more and more aggressive. Soon he shunted a line of trucks so hard that he not only derailed it but he also derailed himself "Oh no! What have I done?" said Thomas upon realizing what he just did and the Trucks got back to laughing at him and singing some more. Later that day, Sir Topham Hatt arrived.
"You know Thomas, you were a disappointment here today, the yard managers explained to me what just happened." said Sir Topham Hatt.
"Yes sir." said Thomas starting to cry.
"Before we pick you up, we'll leave you here for now. Hopefully you'll learn what its like being reliable." he said.
"Yes sir." huffed Thomas, except what wasn't taken into account was that Gordon and Emily saw almost everything that had happened, Gordon saw William talking to the trucks and he overheard a little of what was being said, and Emily heard the Trucks singing to Thomas about his brothers that were all scrapped. Soon the engines pieced together what had happened.
"Disgraceful!" huffed Gordon.
"Disgusting!" added James.
"Despicable!" finished Henry.
"To say such private things about Thomas out in public?!" said Percy "We should teach him a lesson!" Emily then puffed away "Emily, where are you going?"
"I just wanna see something with Thomas. Don't start a plan without me yet." said Emily. She soon went to Knapford Sheds, where Thomas was present, very depressed as well, if the eyes were a window to the soul, then Emily would feel nothing but despair "Hey Thomas."
"Hi Emily." replied Thomas.
"Um... I saw your..."
"Just leave me alone. It has nothing to do with you. So just make like a tree and leave." said Thomas interrupting Emily, which made her very cross, she then aggressively shunted Thomas, almost out of the sheds completely "Wait! Emily! Just calm down!"
"CALM DOWN?! CALM THE FUCK DOWN?! HOW CAN I WHEN ALL THE TIME I SEE YOU, YOU ARE ALWAYS SAD OR ANGRY FOR INEXPLICABLY NO REASON AT ALL?! DON'T YOU SEE THAT YOU ARE HURTING ME OR YOUR FRIENDS?! IF I WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING THEN HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION!" snapped Emily, but at the same time she was crying, Thomas could see it in her eyes. This time, he couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to let it out for her.
"Alright..." said Thomas which calmed Emily "What happened is that... William and I worked together on the Main Land before I came to Sodor. I was new at the time, my creator said that I was the beginning of a new variation of my class or something along those lines, but I wasn't paying attention, I was just eager to work with my brothers and meet many engines. William at the time was the same class as Edward, the biggest new thing at the time, faster, stronger and tougher than other engines before, so naturally he got all the important jobs, but he then became arrogant and boastful, as well as lazy... saying how important he was." Emily then felt a sense of familiarity, she always saw Thomas complain how the Main Line engines, like Gordon, James, Henry and more are lazy, but she saw how hard working they are, and now she got curious.
"When you say Gordon is lazy, was this the source?"
"Yes, I thought at the time that Gordon was the same deal when I first came here... William would do nothing more than pick on me, reveal sensitive things about me, ridicule me whenever I wasn't sure what to do, like how he caused an accident with the coaches and placed the blame on me cause he couldn't take responsibility... He did it with the coaches when he first had his passenger run here... and I am guessing he said something about Sir Topham Hatt letting him sleep in my place... that's a lie, he never got permission, he just took my spot and told me to scram... I can also assume he wanted to reveal sensitive things about me... he does it for fun." said Thomas remembering what happened. Emily felt how sad Thomas, it was indescribable how sad she was feeling for Thomas.
"How long did this last?"
"A year straight." when Thomas said how long he had to suffer with it, it was Emily's breaking point "When I came here on Sodor, I finally felt like I had a home and a place that I truly belong, which made me happy, but whenever I hear a new engine are coming over and they take over my Branch Line duties... I am reminded of what William did with me... I never really intended to act mean and cruel towards Stanley or Ryan... I just didn't want to lose what I had... which is also why I lied before as well... I never act cheeky because I wanted to hurt someone... I just did it because I don't wanna show others what is happening with me... I am sorry for lying to you Emily... I just didn't want to lose everything I had, including you... I couldn't imagine a world without you in it."
"I don't know what to say about that Thomas... but I just want you to know, I am here for you. Percy, Edward, Gordon, everyone will be standing by your side till the very end, there is nothing to worry about... because... there is something I want to tell you, Thomas..." said Emily.
"What is it?"
"The truth is that... I care about you... I care about you more than just a friend, from the very moment I met you and ever since... I couldn't imagine a world without you in it either... Thomas, I love you." Thomas got flustered, his soul was starting to cheer up. Emily finally said what she always wanted to say, but she hoped Thomas felt the same.
"Emily... you have no idea how much that means to me, ever since we first met I thought you were the most beautiful engine ever, in both personality and appearance, and as time went on, I came to realize that I truly loved you... I love you too, Emily." both engines were now happy, they just stared at each other, it felt like time had just frozen around them, they had all the time in the world, their long awaited moment came true. They couldn't kiss like humans can, but they didn't mind it, just the feel of their buffers was perfect to them "I wish it was under different circumstances."
"If you want Thomas, we can go on our first date at some point after everything is resolved."
"That would be lovely to do so." Thomas then had something in mind "Um, Emily, can we sleep together?" Emily just smiled.
"I was wondering if you would ask that." said Emily teasingly, then that night, both engines just slept buffer to buffer together. The next morning came and Thomas and Emily both woke up, they were still together, they were happy that their confession wasn't a dream but was a reality "Good morning my treasure." said Emily which made Thomas blush.
"Good morning my love." replied Thomas which also made Emily blush "Did you sleep well?"
"I dreamt the most beautiful dream thanks to you, Thomas." said Emily "What about you?"
"I also slept greatly." said Thomas, this time it seems like he woke up happily, even more than normally.
"I need to get ready for my first passenger run." said Emily as she backed away from the berth "I will meet up with you soon Thomas."
"Can't wait!" replied Thomas. He couldn't take his eyes off Emily, or in other words his girlfriend, she was so beautiful, she was perfect to the little Tank Engine. Eventually, Emily met up with Sir Topham Hatt.
"Sir! I have something to tell you!"
"Well, what is it?" he asked, Emily then explained everything that Thomas had to go through and everything William did to him "I suspect its also why Thomas was acting with such a mood lately."
"So it was William just finding excuses to get Thomas in trouble because he thinks Thomas is just a Yard Shunter?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Don't worry, I have the perfect plan." he said. Thomas meanwhile was shunting at the Yards when he saw Annie and Clarabel still in their sheds, which made Thomas confused, they would always work even if another engine pulled them, so he went up to them.
"Hey... Annie, Clarabel..." began Thomas "Um... what are you two doing here?"
"William broke our pipes, so the brakes were hard on!" said Annie.
"You want to talk about that?! He was going so fast that he overshot stations multiple times, just to be a show off! He is worse than James!" added Clarabel. Thomas now felt cross with William, his faithful coaches were now damaged.
"So here we are on strike! We aren't working with him!" said Annie.
"Well if you want, I can get you two fixed." said Thomas. Annie and Clarabel were happy.
"Sure thing Thomas." they said. When they arrived at the Steamworks, Thomas had something to say to them, he thought about what Emily told to him, about how he is hurting the ones who care for him, and how Annie and Clarabel just wanted to help.
"Listen, Annie, Clarabel... I am sorry for acting like how I did when you two just wanted to help me... Its just, when William came on Sodor, he opened up old wounds in me... I just thought, if I hid it, it would fix everything... but I was a fool." said Thomas.
"Well, we're sorry too Thomas." said Annie.
"We shouldn't have acted towards you the way we did as well." added Clarabel.
"When we saw William's treatment towards you, we wondered if that was the reason for your actions."
"Honestly, we should have been there for you yesterday instead of standing at the sidings acting like little children." Thomas was starting to feel much better now.
"Do you two wanna hang out when this whole thing gets resolved?" asked Thomas.
"We would love to." said Annie and Clarabel at the same time, which made Thomas have a smile on his face, something he didn't have for a long time.
"I'll come over and get you two back to the sheds soon." said Thomas as he steamed away. Next at Knapford stations, as Thomas shunted Rebecca's heavy train for her, he saw Bertie. Thomas whistled to him for attention, but Bertie was still somewhat cross, so Thomas took a deep breath and hoped for the best "Hey Bertie... I just want to say that I am sorry for almost causing you to crash... I was irrational and wasn't thinking right... I hope you can understand that what happened to me at that moment was personal to me... it was a wound from the past." Bertie then had his attention.
"Really?"
"Yeah. It was related with the new engine William... please Bertie believe me, I wouldn't cause that accident on purpose, I was just in a bad moment... If you wanna keep your distance from me, I would understand." said Thomas beginning to cry a little. Bertie thought a little about what Thomas said, he also remembered seeing William being the worst engine that appeared on Thomas' Branch Line.
"Apology accepted Thomas." said Bertie "If what you said was a personal moment to you, I am sorry for acting harshly to you." Thomas was starting to feel better, everything was coming back to normal to him.
"Oh Bertie! Thank you!" he replied. That night at Tidimouth sheds, with William not present, Sir Topham Hatt and the Steam Team discussed a little bit of the plan that would give William the kick he deserves.
"So, you all remember your roles?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"The plan is just so perfect!" said Emily, anxious to give William what he deserves, after tormenting her boyfriend.
"Let's teach this bully a lesson!" said Percy.
"You mean that outdated trashcan." Gordon corrected Percy "No offense Edward."
"I don't care, he is the one who picked on Thomas, he can keep a distance from me for all I care." replied Edward. Morning came, and all the engines were prepared, William arrived to pick up his coaches and Thomas shunted new ones.
"Where are Annie and Clarabel?" William asked.
"They are being fixed." said Thomas.
"Oh well, useless coaches can be useless coaches." he said, which made Thomas offended.
"You don't speak ill of them William! They are the best coaches anyone can ask for!"
"Ohhoho I don't care Thomas. I mean they are your coaches, so what to expect? I think you should be scrapped by now." said William, which made Thomas sad as he steamed away to shunt some more. Emily then arrived with Henry, the plan was now set into motion.
"William, you can't act like that with Thomas, he is the special engine from around here. Not because he is number one, but because he gets all the important jobs, like taking Sir Topham Hatt to the opera or him being in charge of the construction of Great Waterton. And oh my is he strong, he could pull multiple heavy freight cars up hills by himself, he can even pull me whilst I was also connected to a train."
"Don't forget that time he pulled the Express." said Henry "Honestly, Thomas might make it farther than Duck or Stepney."
"Oh and Thomas' big heart. He helps so many engines and people as he possibly can. He can even capture the hearts of many around him. He is just so great." Emily added that last line with wonder in her eyes, Thomas truly took her heart. This was starting to make William frustrated.
"You do know that Thomas is just a Tank Engine, I am superior to him." said William and right then, Edward puffed in.
"I was like you once, but here is the difference between Thomas and you. Thomas is not only an irreplaceable Yard Shunter, but also a Branch Line runner, he made it the most popular Branch Line as well, and a friend to all of us. You were famous, but you can be replaced by the next one, like Gordon would have replaced you." said Edward.
"Yeah right, I was able to prove myself superior to all of those A1s on the Main Land." boasted William.
"Oh is that so? Why don't you race Gordon than?" asked Edward, having the feeling that William might be bluffing, but then William's guard blew his whistle.
"Sorry, got no time for silly games." said William as he steamed away. The whole time he was making the passenger run, he was thinking to himself.
'Thomas this! Thomas that! What is with everyone and Thomas?! He is just a Yard Shunter like his brothers!' Once William was done, he was supposed to take stones from the Quarry. William shunted them roughly, which caused the Trucks to be infuriated.
"Who is this? We are tired of being shunted like this! We want proper engines like Thomas!" they said, then Toby and Percy came in.
"You know, Thomas would..." began Toby.
"I don't care about what Thomas did. If his way works, my way is going to work better." said William as he steamed away.
"Do you need a back engine?" asked Percy, William did hear what Percy, but chose to ignore him. The contents of the Trucks were heavy, so generally a back engine was advised when going up and down hills. The Trucks were furious with how hard they were shunted and wanted pay back.
"This pile of garbage, who does he think he is? Let's cause trouble!" they said. Once they reached Gordon's Hills, it was the Trucks' chance "Pull back! Pull back!" they groaned, which made William go slower and slower and then he stopped abruptly half way on top of Gordon's Hill.
"Bother!" he said. At Knapford, word came of the situation.
"William is stuck on Gordon's Hill, Thomas!" one of the Yard managers said "He needs a back engine!" Thomas groaned, he wanted to get revenge on William, but orders are orders.
"Yes sir." he replied "And he says I am the one who needs to be scrapped. Honestly...". Meanwhile with William, he was waiting impatiently for Thomas, when James came by down the hill.
"William, this is not your stop." said James "It should be at the Docks." then Gordon came by uphill.
"You got stuck on my hill? Even Thomas can get over my hill with heavy trucks since his first train." he said.
"I wish someone would get here soon." said William, when he heard Thomas' whistle.
"Hey William, I am going to help you." said Thomas, but William was fumming.
"No Thomas! You can't push me up a hill! You useless Tank Engine!" said William insultingly.
"You know, I could just leave you here and let you get in trouble right? I mean you don't want your reputation to be ruined." said Thomas.
"Oh, what a disgrace." he said as Thomas buffered up to him and pushed him up the Hill. Thomas pushed and pushed with all his might, the Trucks were heavy and so was William, but Thomas couldn't stop, he had a task and he was going to accomplish it. Soon they reached the other side of the Hill and reached the Docks, with Thomas still helping William. Emily was present there with Sir Topham Hatt, and Salty saw the opportunity for a joke.
"Oh hey mi hearties! Looks like Thomas is the strongest one around here." said Salty, which made William feel humiliated. Before Sir Topham Hatt could say anything, Emily blew steam at William and her whistle at the same time, which made everyone present in the docks jump out of fright and Sir Topham Hatt almost fell off her cabin.
"Thomas today has just proven to you that he is reliable, useful and a matured engine! This doesn't give you the right to say rude things about him for a year straight! If you EVER act this horrid towards him again, I will literally ruin your paint and reputation, until you beg for mercy! And if you want, Thomas can just take your place and send you packing!" said Emily severely. William then left, with his cheeks being as red as James' paint, out of embarrassment. Sir Topham Hatt was speechless, he was about to say the same things Emily said, but she was so infuriated with William that she accidentally made him jump. Later that day, Thomas arrived at Tidimouth Sheds.
"Thanks for standing up for me guys." he said, starting to feel a lot better.
"No problem Thomas." said Percy.
"You can always count on us." added Emily. Thomas now felt happy, he doesn't need to act like someone else because he had pain that he wanted to hide, he has now a girlfriend and friends that he can trust, and everything was coming back to normal. William on the other hand was shut up in the Sheds for his treatment of Thomas, people could say now that he learned his lesson. The next morning arrived and Thomas was happy, not just because he can now act like himself and not because William got the so long awaited consequences he deserved, but because now he has a girlfriend, in the form of Emily, always there to brighten up his day. When they came out about their relationship, everyone was supportive of them, Thomas and Emily even got to work together more often, which they highly appreciate. Both engines also felt much closer now than last year, because both of them were suffering pain and they both had each other to combat that pain, two hearts were truly beating as one, perfect harmony. Right now, Thomas and Emily were pulling heavy cargo to Ulfstead Castle, instead of Murdoch because he had broken down, and every other big engine that could handle heavy cargo were already busy. Thomas and Emily soon reached the castle, but Thomas was always in deep thought, he was thinking about what he wanted to do with Emily. Emily noticed that the whole time, so when they were beginning to go downhill, she asked "Thomas, is there something you want to tell me, my love?" she asked.
"Well, I was just thinking, where do you wanna go on our first date, Emily?" Thomas asked "I don't have any exact destination." Emily tried to think of place, but couldn't think of one.
"Who cares? I just want to spend time with you." replied Emily, which made Thomas happy.
"Um, do you want to just go around the island after we finish our work?" Thomas asked.
"I would love that." replied Emily. Once their work was done, Thomas and Emily went to a wash down, so that they would be spotless, ready for the date. Thomas was waiting for Emily at Edward's station, where Edward was seen doing some last minute organization. Thomas was extremely nervous, scared he will mess up, which Edward caught on.
"Don't worry Thomas." he said in a fatherly manner "It will all work out." Soon Emily arrived and she looked gorgeous, her paintwork looked better than ever with that spot less wash down, every detail shone brightly and looked absolutely perfect, Thomas also looked perfect to Emily.
"Oh my... you look so beautiful, Emily..." he said, which made Emily giggle a little.
"Thanks, you look handsome as well, Thomas." she said, which made Thomas smile.
"Are you ready?" Thomas asked.
"Yes." Emily replied, they then steamed away together.
"Good luck Thomas." cheered on Edward for Thomas. Emily giggled in response, she always liked seeing Thomas and Edward's father son dynamic, knowing their history together when Thomas first arrived on Sodor, and was happy to know that Edward purposely allowed for both her and Thomas to work together when he found the opportunity arose itself. Thomas and Emily were steaming along the country side, they saw all the beautiful land marks Sodor had to offer, including the hills, the beaches, everything, they were even having conversations.
"So Thomas, tell me, what was it like to you, working on your Branch Line?" Emily asked.
"It was trouble, having to manage almost everything on my own, including freight cars, the Quarry, everything, but I got used to it and eventually, Percy, Toby, Mavis and Daisy all appeared to help me out." replied Thomas.
"I hear there were some funny stories as well." teased Emily which made Thomas blush "But I also hear there were some adventurous ones as well. Like how you were trying to help the children."
"Of course I wanted to help them, I hate seeing other people sad."
"That's so cute and considerate of you."
"I mean come on, you are kind and considerate as well, Emily."
"Well, I do sometimes I wish I had some of the things you had, like exciting deliveries."
"You got there though, and hey, maybe you will get even more exciting jobs, like maybe a second jet engine delivery, and you get to move around the island at supersonic speeds!"
"Oh I mean, let's not get that overly excited, cheeky Thomas."
"Come on, you won't know it unless you try."
"I'll consider it."
"Emily... thank you for being there for me, when I needed you the most."
"And thank you as well Thomas, for being there for me when I was being manipulated."
"I don't want to be separated from you ever."
"Neither do I." Thomas and Emily then puffed together across Sodor, it was their happiest moment ever and they didn't want it to end.
The end
AN: Updates on Timothy's backstory, its halfway there, just that its really long and needs lots of details, so I hope everyone understands. Please, drop a review you want to and have a great day. Credit also to Tankengine389 for helping out with some details, show him support as well.
