A/N: Hey guys! Hope you all are enjoying my series. This is slightly based upon an season 8 episode. Hope you all figure which one is it and enjoy!
There are many engines on Sodor. Some engines run on the Culdee Fell Railway, some run on the Skarloey Railway, and the North Western Railway is seen to have the most engines from all the Sudrian railways. But other engines on Sodor are privately owned for enthusiasts to admire and enjoy such as Emily and Whiff, who were sold to highly successful landlords and are showcased across the island or even on the mainland.
But there are privately owned engines who still do work, engines such as Molly the Strong Engine. Molly was owned by Sodor Royal Forces, otherwise known as the S.R.F. and had been doing work there ever since the second world war. She was the only female engine to go to France during the first world war and the only female engine to work for a military. This confused some people and engines, wondering on how they would let Molly work for them. But the generals who ran the Sudrian military had been told by her predecessor that she was a hard worker and wouldn't make a mistake. He was correct, since Molly had only one incident whilst working for the military with cows derailing her coal trucks when she was taking them to the base.
But she still had her haters and Emily would have been on the top of everyone who despised the strong engine. Female engines were considered during Emily's time to be weaker and more dramatic with doing the dirty work and all the things the railways had put in Emily were firmly wedged in. So, when Molly came to Sodor to work that seemed to be the most obscure thing for a female engine to do, Emily took a disliking to her as she first heard her name. Molly followed on suit and now whenever you see them, they would be arguing, or the atmosphere would become tense or awkward for any other engine or human.
Both hated each other with a fierce passion, and the other engines knew that it wasn't going to change anytime soon.
One day, Molly was taking a train of fuel tankers back to the base at the outskirts of Vicarstown. She had not been out for a while and was enjoying herself immensely. But she then had to stop at a signal at Killdane and who else was there, was Nelson the Electric Engine, talking to Emily the Emerald Engine.
Emily sniffed at Molly as the strong engine came to a stop outside the station. Nelson immediately didn't want to be there. "Oh, so I see the military decided to take you out of your little pen," sneered Emily.
Molly scoffed. "Says you," she retorted, "I haven't seen you go out of Vicarstown since the 1950s. Did you have to get Derek to shunt you here, if not, I'm guessing you'd be out of service for the next decade with how delicate you are!"
Emily wheeshed steam angrily. "Delicate?!" she said, "I'm-"
"Be quiet the pair of you," cut in Nelson, "passengers don't like it when engines argue. Emily your line is clear, now be off with you!"
Emily scowled, her guard blew the whistle and the emerald engine pulled out of the station with a huff. "Delicate indeed, delicate indeed," she mumbled as she puffed past Molly with her tourist train.
"How are you even friends with that spoiled stereotype," Molly asked crossly.
Nelson smirked. "She ain't that bad once you get to know her."
"Trust me," said Molly, "I've got to know her, and she doesn't know what a truck looks like from the way she acts."
Nelson laughed heartily. "Can't help you with that Molly," he replied "I'll see you next time!"
"Yeah," said Molly, "see you next time."
Molly was cross as she took her train to the fort. She was cross for the rest of the day she was still cross the next morning whilst at Vicarstown talking to James.
"Emily thinks she no female engine can do dirty work," she said angrily, "there's been many goods engines that are female and yet she picks on me!"
"She had a problem with Ava too y'know," sympathised James, "she only gets along with the stereotypical people, don't bother with her Molly, she's difficult but it's been going on for decades, besides the incident with her and the cow is sure to shut her up."
Molly chuckled, remembering the time when Emily thought she and another visiting engine could shoo away a cow, only for her to be scared by it instead. Just then, Emily bustled in with a smug look on her face.
"Keep that dirty object away from me dear James," she said accusingly at Molly who only snorted. "I need to look my best when entering the works."
"Don't call her a dirty object," snapped James, "if anything you're the dirty object."
"I swear you call Toby one though."
"That happened years ago," the red engine replied, "y'know Toby and I are good friends now."
"That's nice to know," said Emily, "anyways, I'm going to pull a train of enthusiasts tomorrow-"
"That's all you do now whilst dozing in the sun," muttered Molly under her breath.
Emily just ignored the strong engine's comment. "They are very important," she continued, "so I'm having a repaint today so to look my finest."
"Splendid," said James, "good luck then."
"I will be, I'll look like a pearl," Emily gleamed, then she glanced over at Molly, "then again, that would be an understatement next to her."
Molly wheeshed steam. "Then why don't you go to works already then," she retorted, "they might have to sew up your mouth to make you a so-called 'pearl'."
Emily huffed indignantly. "My mouth doesn't need to be sewed up! Unlike you, I always look beautiful, never dirty, never grimy." And before the two engines could say anything, Emily puffed out of the yards, with her smug face returning. James and Molly looked at each other. "We need to make a plan," said James finally.
"Why?" asked Molly.
"Y'know why," sniffed James, "she needs to be taught a lesson, it's disgusting the way she treats you!"
Molly snorted, but she couldn't help but blush through her dirty cheeks. "I'm not taking part with your little scheme," she stated.
"Why though?" asked James.
"You can do it, I don't mind you teaching her a lesson," chuckled Molly lightly, "but that stirling single will be in for a surprise tomorrow."
She then puffed off back to the base, leaving a red engine in confusion, but he soon snapped out of it to think on what to do with paying Emily out.
It was morning when Emily came into the yards behind the big station. Pullman coaches were ordered for the guests Emily's owner had arranged and the emerald engine was now dozing with her new paintwork shining in the cool, morning sun. She remained there for quite some time, until it lunchtime when she was being prepared by her crew.
Just then, the yard foreman strode up to them.
"Hello," called Emily's driver, "what's the matter."
"I need you to come to my office driver," said the foreman, "the owner for your engine is on the phone."
The driver left with the foreman, leaving Emily and her fireman confused. He soon came back with news. "James has apparently ran out of steam when coming back here to collect his next train," announced Emily's driver, "Sir Charles Hatt asks the owner if we can use Emily for pulling the train instead."
Emily spluttered indignantly. "Me?!" she exclaimed, "pull trucks?! I won't!"
"You have no other choice," says the driver.
"What about my special train?"
"James will come and take it instead."
"But why is the train so urgent?"
"Because the S.R.F.'s engine is out of service for today and James was supposed to take a shipment of coal to the fort instead of her for today."
"Coal trucks?!"
Emily was so curious that she wouldn't steam properly and after many persuasions by the crew, the workmen and the foreman, the emerald engine finally moved out of the depot. But she did so late that the foreman had ordered Emily not to turn around so to delay the train. This made Emily fume and when she found the grimy trucks, she gave them the biggest bump the trucks had ever felt.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" the screamed in their silly way.
"Don't fuse now, come along," said Emily, "I just had a repaint and I won't have it ruin by dirty little things."
The trucks were insulted. "Dirty little things," cried one.
"We'll show her, we'll show her," said another confidently, they all began to plot their tricks whilst Emily stormed out of the yard tender first with a train of angry trucks rattling behind her.
Whilst Emily was puffing along and reached Thomas' junction, James puffed past her light engine. He found hilarious.
"Make sure to stay clean!" he joked.
This Emily crosser than ever, this made her rough ride and suddenly, the trucks gave her a sharp bump. The bump made coal and soot spill out of the trucks, some landing in front of Emily. Emily was surprised.
"Stop it," she shouted but only the giggling of the trucks replied.
She soon came to Crosby and her driver noticed the signal was red at the station. Emily had to stop, but she braked to hard and the sudden jerk made coal and soot spill out of the trucks once more. This made the trucks laugh even more as Emily's boiler and huge splasher was now cover in coal soot. Passengers looked in wonder as Emily sat on the through line with coal soot laying calmly on top of her. The emerald engine felt very embarrassed and wanted to leave immediately but her driver wouldn't let her with the signal against them.
Bear soon growled into the station and once the signal dropped, Emily started off as quickly as she dared. Throughout her trip along the mainline, the trucks bumped and laughed at Emily. The emerald engine didn't look like she had a new coat at all.
"I feel like I'm owned by British Railways!" she moped, whilst another layer of coal soot fell on top of her as she stopped on a passing loop line so to allow another engine through.
"Don't worry girl," soothed his driver, who was having the time of his life with pulling a goods train, "we over halfway, just one more station we need to past until we're at Vicarstown."
Just then, James the Red Engine rushed by with the pullman coaches full of enthusiasts, he peeped a happy whistle at Emily and was gone.
"Shame, that could've been you," called a truck.
"Don't think so," remarked another, "but we could help her change her paintwork so it would match her face!"
The trucks laughed and laughed. Emily bumped them hard as she left the loop, but coal dust just fell on her footplate.
She eventually arrived at Vicarstown, much to her relief, she didn't want to be seen by anyone with the state she was in. But there was Henry sitting with another goods train, waiting for a clear path back. He was surprised to see the state of Emily.
"You alright?" he asked the coal-covered engine as she moved away from the trucks.
"What does it look like?" snapped Emily angrily as she puffed past the perplexed green engine.
Suddenly, she looked over to some sidings to see James with the pullman coaches in one of them, whilst right next to him, Molly sat there, she looked like she had been recently washed with her blank coat shining in the sun whilst her plain white lettering and numbers sat on her tender clear as daylight once more.
James looked to see a grimy Emily sitting in awe at Molly.
"Hey Molly," he grinned, "who's the dirty and grimy engine over there."
"That's Emily didn't you know?"
"It can't be Emily," continued James pridefully, "Emily always looks beautiful and is never dirty, never grimy!"
Molly laughed when James winked at her, she all but knew it was all her red engine's doing. Emily on the meantime just puffed away in a fit and waited in a siding for someone to give her permission on going back to the sheds at Ballahoo Mansion. She wouldn't be making remark relating to dirt and grim anytime soon.