215 years, 8 months, 3 days later...

Spring 2022

A bird sat on a tree branch and began to preen itself. A rumbling noise interrupted its peace, causing it to almost fall out of its tree.

Said noise came from a BR Class E2 tank engine with extended side tanks. The azure engine, a large yellow 1 painted on his tanks, chugged down the track in a hurry, a look of determination on his face. This engine was Thomas, and while he wasn't Sodor's biggest engine, nor its fastest, strongest, or oldest, he was wheels down the most famous engine on the island. And right now, he was running out of time.

The reason why popped up soon after. A few feet ahead of him was a cherry red US Class SR tank engine. An American model (unlike the very British Thomas), this female engine was also chugging along at a high speed. Named Rosie, she was one of the newer engines on Sodor's railway; and although Thomas hadn't liked her much at first, he'd eventually warmed up to her, and he had missed her greatly during her overhaul.

Eventually, Rosie braked, screeching to a stop. "I win," she said smugly.

"Aw, no fair! You had more coal in your bunker," Thomas complained, yet he was still smiling nonetheless.

"Hey, you won our last race to the docks, it's only fair that I won one. Now let's get to work."

"Couldn't agree more, Rose."

Rosie blushed a little at Thomas' nickname for her. She eventually put those thoughts out of her mind and rolled into the docks.

"Ahoy, mateys!" Salty called. "Who won ye race this time?"

"I did," Rosie beamed.

"Well, it's not exactly the safest place to race out here," Porter said. "I don't want either of you getting hurt. Especially you, Thomas - you've got a train to take to the Steamworks."

"So why's Rosie here?" Cranky grunted from above.

"Sir Topham Hatt has officially made me the welcoming committee," Rosie explained. "He wants me to greet any new engine who comes to the island, and give them their jobs."

"Why you?"

"One, he's too busy now to do it himself. Two, I've apparently got a much better memory than I'd realized."

"She's right," Thomas said. "She remembers every little change to her build she's had since arriving here."

Porter chuckled. Then his expression changed. "Wait. There are new engines coming?"

"They're not new, per se," Rosie replied. "But Murdoch's coming back from The Golden Railway, along with his apprentices."

"Aye," Salty said, smiling. "It'll be good to see Murdoch again."

Porter shunted a train full of crates up to Thomas' behind. As Thomas was being coupled up, a boat arrived and joined up to a set of tracks. The doors opened, and an amber BR 9F tender engine puffed out of the boat, followed by a dark green Class 17 diesel and a bright orange Manning Wardle L Class tank engine. Murdoch, along with his apprentices Derek and Billy, had returned. Derek was pulling an unusually large red boxcar behind him.

"Hey Murdoch!" Rosie chirped. "Welcome back! How was The Golden?"

"Thanks, Rosie," Murdoch replied, "and it's a lot worse than it's made out to be."

"Worse?" Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow. "But it's the most famous railway in the world! Besides this one, of course."

"They never let you sleep there," Murdoch said grimly. "You have two sets of drivers - one for the day, one for the night. And the noise! It was terrible."

"What's the big deal about noise?" Porter asked innocently.

"Murdoch has very sensitive hearing," Thomas explained. "It's very easy to overwhelm him with loud sounds."

"Ah."

"It's not all bad, though," Derek said, being more optimistic than Murdoch. "I got a complete overhaul of my engine and my cooling system. Now I can go up hills just as well as anyone else."

"I admit, we have to give them credit for that," Murdoch smiled.

Thomas noticed Billy was with them. "Hey Billy, do you still think I'm a bossy engine?" he asked cheekily.

"Ha ha," Billy deadpanned. "But no, I don't. The Golden taught me how to be patient. Can't say the same for the humans, though."

Thomas grinned. "It's good to have you back, Billy."

"It's good to be back," Billy smiled, sighing happily. "I can finally prove to everyone that I'm no longer that silly little engine I once was."

"Has anyone told you how much you look like Charlie?" Porter asked.

"Who?"

"This guy who looks just like you, only purple."

"Oh, that Charlie. Unfortunately, I do. He's my brother. The bright colors are so our owner could tell us apart, in case you were wondering."

"Charlie?" Derek asked. He'd left Sodor long before Charlie had arrived.

"An engine of my class who can never. Take. Anything. Seriously." Billy groaned. "Hopefully, I won't have to work with him."

"Speaking of which," Rosie said, "here are your jobs." She cleared her nonexistent throat. "Murdoch, you are resuming the jobs you had before leaving. Derek, you're going to the quarry at Ffarquhar. And Billy, you have a very special job. You're the new parts fetcher for the Dieselworks. Essentially, when a new shipment of parts for diesels comes, you're going to fetch it."

"Can't the diesels do it themselves?" Cranky asked.

"Not anymore," Thomas replied. "There's so much work now that Den and Dart can't leave the Dieselworks to get the parts. This is a big responsibility, Billy. Can you do it?"

"Yes. I can," Billy said confidently.

"Good to hear," Thomas said. He whistled goodbye and headed off to the Steamworks. Rosie left too, because she was done welcoming the engines.

"Say, what be in your van, Derek?" Salty asked.

"My old engine," Derek said, hesitating a little. "I thought Den and Dart might like to have it, y'know, like a hunting trophy or something."

Salty laughed. "They would like a rare treasure such as your engine." His driver whispered something to him. "Excuse me, lad, but I seem to be low on fuel, so I'd better go fill up."

"I'll help you there in case you need a push," Porter said. "So long, chaps. Take care." And he and Salty left.

"Finally, some peace," Cranky muttered, before closing his eyes and taking a much-needed nap.

"Are we clear?" Billy asked, whispering.

Using his super-sensitive hearing, Murdoch listened for any activity before saying, "Not a soul is around."

Billy quietly snuck onto the boat and came back pulling a smaller red boxcar - the one which actually contained Derek's old engine. "How you doing in there, Lady?" he said quietly to Derek's boxcar.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," came a feminine, American-accented voice from inside the car. "You guys didn't have to do this."

"Oh no, we did," Derek said. "You're our friend and you don't deserve to be kept from your job by a horde of loony fans."

"I guess you're right," Lady sighed. "I just wanted to be normal, and I end up in this mess."

"And you will be normal once again. Now that Bertram's passed away, you'll be able to take his job in the quarry. Let's go." With that, Derek trundled off, the boxcar in tow.

"And I'm going to the Dieselworks!" Billy exclaimed, quickly puffing forward.

"The Dieselworks is the other way," Murdoch said.

Billy sheepishly chugged backwards.

So Lady has been smuggled onto Sodor. Billy is going to be working at the Dieselworks, the lair of the fearsome Diesel Ten.

What will Diesel Ten's reaction be when he learns he has to work with a steam engine? Will Lady be found out, and is she actually magical or is she just a normal engine? And what is The Golden Railway, anyway?

All this and more in the next chapter - Billy and the Diesels!