Chapter Four: Emily Gets it Right

Emily was a good engine at heart, she was. But despite this, she often had a lack of self-confidence. Ever since her failure to take the express in Gordon's place leading to Helen's arrival… She was very quiet and barely spoke to the other engines.

"Hey Emily!" said Helen cheerfully, "How are you doing today?"

"Oh, I'm okay…" replied Emily.

"Okay? That's it? Are you sure there isn't anything more?"

"Just okay…" scowled Emily, "That's all you need to know…"

"Oh… I see…"

Every day, Emily brings in a stopping train to the junction at 11, where she would usually connect with Thomas. He was a few minutes late, but Emily didn't care. He panted wearily in.

"Sorry I'm late, I got held up by Percy!"

"Don't worry about it…" replied Emily mournfully, "It doesn't matter…"

"What's wrong?..." asked Thomas, now concerned. "That's not the tone of voice I like to hear…"

Now, because they engage in a lot of conversations at the junction and knew each other even before Emily was bought by the Fat Controller, Emily had a close connection with Thomas, but that's another story. So when she noticed Thomas raising an eyebrow suspiciously, she finally spoke up.

"I feel like all the other mainline engines are better than me at everything… Especially Helen."

"Nonsense. She can't be better than you at everything!"

"But she is!" cried Emily, "When I tried pulling the express, I ran out of water, but when she did it, she pulled it like a breeze. What kind of a mainline engine am I if I can't pull the express or haul heavy goods trains like Henry and Bear can?"

"That doesn't mean you have no place on the railway." comforted Thomas, "Look at me, I'm only a tank engine yet I'm in charge of the most important part of the railway; My branchline!"

"But I'm not in charge of a branchline…" (Emily's guards whistle blows) "I'm basically a weaker, slower version of Helen…"

Emily puffed away, still mourning.

"Oh dear…" said Thomas, thoughtfully.

While Emily trusted Thomas a lot, she didn't speak to the other engines that much. They tried to get her to say more but she just wouldn't spill the tea…

"If only I hadn't pressured her into taking the express for Gordon… Maybe she wouldn't feel this way right now…" said Henry, feeling guilty.

"Don't kick yourself over it, Henry…" said Bear sympathetically, "You were just trying to make her happy. I think something will come around for her soon, don't you worry."

Henry wasn't so sure when that moment would come, but he hoped it would be soon… One day, Emily was bringing a slow goods train to the other end of the line. At one stop she made to drop off a few trucks, she noticed Donald and Douglas waiting on a siding with a mixed train.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"Och, awright Emily!" said Douglas, "Wur oan a photie excursion. It wasn't scheduled 'til earlier this mornin', whin we wur requested by a private group o' trainspotters. Whit fin, eh?"

"Oh, that must be nice… I'd love to do a photo excursion myself." she said.

"Pure?" said Donald, "We cuid aye swap places wi' ye!"

"No no, it's fine… I've got my own work to cover." said Emily, sadly.

"Oh… Weel okay then, ah actually think we'll be collecting a few o` yer trucks fur oor excursion. Wur nae scheduled tae lea fur annur hauf oor or sae." said Donald.

"I see… Well, I'd better get going. Nice to chat with you two" said Emily, and puffed away.

"Cheerio the nou, Emily!..." called Douglas.

Emily reached the end of the line, where she saw Helen getting ready to depart the other way with the express. Helen was excited to see her.

"Hello, Emily! You're just in time to see me off!"

"Oh, that's nice, Helen…" sighed Emily. "I bet the express is going well for you".

"It certainly is!" (Helen's guards whistle blows) "Ah, that's my guard's whistle, well, see you later!" (Helen blows her whistle and departs)

Emily sulked again in sadness watching Helen depart… But then her mood quickly changed, when she realized, as soon as the last coach left the platform, that Helen was travelling on the same line that Donald and Douglas would be on! She quickly alerted her driver.

"Driver, uncouple me quick, we gotta catch up with Helen!"

"Why?! What's wrong?" asked her driver.

"No time to explain, just do it fast!"

Emily's driver did, and she quickly ran around her train and started racing in reverse to warn Helen! Emily's driver watched from behind her to find the train.

"There she is!" he called.

Helen wasn't travelling too fast, so it was easy for Emily to get closer to her. She blew her whistle to let Helen know she was there. Helen was surprised!

"Emily?! What are you-"

"Helen, stop the train, quick!" called Emily, "Donald and Douglas are coming the other way on your track!"

"Donald and-"

Helen's thoughts were quickly interrupted by the whistles of the Caledonian Twins in the distance. She looked ahead to see that they were indeed on her track!

"Oooeeerrrr!" exclaimed Helen.

She braked hard, and so did Donald and Douglas, whistling frantically. They were just in time… Emily surveyed the near miss.

"Are you three alright?..." she asked

"Yes, yes I'm alright…" said Helen panting, "But what are you two doing on my line?"

"Didn't ye ken?" asked Donald, perplexed. "We hud a photie excursion scheduled at th' lest minute. "

Helen was confused, "This is the first time I had heard of any photo excursion…"

"Same here." said her driver, "Why weren't we told?"

"We're… Wur sae sorry, we thought ye hud bin informed o' this." said Douglas, surprised.

"It's not your fault you two…" said Helen, "Let me just get on the other line, and I'll be on my way... "

"I'll telephone the signalman to let him know the change in plan," said Helen's driver.

Things were quickly arranged. Helen reversed onto the nearest junction so she could switch onto the other line, and Donald and Douglas continued their photo excursion to the end of the line. Later though, the Fat Controller praised Emily for her heroic actions.

"Well done Emily! If it hadn't been for your quick thinking, Helen and the twins would have ended up in a nasty collision. I'm proud of you."

"Oh, thank you sir! You don't know how much that means to me right now." said Emily, feeling honored.

"I have also been informed of your change in mood recently…" said The Fat Controller, "Listen Emily, I just want to assure you that none of my engines are better or worse than any other. Always remember that you all serve your own purposes and that you're all very useful assets to my railway."

Emily felt much better with this assurance. When the Fat Controller left, Helen then spoke up to her.

"I heard from Thomas earlier today what you told me, Emily, and I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for making you feel down, even if it was unintentional. I'm just here to do my job, and my job is to cover for Gordon while he's at the works. I really really want to be friends with you though, could we?"

"Yes Helen… I'd love to know more about you."

"And I'd like to get to know you more too. Can we chat for a while?"

"Of course… I'd be delighted to."

They soon told each other tons of stories about their lives. Emily told Helen all about her life on the Great Northern Railway, how she ended up on Sodor, her time as a museum piece, the time she accidentally took Annie and Clarabel from Thomas, and many other mild adventures. Emily got to know a lot about Helen too. She told him how she was named after a real princess in Britain, several adventures she had on the Great Western, and how it came as a complete surprise when she met Bear, with the intent to save her. By the end of the night, Emily and Helen had gone from minor acquaintances to old friends. Gordon also returned from the works sooner than expected.

"Good morning Helen, happy to see me again?" he asked cheerfully.

"Very… How are you feeling?" asked Helen.

"Much better, especially now that I got to see you again. I can't apologize enough for how I treated you before my accident."

"No harm done, Gordon… Would you like to take over the express today?"

"… You know what? No, you go right ahead. The express is as much yours as it is mine. Besides, I could use a rest. After all, I just got back from the works."

Helen happily agreed. Helen is now friends with everybody on the Fat Controller's railway, but Gordon and Emily are two of her best friends of all. And what about Crovan? James was the last engine to trust him, but after being rescued by Crovan during a deep freeze, now he too is welcomed by everyone. He too is now one of the family, you'll often see him by the works, helping shunt equipment around and going around to rescue broken down engines. It goes to show, there's always good eggs in the places you least expect, aren't there?

The end