Chapter 1

Summer had come to the Island of Sodor. The skies were blue and cloudless. The children were let out of school. And the days were quiet and lazy.

One morning, as Thomas was puffing down his branch-line with Annie and Clarabel, he was very cheerful. So much so, in fact, that he was even singing.

"Life as a steam engine shimmers,
Life as a steam engine shines.
And I know for absolute certain
That everything is certainly fine!

"James and Henry, en route with those freight trains,
Gordon thunders by with the Express.
Our Sodor summer, so gentle and still,
Could things ever go wrong? I don't think that they will!

"Life as a steam engine shimmers,
Life as a steam engine shines.
And I know for absolute certain
That everything is certainly—!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" shouted a voice as a shape raced by and nearly knocked him off the track.

"Fizzling fireboxes!" the blue engine exclaimed. "What was that?!"

"Don't ask me," Annie replied. "I didn't see it properly."

"Nor did I," added Clarabel.

Later, the tank engine puffed over to Knapford Station. All his friends were there. All he could hear was talk of the strange object.

"He was big," said James.

"He was brown," added Edward.

"He called me a silly steamie," shivered Henry.

Thomas' eyes popped open. "Oh, no," he moaned. "That must mean it's a diesel."

"Not just any diesel!" Suddenly, they all saw a brown blur coming straight toward them. It screeched to a halt, and its self was revealed. It was a large brown engine with a big mechanical claw on its top. Behind them, a number of diesel engines slowed to a stop.

All the other engines gasped. Gordon, the biggest and bravest of them all, shook so much, his coal nearly jumped out of his tender. "Diesel 10's back!"

"Hello, steamies!" the engine before them began. "Guess what! I'm here for the summer!"

"Why?" asked Emily.

"I have a very important job to do," he began. "Diesel told me someone very special was coming. I've got my gang preparing for our guest's arrival even as we speak. No time to chat, so stay out of our way!" And Diesel 10 and his minions slithered quickly away.

The steam engines groaned. Having Diesel 10 on Sodor for one day was bad enough. But to have him stay for the whole summer… a nightmare.

That afternoon, Percy was chuffing up Gordon's Hill with the mail trucks. Den, the Diesel-work diesel, hummed up next to him. "Puff harder if you want to make it to the top by Christmas!" And he roared away.

This made Percy cross. "Bossy sprockets!" he yelled.

Next, Norman caught up with Gordon and the Express. "Get outta my way, Slow-Coach!" He blared his horn and angered the passengers.

Gordon moaned. "The indignity…"

By tea time, Emily was backing up to her coaches, ready for some passengers. Suddenly, Daisy the diesel railcar pushed her away. "Hey! Those are mine!" she shouted.

The railcar looked at the coaches and then at Emily. "They don't want an ugly engine like you. They want me: highly sprung and ready up to date." And she slithered away with the coaches.

Emily was shocked. She had never been so insulted before.

Later, Toby chugged cheerfully to a junction, 'Arry and Bert, the twins, stopped beside him. "Look, Bert! A log cabin on wheels!"

"Wow! You don't see very many of those anymore."

The two blasted smoke into Toby's face and ran off as the signal turned green. The tram engine was upset. He missed his green light.

Edward was pulling James and a freight car to the Steam-works for repair. Devious Diesel slowed beside them. "Let's see… Two old steam engines to pull one empty freight car. One revolutionary diesel to pull five full ones. No contest!" He quickly rattled away.

James was so cross, he couldn't puff at all.

Finally, at sunset, a small green diesel puffed up to Henry. "Hello there. I'm Paxton, and this is my first day on Sodor."

Henry had never seen him before. The diesel seemed friendly. "I'm Henry. Pleased to meet you."

Before he could say anything more, Diesel 10 came up beside him. "Paxton!" he snapped. "Are you making friends with a steamy? Do you want to go to the hoist again?"

"I-I wasn't being friends with him," the now scared diesel said and looked at Henry. "Out of my way… silly steamy?" Diesel 10 shrugged and left. "Sorry, Henry. Nice to meet you." And Paxton hurried after his leader.

Henry felt sorry for Paxton. He was also cross at Diesel 10.

That night, the steam engines could only talk about diesels.

"Daisy called me ugly!" Emily shouted.

"The diesels have taken over my Express line," fumed Gordon.

"They'll never have a shiny coat like me," hissed James proudly.

"They never have manners when Diesel 10's around," Henry added.

"We should speak to Sir Topham Hatt about this," said Edward, and all the other engines agreed.

All except for Thomas. "We can't. Sir Topham Hatt left Sodor a few days ago."

"Where did he go?" asked Toby. "And when will he be back?"

"He didn't say. Just that Hiro was in charge while he was gone."

Percy whimpered. "We're on our own…"

The next day, Thomas was at the Shunting Yards, collecting Heavy Hector. He was loaded with coal for the coal depot. Diesel 10 was there. He was being coupled up to five flatbeds of machinery. He looked over at Thomas' load and laughed. "Good thing you're not working for our special guest. Preparations would never be complete."

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked, upset.

"Isn't it obvious?" Diesel 10 replied. "You're not large, or strong, or fast. You're just a pile of useless scrap!"

The small blue engine felt hurt. And the others were cross. This time, Diesel 10 had gone too far.

"BE QUIET!" Hector bellowed.

"Thomas is not scrap!" snapped Emily.

"He's a really useful engine!" James added. "And he can pull just as heavy loads as you!"

"That's right! Even heavier!" chuffed Gordon.

"And he's very fast for a tank engine!" shouted Henry.

The steam engines didn't scare Diesel 10. An idea snuck into his exhaust stack. "Very well, Puffball. I challenge you to a Diesel Duel!"

The engines gasped. Their wheels wobbled with worry, and their axels ached in alarm.

Percy looked puzzled. "What's a Diesel Duel?"

Den and Dart came over to explain. "A Diesel Duel is a contest of strength and speed," said Den.

"What he means is," Dart cut in, "it's a contest between two diesels, or in this case, one diesel and one steamy."

"You heard me right, and the stakes are high, teapot. When I win…" the king of the diesels grinned gruesomely. "…you'll be scrapped and sent to the Smelter's Yard!"

"And if Thomas wins?" asked Edward.

"Diesels never lose a Diesel Duel. That's why it's called a Diesel Duel."

"Hypothetically speaking…"

"Okay. Hypothetically, if he wins, I'll…" Diesel 10 fell silent. He didn't know what to do if he lost.

Hector spoke up. "If he wins, you'll stand out in front of everyone and say that diesels are not better than steamies, and you have to call Thomas the most really useful engine of all!"

"Fine, fine…" Diesel 10 turned back to Thomas. "Doesn't matter anyway. I never lost a Diesel Duel."

Though he didn't show it, Thomas felt even more scared than ever before. "I don't have to prove anything. Besides, don't you have a very special guest to prepare for?"

He was just about to slip away, when Devious Diesel stopped him. "Ah-ah-ah… The Diesel Duel has already been called. If you back out, you forfeit."

"He's right. And… you're not scared, are you?" asked Diesel 10.

The other engines saw that their friend was worried. Hiro puffed his biggest puff. "You're the number one engine on Sodor. And you taught us that there's always hope, even if it's not easy to see. Please, Thomas. Do it for all of us."

Thomas looked at Hiro and all his friends. They believed in him, and that made him feel brave and stern. "Brendam Dock at dawn?"

"You're on!"

There was great excitement in the nearby land of Equestria. The one thousandth Summer Sun was getting closer. It was to commemorate the day of the longest continuous sunlight. There was a lot to do in so little time, and everyone was excited.

Everyone except a young unicorn girl who was reading a book. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she loved to read and to learn. This story, however, was somehow different. She looked at a picture of seven gems around a pedestal. "Hmmm… the Elements of Harmony… I know I've heard of those before, but where?" As soon as she put her book back in her saddlebag, she quickly got up and left for the library.

As she crossed a nearby bridge, the pony girl ran into three others like her. "There you are, Twilight," one of them said in a friendly tone. "Moon Dancer's having a little get-together tonight at the castle courtyard. Do you want to come?"

"Oh, sorry, girls. I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." And Twilight galloped away.

This made the others cross. "Does she do anything besides study?"

"I think she's more interested in books than friends," another added.

But Twilight didn't listen. 'I know I've heard of the Elements,' she thought to herself. She ran as fast as she could, passing every pony she ran into without saying hello. Soon, she arrived at the library.

Her dragon companion, Spike, was there. He was just about to leave when Twilight burst through the door, knocking him off his feet.

"Spike! Spike! Spike?" Then Twilight saw him. "There you are, Spike. Quick, I need to see that book of predictions and prophecies."

Spike followed her toward the bookshelves. He was slightly annoyed.

Then, Twilight noticed something. "What's that on your tail?"

Spike saw the box on his tail and pulled it off. "Well, it was a present for the party tonight…" he groaned.

"Oh, Spike, you know we don't have time for that."

"But we're on summer break." But Twilight didn't listen. Instead, she started pulling books off of shelves with her magic, hoping to find it. But none of them were the right one. Spike climbed a ladder and started looking through the top shelf. "Here it is!"

He tossed it over to Twilight, who caught it using her magic. Then she started flipping through the pages until she found it. "Here it is. 'Elements of Harmony: see… "Mare in the Moon"'?" Both Twilight and Spike were confused. They thought that was just a myth. But the girl just did as the book directed. She flipped through the pages to the sight in question.

"'Mare in the Moon:" Twilight began, "myth from olden pony times. Legend tells of a powerful alicorn who wanted to rule the world through shadows. Ultimately, she was defeated by the Elements of Harmony and banished to the moon. But legend foretells that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she shall bring about nighttime eternal!'"

Twilight gasped. She was quick to make a connection with the two stories. "Spike, take a note, please. To the princess."

"Okie-dokie." The dragon pulled out a quill and paper, and he started to write as Twilight spoke.

"My dearest teacher,

"My continuous studies of pony magic have leaded me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster. For you see—!"

"Wait a second," interrupted Spike. "How do you spell 'precipice'?"

After quickly spelling it out, Twilight continued. "For you see, the mythical 'Mare in the Moon' is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she is about to return and bring eternal night. Something must be done to ensure this does not occur. I await your immediate response.

"Your faith student,

"Twilight Sparkle"

After Spike finished the letter, his pony friend instructed him to send it to the princess. But Spike was worried. "I don't know… Princess Celestia's pretty busy preparing for the Summer Sun Festival. And that's the day after tomorrow."

"That's just it," Twilight replied. "The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Festival. It's important that she is told right away."

"If you say so." Then Spike breathed on the note, and it disappeared into a cloud of ash, which flew out an open window. "There. It's on its way. But I wouldn't get your hopes up."

But Twilight was not worried. In all the years she's been the Princess' personal student, the princess has never doubted her. Seconds later, a note appeared through Spike. "Ha. I knew she'd want to take immediate action!"

Spike picked up the note and started to read aloud. "My dearest, most faithful student,

You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely," he began, which made Twilight feel proud. "But there is more to a young unicorn's life than studying about magic."

Twilight was shocked. She almost forgot why she felt so proud.

"That is why tomorrow, I'm sending you to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Festival in this year's location, Ponyville. In addition, I have a simpler, yet more essential task for you to complete: make some friends! I wish you good luck on your mission.

"Your mentor,

"Princess Celestia

"P.S. Spike, you must go with her to ensure she completes her task to make friends."

Twilight was upset. She thought the princess lost confidence in her. She thought Celestia thought she was wrong. But she knew what the princess said must be done. So she began to pack for her journey.