Chapter 4

Emily and Toby had arrived at the Misty Island Logging Center. There, they saw the Logging Locos, who Thomas discovered with the Jobi wood. Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand were near the edge of the cliff, looking out into the sea.

The only way to get to them was across the Shake-Shake Bridge. Toby stopped near the edge. He was scared. He didn't have such a fond memory of rickety old bridges. Emily, who was behind him, grew impatient.

Toby backed up onto a siding. "I'm just going to wait here."

"Suit yourself." Emily rattled across the Shake-Shake Bridge and to the Logging Locos. "Excuse me, you three. Have any of you seen Thomas here?" she asked.

The three engines chuffed cheekily. "Are you playing Hide-and-Seek?" replied Bash.

"Because you won't find him here!" added Dash.

"That's right," Ferdinand ended.

"This is no time for playing games!" snapped Emily.

"We're not playing. We're waiting." said Dash.

"Waiting? For what?"

"For Tomorrow's sunrise. That's when we get to watch Equestria."

"Equestria?" asked Toby from the other side of the bridge. "That's a real place?"

"Well, sure it is!" Dash told them.

"We watch it every year around this time!" Bash added.

"They have this amazing party every year!"

"It's been our dream to go see one up close!"

"That's right!"

The other two engines could see that they didn't know where Thomas was, they still offered to help. So the Logging Locos followed Emily to Sodor. The Logging Locos laughed. "Only eight more hours!" they sang.

Late that day, Twilight and Thomas were walking at a much slower pace. They were sure that Rarity was not following them now, so they were relieved.

Spike was still thinking about her. "Isn't she wonderful?" he sighed, dreamily.

"Focus, Romeo," Twilight instructed. "What's next on the list?"

Spike quickly came to his senses, and he checked the parchment. "Music," he said. "It's the last one."

Suddenly, there was the sound of music echoing around the area. The three looked around. They couldn't see where it was coming from.

"It seems to be coming from the bushes." They carefully crept through the bushes. The leaves and branches tickled Twilight's muzzle. They popped their heads through to find a chorus of birds performing before a light yellow Pegasus pony with a tickled pink mane and tail. And the Pegasus pony was singing along with the music.

"There's music in the treetops, and there's music in the vale.
And all around, the music fills the sky.
There's music by the river, and there's music in the grass.
And the music makes your heart soar in reply."

As she continued to sing, the three from in the bushes watched and listened. They were very pleased. "You got to admit she is good," Spike commented.

The Pegasus pony noticed something in the music and stopped them, then she approached one of the birds. "Um, excuse me, sir. I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off." The bird nodded in reply, and she fluttered back to where she was. "Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three—!"

Just then, Twilight sneezed loudly. It startled the Pegasus pony and scared the birds away. "Oh, my. I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to frighten your birds. We're just here to check up on the music, and it's sounding beautiful."

But the Pegasus pony didn't say anything. She didn't look at either Thomas or Twilight. She looked rather scared.

They both smiled nervously. They never knew for someone to be so bashful. But the blue one still tried to be very friendly. "I'm Thomas, and this is Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?" She did answer them, but she spoke so softly, they didn't hear. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" Once again, she was so quiet, it wasn't heard.

One by one, frightened birds slowly returned to the tree. "Well," Twilight began, "um, it looks like your birds are back. So I guess everything's in order." Twilight said as she prepared to leave. Fluttershy could only manage a tiny squeal. "Carry on..." Twilight finished, and she pulled Thomas back using her magic. "Well, that was easy. Next stop: Ponyville library." Twilight said to him and Spike as he came out to them.

Then, the silent pony saw Spike and gasped. "A baby dragon!" She zipped over to him, knocking Twilight and Thomas out of the way. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before! He's so cute!" the Pegasus pony cooed.

"Well, well, well!" Spike replied as he looked back at Twilight.

"Oh, my. You can talk? I didn't know dragons could talk." The winged one eyes were wide with wonder. "That's just so incredibly wonderful, I... I just don't even know what to say!"

"Well, in that case, we better be going." Twilight grabbed Spike with her magic and placed him on her back. Then she started to walk away and Thomas followed.

"Wait! Wait! What's your name?" the Pegasus pony asked.

"I'm Spike," the dragon replied.

"Hi, Spike. I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?"

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Absolutely everything."

And once again, Twilight was very annoyed.

"Well, I started out as a cute little purple and green egg..." Spike started.

It was getting rather late on the Island of Sodor. The steam engines had searched all over looking for Thomas. But they still couldn't find him.

Hiro and Percy slowed to a halt. The Dieselworks were right in front of them. Percy's firebox fizzed. 'Thomas says no steam engine should come here,' he thought to himself, 'but he might be in trouble here.' So, wheel-turn by wheel-turn. Percy and Hiro puffed into the Diesel-Works.

"Trembling tenders," breathed Hiro. "I've never seen a place like this before."

The Dieselworks was old and odd. It was dirty and dark. Percy wheeshed with worry. But Hiro's boiler bubbled bravely.

Then, they heard a voice. "Hello? Is anybody here?" Paxton rolled over. He looked like he was trying to find something. And he did. He found Percy and Hiro. "Oh! Hello there. How can I help you?"

Hiro puffed his biggest puff. "We're looking for our friend, Thomas the Tank Engine. Is he here?"

Paxton looked thoughtful. "I haven't seen him here. Come to think of it, you're the only two engines I've seen all day."

"What do you mean?" asked Percy curiously.

"When I woke up this morning, there was just me, Mavis, and Salty here. And they had to left for work. Den and Dart the Dieselwork Diesels are also gone. I think something bad has happened to them."

The green engine whimpered. "My best friend is gone…" Suddenly, something flew out of his funnel. It was a rolled up piece of paper. The parchment bounced off his boiler and onto the track, rolling out in front of Paxton. "Is that… a letter? Where did that come from?"

"There's only one way to find out. Let's see…" Then Paxton read the paper out loud.

When he finished, their eyes were already wide with surprise. "How did Thomas get to Equestria?" Percy asked in astonishment.

"What is he doing there?" added Hiro.

"What is going on?" fumed Paxton.

"Come, Percy," Hiro said. "We're taking the first ship to Equestria!"

Percy wanted to see his best friend Thomas again, so he quickly puffed back to Brendam Docks. "We're coming, Thomas! My best, best friend!"

The sun was just setting in Equestria. Thomas and Twilight were just arriving at the library. Spike and Fluttershy were still talking, which annoyed Twilight. But Thomas found it rather entertaining.

"…and that's the story of my whole entire life," the dragon concluded. "Well, up until today, that is…"

Twilight quickly turned around at the door of the library. "I'm sorry," she said. "How did we get here so fast? This is where I'll be staying while I'm in town, and it's far past Spike's bedtime."

"No, it's not!" Spike told her.

Quickly thinking, Twilight bucked her back legs up, and Spike was launched into the air, falling onto the doormat. "Aw, wook at that," she said in a baby-like tone. "He's so sweepy he can't keep his wittle bawance."

Before Spike could complain, Fluttershy picked him up. "You poor thing… we simply must get you to bed." She fluttered into the library.

Twilight ran in after her and pushed her out. "Yes. I'll get right on that. Goodnight." She slammed the door.

Fluttershy was upset. She thought she did something wrong.

Thomas stepped up next to her. "Don't feel bad, Fluttershy. Asking questions is always a good way to make some friends."

This made her feel a little better. "Thank you, Mr. Thomas."

"Please, just call me Thomas. Good night, Fluttershy. I hope to see you again tomorrow," he replied as he approached the way into the library. He then smiled back at the Pegasus pony who started to fly away, and he gently closed the door.

Inside the library, both the boys glared at Twilight Sparkle. They were cross. "You didn't have to be so rude," they both said at the same time.

"Sorry, guys," she replied, "but I have to get back to my research, and I'm running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now where's the light?"

"Here it is." Thomas threw the switch, revealing a crowd of seemingly unfamiliar ponies surrounding them, with noisemakers in some of their mouths.

"SURPRISE!" They all shouted.

Twilight was surprised. And very cross. "Seriously, Thomas?!"

"It wasn't me."

They soon found out who though. "Surprise!" An all-pink pony with a messy mane and tail appeared in front of Thomas. "Hi. I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Yes, I was. I didn't expect to-!" Then the blue pony realized something. "Wait a second… I remember you. You ran away like I was going to hurt you."

"Well, yes and no," she said with a giggle. Then she started to explain. "You see, I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before, that means you're new. 'Cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony, in Ponyville."

The two and Twilight made their way to a table with refreshments. Twilight, trying to block out Pinkie's constant talking, grabbed a red bottle with her teeth and poured it into a waiting glass.

"And if you're new, it meant you hadn't met anyone yet. And if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends. And if you don't have any friends, then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad. But then, I had an idea, and that's why I ran away."

Twilight proceeded to place a straw into her drink. As she started to take a sip of the drink, Pinkie still kept talking to Thomas.

"I set up this great big, ginormous, super-duper spectacular welcome party and invited everyone in Ponyville! See? So now you have lots and lots of new friends!"

Thomas was impressed by her reason and her great effort. "Wow! Thank you!"

Twilight, however, looked rather strange. Her cheeks were puffed out, and her eyes were watering. She quickly ran off.

All the others were confused. Except for an oblivious Pinkie Pie. "Aw, she's so happy that she's crying."

Twilight ran into the kitchen and started drinking a large carton of milk. The other ponies couldn't explain why… until Spike picked up the bottle Twilight poured into her cup. "Hot sauce?"

Much, much, much later, Twilight was in bed. She pressed a pillow against her ears to try and block out the pounding music from outside her door. But it still came through. She couldn't sleep at all. The pony girl shrugged loudly. "Here I thought I'd have time to learn more about the Elements of Harmony. But, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!" She exclaimed in frustration.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. Thomas slowly came in and looked up at her. "There you are. No one has seen you since we got here. Are you alright?"

"No!" she replied. "Everypony in this town is CRAZY! Do you know what time it is?!"

"It's the eve of the Summer Sun Festival." Thomas came up and sat by the bed. "We all have to stay awake if we want to watch the princess raise the sun."

"Good. Then I'll be able to go home to Canterlot."

"And I'll be able to get back home to Sodor tomorrow. That's... actually why I wanted to find you. I wanted to say goodbye… and to thank you."

"Thank me?" The puzzled purple pony pondered. "Thank me for what?"

"You helped me find a way home. You gave me a chance to make some new friends, even if I may never see them again. You let me stay here when I had nowhere else to go." Thomas looked up at the sky through the window. "I probably wouldn't have done anything here if… not for… Why are those stars moving?" he asked nervously.

Twilight looked out where he was looking. There stood the moon with a shadow of a unicorn's head. Surrounding the moon were four large stars that slowly drifted towards it. Twilight was worried. "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year... the stars will aid in her escape... and she will bring about everlasting night." Twilight spoke softly while holding a book up; the same one she looked at earlier back home.

Thomas was also scared. He heard that same story that same morning. 'Bust my buffers,' he thought. 'It's just like Salty said.'

Twilight's moaned in fear. "I hope Celestia was right. I hope it really is just an old pony's tale."

Then they heard Spike calling for both of them. "It's time to watch the sunrise," he exclaimed.

Twilight and Thomas reluctantly exited the library to join the others in watching the sunrise. But they were both rather scared. Twilight Sparkle especially. She wanted to learn more about the Elements of Harmony. She wanted to prepare to face Nightmare Moon if she needed to. She didn't know what the others would do if they found out. Even though the Princess had seemed confident in her letter that nothing bad was going to take place, the bad feeling still lingered in their mind.

Just before the cold light of dawn, everyone in Ponyville gathered around a large stage in the town square. Some of the pegasi in the crowd used their wings, and flew into the air to get a bird's eye view of the stage. Everyone else stood around and conversed amongst themselves.

Pinkie Pie popped up. "Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? 'Cause I'm excited. I've never been so excited, well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I had my idea. But I mean, really, who can top that?"

Thomas turned to a bid red pony beside him. "Does she always talk this much?"

"Eeyup," he replied.

Then, the opening act began. The crowd started to cheered. Then, the mayor of Ponyville approached the stage and spoke into the microphone. "Hello, world! Coming to you live from Ponyville in Equestria, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the one thousandth Summer Sun Festival!" she began. "In just a few minute, we will witness the Princess wield her magic to create the sunrise, and we will celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And this year, we're reaching out to everyone to celebrate with us! Using special technology from two amazing stepbrothers, we're broadcasting this festival to media around the planet!"

As the crowd cheered louder, Twilight and Thomas looked up. They could see the stars were almost touching the moon. When they did, a bright flash pulsed from the moon, and the shadow was gone. This worried them greatly.

"And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land," the mayor continued. "the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day… the good, the wise… the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, and the world… Princess Celestia!"

The crowds cheered loudly. Rarity pulled a large rope. The curtain behind the band flew open to reveal… that no one was there.

"This… can't be good," Twilight whispered to herself.

The band stopped with surprise. The crowd began to murmur. They were all very confused, and rather worried. "Remain calm, everyone. There must be a reasonable explanation," the mayor advised, now with a worried expression on her face.

"Ooh! Ooh! I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" Pinkie exclaimed, oblivious to everyone's concern.

"I don't think this is a game," Thomas told her. He turned back to the stage, and what he saw nearly made his eyes pop out. "CINDERS AND ASHES!"

A violet vapor grew from the stage. A shadow formed from within. When the vapor cleared, an all-black alicorn stood. It wore dark blue armor, and its mane and tail were a violet translucent.

Twilight knew who it was. "Oh no… Nightmare Moon," she whispered.

"Oh, my beloved subjects," she began with a dark smile, "it's been so long since I've seen your precious sun-loving faces."

The crowd of ponies could only tremble with absolute fear. They could not believe that what was said to be an old pony tale was actually happening in front of them, there and then.

"What did you do with our Princess?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

Nobody answered. For the most part they didn't know, and they were scared.

"Does my crown no longer count, now that I have been exiled for a thousand years? Do you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

"I have!" a voice boomed from behind the crowd. It was a voice that made Thomas' back grow cold.

"Who said that?" the one on stage exclaimed. "Reveal yourself!"

A large shape slid from the shadows. The ponies were scared. They didn't know what it was. But Thomas did. "Diesel 10," he muttered quietly.

Very slowly, the large diesel slid along the track. The Ponyvillagers stepped away out of cowardice. He looked right at Thomas and passed right by him. He didn't know that Thomas the Pony was Thomas the Tank Engine. Then, Diesel 10 looked up at the all-black pony and smiled his biggest smile. "There you are! Diesel said you might come by this year. What an honor! It's been a very long time… Nightmare Moon," he said, which made the ponies gasp in horror.

"Well, well, well. Someone who remembers me…" Nightmare Moon smiled.

Behind him, a number of shapes emerged. There were more diesels that came to Equestria. "Diesel's been telling me all about you," Diesel 10 continued. "You're a very… special pony, Nightmare Moon."

"Is that so? Then you must know why I'm here."

"Oh, of course I do. But... it wouldn't be fun for you if I gave it away instead, now would it?"

Nightmare Moon cackled. "Remember this day, citizens of the world, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Nightmare exclaimed as she began to laugh maniacally. And the Diesels honked in pleasure.

Twilight and Thomas were horrified. The Mare in the Moon had come. The Night of the Living Diesels (tiddy-boom!) had come. And now, the day... would not.

We'll be right back after this short break…