Chapter 8
The violet smoke filled the chamber, causing both Thomas and Twilight to cough softly as they lay on at their stomachs. They looked up and gasped.
There was Nightmare Moon standing with the six element orbs in the grip of her flowing mane and tail. Lightning cracked out from all around her, startling the two unicorns as they let out another gasp.
Another pony slid in from the shadows behind her. He was a brown alicorn pony with dragon-like wings.
Thomas was surprised. "Diesel 10?"
He glared at the two ponies. First at Twilight, and then at Thomas. "Can't believe I didn't recognize you earlier," he said. "I should've known Fat Hatt would send his treasured tank engine to swipe our Elements of Harmony."
Twilight was strong. Thomas was stern. "His name is Sir Topham Hatt!"
"Whatever. You're coming here is just a minor setback. You know nothing about Equestria, and we diesels are already in charge!"
"AHEM!" a voice cleared its throat.
Diesel 10 felt a little silly. "Next to Nightmare Moon, of course."
"Then why do you even need to set an example?" asked Twilight. "You went through an awful lot of trouble with what happened to Ponyville and whatever happened to the princess!"
Diesel 10 cackled. "Spoiler alert. What we did to Ponyville is all we're going to do. We diesels don't want Equestria. We want the Island of Sodor!"
Thomas gasped. He shook with surprise.
"And with Nightmare Moon's help, even Fat Hatt will be taking orders from me."
Then, an idea hummed inside Thomas' head. "Nightmare Moon and Diesel 10! We challenge you to a Diesel Duel! The winner gets the Elements of Harmony!"
"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" Nightmare remarked to the blue unicorn.
"We're now the most powerful two in the world! We've nothing to prove!" Diesel 10 boasted.
"Then what do you have to lose?" Thomas asked cheekily. "And… you're not scared, are you?"
Diesel 10 snorted. He was cross. "I hate cruel ironies… Fine! Get yourself some cargo."
"Oh, no, you don't." Thomas stamped his hoof, ready to charge. "We do this one the pony way."
"O-Kay…" He thought Thomas was on to something, but he was too cross to think about it. "Charge on three?"
"Works for me," replied Twilight as everyone else in the room readied themselves.
Nightmare Moon placed the Elements down. "One…" she began.
"Two…" Thomas added.
"Three." Twilight and Thomas barreled straight towards the other two. Thomas' horn gradually lit up as they drew themselves closer to making contact. Nightmare Moon and Diesel 10 had also started in their own counter charge towards Twilight and Thomas as she set down the elements. But before anyone could collide with each other, Twilight and Thomas disappeared with a small flash of light. The other two skidded to a stop.
About a second later, the Thomas and Twilight reappeared by the Elements. Thomas quickly shot up his counter-barrier. Twilight aimed her horn at the orbs. "Just one spark. Come on, come on..." Her horn lit up once again.
This time, the five stones began to illuminate, earning a surprised look from Nightmare Moon. This expression quickly turned to anger as she and Diesel 10 charged back.
Right then, the generated force of the elements pushed back hard on the two unicorns, knocking them to the floor at a safe distance.
The Elements of Harmony shook. Sparks flew. "No! No!" Nightmare exclaimed. The unicorns smiled in victory. But just when it looked like Thomas and Twilight had won… it stopped.
"Huh?!" asked Twilight in confusion. "But... where's the last element?!"
The other two began to laugh with full throttle. Nightmare Moon violently stomped her hooves onto the floor. The six elements flew into the air. She and Diesel 10 blasted the six elements to smithereens. Shards flew everywhere.
"You little fools! Thinking you could defeat us? Now, you will never see your Princess – or your sun! The night will last forever!" Nightmare exclaimed, boasting about her supposed victory.
"And you will not!" Diesel 10 laughed. "Now to take care of our the last Diesel Duel! You're going straight to the Smelter's Yard where you belong!"
Thomas and Twilight stood defeated. All seemed hopeless now. But before anything else could happen, something appeared in front of them. Twilight recognized it immediately. "My letter to Sodor? Then that must mean…"
Then, she heard a familiar set of muffled voices coming from a stairway behind her. And Thomas also heard familiar whistling from the same path. The ponies and steamies charged in. Spike, Percy and Hiro lead all their friends. The other four were surprised. Especially Twilight. Then… her lips stretched from cheek to cheek.
"She's smiling? Why is she smiling?" Now, Nightmare Moon and Diesel 10 were scared.
A look of confidence was turned to them as Twilight spoke. "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony... are right here!"
Suddenly, the element shards slowly raised into the air, a light glow coming from each.
"Applejack," Twilight began, "who reassured us when we were in doubt, represents the spirit of… honesty!"
Some of the shares flew around Applejack.
"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of… kindness!"
The crystals came to Fluttershy.
"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of… laughter!"
A few pieces encircled Pinkie Pie.
"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of… generosity!"
More crystals surrounded Rarity.
"Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of… loyalty!"
Even more pieces came over to Rainbow Dash.
"And Thomas the Tank Engine, who stood alone against all odds to finish what he started, represent the spirit of… responsibility!"
The last of the shards hovered around Thomas.
The engines behind them were surprised. "That's Thomas?!"
"The spirits of these six got us through every challenge you two threw at us!" Twilight finished.
"You still don't have the last element! The spark didn't work!" Nightmare reminded her.
"That one didn't. A different kind of spark did." Twilight faced the ponies and steamies. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you... to see you... how much I cared about you." Tears of joy formed in her eyes. "The spark ignited inside me... when I realized that you all... are my friends!"
Suddenly, a bright light appeared over them. The last element had appeared. This one was different from the others. Instead of a round shape on one side, it has a six-pointed star.
This tablet made its descent until it stopped above Twilight. "You see," she explained, "when those elements are ignited by the… the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the seventh and final element. The Element of Friendship!" The light from the floating element flared out to encompass the other six elements.
They combined on the other ponies into necklaces. As for Twilight, her element transformed into a gold crown that planted itself onto her head. It was studded with small blue jewels and a large, pink, six-pointed star. The six mares then began to rise into the air in a circular formation, as a double whirlwind of color former from them and shot downward to Nightmare Moon.
"NOOOOO! NOOOOO!" shescreamed, as the rainbow cyclone consumed her.
Diesel 10 was also being pulled in. He grabbed some of the ruins near him and held on as best as he could. "Puffball!" He shouted out of fear. "TEAPOT!" The ruins game out, and Diesel 10 flew into the tornado. "TIN KETTLLLLLLLLLE!"
Twilight and her friends continued to float serenely in the gleaming light, while the elements gained more power. Twilight's eyes glowed white as the rainbow cyclone that enveloped Nightmare Moon and Diesel 10 produced one last flare of light. That light filled the entire room, before slowly fading away.
The group of ponies fell to the floor afterwards, exhausted from their journey. But it was all worth it; they had defeated Nightmare Moon... they had prevented an everlasting night... they had saved Equestria, Sodor and the world.
The steamies were surprised. So we're the diesels when they saw what had happened. "Trembling Tenders! That was incredible!" puffed Henry.
"My head..." Rainbow groaned as she and the other ponies started coming to their senses.
"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked as she got up on her four hooves.
"Why, Thomas, it's so amazing." Fluttershy commented.
Thomas was puzzled. "What do you mean?" He then noticed he was larger than the ponies now. He looked over at the remains of a window. What he saw made him feel happier than ever before.
He had completely changed again. His four legs with hooves were now six small wheels. His short, pointy horn was now a short, stumpy funnel. His smooth, furry back was now a short, stumpy boiler and dome to match. And a large cab was where his brown shaggy tail once swayed.
Thomas whistled loud and long. "I'm me again! Hurray!" And he was.
"No, your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark… or what was your cutie mark." Fluttershy explained.
Thomas looked up at his funnel. There was a necklace on it with a yellow gem. It was shaped like his number one. Then he noticed something. "So does yours!"
The other ponies looked at their gems. Rarity's element was shaped like a diamond. Fluttershy's looked like a butterfly. Applejack's looked like an apple. Rainbow Dash's looked like a lightning bolt. Pinkie Pie's looked like an balloon. Only Twilight Sparkle's element remained the same, but it still matched her cutie mark.
"Gee, Twilight. I thought you were just spouting a lot of hooey. But I reckon we really do represent the Elements of Harmony," Applejack commented.
"Indeed you do," a voice bellowed.
Everyone looked over at the window. The sun had risen once again. And an even brighter light shone. When it settled, the engines gasped. Thomas and all his friends were face to face with the most beautiful pony they had ever seen.
It had white fur and a unicorn's horn, like Rarity. But it also had Pegasus wings and a rainbow-colored mane and tail, like Rainbow Dash. It was taller than the other ponies, but smaller than the steamies. And its cutie mark looked like a picture of the sun.
Twilight gasped happily. She knew who it was. "Princess Celestia!" she exclaimed and rushed over to her.
"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student," she replied as they nuzzled heads next to the others. Then, she said something that puzzled her pupil. "I knew you could do it."
"But… you said it was just an old pony tale," Twilight protested.
"All I said was that you needed to make some friends," the princess replied. "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."
"See? Told ya," Spike jumped in.
Twilight felt silly, but at the same time, she felt very proud.
Celestia looked over at the blue tank engine. "And thank you, Thomas," she told him. "Not just for helping my pupil to learn the magic of friendship. But for going above and beyond and saving everyone from eternal night. You truly are the most really useful engine of all."
The other engines hooted and tooted in agreement. Thomas was the most really useful engine of all.
"Now, if only another would learn as well…" she looked over to the other end of the room. There lay a small alicorn pony. It looked like Nightmare Moon, but its fur was a dark blue, with a light blue mane and tail. Celestia knew who it was. "Princess Luna…"
The pony woke with a shock at the sound of her name. She looked a worried at the pony coming toward her.
"It has been far too long since I have seen you like this," she sat down on her stomach before her. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."
"Sister?" Twilight and Rainbow asked, a little surprised.
"Please… will you forgive me for sending you away?" Celestia asked.
The old castle was silent. No engine puffed; no pony moved. They waited, and watched Princess Luna. Then, the younger sister, who was once Nightmare Moon, started to cry. "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" Luna wailed as she wrapped her sister in a hug.
Celestia sniffled. "I've missed you, too."
"Aww…" another voice cooed cheerfully. Everyone looked the engines gasped. There, at the corridor, was… Sir Topham Hatt.
Thomas was worried. "Sir, I can explain!"
But Sir Topham Hatt beamed. "Don't worry. I was with Princess Celestia, and I saw everything. I am very proud of you, Thomas."
Thomas smiled from buffer to buffer, and that made everyone else smile at him.
Then, Sir Topham Hatt looked over past the crowd. There, on his side, laid a de-railed Diesel 10. He was just waking up to see everyone staring angrily at him. "You will never rule Sodor," said Celestia. "All power you once had is now gone. Today, you've shown the world who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart."
Diesel 10 whimpered. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't think there was another way."
"The magic of friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria. It's everywhere. You can seek it out... or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours."
"But... But all I've ever done is drive steamies and diesels apart. I don't know anything about friendship."
Celestia used her magic, and Diesel 10 was carefully placed on the track. "I bet they can teach you."
Thomas and the ponies looked kindly at Diesel 10. And Diesel 10… smiled.
The steamies and diesels worked well with the ponies. It was tough, rough work, but each day, they all huffed and puffed their hardest.
Hiro, Edward and Emily, cleared the rubbish and the broken wood out of Ponyville by the truckload. Applejack, Toby and the Logging Locos collected new wood from the Everfree Forest. Gordon and Rainbow Dash raced along the rails, pushing and pulling. Henry and Fluttershy sang as they worked in the town square. James and Rarity helped with the decorations, as did Percy and Pinkie Pie.
The diesels pushed and pulled as best as they could. They rattled and rolled so fast and so far, they all felt quite dizzy. But what they saw really surprised them. Thomas and Twilight Sparkle were working with Diesel 10. Diesel 10 was clearing the wreckage from the library. Thomas and Twilight were waiting with the freight cars. Diesel 10 carefully patted Twilight with his claw.
"I never thought I'd see the day," Den breathed.
"Maybe Diesel 10 has changed." added Dart.
And he was right. Diesel 10 still felt terrible about what had happened, and he was trying to make it all better. He was trying to make himself better.
At last, the new Ponyville was finished. It was grand. The buildings glistened in the sunshine. The engines puffed and purred with pride. The ponies cheered for a job well done.
Then, Sir Topham Hatt arrived. He smiled from ear to ear. "The new Ponyville is a very special place! Not just because it is new… not just because it is grand… but because it shows what can happen when we put aside our differences and work together!" The engines and ponies agreed, and everyone was happy. "Now, everyone get a well-deserved rest. Tomorrow is a special day."
The next morning was the dawn of the Summer Sun Festival. Guests came from all over Equestria… and Sodor as well. Everyone waited by the stage for the princess to raise the sun.
Diesel 10 slowly pulled up between the steamies and diesels. "Hello, everybody. Did I miss anything?"
"Nope," replied Percy with a grin. "You're just in time."
He was right. Trumpets blared loudly as Sir Topham Hatt introduced Celestia and two sisters stepped up side by side. "Fillies and gentlecolts, engines and coaches, I'd like to welcome you all to this year's Summer Sun Festival!" Celestia said, and the crowd cheered. "It is no longer with a heavy heart but with great joy that I raise the sun today, for this celebration is to commemorate not the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but the return of somepony I thought I had lost forever... Citizens of Equestria and Sodor, may I present for the first time in a thousand years... my sister, Princess Luna!"
Luna stepped up. She was scared. She thought everyone would be afraid of her... but they weren't. "WELCOME HOME, PRINCESS LUNA!" they were happy to say. Two young pegasus ponies even gave her a necklace of roses. And that made her happy.
She and Celestia stepped up to one another. Their horns touched as they started using their magic together. The Summer Sun slowly crept over the horizon, and everyone was delighted.
Everyone except for Twilight. She was upset. Celestia saw this and came over to her. "Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot after today?"
"That's just it." She looked over at Spike and the other ponies she was with. "Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends… I have to leave them."
The princess smiled. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. "Bertram, take a note, please."
"Certainly, old friend." Sir Topham Hatt started writing in his notebook.
"I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville."
Twilight smiled the biggest smile she had smiled in a long time. Her friends surrounded her in a group hug. "Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before!" Twilight exclaimed happily.
"Wait a minute!" Spike jumped in. "What about Thomas? Will we ever see him again?" The other ponies were surprised. They had never thought about that.
"Why do you think I'm here?" asked Sir Topham Hatt. "Celestia and I were discussing the plans for a new railway network. Soon, the Sodor railway shall come to Equestria, starting with Thomas' branch-line extension to Ponyville." Thomas and his pony friends were delighted. They could see each other more and more.
Princess Luna didn't think that was enough for him. Then, she had an idea. She whispered into the ear of her sister, who agreed. Then, she turned to... "Thomas the Tank Engine, approach."
Thomas slowly approached the two alicorn ponies.
With her magic, Luna lifted a large sword. "In gratitude for saving me from… well, myself, and for saving everyone from eternal night, I hereby knight thee 'Sir Thomas of Sodor.'" Luna touched Thomas on each of his front buffers. The blue engine somehow felt tingly as she did so. "In addition to your new title, I grant you this special enchantment. Whenever you wish, just say the phrase, 'Friendship is Magic,' and you can transform from engine form to pony form and back again."
Thomas… or rather, 'Sir Thomas,' beamed from buffer to buffer. "Thank you, sir! Thank you, your Highnesses!"
"No, thank you, Thomas," replied Celestia. "Because of you, today is a special day, made possible by special friends and special engines. Welcome to our new friends, Steamies and Diesels alike! And thank you all for your help!"
Everyone cheered, honked and whistled in happiness. Even Diesel 10 smiled.
Celestia then snuck over to a certain party pony. "Pinkie Pie, that's your cue."
The pink pony grinned excitedly. She ran off to large speakers and turned on the music player. "Let's get this party started!" Music played. Ponies danced. Engines puffed and purred. And the party began.
Everyone: "Together, together, together everyone!
Together, together, come on, let's have some fun!
Together, were there for each other every time!
Together, together, come on, let's do this right!"
Thomas: "Here and now, it's time for celebration.
I've lately figured out,
That with our friends, we have no limitations.
That's what it's all about!"
Twilight Sparkle: "Everyone is special in their own way,
We make each other strong.
WE're not the same, we're different in a good way.
Together's where we belong!"
Everyone: "We're all in this together!
Once we know that we are,
We're all stars, and we see that!
We're all in this together!
And it shows when we stand, hand in hand,
Make our dreams come true!
"Together, together, together everyone!
Together, together, come on' let's have some fun!
Together, together, together all the time!
Together, were there for each other!"
Big Mac and Ferdinand: "THAT'S RIGHT!"
Celestia: "We're all here, and speaking out with one voice.
We're going to rock the house!"
Luna: "The party's on. Now everypony, make some noise!
Come on, scream and shout!"
Sir Topham Hatt: "We've arrived, because we stuck together.
A really useful crew!"
Everyone: We're all in this together!
Once we know that we are,
We're all stars, and we see that!
We're all in this together!
And it shows when we stand, hand in hand,
Make our dreams come!
"We're all in this together!
When we reach, we can fly; know inside,
We can make it!
We're all in this together!
Once we see there's a chance that we have,
And we take it!
"WonderBolts sing along! Yeah, you really got it going on!
WonderBolts in the house! Everypony, say it now!
WonderBolts everywhere! Wave your hooves up in the air!
That's the way we do it; let's get to it!
Time to show the world!"
And no one, be it engine or pony, was happier than Thomas and Twilight Sparkle. They became firm friends ever since.
Rainbow Dash: "ONE MORE TIME!"
Everyone: We're all in this together!
Once we know that we are,
We're all stars, and we see that!
We're all in this together!
And it shows when we stand, hand in hand,
Make our dreams come!
"We're all in this together!
When we reach, we can fly; know inside,
We can make it!
We're all in this together!
Once we see there's a chance that we have,
And we take it!
WonderBolts everywhere!
Wave your hooves up in the air!
That's the way we do it; let's get to it!
Come on, everyone!"
A few months later, in Canterlot, a group of children ponies followed their teacher. "I want to start our field trip here, in the famous Canterlot Sculpture Garden." As they continued through the garden, the teacher pointed to many statues.
She showed them a statue of three ponies. "That one there represents 'friendship.'" Then to another of one pony, who was proudly holding a flag. "This one represents 'victory.'"
One of the young Pegasus ponies sighed in awe at the victory statue. "Wouldn't it be cool to have that as a cutie mark?"
"It would…" another Earth pony replied. "…if you were actually victoryful at something."
"That's not a real word!" a unicorn pony argued.
"What are you? A dictionary?" snapped the first one.
The teacher stopped the arguing. But she knew they would start back up again. Then, an idea tugged on her tail. She pointed to another statue. This one was much different from the others. It had the head of a pony, the body of a dragon, and arms and legs from other animals. "This is what's known as a 'drakonequus,'" she explained. "What do you think this statue represents?"
The three ponies each had an answer. "Confusion!" "Evil!" "Chaos!" Then they started arguing again. They each thought they were right.
The teacher giggled. "Actually, in a way, you're all right," she told them, which confused them. "This statue represents 'discord:' a lack of harmony between ponies. In fact, you three have demonstrated discord so well, you're each going to write an essay explaining it."
The rest of the class laughed, and started to go. As they continued through the garden, they didn't notice the discord statue started to crack. A sinister laugh emitted from the stone. Something was inside the statue…
The End…?