Smudger and Stanley were taken to Sodor Steelworks to be repaired and repainted, even having new wheels reattached, much to their pleasure.
It took a very long time for them to be repaired and repainted, but it was enough for them to be ready to return to work.
When the day came, as they were painted in their original paintwork and with their respective numbers, Thomas arrived with two flatbeds, one for Smudger and one for Stanley.
Stanley was excited about returning to work after being stuck in the sheds for a long time, while Smudger was anxious about making mistakes.
The last thing he wanted was to return to being a generator or, worse, be stuck in a shed forever!
…But what if Duke was there?
He also wants to avoid getting his bunker chewed out by Duke if he comes across him.
Now Smudger started to think about his decision to be taken to the Blue Mountain Quarry, but not wanting his thoughts to get the better of him, he distracted himself by looking at the scenery.
Since so many years have passed, many things have changed since Smudger and Stanley, where there were new stations and engines.
Jeez, they both need to catch up on a lot of things.
"Hey, Smudger!" Smudger snapped out of his thoughts and glanced from the corner of his eyes to 'look' at Stanley behind him, responding, "What?"
"Do you think Falcon, Stuart, or Duke are at the Blue Mountain Quarry?" Stanley asked. "I wonder how they are doing."
Smudger went silent at that question, unsure if he wanted to see if Falcon, Stuart, or even Duke were there.
Stanley noticed Smudger's silence and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm unsure if I wanted to see them," Smudger responded. "I mean, I caused a lot of problems back then. What would happen if they saw us? The last thing is that either of us would get our bunkers chewed out by Dukie!"
Smudger pursed his lips with silent irritation at his way of nicknaming someone, needing to break out of his habit.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Smudge," Stanley assured with a slight chuckle. "Just try to act naturally. Maybe working hard and doing nothing rash would change Duke's mind."
"Okay." Smudger nodded. "Just act naturally, work hard, and do nothing rash. I think I can do that."
They soon arrived at the Blue Mountain Quarry, and there was a lot of noise happening everywhere, but there were some familiar and new faces.
'Act naturally, act naturally, act naturally,' Smudger thought as Stanley was the first to be lifted from the flatbed.
He was looking around at the Blue Mountain Quarry, seeing that it all seemed so huge compared to his small size and new to him.
But it was like mine was back at his old line, which he wanted to ignore and focus on what he was doing.
A man was speaking as the engines arrived to see the two newcomers, and Smudger was doing his best to 'act natural.'
"Engines," he said as he mentioned them to Stanley and Smudger after placing them on the rails. "This is Smudger and Stanley. They will work here at the Skarloey Railway and the Blue Mountain Quarry."
'There's more than one railway?' Smudger thought, keeping his nervousness at a low level.
But it rose a little after seeing Duke staring at him with confusion before the expression of 'Oh, I remember you' appeared with disappointment.
Smudger instantly wanted to back away after seeing Duke, as he did not want to get himself chewed out.
But remembering what Stanley said, Smudger kept himself there as Stanley said, "Hello, everyone!"
The engines looked confused, while others, especially Duke, looked surprised to see him.
From how Duke stared at him with his old, cold eyes, Smudger instantly felt like daggers were piercing his firebox.
Stanley was assigned to work at the Skarloey Railway, while Smudger was assigned to work at the Blue Mountain Quarry, helping to deliver rocks from the workers and then over to Owen, the Incline Engine.
Thankfully, Luke was there to teach Smudger what to do around the Blue Mountain Quarry, but that was nothing compared to how much his anxiety rose.
There were workers everywhere, and mines were open for them to take rocks out and place them into trucks.
It was all too familiar to the mine where he used to work, and he never wanted to experience that same thing.
He worked extra hard to keep himself from derailing or causing trucks to crash into mines.
But as he was being careful, Smudger kept accidentally going onto the wrong rails, bumping into others, and even going into the wrong caves.
Poor Smudger was embarrassed whenever it happened and apologized, trying to correct himself, but kept making himself look like an idiot.
"Ah, sorry 'bout that!" Smudger would apologize whenever an accident happened. "New 'round here!"
Thankfully, everyone was patient with him and just laughed about it, continuing with their work and helping Smudger with his work.
After working in the Blue Mountain Quarry, the manager sent him to Skarloey's Railway to help pull passenger coaches, which Smudger instantly worried about.
Instead of telling the manager he could not and fretting that he would be thrown into the sheds, Smudger bit his tongue and responded that he got it and was taken to Skarloey's Railway.
When he was taken to Skarloey's Railway, he was surprised at how different everything looked from the Blue Mountain Quarry but instead decided to roll with it since Stanley was there.
On the other wheel, Duncan was a little agitated about another engine coming over to help them with the passengers.
"Great, thon's whit we needit," Duncan would grumble as Smudger pushed coaches to couple with Duncan. "More show-offs tae show hou much better they can dae their jobs."
Smudger was irritated about the Scottish engine complaining about him and Stanley, but he bit his lip to keep himself from lashing at him and continued his work.
"Oh, get a grip on it!" Stanley instead spoke from behind another coach as Smudger flinched. "We're just helpin', alright? But, geez, wake up on the right side of the shed, will ya?"
"Pah!" Duncan hissed as he whooshed steam before puffing off.
After Duncan went off to collect passengers, Smudger approached Stanley as he entered the shunting area.
"What are you doin', you crazy American?!" Smudger hissed.
"What?" Stanley huffed. "He was snarkin' 'bout us!"
"I know that." Smudger sighed. "But are you tryin' to get us into trouble? What would happen if we got ourselves tossed back into the sheds?!"
"Relax your pistons, Smudge," Stanley assured. "We're not going to be tossed in the sheds again. So just roll with this like water gettin' off a duck's back."
Smudger was slightly offended that Stanley was just 'rolling with it' and told Smudger to calm down, but he was right.
Smudger went silent and went with his work, sorting through trucks with Stanley and shunting them around.
As lunchtime rolled around, Smudger and Stanley's drivers and firemen went to get their lunches when a familiar blue-haired figure with a cat in her hoodie and a strange puppet-like doll approached them.
"Ah, Stephie!" Smudger grinned but instantly winced and pursed his lips. "D'oh! Darn that stupid habit of mine!"
"What habit, Smudgie?" Stephanie joked back.
Smudger's cheeks flared slightly after Stephanie joked, while Stanley chuckled, remarking, "Heh, she's really cheeky."
"Yeah, somethin' I didn't expect that," Smudger nodded as he sighed. "I really need to cut back on that nicknamin' thing."
"It's fine, Smudger," Stephanie assured him as she reached over and gently rubbed his nose bridge, catching him by surprise. "Old habits die hard."
Smudger crossed his eyes to look at her hand as she gently rubbed his nose bridge before realizing what she was doing and blushing, stammering as she pulled her hand away from his face, "Ah, s-sorry! I kept forgetting you're not like Notches."
Said Notches meowed from her hoodie as she glanced at him, blushing further as her ears twitched sheepishly.
"No, it's fine," Smudger assured her as he watched her pointed ears twitch. "It's just strange that a human can touch my face."
"Really?" Stephanie perked.
"Yes," Stanley nodded. "Not many people just walk up to an engine and randomly touch their faces. Doesn't usually happen with us either when we were workin' back at Mid-Sodor Railway."
"That sucks," Stephanie gently huffed. "But, are you okay with that?"
"Eh?" Smudger paused as he thought back to Stephanie's hand gently rubbing against his nose bridge. "First time havin' that, I would say it was weird, but it felt good."
Stephanie's face turned to confusion, and she asked, "What's good about it then?"
"You have soft hands," Smudger remarked with a chuckle. "Is it normal for humans to have soft hands?"
"What?" Stanley smiled. "Let me have some of that."
Stephanie curiously did the same to Stanley, feeling Stephanie's hand gently rub against his nose bridge, being careful with her fingernails and avoiding poking his eyes.
But w~o~w, Smudger was right, as Stanley smiled a little while having his eyes closed.
Stephanie had soft hands like he was being pampered with soft sponges.
"Wow," Stephanie chuckled after looking at Stanley's face. "You like it?"
"Shh," Stanley gently whispered to Stephanie. "I'm trying to get in the moment."
"Well," Smudger chuckled. "Let me add to this too!"
Stephanie soon reached over to Smudger and did the same, a little confused but amused at how her hands seemed to get their interest, even from how one curious conversation went into another after some thoughts.
"Well," Notches spoke as Stephanie looked over at him. "How are you going to move?"
Stephanie chuckled sheepishly after Notches asked and returned to what she was doing, being careful with them as she carefully rubbed their faces.
The trucks watched curiously, seeing how they enjoyed the young child touching their faces with her hands.
From what they experienced, they had naughty children climbing on them like jungle gyms and putting their dirty hands against the wood after touching whatever was sticky.
But seeing this one touch an engine's face with their hands made them curious.
It lasted a few minutes before they told her to move her hands as Smudger and Staney's driver and fireman stepped out from having lunch, seeing Stephanie rubbing her hands gently across their faces.
Stephanie noticed the men and stopped what she was doing as she removed her hands from their faces.
She politely excused herself when they returned to work, stepping away to allow the adults to return to work.
Smudger was pushing a couple of trucks, and one of them asked, "Hey, what was that back there?"
"Back where?" Smudger was confused when the truck asked him.
"That human," another spoke up. "Why did you allow her to touch your face?"
"Well," Smudger paused, unsure how he would put it. "She just reached over to my face when I felt embarrassed and started caressing it. I once felt her head against my forehead with a rub, but that was it."
He cocked an eyebrow as he put the trucks into a site for later, uncoupling as he asked, "And why are you suddenly interested in it?"
"Well, I saw you getting your face touched by that human," the truck responded.
"Most of us did," a truck corrected. "What got you interested in having your face touched?"
Smudger went silent after the truck asked, still unsure how he could put it, and the truck noticed his expression, making a little movement with his body as he was 'shrugging.'
"Eh, it's weird, anyway," the truck 'shrugged.' "But you are surely new around here. Did you come from a garden with that green paintwork?"
The trucks started giggling after the truck asked about his paintwork, and Smudger huffed with a little groan.
"Troublesome Trucks," he groaned as he looked at the camera.
As the day went by, Smudger and Stanley had no problem making mistakes as they continued their work, shunting trucks and getting from one place to another.
Smudger was taking some trucks with him as he passed by a bakery with Sir Handel pulling coaches when the door opened, and angry yelling was coming from inside.
He glanced over from the corner of his eyes out of curiosity, seeing two men arguing as one was pushing a tray of something burnt.
It looked like someone had burned a lot of pies, and the baker with the chef's hat looked angry at the other, who was not wearing one and pushing the cart.
Smudger perked up when he heard a light gag noise and glanced over, seeing Sir Handel lightly gagging.
"Are you alright?" Smudger asked as Sir Handel stopped dropping passengers, and Stephanie sat on a bench.
"I'm fine," Sir Handel tried to assure him as he gulped thickly as he watched the cart pass the sidewalk across the rails to the other side. "It's just the smell of something burning."
"But you're a steamie," Smudger pointed out. "Steamies don't have a gag reflex."
"Ironic, isn't it?" Sir Handel groaned as he winced in disgust after smelling it. "Can't you two push that a little quicker?"
The two men were still arguing and not listening to Sir Handel as he groaned, muttering as he looked at the burnt pies, "Not this again."
Down the line, Stanley was taking some Troublesome Trucks behind him, and they were the mischievous bunch they are, chanting, "On! On! On! Faster! Faster!"
"Hey, quit pushin' me like that!" Stanley huffed, not seeing what was happening in front of him.
Smudger heard Stanley's whistle and glanced over, surprised at seeing Stanley being pushed by the Troublesome Trucks and heading towards the two arguing men!
"Stanley!" Smudger called as he whistled. "Watch out!"
Stanley glanced back in front and shrieked in startlement after seeing what he was heading towards, whistling while hitting the brakes.
Luckily, his whistle seemed to spook the two arguing people, and they glanced over, seeing him coming, and scrambled.
But then there was trouble!
Stanley instead hit the wheel tray carrying all the burnt pies, and pies went all over the place!
It was all splattered over Stanley's red paint and Sir Handel's body, splattering juices, fruit chunks, and burnt crust all over their faces and paintwork, with tins bent or on the ground.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
Stephanie witnessed the whole thing and protected Notches and Lucy from the incoming burnt pie splatter while the passengers scrambled backward, and the ones in the coaches stayed inside.
She peeked after everything stopped, and her clothes were covered with pie filling splatter and burnt pie crust that stained all over.
"Oh, yuck!" Stephanie groaned as Notches gagged from the smell coming from them.
Stephanie looked at the damage, seeing Sir Handel, Smudger, and Stanley covered with pies and tins.
Stanley groaned with disgust as he coughed out some pie in his funnel before licking some of the cherry juice on his face and saying, "Oh, cherry pie!" Then he winced and added, "A little burnt, though."
The two men pulling the tray and arguing with each other winced after seeing the mess as the other scoffed and exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air, "That's it! I quit!"
But Smudger was worried as he glanced around anxiously, muttering, "Oh, boy. We're in trouble now."
The loudest gag sound caught Smudger's attention, and he glanced over to see Sir Handel with the sickest expression, his face green and gagging.
"Oh, blimey," his driver groaned, also covered in pie filling. "Don't tell me you will do what I think you'll do."
Sir Handel gagged again but glanced at his driver and sickly responded, "Get a bucket."
Sir Topham Hatt arrived at the scene after receiving news of what happened, seeing all the mess as he was driving in Winston, but had trouble as he skidded across the rails as they were covered with pie filling.
Luckily, he braked hard enough to stop but wobbled a little as he came to a stop.
"What just happened?" Sir Topham Hatt asked as he stood up from his seat.
"Ah, sir," Smudger spoke worriedly, glancing over at Stanley, who was the most covered in pie filling. "I-I-"
"Sir," Stanley spoke. "I accidentally crashed into a tray of pies. I was distracted trying to handle the Troublesome Trucks, but I didn't notice the tray coming and crashed into it."
He winced a little as Sir Handel gagged, glancing over at him as his driver held a bucket close to his face.
"And made him sick," Stanley added.
Stanley looked over at Smudger worriedly and was about to add anything when Sir Topham Hatt said, turning to the two men pulling the pies and putting his hands on his hips sternly, "Well, I suppose you had something to say about this?"
"Hey!" the first man exclaimed and pointed at the second. "It was his fault!"
"What?!" the second man exclaimed. "It was you! You were the one who left the pies to burn!"
"Yeah," the first man huffed. "You were the one pushing the tray!"
Sir Topham Hatt groaned as he pinched his nose bridge, already tired of having to solve the argument between the two whenever this happened.
But before he could say something, Stephanie said, walking over as Sir Topham Hatt winced after seeing her covered with burnt pie filling and crust, "Excuse me? Isn't it both your dumbasses' fault?"
Everyone instantly looked over at her after Stephanie asked as she continued, pointing at the two, and they instantly went silent as she showed a streak of anger towards them, saying, "We don't care whose fault is leaving the pies to burn or who was pushing the cart! No one is coming to save you. This life of yours is a hundred percent your responsibility."
Ouch, right where it stings, and even showing anger as Sir Topham Hatt went silent, watching her rip a new one towards the two bakers.
He had seen Stephanie visibly irritated from here and there but never this angry.
"Now," Stephanie placed one hand on her hip while the other held an irritated Notches and Lucy. "I know I'm getting myself into trouble for getting into an adult conversation, but it is both your faults! If you two weren't standing around here arguing about whose fault it is like two stupid Italians with little to no points, Stanley would've continued with his work," Stephanie mentioned over at Stanley, who looked surprised. "And Sir Handel over here would not get sick with all this crap on him!"
Sir Handel nodded with a groan as his driver held the bucket near his face, and in the background, Mario and Luigi glanced at each other with blushing cheeks.
"Get your asses into gear and clean up this mess until everything is as it used to be! No arguments and no snapping!" Stephanie angrily huffed at the two. "Got it?!"
"Y-Yes," they both nodded, a little taken aback by her mild language and glancing at each other.
"Good," Stephanie nodded with a huff before glancing at Sir Handel, and her expression turned from anger to worry. "Ooh, that looks really bad. Let's get you over to Victor."
She put her fingers to her lips and whistled, calling one of the engines as James puffed up, and she asked, "Can you fetch Rocky to help hoist Sir Handel, Smudger, and Stanley over to the Steamworks, please?"
"Su-Sure," James nodded, whistling as he went to fetch Rocky.
As he was getting Rocky, Sir Topham Hatt went to talk to Stephanie while the two bakers were doing what she told them.
Well, what Sir Topham Hatt was about to tell them would end up getting into an argument with them and getting himself into a loop of whose is whose responsibility.
It always happens whenever he comes across those two brothers.
Stephanie noticed and straightened herself, blushing while her ears drooped with shame, saying, "Sir, with much respect, I didn't mean to curse that much. I was irritated about Notches and Lucy getting covered, but I instead got my clothes covered and-"
"Slow down, Stephanie." Sir Topham Hatt chuckled as Stephanie stopped. "I understand you were angry that someone was being careless and getting yourself covered with pies, but I didn't expect you to be this angry."
"Yeah, beware of the nice ones," Stephanie blushed. "But wouldn't you get angry because someone left a tray of burned food out and someone crashed into it, almost getting your loved ones covered and trying to put the blame on someone else?"
"Yes," Sir Topham Hatt sighed, remembering times he was covered in jelly, once from Percy and another from Stephen, covered in cream from Hiro, and so many others he lost count. "You're right about that."
Stephanie chuckled as she wiped some semi-dried brunt pie from her hand and slowly asked, "Are you a little mad at me?"
"Not particularly," Sir Topham Hatt responded. "Suprised, yes. But mad at you? I would never be mad at you for getting angry. You have a reason to be upset, and I can understand that."
Stephanie smiled softly after Sir Topham Hatt told her before adding, "Although, we might need to get you changed into new clothes."
"Good idea." Stephanie nodded, groaning with disgust as she looked at her clothes. "Pie on blue clothing is not good fashion."
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled a little after Stephanie joked as James arrived with the flatbeds, wincing with slight disgust after seeing her covered.
At the Sodor Steamworks, Sir Handel was very sickly green as he was being cleaned up from the pies, but there was one that seemed to be wedged at a really uncomfortable part.
One of the workers was trying to shove his hand into his funnel to get a stuck pie tin while Sir Handel was wincing slightly with discomfort, his driver holding the bucket near his face.
Darius, Victor's human apprentice and one of the humans who helped save Sodor eleven years ago, was helping the men.
"Bother," the worker huffed as he removed his arm from within it. "It's really stuck in there."
"Can't you try something else?" Sir Handel asked, glancing up at the workers.
"Well, we could try removing the funnel," one of the workers suggested.
"No!" Sir Handel panicked. "No, no, no, no, no, no! Anything but that!"
"That's the only way you asked, Sir Handel!" Smudger protested.
"Nuh-uh!" Sir Handel winced. "I'm not having my funnel removed! I'll look naked without it!"
"Well, we can't reach it," another worker sighed. "It's not like we can use a magnet to get it out since you're also metal."
"Or using pliers either," Darius nodded in agreement. "Too narrow for us to use it comfortably."
Sir Handel groaned as he coughed a little, gagging as bits and pieces of pie came out of his funnel, but it was not enough.
Sir Topham Hatt's car soon arrived at the scene, and Stephanie stepped out, wearing a long-sleeve light blue shirt with dark blue jeans, overalls, and work boots.
Her long hair was in a low ponytail, and she was not wearing her sweater, as Notches were on her shoulders and Lucy on his back.
But she was wearing her glasses and her Dust Whistle around her neck.
"What's wrong, Sir Handel?" Stephanie asked.
"It's that pie tin," Sir Handel moaned. "It's stuck in my funnel, and none of the workers can get it."
"Well, we offered to cut his funnel," one of the workers explained.
"Not that!" Sir Handel exclaimed.
"But he kept saying no," another sighed.
Stephanie paused as she looked at his funnel and hummed, staring at it as Sir Handel felt a little uneasy with how she was staring at it.
Then she looked at her arm and asked one of the workers, "Can I try getting it out?"
"Are you sure?" a worker asked. "You'll get your arm stuck in there."
Sir Handel winced more with discomfort after the worker pointed out, as Stephanie said, "Don't worry! It's all covered with pie, so it'll pop out."
"Easy for you to say," Sir Handel groaned.
Stephanie carefully climbed onto his boiler after removing her work shoes, revealing she wore mismatched socks of two colors.
It seemed strange to Sir Handel after seeing the mismatched socks, but he was more focused on what was causing some discomfort to his funnel.
After climbing onto his boiler, Stephanie pushed her sleeve up to her bicep, revealing a skinny arm with what looked like a bunch of scars covering it.
Sir Topham Hatt perked up after seeing the scars as Stephanie reached into Sir Handel's funnel, hearing him yelp before coughing.
"Sorry!" Stephanie apologized as she winced.
"I-It's fine!" Sir Handel assured. "Can you reach it?"
Stephanie tapped what felt like half of a pie pan wedged inside the funnel and responded as she went onto her tippy toes, "Almost. I just need to-!"
Something cracked, and Stephanie grabbed the pie tin, startled after hearing something boney crack suddenly.
Sir Handel felt that too, and Stephanie instantly pulled her arm out, popping the pie tin out quickly and collapsing on her bottom on his boiler as she semi-heard the noise, which stopped as she held the pie pin in her hand.
She shook off that bewildering feeling and sat right back up on Sir Handel's boiler as she showed the pie tin to the workers.
"I got it!" But Sir Handel's face turned green, and he gagged as something bubbled, causing everyone to perk up.
"Uh oh," one of the workers winced.
"Sir Handel!" his driver winced. "Whatever you do, don't-!"
Too late.
Sir Handel gagged as the camera switched from Sir Handel to Victor, Smudger, Stanley, Darius, and Kevin, wincing from what sounded like vomiting.
Sir Topham Hatt winced as he turned away from what he saw as something splattered, and his driver winced, glancing away.
The camera switched back to Sir Handel, who was really sick as chunky, ashy liquid water was in the bucket while some covered Stephanie's face and glasses as it had spewed out from his funnel.
It even had some pie filling covering the bottom of his chin and dribbling a little.
"Oh, that's nasty!" Stanley exclaimed.
Sir Handel's driver gagged a little as he placed the bucket down, his hands covered in it, as one of the workmen came over, asking, "Now you're going to do the same?"
He nodded and moaned, "Get a towel and a bucket."
Meanwhile, Stephanie gently slid off Sir Handel's boiler, her face covered in ash-like lukewarm liquid mixed with pie filling and crust.
"Aye, yi, yi, yi," Darius winced after seeing Stephanie's face as she removed her glasses and her entire right arm was covered with pie goop. "Are you okay, Stephanie?"
She started chuckling as she wiped the substance off her face, saying, "I didn't expect that to happen!"
Darius knelt on one knee before Stephanie's face, took a towel from his overall belt loop, and carefully wiped the substance from her face.
"Why are you laughin', Steph?" Stanley asked as she continued laughing. "You just got splattered with a lot of train vomit on your face!"
"Yeah, I know," Stephanie laughed, pausing as Darius gently wiped some off her face. "But it's okay! I was just startled, that's all. Besides, it's just train vomit."
Stanley, Smudger, and Sir Handel, who was a little better after getting a lot out of his system, looked surprised by Stephanie's words as Sir Topham Hatt gently groaned, "And I just handed you clean clothes too!"
"Sorry, Sir!" Stephanie responded. "It's just a little, though! Don't worry about it!"
Darius gently turned her face towards him with a gentle, "Hold still, Stephanie. I'm trying to get all of it off your face."
Stephanie chuckled a little after Darius mentioned it and was about to apologize when she paused after seeing a whistle around his neck.
It looked like hers, but it was a little different.
It had engravings and was made out of brass, except it did not have a knob where she could switch different Dusts.
What a strange whistle, and what does it belong to instead?
Stephanie decided to save that question for later, allowing Darius to finish wiping the 'train vomit' off her face, knowing she needed to reach Ulfstead Castle.