Trainwreck
[The scene opens with a shot of Henry rushing past with an Express bound for Evergreen before fading to black. It then transitions into a shot of Edward coming down the line with a local before the screen fades to black again. Once again, the screen transitions to a shot of a signal set at all clear as Henry passes under it before another fade to black and another transition of Edward passing under another signal set at all clear. The screen fades to black once more and the screeching sounds of Henry and Edward's whistles, coupled with squealing brakes is followed by the sound of a tremendous crash, accompanied by the screams of passengers. The screen transitions into a shot of the aftermath; Henry toppled over on his right side with two coaches also knocked on their sides with the third derailed and the other three still upright. Edward is toppled on his left side with two coaches knocked over and the other two derailed, both engines leaking steam. One of the windows from the toppled coaches is opened and out comes a badly shaken Daphne, her hair frizzled and a few tears in her clothes]
Daphne: Uh…uh…wha?
[Daphne's legs shake as she stands up, looking at the extent of the damage. Several passengers are seen trying to climb out from Edward's carriages, Aisha pulling Musa up, Antoine struggling to pull himself out with his arms shaking, Jinks slumps over as he climbs out from a derailed carriage, and Brisby is holding onto her legs while shivering terribly. Peridot groans as she pulls herself out from the window behind Daphne]
Peridot: Auggggggggggh, I can't feel my legs…
[Daphne pulls out her phone and quickly dials 9-1-1 and anxiously waits for the line to pick up]
?: 9-1-1, what's your emergency?
Daphne: Yes, hello, operator, I need an ambulance, there's been a collision, there's people injured, we're stranded, please send help!
?: Ma'am, could you repeat that, where are you?
Daphne: Um, we're at the intersection at Maple and the mainline, and, and, I don't know how many are alright, and I…
[Daphne covers her mouth to muffle her sobs]
?: Okay, ma'am, we're sending a unit out there as soon as possible, please remain calm.
Daphne: Mmm-mmm, okay, okay…I'll try…
[The phone clicks off and Daphne leans against the lopsided coach, whimpering as the other passengers; Mao Mao, Ariel, Jasmine, Francis, Loopy, Balto, Cat, Dog, Nala, Lady, and the Warner siblings are shown either in a similar position or trying to get out from the coaches before the screen fades to black once more]
[The scene transitions to the hospital where Nurse Redheart is examining Salem's statistics while the black cat is laid in bed with a breathing mask over his face. The white equine looks over the clipboard before exiting the room. It then cuts to the nurse walking past another room where Tails is being examined by Boo Boo and another room where Rocko is getting his arm bandaged by Yogi, and then another room where Daphne is lying down on the bed with a pulse wire connected to her arm, looking somewhat worse for wear as she looks up at the television]
Ann: This is Ann Gora, Toonight News, reporting at the site of a recent rail disaster. As you can see, locomotives #2 'Edward' and #3 'Henry' were involved in a collision at Maple Junction, resulting in many people being shaken up and injured.
[In the background, Henry is shown being lifted back onto the rails by Rocky, pulled by Emily, while Edward is lifted off the ground by the breakdown cranes; Judy and Jerome as pulled by Ryan while Harvey lifts one of the coaches back onto the rails with his crane arm. Above in the air, Harold the Helicopter is hovering with his light shining down on the accident sight]
Ann: The cause of the accident is yet to be determined, although it is rumored that there may have been some confusion with the signals.
Daphne: [sighs] Whatever it is, I'm too tired to care…
Ann: While the police will continue to investigate the matter, we now return to our regularly scheduled program.
[Daphne settles back into the pillow and begins to relax before the door is heard opening]
Cindy: Miss Blake, you have visitors.
Daphne: Huh…oh, right, right…send them in.
[Cindy nods and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang are shown walking into the room]
Velma: Hey, Daphne…I would ask if you're alright, but then that'd be ironic.
Fred: Well, I'll go ahead and ask anyway, you holding up there, Daph?
Daphne: I'm a bit shaken up, had a nasty tumble when the coach flipped, but otherwise, I should be alright.
Shaggy: Like, ya' really gave us a scare, man, I've seen some stuff in our time, but never on this level!
Scooby: Rah! We rought roo migha been seriously hurt! [whimpers]
[Daphne gently rubs behind the Great Dane's ears]
Daphne: It's okay, boy, I'm here, aren't I, hmm?
Scooby: [murrs in appreciation] Rah, I suppose…
[A knock is heard at the door followed by Velma going to answer it, turning the handle to reveal Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo standing with a big heart-shaped box of chocolates]
Scrappy: Hey, you guys didn't forget about me, did ya', I wanted to give Auntie Daphne something to help her feel better!
Daphne: Is that you, Scrappy? Awwww, you brought me a gift.
Scrappy: Of course I did, as soon as I heard what happened, I rushed to the nearest gift shop and spent my week's earnings on this!
Fred: So, what happened back there? Perhaps we could launch an investigation over the incident.
Velma: [clears throat] Before we go off the deep end, we should probably let her rest first.
Shaggy: Besides, I'm sure this wasn't the work of some creepy guy in a mask…hopefully. [gulps]
[Scooby looks over at Scrappy trying to climb up onto the bed and dips his head for the younger Dane to climb on]
Scooby: Rere you go, up and at 'em.
Scrappy: Thanks, Uncle Scooby.
[Scrappy goes up to Daphne and the redhead scritches behind the little brown dog's ears, causing his tail to wag]
Scrappy: Hoooooooo, that's the spot.
Daphne: Hmmhmmhmm, I'm glad you all came, I'm already feeling much better.
Shaggy: Well, it's like the old saying goes, love and care is the world's best medicine…okay, maybe that's not how it goes, but like, you get what I mean.
Scooby: Rah, it's…
[Scooby's ears pick up the sound of rushing footsteps coming from the hallway]
Scooby: Rat's going on?
Velma: Huh? Perhaps there's an emergency down t-JINKIES!
Fred: Um, pardon?
Velma: Look up at the TV!
[The scene cuts to the screen, showing Pine Station, only there has been a derailment featuring Donald and Douglas flipped over on their sides with their cargo slipped everywhere, smoke covering the station as Trixie, Starlight, Robin, Lapis, Katz, and Wolf are shown scattered across the platform. Rusty is sitting on the narrow gauge platform looking shocked while Molly is shivering at the other standard gauge platform]
Ann: This is Ann Gora, reporting live at the sight of yet another accident on the rails, as you can see, engines #9 and #10, 'Donald' and 'Douglas' have come off the tracks and scattered Pine Station, more injuries have been listed, and the breakdown gang will be here momentarily to clean up the mess. Here is what some of the victims had to say;
Trixie: It came out of nowhere, Trrrrixie was taken completely aback, I thought that crate was going to crush me! Look at what it did to my cape!
[Trixie whimpers as Starlight pats her on the back. It then cuts to Little John tending to Robin's leg as the fox leans against the wall]
Robin: A projectile came up and crushed my leg, it's really hard to move-OH, ow, ow, oooof…
Little John: You're lucky I kept some spare wrap in my pocket, just in case you'd end up hurting yourself again, though I didn't expect it to be like this…
Robin: Yeah…oh, Johnny, your arm, it's-
Little John: Never mind about that, let's just focus on patchin' up this leg…
Robin: I, I see…thank you for that, should hold me till the hospital…
[The scene cuts to Wolf looking down at a red spot on his chest, Lapis, Katz, Bagheera, Starfire, Roscoe, and DeSoto next to him tending to their own scrapes]
Wolf: You know, I'd consider myself lucky that I still have just an eye lost, I swear, I saw a milk churn come right towards my head, managed to duck outta the way before that.
Lapis: I guess I'm just that nothing struck my back, that would have been pretty bad otherwise, let alone being an experience I'd wanna go through once more…euggggh…
Ann: Um, yes…[clears throat]...you heard it here, folks, we've got another case of faulty signals causing derailments, two in the same night, this is…wait a minute, I'm getting a transmission…oh my, there's been yet another accident, this time happening at Evergreen!
Lapis: Wait, what's going on now?
Ann: We'll be right back to report on these latest findings!
Wolf: Okay, sure, don't even bother with us.
[The scene cuts back to the hospital with the gang all staring up at the screen]
Velma: Three accidents in the same night…that's oddly convenient…
Shaggy: Doooooooh, I jinxed it, didn't I?
Fred: Well, gang, it appears we've got a mystery on our hands.
Shaggy: Weeeell, gee, lookit the time, I just remembered I need to pick up my dry cleaning, I'll just go and-
Fred: Shaggy, you wear the same clothes every day, what do you need dry cleaning for?
Shaggy: Hmmmmmph, you don't know, I could have stuff I was planning on wearing.
Fred: Riiiiiiiight, come on, back here you go.
Scooby: Rah, like a good boy. [snickers]
Fred: That includes you, Scooby.
[The Great Dane's eyes become dots as he sweatdrops before putting his head down]
Scooby: Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh, rats.
Daphne: Um, yeah, guys, as much as I'd like to get involved with the latest caper, because that's exactly what any sane person wants to do, I can't come till I'm cleared.
Fred: Oh…right…
Shaggy: Well, like, that gives us some time to raid the cafeteria, I hear a bacon double sub sandwich callin' my name. Goooooootta skoot.
[Shaggy extends his leg out the door and zips off]
Scooby: Roh, yeah, mine's got extra sausages, re'll save you a piece, gotta dash.
[Scooby repeats the same leg movement as Shaggy out the door]
Scrappy: Hehehe, that's my uncle Scooby!
Daphne: Oh, those two never change, then again, neither do we.
Velma: I feel like I've just gotten the strangest sense of deja vu.
[The scene cuts to Evergreen Station where Murdoch has derailed past the signal gantry leading into the station, his front end skewed over the rails with his train tipped over in a big mess, right next to Boco having also been derailed in the incident with several vans off the tracks, with Hannah at the back of the train looking indifferent to the sight as if it's a regular day. Several onlookers; Jinks, Usagi, Simba, Bismuth, Top Cat, Applejack, Itchy, Blaze, and Mordecai, are watching from the platform as Thomas pushes Rocky into view with Ann reporting from the lineside]
Ann: In a stunning turn of events, there has been yet another disaster on the rails this evening! In light of the recent events at Evergreen involving 9F 'Murdoch' and Metrovick 'BoCo' in a mess at the junction, this case has officially been dubbed as the Rail Raiders. It's been a night of confusion, delay, and utter chaos, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out.
[The feline reporter falls on her back in exhaustion]
Ann: I really need to ask for a pay rise after this…
[The scene cuts back to the hospital where Aisha is shown walking down the hallway before seeing Musa exiting a room and walking up to her]
Aisha: How did it go?
Musa: It's a few bruises on my leg, but I should be alright otherwise.
Aisha: Funny, they said the same thing to me, guess we got lucky.
Musa: Yeah, well, I'm just glad it was just a little shakeup, anything worse and I'd have missed my upcoming session.
Aisha: Hmmhmmhmm, you always stick by your commitments, don't you?
Musa: Well, you don't get music like mine, that's for sure. [winks]
Aisha: I suppose I can't deny that, hehehe.
[The scene cuts to another room where Twilight is shown on a bed waking up, her perspective blurry as she groans]
Twilight: Oooooooooooooooh…ahm…wha…
[A white alicorn with a pink, blue, green, and teal mane and donning a suit is seen standing over the bed]
Twilight: Princess Celestia…?
[Celestia puts a hand down on the purple pony's forehead as a soothing gesture]
Celestia: How are you holding up?
Twilight: Well…my legs feel limp…but other than that, I think I'm alright…
Celestia: That's good to hear, I'll be investigating the matter as to what caused this incident.
Twilight: You will?
Celestia: Oh yes, and not just me, I've got a bit of assistance on hand.
[At that moment, a suited dark blue alicorn with a night blue and white mane and a suited pink alicorn with a pink, violet, and gold mane walk into the room]
Luna: Ah, Twilight Sparkle, good to see that you're still in one piece.
Cadence: Of course she is, my little filly's a fighter, isn't she?
Twilight: [blushes] I guess you could say that.
Luna: Clearly, these incidents have been the work of sabotage and we plan to apprehend these criminals.
Cadence: Speculation, really, though we haven't ruled it out.
Celestia: What really matters is that we're going to get to the bottom of this, and believe me when I say, no stone will go unturned.
Luna: Until then, keep yourself safe, Twilight, we don't want to have you out of action like this again.
Cadence: I'll bring you back a souvenir once we've gotten our targets. [winks]
Twilight: Well, I'll hold you to that, then.
[The scene cuts to a pink haired girl with a pink and white skirt walking down the hall, her backside facing the camera as the scene cuts to a room labeled #17. The girl opens the door to find a familiar raven haired girl laying down on a bed, looking over to see her recent company]
Madoka: Oh, Homura, thank god, you're alright!
Homura: I've been through worse.
Madoka: Yeah, but still, I'm just glad you're looking better than I expected.
Homura: As I said, this isn't anything I've not gone through before, life flashing before my eyes, I'm used to it at this point.
Madoka: Well, perhaps we should stop making it a thing, I worry about you.
Homura: Hmm…you sound just like me.
Madoka: Minus the going through hell and back several times part, I'm sure.
Homura: As if that's a fate I'd wish upon you…
[Homura feels Madoka's hand touching hers and looks up at the other girl's face, giving off a warm smile]
Madoka: I'm happy you're safe…
Homura: …Thank you.
Madoka: So…what did the doctor say?
Homura: Several cuts down my arms and legs, mostly from the glass shards…and a minor bump on my head…
Madoka: Oh…can you still walk?
Homura: There's a bit of pain, but I'll manage…I suppose it's lucky that I got out of the ordeal as I did…
Madoka: Yeah…
Homura: I still believe that the accident wasn't merely mechanical, there was a presence prior to when we passed by…
Madoka: And you're sure of this…?
Homura: When have my premonitions ever been wrong…?
Madoka: Right…
Homura: All I know is whatever caused this is still out there…
[The scene cuts to a monitor where several screens are shown overlooking various sections of the railway, replaying the accidents that have taken place, including several more such as Rebecca derailing over a set of points, Oliver running into Daisy on a siding, and Arthur falling into the key. It pans out to reveal the three alicorns in a room viewing the footage]
Luna: There seems to be a pattern going on here, it's the railway being consistently attacked.
Cadence: What do you reckon the correlation is?
Celestia: Bandits, raiders, terrorists, or a mix of the three. It has been an underlying issue as of late.
Luna: This clearly isn't another munitions accident, all the collateral appears to be deliberate, but who could be behind such an act?
Cadence: Perhaps we need to gather all the plausible suspects, that way we can narrow down who the culprit is.
Celestia: I can see the benefits of that method, but we'll have to be careful over who we analyze, while we have many options to choose from, some won't crack so easily as others.
Luna: In that case, we have a few…methods that will surely squeeze the information out of them.
Celestia: That will only come if absolutely necessary…but when it does, go right ahead and enjoy yourself.
Luna: Hmmhmmhmm, oh, I will.
Cadence: Who should we start off with?
Celestia: I reckon we cover familiar ground and work our way up from there, one way or another, we'll find who's responsible for this.
[The scene cuts to a cliffface overlooking the forest before Geoffrey appears on-screen, looking down at the trees below with his arms crossed. A hand is placed on his shoulder and the skunk flings before seeing who's beside him]
Dr. Finitevus: I'm impressed.
Geoffrey: Oh…sure, yeah.
Dr. Finitevus: Why so despondent?
Geoffrey: I mean, yeah, the deed's been done, doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
Dr. Finitevus: …You've been thinking about them, haven't you?
Geoffrey: What?
Dr. Finitevus: Don't look so surprised, I can read you like an open textbook.
Geoffrey: Well, not neccessarily them, but…people in general.
Dr. Finitevus: I believe there's a philosophy you should know at this point; it's not about the ones you had…it's about the ones you have left…
Geoffrey: In that case, consider my options minimal…
Dr. Finitevus: Probably because they're the only ones who won't drag you into the firing zone, no one's stopping you from going into the fray, just ask yourself; is it worth it?
[Finitevus walks away, leaving Geoffrey on his own as he stares into the forest, sighing as he kicks a rock]
Geoffrey: It's real sucky sometimes, init? Can't go back, only go forward…I stand by me choice, but these people sometimes…
[Geoffrey walks over to the cave's entrance and looks upon the wall to see a G+H with a heart around it engraved onto the wall. The skunk scowls and picks up a rock]
Geoffrey: Drago, you goddamn pillock…
[Geoffrey aggressively scratches over the heart and then chucks the rock to the ground]
Geoffrey: I swear, it's like everyone's got the same sense of humor as Scourge…[sighs]...
[The scene cuts to the beach where a sailboat is stopped on the beach and lays anchor. Out steps a pair of green boots with red legs before the camera pans up to reveal an arctic wolf all in red and yellow. He continues to walk across the beach right up to the station as the camera pans up over the city now covered in lights]
To Be Continued…