A/N: Hey everybody! Happy 2018! Sorry I didn't update last week, but I was a little under the weather. I had a massive headache which made it impossible to think, much less sit down and write anything. But now I'm back, and ready to kick off a new year of writing with a little-known story. I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 86: Tit For Tat

At the end of the Little Western Branchline lays the remains of the Mid Sodor Railway. For years it laid dormant, the line left for nature to consume it. Until recently, where Sir Topham Hatt realized that the waste from the mines made good ballast, necessary for preventing weeds from growing in the track. In order to mine the ballast, he commissioned the building of a new railway, one much smaller than even the narrow-gauge railway. He also hired three engine drivers from a railway in England that had just closed named Mike, Bert, and Rex to run it. The three worked hard, and provided lots of ballast for all the rail lines on Sodor. And with lots of passengers flocking to see the small engines, they had no shortage of trains to keep them busy.

One morning, the cleaners came bright and early and scrubbed the engines from top to bottom until they shined. The engine drivers were confused. They usually weren't there that early, and only gave the engines a brief polish.

"We have some visitors coming today," said one of the cleaners.

"So, what? We have visitors every day," snorted Mike, "They're called passengers."

"These are special passengers," replied another cleaner, "One of them takes pictures, and the other uses those pictures to make books."

"You're making such a fuss about all of that?" Bert snorted, "I fail to see why they warrant so much special attention. It's not like the queen herself is appearing."

"This author writes books about interesting railways," a cleaner explained, "The Small Controller thought it might bring more people to our railway if they were to write a book about us."

"Still a lot of fuss about nothing if you ask me," Bert grumbled, but the others paid him no mind.

Bert was to take the first passenger train of the day. He found the two visitors on the platform. Both had cameras around their necks, and were taking pictures of Bert and his engine as he drove into the platform. Bert was rather surprised when they walked up to the cab as the other passengers climbed into the coaches.

"This is a rather beautiful engine," Said the stout visitor.

"Quite so," agreed his friend, "And such a smart looking driver in control of it. It's so refreshing to see that there are still railways that use steam engines nowadays. Their magnificence is quite unrivaled."

Bert was rather pleased by their words.

"I spoke to my controller, and he said one of you could ride in the cab with me if you would like."

"We do appreciate the offer," said the thin visitor, "But perhaps on the return journey. It's such a wonderful day out, and we'd like to take some pictures."

Before they could continue the conversation, Bert's guard blew his whistle, and Bert left the station, waving to them as he left. "Those two know how to speak to railway men."

Bert saw them several times throughout the day, taking pictures of the engines, the wildlife, and every other thing you could think of. Bert always waved to them, but they were always to busy taking pictures to wave back. This made Bert cross.

"I understand they want to get good pictures," he grumbled, "But they could pause for a few seconds to return a friendly gesture."

Bert later saw them as he was passing through Arlesdale Green. The Stout Gentleman was driving their car, and driving rather fast. Before Bert could do anything, they drove through a muddy puddle, covering his engine from smokebox to cab in dirty, muddy water. Bert was cross.

When they reached the top station, Bert drove his engine into a siding in hopes of getting it clean. But the head cleaner had some bad news.

"Sorry, Bert, but you'll have to take the train home like this I'm afraid. We don't have enough time to clean it before your next train leaves."

Now Bert was fuming.

"They did this on purpose," he seethed, "Well two can play at that game. I'll make sure to teach them a lesson they'll never forget."

The Stout visitor decided to join Bert in the cab for the ride home, which made Bert smile. Now he could get his revenge on the person responsible for the mess.

As the train climbed the hill, Bert reduced steam.

"Er, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job," said the visitor, "But shouldn't you be increasing steam? Seems like we'll have a hard time reaching the other side of the hill at this rate."

"Don't you worry. I know what I'm doing."

"If you say so."

Bert enacted his plan once they reached the top of the hill. As they rolled over and down the other side, Bert released all of the steam pressure, sending a huge cloud of smoke into the air. Rain water cascaded down, soaking all of his passengers, including the visitors. Bert felt pleased with himself.

"Tit for tat, tit for tat," he chuckled to himself. But he stopped chuckling when he reached the bottom station. There, standing on the platform, was Mr. Fergus Duncan, AKA The Small Controller, and he did not look happy.

"You are a rather naughty engine driver," he scolded, "Because of you, the railway shall have to pay for the dry cleaning of our visitors, and people are starting to complain about what a bad railway our line is."

"But sir, they started it."

"Well, I'm going to finish it. You are suspended from work until further notice. Perhaps this will teach you to keep your temper in check."

Bert sadly drove his engine into the shed. He felt very sorry for himself, and got to work on cleaning his engine. He was rather surprised to see the two visitors come up to him.

"I'm sorry about getting your engine dirty," said the stout one, "I was so excited to take pictures that I didn't watch where I was driving. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

"Well, I guess I did overreact," Bert sighed, "Sorry for getting your clothes wet."

"Come on," smiled the thin visitor, "Let's help you clean up our mess."

As they worked, they began talking about their lives. Bert learned that they were reverends for the church, as well as rail fans since they were young boys. The thin visitor even told him about how he would tell his son Christopher stories about trains to cheer him up when he was ill.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Bert said, "My name is Bert. You two are…"

"You can call me Wilbert," said the thin visitor, "Wilbert Awdry. And this is my friend, Teddy Boston."

"It was nice meeting you," said Teddy, "I think we have quite enough material to write a book about. Don't you, Wilbert."

"Quite so," said Wilbert, "But it couldn't hurt to stick around for a few more days. You never know what will happen on Sodor."

All three laughed at that, and became great friends.