At Muffle Mountain, the sun was already going down. Andy was waiting by the rockface, looking down at the lake and the road beyond. He soon heard footsteps and turned around, expecting to see Jesse and Tulip. But, to his surprise, he saw that it was only Jesse. He was anxious and angry at the same time.

"Where's Tulip?" he asked sternly.

Jess sighed.

"I wish I knew," he answered. "I'm sorry, Mr. Olsen. She wasn't at the station when I went back for her."

Andy could see the remorse and sadness in Jesse's eyes, assuming that he had already looked everywhere and couldn't find her. Could she have gone off on her own? But where? He knew she was going to Shining Time, and now she's gone? As he recalled being there before, could it mean that she was...

"It's okay, Jesse. It wasn't your fault," Andy said quietly. "We'll find her, don't worry."

Andy began to walk away when Jesse stopped him.

"Mr. Olsen, I've heard an engine's whistle on this mountain."

"You're wrong, Jesse," said Andy. "Anyway, I'd be too deaf to hear."

And he had gone down the mountain, leaving Jesse to think, hoping that Tulip was alright wherever she was. He worried so much that he never heard anything else until he went to unharness his horse.

"You never hear wrong, do you?"

Alarmed, Jesse turned around and saw Simon standing behind him after coming out from behind a bush near him.

"Now where exactly did you hear that whistle?" he asked.

"I'll never tell you that," said Jesse.

"Not even for this?" asked Jesse, holding out a deck of cash. "Think what you could buy with this amount of money. So many dollars, so many stuff. Think about it."

Jesse looked at him and the money in his hand, his eyes darting back and forth. It was quite clear that Simon was bribing him... and with a wad of money no less! It was tempting, it was frustrating. But he knew better than to betray Andy and grew red in the face.

"Forget it!" shouted Jesse. "Do you think I'm stupid?! I NEVER give in to bullies, Simon!" and he jumped onto Alan Dracula and ran away.

Simon got on his motorcycle and began to chase after him. Jesse could see Simon riding behind him with wheels spinning and began to gallop faster. He soon found a forest and rode, jumping into different areas, weaving around trees to lose him. Simon's bike was made for offroad, but not for crampy places like a twisted forest, so he gave it up and decided to look at something he noted on his notebook.

Jesse made his way back to Shining Time Station just in time to see Amelia arrive on the Rainbow Sun. He had just gotten down to meet Grace, who was on the platform, when Jesse rushed up to meet them.

"Mrs. Hughes!" he panted. "I'm sure Mr. Olsen knows the secret of the mountain. There is an engine in there, but now, because of me, Simon knows it too, and he's putting all of us in great danger. And I don't know where Tulip is."

"Amelia, Tulip must be on the Island of Sodor," said Grace to Amelia, who was surprised herself. "But why hasn't she come home?"

Night fell fast on the Island of Sodor. Percy nervously chuffed light engine along the twisty line to protect the buffers like Thomas said he must while he looked for Min-Gi. If he was going to help them, then he might as well. He reached Vicarstown and saw the junction leading towards the old sidings.

"Oh, I'm so frightened," he said before remembering what Thomas had said. "No, I'm not going to turn back! I'm a Really Useful Engine. Useful Engines aren't scared. I have to make sure the buffers are safe — I have to make sure the magic railway is safe."

So, he ran down he old line towards the old sidings with his headlamp lighting the way.

"I'm brave! I'm brave! Thomas says I'm brave, so I'm brave." he told himself as he puffed along the spooky countryside. Trees beside the line looked like hands trying to reach him. "It's not easy being brave," he muttered to himself. "Shiver my pistons, I hope the sidings aren't haunted!"

On his way, he passed the old quarry which had Diesel 10's face ecarved in it, which freaked him out a little until he finally reached the place and looked towards the sidings ahead. But to his surprise, there were no more sidings left, all covered by roads, except one! And he soon found out why as he looked ahead.

There were Splatter, Dodge, and George. He stopped behind them, making sure not to get to close and saw what they were looking at. It was the buffers!

"They found the buffers!" he whispered fearfully. "Oh, now what's going to happen?"

He heard crows sound of an owl, giving him a fright. He grew more scared when a tumbleweed, being blown by the wind, rolled by him.

"Th-Th-That's just nothing," he said timidly before hearing the door of an old shed slam, frightening him even more. "Nothing was something!"

"See those buffers?" asked Splatter. "They're next!"

"The Boss wants the job done fast," said Dodge. "Start now!"

George was unsure as he looked towards the buffers. All day, he was feeling uneasy as he kept going at this, not being his usual self.

"And if I don't?" he asked.

"You'll be a load of old scrap!" said Splatter before turning to Dodge. "Do we mean that?

"Yes!" snapped Dodge.

"Listen, guys, I want to," said George. "But I really need some sleep. I've been rolling roads all day and it's really late!"

The two diesels weren't sure. But then the three heard the sound of an owl hooting, frightening them.

"Uhh, you know what? You're right! Maybe we should do this in the morning," decided Splatter.

"Yeah, morning sounds good," agreed Dodge.

Slightly relieved, Percy quietly backed away from the sight and returned, knowing that he must warn Thomas of what was happening.

"Oh, how are we going to help each other now?" he thought.

Thomas had taken Min-Gi and Tulip to Ffarquhar at the end of his branch line and watched as his two companions made a campfire beside the line. Tulip was still feeling sad, worried for Ryan while Min-Gi was doing everything he could to keep her cheerful. He tried by showing her a card trick which went from a Queen of Hearts to a King of Clubs. A grin perked on Tulip's face.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" asked Tulip.

"In Old Bombay, from a Monarch Butterfly, When it came to card tricks, she sure knew how to wing it," said Min-Gi.

Tulip chuckled before looking at the night sky above her, growing worried again.

"Mr. Min-Gi, I'm supposed to be back by sunset," Tulip indulged.

"I'm sorry, Tulip," apologized Min-Gi gently, "but maybe your dad can guess where you are."

"He can?" asked Tulip.

"Maybe, because I think he's been here himself long ago," said Min-Gi as Min-Gi sat amazed. "But if he can help, I wish he'd hurry back. I didn't tell Ryan, but he'll soon grow as weak as I am."

Seeing how worried Min-Gi was for his friend, it got her thinking.

"You love Ryan, don't you?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Yes," said Min-Gi, "even though he makes me mad, that's what families are for, to be there for each other in the bad times as well as the good, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes, it is," said Tulip, thinking about the relationship between her and her father which Min-Gi could see that this conversation was having a special meaning for Tulip and gave her a look of encouragement. "Ryan said there used to be an engine for the Magic Railroad. If only we could find that. We could still get back to Shining Time."

"That engine disappeared," said Min-Gi solemly. "Never to be seen or heard from again."

"I wouldn't say that," said Tulip, "I heard an engine's whistle near Dad's house, it seemed to be coming from right inside the mountain.

That last word got Min-Gi thinking until he remembered something.

"Mountain! That's it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I've remembered the part of the clue... 'stoke up the magic in the mountain and the Lady will smile!'" he said before turning downcast. "But we need more information. Oh, Tulip, I think your dad could really help if he'd just believe that he could."

But Tulip was thinking about the part of the clue Min-Gi had mentioned.

"Lady?" she wondered.

Back at Muffle Mountain, Andy came down the mountain and went inside the mine tunnel with a flashlight in hand. Deep in the tunnel, he looked around and stepped into a passage way, which lead deeper in the tunnel until he found himself in a dark, secret room.

He shone his light in a very section of the room he wanted to shine on. There seemed to be a gleam of something golden, along with a golden engraved name saying, LADY.

"So, Lady, what are we to do?" he whispered. "It all seemed so easy when Megan and I were children."

Andy thought back to when he and Megan were children, when they entered the workshop and saw the most amazing thing they had ever seen in their whole lives.

"One day, Megan, I'm hoping to be able to drive this thing and I'll take you with me."

"Promise you will, Andy. promise!"

"I promise."

Andy's mind came back to the present when he heard a scuffle coming inside, coming towards him. He started shining his light towards where he came from.

"Simon?" Andy asked.

But Andy was wrong. It was Jesse!

"How did you find me here?"

"I found the entrance to your workshop ages ago," chuckled Jesse, "but I'd never tell anyone, not even a bully like Simon."

"You're braver than I was Jesse," said Andy before shining his light at a slight switch on the wall. "Can you flip that switch over there?"

Jesse flipped the switch, and the lights in the workshop came on. He gasped in awe at what he saw.

There before them was a small, Victorian-styled 0-6-0 tank engine, painted in a red violet color with gold headlamps on her front footplate and tail lamp, along with golden buffers, smokebox, funnel top, dome, whistle, side rods, lining and her name on each side, and last of all, very dark purple on her cab roof, lower funnel section and her footplate. She was a little worn and damanged, but just about fully repaired. She was the most beautiful little steam engine, with golden trim. And judging by her appearance, she looked like a Sodor engine, but with a smokebox door instead of a face. Still, she seemed to have extraordinary presence.

"So, it is true," said Jesse, "we did hear an engine in the mountain!"

"All mountains have their secrets," said Andy, "that won't surprise a kid like you."

Jesse took a moment to walk around this engine, observing her.

"Can I help you. Mr. Olsen?"

"Sure, you can finish cleaning her," said Andy as he tossed a cleaning cloth to him. "This engine's name is Lady."

"Why is she locked up?" asked Jesse, carefully polishing her.

"She's not," replied Andy, "she's safe from harm... or was."

Hearing this made Jesse worried.

"Simon is looking for Lady, isn't he?" he asked.

"Yes, he is," said Andy.

"He heard you and I talking about her too," Jesse added. "Why does he want to harm her, Mr. Olsen?"

"Because Simon has no compassion or imagination. He was always more interested in making money than making sense," he said before thinking back. "Long ago, when we were young men, he was angry because he didn't want to believe in magic, and jealous because Tulip's Mother loved me. So, he took revenge. He found Lady and threatened to destroy her if I didn't let him drive her. Unlike you Jesse, I gave in to a bully." he added as Jesse's eyes widened. "He drove her, he used up all her coal, he made her go too fast, then he crashed her!"

Jesse gasped.

"After that, he ran away, and I brought her here to a new hiding place. I fixed her as best I could. But I could never make up for the mistake I made," said Andy sadly. "And I've never been able to bring her to life, to make her steam." He went deep in thought as he gently put his hand on her. "Jesse, she's as precious as gold, and that's all Simon is interested in, her trim to sell, for scrap. But magic is worth more than that and I'll always fight to protect her."

"She can whistle, I've heard her," said Jesse, hoping Andy will answer honestly this time.

"I know," he whispered. "So have I. That's because she's magic."

Then Jesse looked on the wall behind Lady and noticed a map of a railroad. All the lines on it were straight, and he realized they were in exactly the same configuration as those appearing as shadowy lines on Billy's map.

"This must be the map of her Magic Railroad," he said before realization dawned on him. "But the railroad's energy is fading away. I sensed it when we were out riding. Tulip and I were riding on the ground above it."

"The railroad needs Lady, and I don't know how to make her steam. I've tried every coal in the valley," said Andy. "It seems like it's her own special secret. But I need to know it now more than ever."

"Because of Tulip?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, most of all," he said, feeling absolute remorse for how lowly he treater her, despite how she tried to cheer her up, only to push her away as he was unable to let go of the past and deciding to make it right once he got her back. "Because of Tulip."

On Sodor, Diesel 10 was hurtling through the countryside while Ryan was treating this as a game, as he played air guitar on his roof, singing loudly with joy. Every bridge and tunnel they went under, Ryan would duck every time, much to Diesel's frustration.

"Not enjoying the exercise, Diesel?" asked Ryan mockingly. "You should try relaxing, it's a lot more peaceful."

Diesel 10 only replied with a loud, anguish roar that could be heard from miles away, even at the Ffarquhar campsite where everyone could hear; Tulip, Min-Gi, Thomas, and Percy, who had just joined them after his find and was confused about that girl with them at first until the two engines explained their stories.

"Diesel sounds very angry now," said Thomas.

"Oh, poor Ryan!" said Tulip anxiously.

"Listen, Thomas, we're running out of time," said Percy. "We must get Tulip back to her dad now in case the Magic Railroad is closed forever!

"But how could Tulip go without gold dust?" asked Thomas.

"Only in the lost engine," said Min-Gi, lying his head on his folded jacket above the ground while clutching his cap.

But then, Min-Gi began to realize something as he got up and looked at Thomas.

"Unless..." he spoke, looking at Thomas, who somehow knew what was coming next. "Thomas, will you take Tulip, please?

"Through the buffers?!" asked Thomas, appalled as Min-Gi nodded. "But what if I make a mistake? I've made two already!"

"But what if you don't?" asked Min-Gi.

"But what if I go on the railway and my wheels don't work?" urged Thomas.

"But what if they do?" Min-Gi urged back.

"But... what if... if...?" Thomas stammered, running out of excuses.

"Yes?" Min-Gi waited to hear more.

"What if it's dark?" Thomas whispered.

"It will be... for a while," replied Min-Gi.

"And cold?" Thomas added.

"Maybe," Min-Gi shrugged.

"And how will I get back again?" Thomas asked in puzzlement.

"Because you're a Really Useful Engine and will find a way," said Min-Gi with a bright smile.

Thomas looked around, noticing everyone all looking at him, first at Min-Gi, then Percy, then Tulip. It was all up to him now to save the day. It could mean that the fate of Min-Gi's universe was likely on his buffers. But when he saw Tulip's reassuring smile, he began to feel more braver.

"Then... I'll try!" said Thomas at last with a smile.

Pleased, Min-Gi handed Tulip his conductor's cap.

"Take my hat as a keepsake to bring good luck, Tulip," he said, giving it to her.

"But Mr. Min-Gi, I don't want to leave you like this!" said Tulip with worry.

"I know," said Min-Gi, "but you must go back to your dad."

"He's right, Tulip, you must," said Thomas. "And I'm going to take you."

Tulip looked at the cap and hesitantly put it on her knapsack before climbing onto Thomas's cab, all set.

"Be careful, Thomas." said Percy anxiously.

"I will, Percy," said Thomas, giving two brave whistles before puffing away while Percy and Min-Gi watched them leave.

Thomas chugged down the main line with his passenger aboard his cab. When he reached Vicarstown, he turned down the junction to the old sidings.

"I'll soon have you back to your dad in no time, Tulip," Thomas said.

The track there was dark and misty, but Thomas's bright lamp shone the way. At last, he could see the only siding that was left in the yard, aside from the only track that went further on down the line. He didn't know why there were much less tracks. But he couldn't think about that right now as they saw the buffers ahead.

"Bust my buffers! What's going to happen now?" he wondered as the buffers got closer and closer.

Thomas didn't know. Will it stop him? Will he come off the rails? He wasn't sure! He felt like he should stop until he remembered what he said the other day.

"Little engines can do big things!" he said to himself as he pressed on.

He soon approached and made contact with them. A train crossing's sound was heard as he glided through and disappeared in a rainbow-colored aura.

Thomas looked around at the same scenery of the viny tunnel which Tulip had recognized earlier.

"It is dark, and cold, and bumpy! But I'm not afraid!" said Thomas bravely.

Then Thomas noticed the missing coal truck as he went by.

"That's the missing coal truck!" Thomas exclaimed in surprise.

"Coal truck?" pondered Tulip before remembering out loud. "'Stoke up the magic in the mountain,' that's part of Mr. Min-Gi's clue to his gold dust."

"And Tulip, that's what you do with coal, stoke it up to make steam," Thomas added.

Tulip leaned further forward, staring at the truck until they hit a bump, causing her to tumble off the footplate. Thomas thought he had heard her scream.

"Tulip?... Tulip?"

But there was no reply. Thomas grew frightened as he went on.

"Tulip, where are you?"

Tulip recovered and got up to find herself in front of the coal truck. She too was confronting her fear of silence.

"I'm not afraid," Tulip murmured before noticing Thomas getting farther and farther away, "but I do still need a ride. Please come back for me, Thomas!

Thomas could hear Tulip behind her. He may be scared, but he couldn't just leave her there all alone. He began to summon his courage.

"I'm not going to lose Tulip, and I'm not going to lose that coal truck again either," he said bravely. "I'm going to be really reliable and go back for them both!"

Thomas slowed down to a stop. Then, he started reversing and the bravest little blue engine in the world accelerated back down the railroad towards both her and the truck, looking prouder and prouder every moment. Tulip smiled as she saw him coming, slowing to a stop as he buffered gently up to the truck.

"Couple me up!" said Thomas.

Tulip did just that as she hooked the truck's chain to his coupling hook before climbing back into his cab. Once she was safely onboard, Thomas started moving forwards again, pulling the truck with him. Tulip was most grateful.

"You're a Really Useful Engine, Thomas," she said.

And that made Thomas smile while his new friend, Tulip smiled back.

Soon, as daybreak approached, they came to a junction. Only one of them was going to take her to Muffle Mountain, but neither were sure which one was the right one. So, Tulip got down. She decided it was really time to grow up and overcome her fear of silence.

"Wait here, Thomas. I'll see what I can find," said Tulip as she went down the left track.

As Thomas waited for Tulip to return, he could see a shimmer of gold coming from the right side. But how or why? Somehow, Thomas already knew as it dawned on him.

"It's you!" he whispered. "Could you possibly?"

The gold shimmer didn't answer. But somehow, Thomas knew what it was trying to say as he heard the swishing sound.

"You are...! You're the engine lost from long ago, but I never saw you before. You're so sad... Why?" he asked as the gold shimmer responded in a mysterious lyrical sound. "I see... I wonder if..."

"Thomas!"

Thomas heard Tulip's voice as she came back and climbed into his cab.

"I think it's this way to the left, but we better hurry." said Tulip.

Thomas looked at Tulip, then towards the track to the right, seeing no gold sparkles now, as if it had never happened. But he could've sworn he had seen it. But he had no more time to think about it and decided it was rather best to take the left track anyway, assuming that maybe it was a hallucination from being up all night.

Soon, they could see on dark caverns on either side of Thomas and Tulip. And ahead of them, looming up closer, and closer is nothing but a huge wall of granite with a set of buffers in front of them. Thomas and Tulip could either carry on or stop... if it's not too late. It was... but it doesn't matter. Thomas and Tulip shut their eyes as they hit the buffers. And, like before, they disappeared in a glowing rainbow aura.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves out in the open daylight again. They were in front of the rock face of the mountain where Jesse and Andy stood on last evening. Thomas, without any rails for his wheels to guide him, could only go straight forward and applied his brakes and stopped just before a cliff in front of him. He began to look around at his new surroundings.

"Tulip, where are we?" Thomas asked.

"Muffle Mountain, Thomas," smiled Tulip with glee as she jumped down from the cab.

Thomas felt a little dizzy as he continued looking around, definitely feeling a stranger in this foreign land.

"I can't go any further, my wheels won't let me." said Thomas.

"Then I'll be back, Thomas, I promise, but I must find my dad," said Tulip as she hurried away.

"Remember the coal truck, Tulip!" Thomas called. "I'm sure it must be important."

"I will," Tulip called back as she hurried down the mountain.

Thomas stood petrified on the cliff's edge as she watched Tulip descend, waiting for Tulip to return, hoping it would be soon. He didn't want to feel alone up here as he felt a slight wind.

Jesse was at the bottom of the mountain, riding Alan Dracula when suddenly, Tulip came rushing out from behind a bunch of trees towards him. Both Jesse and Alan Dracula stopped immediately.

"Tulip?! What-"

"Where's my dad?" asked Tulip urgently. "Can you take me to him?"

"Jump up," Jesse replied.

Immediately, Tulip leapt up onto the horse behind Jesse.

"Oh, Jesse, I knew I could count on you," sighed Tulip as they rode towards the workshop.

But nobody had any idea that Simon was on the mountain too, at his digsite, setting something up, sniggering with an evil smirk of delight as he worked. Once he was done, sat down on a rock where he had a box with a big pump on it at ready. He didn't know that his digging site was close to the rockface where Thomas was standing, nor could he even see him.

"I'm going to get my revenge, Andy Olsen. On you and that engine!" declared Simon proudly before putting his hands on the pump. "And do you know what revenge sounds like?" he smirked more wickedly as he pushed his pump down.

KABOOM!

A huge explosion went off, shaking the entire mountain! Tulip and Jesse heard the sound of the explosion from the bottom, so did Alan Dracula as he panicked and tried to run faster. The shaking also caused the cliff Thomas was standing on to crumble under his weight, the coupling between him and the truck snapped.

"Oh, bust my boiler!" he reacted as he started rolling down the mountain. "I've left the coal truck behind!"

Hearing that cry, Simon looked over and what he saw made him gasp in surprise.

"What the?!"

It looked like an engine rolling down the mountain, but it didn't have the right colors of a real engine. It also had a face and a number! And it came from the mountain?! Either way, despite its appearance, this wasn't the engine he was looking for. He didn't know what was going on. He could only guess what it was as he put on his goggles, jumped onto his motorcycle and rode after him.

"You're not real!" he shouted. "You're nothing but a toy, a big blue toy, and I can control you however I want!"

When Thomas reached the bottom of the mountain, he found himself in the big meadow. And that moment, he felt his wheels turning faster as he felt pushed along the area where no flowers grew. His driver tried to apply the brakes, but he couldn't. His fireman managed to reduce steam, but Thomas was still going too fast.

"Stop, wheels! Stop!" cried Thomas.

While Simon chased after him, getting much closer to him, he reached the meadow too and felt his bike going faster as well... too fast for Simon, it was like it was moving on its own! But with two wheels, it couldn't stay steady and began tumbling out of control. Simon screamed as he flew off the bike and tumbled in the air, still following Thomas's magical wake.

What happened then? No one knows. One moment, Thomas was still riding on the meadow. The next, a train crossing sound was heard as he quickly sunk into the ground front first, disappearing beneath the surface while Simon followed straight after in a rainbow-colored aura.

In seconds, Thomas then realized where he was as he looked around. He was back in that same tunnel he was earlier!

"This must be another branch of the Magic Railroad," he said in realization. "Just wait until I tell Percy!"

Then Thomas heared screaming behind him as he puffed along. He looked back and Simon, still tumbling in the air, following him.

"And who's that following me?" he asked. "Driver, fireman, pick up speed. I want to lose that nasty passenger."

That's what his driver did as he undid his brakes, and his fireman opened the regulator. Thomas sped up and Simon followed in the air, giving him a very bumpy ride.

"Hey, stop it! AH! This isn't funny!" cried Simon, terrified as he bumped around. "Whoa! Hey! AHH! Cut it out! Stop that!"