HOME, JULIE, AND DON'T SPARE THE HORSES!

Based upon "Harold and the Flying Horse" by Robin Kingsland and "Percy Gets It Right" by Paul Larson

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

The demolition of the abandoned mine was no real loss to the engines of the Kirk Ronan branch line, even less so when it was said that the rails leading up to it would be ripped up.

"At least we'll never have to worry about being switched onto the wrong line again," said Lauren.

"And no more trucks will be left there either!" Julie remarked.

"Good riddance to that old mine, I say," Johnson agreed. On that note, Lauren's guard's whistle blew, and she left with her coaches.

It didn't take her too long to reach Kellsthorpe Road, and she heard a horn cut through the air. "Bear?" she asked in surprise. "I thought it was Henry's turn to take the Local."

"Ah, hello, Lauren," he greeted, the red coaches in tow. "Audrey, Hilary, Mark, good to see you too."

"Likewise, Bear," said Hilary. "Not that it isn't good to see you too, but why are you here instead of Henry?"

"Well, Annabelle invited some of the engines to see her wedding reception," Bear explained. "It was impractical for everyone to be there, but we still wish her and Paul well."

"Oh, yes!" cried Lauren. "Congratulations to her and Paul!"

"There was a bit of a hiccup, though," said Sean. "Harold wanted to help Annabelle and her parents to the wedding after a signal failure, but he had engine trouble. Long story short, a hot air balloon and Sir Handel had to get them to the ceremony after that."

"That must've been quite the adventure Annabelle and her parents had just to get to her wedding on time," remarked Audrey.

"You sure said it," remarked Mick. "I'm glad Annabelle and Paul are married and all, but it will be strange without them on their honeymoon, y'know."

Indeed, the whole island was in a buzz of excitement for their Railway Girl and her new husband. It seemed only yesterday when Edward, Annie and Clarabel had helped out in her delivery, and now she seemed like a likely candidate for the Railway Board someday.

All the same though, when Harold was finally back in the sky, he still felt a bit down about the whole situation. "I wish I could have done something to help during the big day," he said to himself while on patrol.

"When you're ill, there's nothing that you can do except get better," one of his pilots told him.

"And besides," added his co-pilot, "there are still other opportunities to help your friends. You're doing it right now, by making sure none of your friends are getting hurt."

The helicopter had to admit, that was hard to argue against, as he refocused his attention to the goings on below. Toby and Mavis were bustling together at the quarry, Percy was at the harbor, and Thomas and Daisy took passengers from opposite ends of the Ffarquhar branch.

"All present and correct here," he observed.

As Harold continued flying along, he saw a flurry of activity down at the vicarage orchid at Wellsworth. "Oh! It must be the annual fete again," he remarked.

"Oh, hello there, Harold!" Trevor called from below. "Will you be attending Reverend Laxey's fete this year?"

"I wish I could, Trevor," said Harold, "but duty calls. I will remind everyone I can though."

"That would be great!" BoCo pulled in with posters on his coaches about reminders, and Edward came alongside with deck chairs, decorations, tables and tea urns. Posters were on his trucks as well.

"Every contribution helps," agreed the blue engine. "Thank you, Harold."

"Of course," smiled the helicopter. "Have fun assisting, you two." And he flew away.

Further eastward on the island, down near a farm at Rolf's Castle, Harold spotted a palomino horse in a shiny leather harness practicing taking a freshly painted cart.

Julie bustled in with a truck of hay for the horse. "There you go, Pegasus," she smiled. "You'll get hungry taking children for rides, won't you?"

"Is that his name, Julie?" asked Harold.

"Oh, yes," said the small Midi tank engine, as the horse's handlers began to help unload the hay. "His handlers named him after a Greek legend, in which Pegasus had wings on his sides and took the mighty Hercules places." She laughed a little at that. "It all sounds silly if you ask me. Horses can't even fly!"

"Well, one of my pilots has a daughter who is into My Little Pony," chuckled Harold. "Her favorite character is a Pegasus, North Star."

"Well, that's different," said Julie. "It's a cartoon; they aren't real."

Harold was amused by Julie's remarks, but still felt quite left out of the celebrations. The little red tank engine broke out of her laughter to give a reassuring smile to him. "I know you get very busy with what you do," she admitted, "but understand that we all value your presence on Sodor and you'll be in our thoughts during the celebrations. Without you, a lot of people and engines would be in worse situations."

Harold smiled back. "Thank you, lass," he replied. "I'd better get back to Dryaw and refuel, so that I will be prepared in case of an emergency."

"And I'd better get Pegasus' horse box," Julie smiled. "Fly safely, Harold."

Soon, Pegasus and his handlers were ready to load him into Julie's horse box, a special type of van for carrying horses across railway lines.

"Okay, boy," said the head handler, leading him along with his rope. "There's some nice hay and water in here for you while we take you along."

"Oh, I can't wait to get to the fete!" giggled Julie, and she let off steam in excitement. Unfortunately, this was a huge mistake… Pegasus reared up, causing the handler to let go of his lead rope, and the horse galloped away.

"Oh no!" cried the handler. "Pegasus, come back!"

"Bust my buffers!" exclaimed Julie. "I'm so sorry, Pegasus! Oh dear… where could he have gotten off to?"

The handlers split up to go looking for their runaway horse. One even got an apple out of her backpack to try and lure Pegasus out of hiding.

"Come on, boy," she called. "I've got a juicy snack for you."

Suddenly, a loud neigh caught her off guard, and she nearly dropped the apple in surprise. She rushed towards the sound of the neighing, and found some skid marks leading downwards into a ditch.

"Pegasus!" she cried. "Oh, how in the world did you get in there?!"

Pegasus let out another neigh, as if he was begging for help. The other handlers soon joined their companion and saw the mess Pegasus was in.

"Looks like we'd better call for help," said the lead handler.

Meanwhile, at Dryaw airfield, Harold had just topped off on fuel, with Percy at the station nearby, when his pilots got the message about Pegasus' situation.

"Oh no!" cried Percy. "The children will be disappointed if they can't go for a cart ride."

"The good thing is, Pegasus is uninjured," Harold assured. "This shouldn't take too long, chap."

"Good luck, Harold!" called the little green engine as the helicopter set off once more into the skies.

Back at Rolf's Castle, Julie was waiting anxiously while the handlers loaded the cart onto her flatbed.

"Will Pegasus be alright?" she asked. "I'm so sorry I scared him off with my steam."

"Thankfully, no injuries," assured the lead handler. "He was just a bit scared, that's all."

"Don't worry," Harold called. "I'll take Pegasus to the fete in my sling. You take the cart, Julie."

"We'll need to work quickly," said Julie. "It's a long way to Wellsworth from here, and the fete will begin in about an hour." The little red tank engine puffed away.

The pilots and handlers slipped the harness under Pegasus, and Harold started gently lifting him out of the ditch.

As Julie hurried her way along the main line and saw this display, she was amazed. "Flatten my funnel! Horses can fly after all!"

Along the way, Julie would start telling the other engines about her discovery.

"A flying horse?" remarked Henry. "Don't be ridiculous. Horses can't fly!"

"But I did see a flying horse!" insisted Julie. "Harold even helped him out!"

"Heh, now that would be a sight." Henry rolled his eyes, and glanced up at the sky, if only to amuse himself. "Harold's probably on patrol somewhere else."

"Henry, please!" begged Julie, but she had to continue on her way.

When she got to Wellsworth station, Julie saw Derek.

"Derek, you've got to believe me!" she insisted. "Pegasus was flying on his way to the fete!"

Derek chuckled. "Oh, Julie, you must have been listening to too many mythological stories."

"No, really! I saw Harold help Pegasus there!"

Curiously, the Paxman diesel glanced up at the sky, but he looked to his right. Harold was already flying by to his left. "Hmm… I don't see him, Julie." Before Julie could protest anymore, Derek's guard blew the whistle. "That's me; got to keep time. Bye, Julie."

Julie groaned with frustration. "I know I saw Harold flying Pegasus to the fete! I know I did!"

The fete went off without a hitch, and the children had a wonderful time, as did Harold, being able to see it after all. But when Julie returned to the Kirk Ronan branch line, she was still unhappy that no one believed her story about Pegasus.

"It shouldn't have been that hard to miss a helicopter carrying a horse on his sling!" she huffed indignantly.

"Maybe you should have said you saw Harold carrying Pegasus," said her driver, "and not just that you saw a flying horse."

"The latter… just sounded more exciting," trailed Julie. "But I guess being straightforward would have been the better way to– Whoa!" She glanced down at the tracks buckling under her wheels. "Driver, fireman, did you two feel that?"

Julie's driver stopped her – by now, they were just outside of Rolf's Castle – and then he and the fireman went down to inspect the rails.

"That can't be good," said the driver. "These rails have the earth crumbling underneath."

"We must tell someone at once!" cried Julie. "That could be dangerous."

When Julie returned to Kirk Ronan, she saw Lauren about to leave with Audrey, Hilary and Mark for the last train to Kellsthorpe Road. Johnson was putting his trucks away in a siding nearby.

"I've got important news!" said Julie.

"Don't tell me," scoffed Johnson. "It's about the flying horse. Henry told me about that this afternoon."

"No, Johnson!" cried Julie. "It's about–"

"I'm going to the shed," he grunted. "I'm very tired after the work for the fete today." And with that, he steamed away.

"Lauren, please," begged Julie. "The track before the Big Dipper isn't safe, and–" At that moment, Laruen's guard blew the whistle.

"Sorry, Julie, but we can't stop," said Lauren. "Time and passengers wait for no engine or coach!"

"But, Lauren–" Too late, the larger tank engine already bustled away.

"Will no one listen to me?" groaned Julie.

Soon, Lauren and her coaches arrived at Rolf's Castle. She glanced over at the setting sun, as the old ruins of the castle began to be cast in shadow.

"No wonder passengers love coming here at sunset," she remarked. Just then, she heard the whirring sounds of a helicopter. "Oh, hello, Harold," she greeted.

"Good to see you, chaps," Harold replied to her and the coaches. "Just on my last patrol for the evening."

Mark chuckled. "Hey, did you hear Julie's little tale? Apparently, you were with a flying horse today."

"Well, she was right," Harold remarked, and he quickly explained about how he used his sling to carry Pegasus to the fete.

Lauren and the coaches' eyes widened. "Wait… that story was true?!" gasped Hilary.

"My pilots told me about a book they read growing up," Harold said. "According to one of the quotes, they say that if someone isn't lying or are mad, then they must be telling the truth."

The quartet all had guilt hit them like a tidal wave. "We have to apologize to Julie when we next see her," said Audrey. "Thanks for clarifying, Harold."

"Not a problem, chaps," he smiled. Lauren's guard blew the whistle and she set off once more, while Harold flew off to continue his patrol.

Soon, the quartet were heading toward the Big Dipper over the Hawin Croka, when Lauren suddenly felt herself leaning to one side.

"Wh-whoa!" she cried. "Audrey, Hilary, Mark!" The coaches all gasped in horror, feeling helpless when their engine felt her wheels come off the rails and onto the sleepers and ballast. Lauren then hit the parapet of the Big Dipper, damaging her front bufferbeam and coming to a rather sharp stop. This caused the passengers in the old coaches to fly out of their seats, a few even getting injured because of it.

"We'd better get first aid right away!" the guard exclaimed, already proceeding to do just that.

Harold, thankfully, had been flying in the same direction as Lauren had headed, and quickly flew off to get help.

Within minutes, Harold had flown back to Kirk Ronan, where Julie sat sulking in the sheds.

"There's an emergency northeast of Rolf's Castle!" called Harold. "Laruen's come off some loose rails near the Hawin Croka."

"What?!" cried Johnson. "I… I didn't know they were loose."

"That's what I was trying to tell you, you idiot!" snapped Julie. "But did you listen to me? No! You just brushed off my story as if it was nothing."

Johnson was lost for words as Julie went to go and assist.

Lauren looked nervously down at the river below; she'd crossed the Hawin Croka many times before, but never did she realize how high it was. To make matters worse, she had her coaches, with passengers aboard.

"I can't fall, not with them…" she gulped.

Then, to everyone's relief, there was a whistle, and Julie carefully buffered up to the old coaches. Workmen scrambled out of a spare coach she picked up on the way to secure Lauren.

"Thank goodness you've come!" gasped Mark. "We're sorry we didn't believe your–"

"Never mind that now!" cried Julie. "Come on!" As soon as she was coupled up, she brought the old coaches and their passengers back to Rolf's Castle station, before returning again to assist Lauren. "I got you!" Julie called as she began to pull back. However, Lauren was much bigger than Julie, and to her horror, her wheels slipped.

"Ju-Julie?!" cried Lauren.

"Oh, please don't happen now!" she gulped. Just then, both engines heard another whistle cut through the air, and Julie felt someone couple to her.

"Keep reversing!" said a male voice. "Don't hold back!"

"Johnson!" Lauren exclaimed, as both engines started pulling back. "Are we glad to see you!"

Thanks to Johnson's help, Lauren was now brought to safety. All three engines panted in relief.

"Oh, thank you, Julie and Johnson," Lauren sighed. "Without you, we all would have fallen into the river."

"No…" Johnson glanced down guiltily at the rails. "Julie was trying to tell us about the loose rails, and we brushed her off. And for that… I'm very sorry for not listening to you."

"I'm sorry too," said Lauren. "And also about the 'flying horse' story." She quickly filled Johnson in about Pegasus.

"…oh…" trailed Johnson sheepishly. "I didn't even think about that possibility. Sorry, Julie."

"It's okay," said Julie. "If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I probably wouldn't have believed it either." The trio of engines chuckled lightly before starting to make their way back to the sheds.

Because of Lauren's accident, Wendy took her passengers the rest of the way to Kellsthorpe Road, and the following morning, the branch line was temporarily closed for repairs while Lauren went to the Steamworks. Julie and Johnson worked hard in repairing the bad bit near the Big Dipper, as well as its parapet. The line's reopening also coincided with Lauren's return to service, and things returned to normal once again.

And if there was one thing that Lauren and Johnson both realized, is that they would have to be better listeners to Julie in the future.

THE END

Lauren's derailment was inspired from an accident that took place at Newport on August 19, 1938. Three passengers were injured due to the train's sudden stopping.

Author's Comments

Originally, this story was meant to be titled The Star of the Show, but as writing progressed, it no longer seemed to fit. The new title, I feel, is a much better reflection as to what goes on in this two-way rewrite of Harold and the Flying Horse and Percy Gets it Right. Both fine episodes, but nothing truly amazing or spectacular. For those who might be confused, Another Fine Mess takes place before A Skarloey Wedding; the latter was written first due to Valentine's Day. So this story takes place after both already have, as was the original plan.

Upcoming rewrites:

- Bill, Ben and Mavis

- Salty's Stormy Tale

- Stick with Steam (Mud, Glorious Mud/Pop Goes the Diesel)

- Hockings' Last Stand (Trusty Rusty)

- Oliver the Snow Engine