On The Empty Tracks Of Sodor (GOTP AU)

15. Deep Dive to Dark Places

"Percy..."

"Yeah, Thomas?"

"...Am I really Sir Topham Hatt's favorite?"

Percy hadn't really known how to answer that question last night when his friend had asked it, and he still didn't really have a good answer. 

It had seemed so out of the blue when they'd been sitting on the hillside, watching some film rolling on the big screen at what Boulder and Blades had called a Drive-In Theater. A massive tarp with moving pictures projected up onto it, Boulder had turned on a radio in his cab to allow them to hear the sound that was supposed to go with it, but somewhere in the middle of the film, Thomas had sat up from where he'd been laying after being quiet for a while, and asked this question-

-A question that was still swirling in Percy's head by morning.

Despite having been in a frustrated rage the afternoon before, Diesel had made some points. Thomas was referred to as 'The Northwestern Railway's Number One Engine,' and to some, that might only be a reference to the number usually painted on the side of his tender, but was it more than that? Percy hadn't really thought about it. He normally had a number six on his own tender, but that didn't mean that he was Sir Topham Hatt's sixth favorite engine, right?

Diesel had also said that Thomas never got in trouble for anything. That wasn't true, Thomas had been scolded by Sir Topham Hatt several times for reckless or dangerous behavior early in his time on Sodor... But then again, scolding was all that he really got. Other engines were punished for their misdemeanors, such as that time James wasn't allowed to pull coaches until he adjusted his attitude, or when Gordon had tricked Henry into not pulling the Flying Kipper one night and was forced to pull it himself as punishment.

Thomas rarely- if ever- seemed to get such punishments. Sir Topham Hatt would give him a stern talking to, but that was it. Was it because he was young? Percy didn't know.

But Diesel was right about one thing... The Diesel Engines were treated differently than the Steam Engines. Diesel engines were typically assigned down to the quarry, the junkyard, or other places were civilians were limited. They weren't seen by the public the same way the Steam Engines were- rolling up to the stations all shiny and clean, puffing their steam proudly and their whistles echoing across the fields like a bird's song.

Sir Topham Hatt checked in on places all throughout the day, but how often did he acknowledge one of the diesels individually, except to reprimand them for something they did wrong? Diesel said he acted up to be seen, was that the only way to get attention for them? Did they just expect to be looked over?

Percy wanted to find out, if that was the case, he should talk to Sir Topham Hatt when they got back to Sodor... Their Sodor, at least.

Boulder and Blades had said that several times the day before- 'Their Sodor.' Did they mean Sodor in their time, or... was it possible that the Sodor they'd been engines on was not the same one they had been exploring? Percy had set that thought aside, not really certain how to ask about such a thing.

Boulder had opted to let the engines sleep in the next morning, which Percy was eternally grateful for. The last two days had been grueling and had worn him out, despite being excited to see what all his new air mosaic status would bring when he really practiced with it.

Time was relative when you spent that time underground, it was impossible to tell what time of day- or night- it was upstairs, and so when the little green engine was finally pulled from sleep by movement, he was both surprised and not surprised when he was told it was nearly noon.