Thomas and the Magic Railroad Remake

Chapter 3 "Lily Goes to Shining Time"

Meanwhile, in the United States, far away from the Island of Sodor, Lily was packing her things to go see her grandpa, Burnett Stone.

"Okay, let's see. Clothes? Check. Books? Check. Shoes? Check." Lily checked off her list as she went around her room. She looked around, as if she was missing something. "Oh! Silly me. I forgot about Blue Bird."

Lily grabbed her stuffed animal and placed it in her suitcase. Her opened window was letting the cold breeze in her room.

Lily's mom, Mrs. Stone, came into the room. "Brrr. It's cold outside, Lily. How are you not freezing?"

"Don't know. I'm just used to the cold, mom." Said Lily. She closed the window and sighed. "So glad you're coming with, mom. I really appreciate it."

"Oh, of course, sweetheart. I wouldn't be going if you didn't ask last night." Mrs. Stone said. She checked her watch. "Oh, it's almost time to go. Zip up your suitcase and we'll leave in five minutes."

Lily nodded as her mom left the room. She stared at the window, looking down at the busy streets of New York City. She closed her eyes for a split second, as an image of a purple engine rolled down a set of rails. She opened her eyes.

"That was weird." Lily shook off the thought and zipped her suitcase. She walked out of her room, wearing her red coat. "Okay, I'm ready to go."

Mrs. Stone clapped her hands together. "Great. Let's get going, our taxi is already waiting downstairs." She grabbed her suitcase and walked out of the apartment with Lily right behind her, letting the door slam shut.

Lily and her mother packed their suitcases in the Taxi's trunk when they got downstairs. They got in the car and the taxi drove them to the airport.

As the taxi drove down the street, Lily started to close her eyes again. Suddenly, another image of the mysterious purple engine appeared, this time, the engine was in a beautiful meadow as a face formed in the front of it.

Lily gasped as she shot up. She looked at her mom. She was gone. "Mom? Where'd you go?"

"Lily, I'm right here. You fell asleep on the way to the airport." Mrs. Stone said. She opened the door for her daughter and Lily got out. She grabbed her suitcase and dragged it on its wheels through the building.

Everyone was busy and hurrying on planes. Others were waiting for loved ones to get home so they could give them a big hug, while others... were arguing with the flight attendants to get their way on the plane.

Lily and her mother made their way to their flight. Some others were heading in the same direction. Lily and her mom boarded the flight and placed their suitcases above their seats.

Lily sat in the seat next to her mother. They smiled at each other as the flight attendant announced the plane was taking off in two minutes.

Lily took her smartphone out of her pocket and went to her music. She scrolled through the playlist, looking for the perfect song to listen to while she was waiting for the plane to take off. 

Finally, Lily found a song she could listen to. It was a slow and upbeat song. She smiled as the plane took off the runway. It flew high above the clouds. And as Lily kept listening to her music, she slowly fell asleep.

Back on Sodor, Thomas was puffing through a dangerous rainstorm. The powerful wind blew against his boiler as he chugged through the rain.

"Oh, I sure hope this rain stops soon. There could be branches on the line if this storm doesn't end." Thomas continued through the rain. He could feel something wasn't right, as a flower died, drained from color.

Thomas puffed into Knapford Station, where it was warm and dry. He watched as lightning crackled across the dark sky. His boiler bubbled as he gulped.

Mr. Conductor came out of Sir Topham Hatt's office, wearing a raincoat. He shivered as soon as he stepped out. "Brrr. It sure is windy today."

"It sure is." Percy said as he stopped next to Thomas. He couldn't remember the last time when the rain got so bad before. The wind howled as the trees were ripped out of the ground and onto the tracks.

"Oh no! Let's hope this storm ends, or someone could get hurt." Thomas said. He blew his whistle as Emily came from the mainland. "Emily, stop! There's a tree!"

Emily gasped and applied her brakes. She tried to stop, but the wet rails made her wheels slip. She shut her eyes and crashed into the tree, coming off the rails.

"Oof." Percy wheeshed. "I'll... go get the breakdown train." He blew his whistle and reversed backwards to the shunting yard.

Thomas looked at Mr. Conductor. "Sir, what exactly is the source of your power?"

"Well, now. I can't exactly remember the exact details, but all I know is that the source is magic." Said Mr. Conductor. "But it also had a story."

Thomas smiled. He liked hearing stories, especially from the engines on the Narrow Gauge Railway. "Can you tell me and Emily the story while we wait."

Mr. Conductor chuckled. "Maybe tomorrow night. Right now, you have jobs to be done, even if we have a storm."

Back on the plane, Lily was sleeping happily. Her dreams of seeing the steam engines of Shining Time excited her, especially seeing her grandpa. As she turned in her seat, it happened again. Once again, another image of the mysterious purple engine appeared.

The purple engine had sparkling gold dust around as it puffed down the tracks. The engine stopped and its face appeared. "You have to help to save the magic. Without it, the magic from my world will perish."

Lily shot up and gasped. She had never experienced a dream like that before. Ever. She looked around. Everyone on the plane was fast asleep. Even her own mother was sleeping, snoring softly.

"That was extremely weird. Why do I keep seeing that engine?" Lily said to herself. She was worried it was some nightmare she was having. But it wasn't. The engine meant something, but Lily wanted nothing to do with it.

Suddenly, the captain spoke. "Attention everyone, we are now arriving in Shining Time. Please fasten your seatbelts and hold on. It could be a bumpy ride."

Lily shook the thought off and tightened her buckle. She shook her mom awake to let her know that they had arrived at their destination.

As they stopped and landed into the airport, Lily and her mother grabbed their suitcases and headed toward the boarding tunnel. They went through and arrived. They were at Shining Time.

Lily looked around for her grandpa. She was waiting to see him so she could give him a big hug. Mrs. Stone tapped her shoulder.

"Yes, mom?" Lily asked, turning to her mother. Her mom pointed to the seats and Lily turned her head to see her grandpa. "Grandpa!"

Lily ran over to her grandpa and gave him a big hug. Her grandpa smiled. "Lily, it's so good to see you here." He looked at Lily's mom. "Good to see you too, Lilah."

Lily then thought about the purple engine. It's words swarmed around her head like a bee. "You have to help to save the magic. Without it, the magic from my world will perish."

Lily wondered what the engine meant. Magic? Her world? Was there another world on Earth where trains could talk? No, it wasn't possible. Magic didn't exist. But if it did, then where would Lily start to solve this mystery?