Bonus: A Return Journey

Oh? You're still here? I'd thought you were finished reading the story. I guess not.

Hmmm. Well… Seeing's as you're still here, I'll update you on what has happened these last twelve years. Wow. Has it really been twelve years since Sodor came to the real world? That's… worrying… it means I'm getting old. Scary!

Anyway, we made the move to Sodor not too long after the whole world jump thing. Taylor had indeed found our housing solution that day in Brendam, so we bought it and moved in. I thought it was a clever idea because that's was near where we'd lived for the last couple of days. It was the six of us for a bit, me, Matt, Tat, Sam, Taylor and Victor (And Matt's Pokémon.), before Victor proposed to Taylor one evening while we were having a barbeque in the backyard. As you may have guessed, she said yes, and the newly engaged couple started planning their wedding.

In twenty nineteen, the wedding happened. They had it up at Harwick and it was a huge success. Heh. Taylor even managed to get a game of Beach Volleyball in while we were there. Not long after their wedding, Taylor and Victor moved out up to a house at Ulfstead. Victor liked that idea, being close to his old home.

Twenty-twenty was when life began to look up for me and Matt. I became… uh… well… how do I say this without embarrassing myself?

…

I got nothing. Crap.

*Sigh*

I became pregnant.

Yeah, yeah. I know I shouldn't be embarrassed about it, but my face feels flushed whenever I talk about it. I mean, I was the first to have a kid in our little group.

Anyway, you can imagine everyone's delight when I told them the news. Obviously, I told Matt first and I remember the funny face he made before he passed out with joy. It was a great time.

Soon after that, Sam made his move and proposed to Tat. As much as I think Tat wanted to say yes and tackle him to the floor, she (Surprisingly.) held back, telling him to hold on until he was twenty. Her reason was that she didn't want to have kids while he was still basically a teenager. While he was disappointed, understood her decision.

On the twelfth of July, Two Thousand and Twenty, our kid came along. And while I don't remember exactly what happened, I do remember the excruciating pain I had to go through. Matt made a comment before hand, saying how lucky he was to not be a girl. I would have given him a punch in the arm if I wasn't currently trying not to pass out from the pain.

It was a little girl. She was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. It was a heartwarming time for the two of us. We called her Sapphire. Why we called her that was thanks to Matt. He suggested we call her that after me. My name being named after a precious stone. We chose Sapphire due to Matt having blue hair at the time. I thought it was a pretty name.

After living with Tat and Sam in the house for a bit, Matt suggested we look into getting our own house. He didn't want Sapphire to keep Tat and Sam awake thanks to a crying baby. Luckily, Thomas of all people (Sorry. Engine.), had a solution. He told us that a house up near Ffarquhar Station was up for sale. Thanks to Thomas, we bought it and moved in. It wasn't too big, but it was cozy. It even had a large backyard for Dusk, Primarina and Goodra. Not that Goodra stuck around for long stints of time. He preferred to go with Lady and explore the world with her.

Nothing special really happened for the next three years, save for Tat and Sam finally having their wedding, Matt got his Driver's license and Taylor and Victor having a little boy of their own called Hamilton.

Around twenty twenty-four, Matt got a job as a guard for Sir Topham Hatt. As much as he would have liked to drive the engines, that wasn't exactly an option when they could move themselves. So that year, he decided to get a car. While I don't really care much for cars, just as long as it got me from point A to point B, I was surprised with the car he came back with. I think it was called a Mustang GT? Of course, it was green too. It was one of those fancy looking muscle cars. Apparently, he'd bought it a short while ago from the mainland and had it delivered to Vicarstown, just so he could drive it home. We went for a quick drive and it was fast. I remember looking back to Sapphire in her booster seat in the back and watching her grinning with joy.

Matt also found a fun (Or dangerous in my eyes.) way to get to work every day. At 7:20 each morning, Thomas would come in with his first train from Knapford. He would get himself turned around and go to the front to the train, ready to take the morning express service back to Knapford. Matt would be waiting there for him. At 7:30, when the guard would blow his whistle, Matt would jump in his car and race Thomas to Knapford. The results would vary on who won. Sometimes, Bertie would even join in. While I didn't approve of this, Matt promised he was racing responsibly, not jumping out in front of traffic and whatnot. He says that all those years of playing Mario Kart have rubbed off on him. That's been going on for a few years now.

Sapphire started school in twenty-twenty five after two years in a Kinder near our house. She went to a school in Maithwaite, which meant she would have to catch the train. I went with her several times before she got the hang of it. Still, as a precaution, I sent Dusk with her. Matt even registered him to be her companion dog. While he wasn't very happy about being called a dog, Dusk still went along. I reckon he and her are much closer than him and Matt, which seemingly bugged Matt slightly. They would go to the station in the morning and catch the train to Maithwaite. Most of the time, it was Percy that pulled that train, as Thomas was still coming up the branch from his race with Matt and/or Bertie. The two would get home at about 3:53 in the afternoon and Sapphire would plonk herself down on the couch to do her homework while Dusk would go to his bed for a long rest. From what I've heard, Dusk is very popular amongst some of the other students. They love chucking sticks and balls for him, which wears him out somedays. Back to Sapphire, I've made it clear that she can't watch TV until she'd finished it. Sapphire's a smart kid, she knows what she's doing. Most of the time, she'll finish her homework in fifteen minutes or so, just in time for her favourite show. I don't really understand the concept of the show, but she likes it. Matt gets home at about six pm and he plays with Sapphire for a bit, most of the time on his Nintendo Switch, before dinner. Sapphire's favourite game to play was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe back then. Matt says that she'll be interested in other games as she gets older. I think so too.

Nowadays (Twenty-thirty now.), Sapphire (Now ten.) plays her own games on the Switch. Recently, she bought Super Smash Bros Ultimate with her own pocket money (She was very proud, as she'd been saving her pocket money for months on end.). Matt was very jealous, but Sapphire lets him play it. I've even had a go and while I'm not as hooked as Matt and Sapphire, I am somewhat hooked (Gee. I just contradicted myself!). I like to play as ether Sonic, the Inklings and Wolf. Matt plays as Sonic too, alongside Pokémon Trainer (Being one himself), the other Pokémon and Joker (Who he's surprisingly good at playing…), while Sapphire is really good at playing as Zero Suit Samus, Daisy and Hero. Just in case you wanted to know.

Every once in a while, Taylor, Victor and Hamilton would come over to catch up. Sapphire and Hamilton are good friends. They like to go down to the park nearby and play with Dusk. Tossing sticks and whatnot. Primarina has set up her own little stage near the station (With some help form the rest of us.) and performs at different times of day. Mostly when there are people waiting at the station. Matt says she likes the attention.

Tat and Sam didn't stick around on Sodor. They saved up enough money to go and explore the world. They video call us from time to time, just to see how we're doing. From what I've been told, Tat's having twins now. Sam was a little iffy on the idea but accepted it anyway.

Now that Sapphire is old enough to somewhat look after herself, I've taken up writing. I've written down both my adventures to Sodor, and they're both popular amongst Sudrians and the rest of the world. At the moment, I'm writing a book about a group of teens and a cursed cracked ruby. "It's interesting," from what I've been told from Matt and Sapphire.

That pretty much sums up the last twelve years. I've really enjoyed them and my previous ones. I hope that one day, Sapphire can find her own adventures. Hopefully, they'll be even more interesting than mine. Perhaps, she'll find another island that is waiting to come to the real world. If so, she'll be the right girl for the job…

"What'cha writing now mom?"

I jumped and let out a little yelp. I spun on my chair to face our little girl herself. She was laughing to herself. I brushed a strand of red hair from my eyes and chuckled.

"How many times have I told you to make some noise as you come in here? You nearly gave me a heart attack." Sapphire stuck her tongue out childishly.

"I did. But you were so absorbed in you're work that you didn't hear me." She grinned.

"Dad's gotten home, and he was wondering if you wanted to play Smash for a bit." I sighed. As luck would have it, I'd prepared dinner earlier.

"Sure. Why not." Sapphire cheered before giving me a hug.

"Thanks mom. I love you!" She let go and darted out the door and down the stairs, her orange hair swishing behind her. I chuckled. Before standing up, I glanced back at my paper and let out a happy sigh.

"Thanks for everything everyone. I've had so much fun."

With that, I followed Sapphire's tracks and headed down the stairs, leaving my paper on the desk, just waiting to be written on. A new adventure, a new story.

Ok. I lied. But now I'm finished.

I know I said most of this in the last chapter, but I'll happily say it again.

I never thought I'd be able to write two successful stories for a series. But I guess you lot proved me wrong.

To be honest, I had this extra chapter done while I was midst way through chapter 7. Obviously I had to make a few changes due to things not lining up, but that's in the past.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and reviewing my Amber series stories. It means a lot to me. Unfortunately, this is where it ends. For real this time! I don't think Sapphire will get her own story, but you never know. She might.

This has been a really fun ride to write these stories. Amongst finishing school and struggling to update at times, you've stuck around for the end of the series. Once again, I thank you for that.

For now, I'm putting Amber and Co down for a while. As Amber said, they're all having a good future and I'm sure you're all happy for them (I would hope…).

For now, this is the end. Maybe some time in the future, I'll come back for another one, but not right now.

Thank you all for reading Thomas and Friends: Amber's Journey and Amber. It means a lot to me.

See you all in another story! BlueTornado3275, signing off!