This is a story about a Magic Railway, the people on both sides of it, and how it was saved from destruction by sinister forces.

Our story begins on the Island of Sodor, a magical place where dreams come true, and, of course, the engines talk. It started as any other morning would have, Sir Topham Hatt briefed his engines on their work for the day and they set about doing it, but today was a special day, Sir Topham was leaving on holiday that night and was waiting for a friend to take over for him until he returned, Mr Conductor, normally he would not need to call him in, but with Diesel 10 on the Island, he was taking no chances.

We turn to the other side of the Magic Railway, very far from Sodor, is my hometown, Shining Time; Mother was the stationmaster and Father was the engineer for the railway's main engine that served Shining Time and the rest of the branch, my best friend was Mr Conductor, the smallest person alive at nearly two inches tall, his main transportation was the Gold Dust in his whistle. That morning I was touching up some of the paint on the walls of the station before I was to head up to Muffle Mountain to help Bernet Stone take care of his place, his granddaughter was supposed to arrive late today, and though I was curious to meet her, she was to come in long after I left for the day, when Mr Conductor popped out of his house "Ah good morning Christopher." he remarked.

I smiled back "Good morning Mr C, today's the day you leave for Sodor right?" I asked, I thought so, but after working for as long as I had, you tend to forget small things

Mr Conductor chuckled "Yes it is, one day I'd like to take you there if your parents don't mind, but the travels between have been getting bumpier for some time now." he replied as his face fell.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, concerned for my friend.

His smile returned "Don't worry yourself, I'm sure it will sort itself out soon enough. I must be off, good luck Chris."

I nodded "Same for you Mr C."

I finished touching up the walls and headed up to Muffle Mountain, Mr Stone was not in his house like he usually was, so I thought he would be in his "secret" workshop, I never told anyone about it, he did seem surprised that I found him "How did you find me?" he asked.

"I found the entrance to this place almost a year ago, I've never told anyone and I don't even know what is down here," I informed him.

He gestured to the switch on the wall. "Flip that on"

Obliging, I saw a small 0-4-0 tank engine, I could not recognise her livery, purple with gold lining, but considering her name was Lady, I had a fairly good idea as to whom had built her. "She is named in honour of your wife isn't she?" his sad nod affirming my thoughts, so I tried to get his mind off the subject, "Your granddaughter is coming today isn't she?" I asked

He nodded "Yes, Lily is coming today, sorry you won't be able to meet her until tomorrow."

I shrugged "It's alright sir, I suspect I would be too boring for her to pay much notice, what with being a big city girl, not much a country boy would be able to do to warrant her interest." I replied.

Bernet chuckled "I think you are trying to get out of meeting a girl Chris,"

I scoffed "I doubt very much I would be of any interest to her in any capacity, and you know why I've not gone out with any of the girls from school, bloody airheads the lot of them, I don't know why mother insists I give any of them a chance."

By now Bernet was full on laughing after a bout of laughter he replied "Stacy just wants grandchildren,"

"And she can pester me when I'm older, I'm only ten!" I exclaim

"Yes" he muttered "The same age as Lily." he then got a look in his eyes

I quickly figured what he was thinking of "No, you are not going to set me up with your granddaughter without her interest and consent."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and I was on my way home, above the station. Mother was with a young girl when she waved me over "Chris, Lily here got on the wrong train and should be at Muffle Mountain with her Grandpa Stone, could you take her." she asked.

"Of course, Mr Stone might wonder when I come up twice in a day, but he'll be glad to see her," I said and waited for her to walk away. "I'm Christopher, that was my Mother, I work for your Grandpa daily, I'll be happy to take you there," I told her.

"I'm Lily, how will we get there? I mean you can't drive." She said

I shrugged "Ever ridden a horse before?" I asked.

As soon as we set off, she gripped me tightly, I didn't need to see her face to tell she was terrified. "Relax, I won't let anything happen to you, I'd much rather injure myself than see someone such as yourself is injured," I called to her, bringing Patch, my horse, to slow his pace, this seemed to calm her slightly.

"Thank you, I'm sorry, I must seem rude," she said with… regret I think.

I turned to face her "Hardly, you've never ridden a horse before, I should've started out much slower, it is I whom should apologise."

Her face softened "There is no need to," she said softly and we said very little for a time.

Her words had disturbed me for some time, finally, I had to ask her "Why do you seem sad Lily? Is there something I could do to help you?"

For a moment she said nothing, I thought that I might have breached a subject that she didn't like to talk about, but before I could change the subject she replied "It's never been the same since Grandma died, and now that this is a permanent move, I don't know if I'll fit in."

I was confused "Your Grandpa didn't mention that you would be living with him, he's just said it was a visit." She sighed, I thought it best to stop "Perhaps you would like to stop." after she slowly nodded I helped her down, we were in a field and I noticed she seemed emotional, so I pulled out a blanket to sit upon.

She seemed grateful for the break, "Thank you, I just…" she could barely speak as tears appeared in her eyes, my heart softened and I took her hand. The small gesture seemed to help as she continued "I was sure that I would not find anyone here with whom I would befriend."

"I will be here for you, all you have to do is ask for me, and I will hurry to you," I told her.

She smiled at me and for a time I was mesmerized by her beauty, but she soon broke my train of thought as she replied "Thank you, are you sure you wouldn't tire of it too quickly, I feel as though I would be calling you up often,"

I shrugged "Call and I shall come, this I promise to you," I replied, "And my word is my honour."

She thanked me and we resumed our journey to her grandpa's. Mr Stone was surprised to see for the second time that day but his expression softened when he saw Lily, I could see that my job was done for the day and so I set off for home, what I could not predict, however, was what was happening over on Sodor, and that Lily and I would be needed soon.

Mr Conductor arrived on the Island of Sodor on time, sort of. He was there at the right time, but instead of being at Knapford, like he was supposed to be, he was at Tidmouth Halt, thankfully Thomas was approaching "Mr Conductor, thank goodness you're here," he said.

"Hello Thomas, Jim, Byron, I appear to need a lift to Knapford." Mr Conductor remarked.

Jim, Thomas' Driver, called to Mr Conductor "Come aboard, we're on our way there ourselves."

Soon Mr Conductor was at Knapford Station and had thankfully caught Sir Topham before he left for his holiday. "Sir I apologise for my tardiness, I appeared at Tidmouth instead of here," Mr Conductor said.

Sir Topham waved him off "No harm done, Lady Hatt was getting impatient but I had to warn you about Diesel 10 in person."

Mr Conductor forced himself to suppress a shutter, he knew that name, Diesel 10 had tried and failed to destroy the Magic Railway years ago causing the engine of it to become the "Lost" engine. "Yes sir?" he asked.

"I have Diesel 10 relegated to the scrapyards, if he is elsewhere though, do as you see fit." Sir Topham replied.

Mr Conductor nodded and set about working, considering the lateness of the hour, Mr Conductor set about arranging his sleeping mat in Knapford Sheds, considering that the sheds were undergoing minor repairs along the western wall, Mr Conductor decided that it would be the best place to keep an eye on the engines and if he needed the help, he would have the numbers behind him.

That night most of the engines were asleep, Mr Conductor was laying in bed with one of his new books and a mug of cocoa. All of a sudden, a very loud bang was heard by everyone, Diesel 10 had torn down the scaffolding on the western wall. "Well, well, well, look what we have here,"

Mr Conductor grabbed his whistle "Oh no, you will not catch me…" he yelled before blowing his whistle, but instead of disappearing, his gold dust simply sputtered around him.

"Sparkle's all gone, too bad, now I've got you where I want you." Diesel 10 replied, cackling.

Mr Conductor thought fast, then he saw it, he grabbed his bag of sugar and held it up to Diesel 10 threatening to pour it into his fuel tank, successfully driving him off, but his problem with his gold dust weighted on his mind, while he knew it was possible to restore his supply, it had never been done since the Lost Engine had become just that, lost, and certainly not while he was a Conductor, he resolved to work on the mystery in the morning.

Early the next morning, after Mr Conductor set the engines about work, he started out towards the windmill, his family had told him that if ever there was a problem related to the gold dust to go there. Rather than risking his sense of direction fouling up, he caught a ride with Toby, as he had to make a delivery there anyways. It was mid-morning by the time that Mr Conductor reached the windmill, he saw what he was looking for, engraved on the side of the windmill was a short poem of sorts "Stoke up the magic in the mountain and the Lady will smile, then watch the swirls turn as the life returns." Mr Conductor knew he needed help, he could only hope that perhaps Christopher would be able to. With that in mind, Mr Conductor found a Bluebell, one that would allow him to talk to Christopher.

On the other side of the Magic Railway, I was sitting near a river on Mr Stone's property when I heard the call of a bell, walking over to the sound, I pulled out the Bluebells and held one to my ear and spoke into the other one. "Mr C? Is everything alright?" I asked.

"No Chris, everything's not alright, I need you to come to the Island of Sodor. Do you still have that whistle I gave you for your fourth birthday?" he asked.

"Aye," it soon connected in my mind what he wanted me to do, "That whistle has some gold dust in it and I can use it to come to you, right?"

"Partially, you need to be at my house in the station for it to work. Good Luck."

I let the Bluebells drop to the ground and I went to find Mr Stone. Not surprisingly, I found him with his Granddaughter, "Mr Stone, I need to help Mr Conductor, I am sorry."

He waved it off "I understand, he has a very important job."

Lily was curious, "Grandpa, can I go with him?"

At that moment, I had a thousand thoughts running through my head, I was not opposed to additional help, but I wondered how she would handle the engines of Sodor. However, her grandpa answered before I could, "I have no objections if Chris doesn't mind."

"Not at all," I replied. And with that, we saddled up on Patch and started to Shining Time.