Chapter Text
Christmas Eve had reached the yard, and everyone was in a festive spirit. There were Christmas songs playing over the radios, Pigs In Blankets on the dinner time menu, lights pinned up on every shed, and Dinah had switched her original blue dress for a more festive red one.
Control had gathered everyone in the biggest shed, ready to discuss the plans for the annual Christmas celebration. The shed itself had already been decorated, with tinsel, lights, fake snow, and a massive tree in the corner, covered in baubles and glitter, with a beautiful white star on the top.
There was mistletoe in the doorway, and that was where Ginny and Carrie were located, snogging each other and blocking the door. It took Flat-Top a while to convince them both to move, just so he and Dustin could have a turn, but then Poppa removed the mistletoe and shooed everyone away from the door, gathering them in the middle of the shed.
Control clapped her hands several times, getting the Rolling Stock’s attention. “Alright, can I have your attention please?” The shed fell silent in response. “Good. Now, I want to do gifts this year. And I’m also interested in doing a Secret Santa, so I was wondering if you would like to do one too.”
Everyone nodded. A Secret Santa sounded like a lot of fun! Especially for Little Blu.
This would be his and Pearl’s first Christmas in Control’s trainyard. Before, Pearl would have lavish parties and massive feasts at her old yard, and Blu would be forced to work without any presents or hot drinks while the humans celebrated back at his old yard.
The only good Christmas Blu could remember was when a kindhearted brakeman gave him a whole packet of caramel sweets as a little present. It stopped being good when Blu ate all the sweets without asking anyone else if they wanted some, and as a punishment he was given extra work and was forbidden from ever talking to that brakeman again. Fortunately, shortly after this happened, Control bought him.
When Little Blu first arrived at the new yard, Control put him in a shed with Pearl, to let them rest, get used to their new setting, and to help them bond. There, Pearl told Blu about her life back in her old yard, a rich area with more Coaches than Trucks, and multiple stations decorated with flowers. She spoke about how all the trains were kindly diesels who worked without fuss and treated each Coach with respect.
Then Pearl trailed off, talking dreamily about Steam Trains and how beautiful they sounded. She had only met a couple back at her old home, and they were both gorgeous Engines who had such distinctive smells and sounds. They had taken Pearl out for a ride, and she had been completely enamoured with them ever since.
Little Blu let her ramble, lost in his own thoughts. He wished that his life was as good as Pearl’s own. He wished that his yard’s station was covered in flowers instead of dust, and he wished that the diesels working there treated him with respect and didn’t throw him around on the rails. He had also never seen a Steam Train, and from the way Pearl had described them, Steamers sounded better than diesels.
That was many, many months ago, and a lot of things had changed at the yard since. The two had arrived just before The Racing Championship. Though Pearl had been granted permission to race because she was experienced on the rails, Blu could not because he was a newbuild. Pearl eventually befriended Rusty, a Steamer, but then ditched him for a shiny new Electrical as a race partner. That had led to Rusty nearly abandoning the races, forcing Poppa and Belle to race instead. Poppa exhausted himself during the race, and Rusty agreed to take his place in the final. Blu had been forced to watch all this from the sidelines.
Blu got tired and fell asleep before the final race, but fortunately Dustin filled him in when he woke up. Turned out, Pearl had ditched the Electric for Greaseball, who had just broken up with Dinah. Rusty asked Caboose to be his racing partner, unaware that CB had made a deal with Greaseball and the Electrical to crash the Steamer. The race was completely sabotaged, and Control ordered a rerun. Rusty was blamed for the accident, and Pearl, who knew he was innocent, was forced to keep her mouth shut out of the fear that she would be deemed complicit in Greaseball’s plan.
Then, Rusty spoke to the Starlight Express, and he decided to re-enter. Dustin, who had seen the Starlight too, asked to be his new partner. During the rerun, the Electric shot Pearl with lightning, who then disconnected from Greaseball and nearly went flying off the track. Rusty saved her, causing him to fall into third place. Greaseball, desperate for a new partner, tried to snatch CB from the Electric, and CB’s brakes suddenly failed, causing all three to collide in a tunnel.
Rusty won by default, but ran off to find Pearl before he could take his Lap of Honour. Dustin, along with Poppa, Greaseball, Caboose, and the rest of the Rolling Stock, all ran off to find him. The Electrical, on the other hand, stormed off with their Minders, vowing to never return.
The group found Rusty kissing Pearl, and he finally got to take his Lap of Honour. Poppa saw how sorry Greaseball had become, and he offered to turn him into a Steam Train. Greaseball ultimately refused the offer, but he was still a changed Engine. He and Dinah attended Couple’s Therapy, where they eventually repaired their now-healthy relationship. CB was given a lifetime ban from racing, though Control was now considering softening it after seeing how much Caboose had changed. And Rusty became the new racing champion and the King of the Track, with Pearl by his side.
Little Blu smiled as he remembered all this while wrapping presents in his shed. He had:
Metal Polish for Rusty and Poppa,
A headband for Greaseball,
Some sweets for Dinah,
Makeup sets for the other Coaches,
A gemstone collection for Dustin,
A gingerbread house for Flat-Top,
A red scarf for Caboose,
Some punchbags for the other Rockies,
A radio for the Hip Hoppers,
And a hot chocolate kit for Control and her family.
The only person he didn’t have a present for was Pearl.
She was the first Rolling Stock he met in the yard, and had been one of the kindest people he’d been around. She deserved the best present possible.
The problem was: What was the best present ever?
Blu decided to go and find one. There were several shops dotted around the yard, each one selling unique items that had been handmade. Blu hoped that he could find something for Pearl in one of them.
Little Blu went outside. Then, way too suddenly, he started feeling very unwell. There was a scratchy sensation in his throat, his nose was blocked, and his head felt like it had been shaken about so much he could barely walk. Not to mention, Blu was feeling very sick in his stomach.
Still, he managed to find one of the shops. It was about to close, but when the owner saw Blu, they let him inside to browse the pretty dresses and hats on display.
It took a while, but Little Blu ultimately picked a beautiful purple dress with a see-through skirt and a matching tiara with glass diamonds. Blu grabbed all of his money and gave it to the owner. “Keep the change, it’s Christmas!” He rasped out, shocked by the hoarseness of his own voice. The owner, though surprised, happily grabbed the large amount of notes in Blu’s clammy hand.
Little Blu exited the shop and tried to make his way back to his shed, but the entire yard looked blurry, and the nausea was getting worse.
Blu managed to find his way into an unused corner of the yard, where all the sheds were rotting, and where no one, not even curious visitors, entered.
Little Blu just wanted to shut his eyes and let the nausea pass, but then it got worse. Way worse. Before he even knew it, Blu’s lunch came flying out of his mouth.
Okay, Blu thought, this is bad.
He lay down on the siding and closed his eyes, the sickness not going away. Little Blu’s limbs felt like weights, pinning him down on the ground. His nose was running like a tap, preventing him from ventilating normally. And his head was now spinning so much it hurt.
Blu just curled up and somehow fell asleep, worrying more about missing the celebrations and giving Pearl her gift than his own health.
Blu started crying. Why did he have to fall ill just before Christmas? Would Pearl ever get his gift? Would she even like it? It had been a last-minute decision anyway.
As Blu slept, snow fell on the desert.
Now he was in trouble…