Sodor's New Worker (Semi-Hiatus Due to an AO3 rewrite)

Dreams of Dust

   Dreams are nice, especially when you dream about those that you love. For Maddy, that meant having dreams about her beloved boyfriend. Her knight in shining armor saving her from all types of shenanigans. It was pure bliss, a break from the nightmares that plagued her. Though soon enough, her surroundings went dark and she was left in the void.

"What the...?" she murmured to herself, "It's all dark...hello? Is anyone here? James? Buzzy Butt? Where did you go..?"

   All around her was nothing but darkness for miles and miles. No James, no background, no nothing. She assumed she was having another nightmare until she was greeted by a beautiful flash of golden light right in front of her.

"Woah!" Maddy gasped. In front of her formed a small length of tracks and sitting upon those tracks was a tiny, gorgeous purple engine. She knew who it was immediately.

"La..dy..?"

"Hello, my sweet child.." she hummed. Boy, she had the voice of an angel. "I'm glad I finally get to contact you.."

"Contact me..? What are you talking about..?"

"I've heard of you, Maddy...you're the product of my gold dust. It's a shame what they did, but look at you now..so strong..you've made so many friends in the short amount of time you've been here..."

"Oh..Lady..I have so many questions!"

"One at a time, my child.."

"..Okay..Okay..Uhm.." she thought, "Why are my friends able to be human..?"

"Hmm..well, there were a few entities similar to me..but they've long been scraped and their souls wander the planet. I seem to be the only one still around..but..that originally comes from an old friend of mine, Lord. Along with me, we gave sentience and humanity to engines across the globe. Though he no longer puffs on the tracks, his magic still courses through your friends."

"That's..really cool. Now..hmm..Diesel 10..he captured me, saying I knew something about you..what's going on with that..?"

"Oh...that.." she frowned. "Diesel 10 was an old lover of mine...think of it as an Adam and Eve situation. We certainly weren't the first-ever engines, or, at least he wasn't. I had been around for a while when I met him and the connection was almost immediate. However, as more and more steam engines moved to the island, he became corrupt, saying that diesels should run the railway. I wasn't going to put up with that, steam engines and diesel engines should work together. So, I left. He wasn't too happy about that and vowed that he would track me down and use my magic for evil purposes..to wipe out me and your friends."

"Yikes...I didn't know anything about you other than you're the source of my powers..that you're some mythical, otherworldly being.."

"You're correct with both of those assumptions, my dear..I'm sorry I wasn't able to contact you until now. It's a bit of a harder process to connect myself with a human infused with my magic, especially since you're the only one that's survived.."

"I...understand that. I've only read about you in books. Humans haven't seen you around much, have they.."

"Those that did have been dead for a very long time..I've never been properly documented..they didn't see a need to. It only started happening when I went into hiding. I do miss my friends, but it's for the best. I highly doubt they remember me..or they've been scraped.."

"Well, you live in my friend's memories. They know you're important, even if they've never met you to my knowledge..they probably won't believe me when I say I've spoken to you...even James.."

"Oh, James..he was my favorite engine I gave sentience to..such a vulgar personality.." Lady giggled. "I have been keeping a close eye on your friends, my dear, don't you worry about them...and your Jam Jam.."

"Excuse me-"

"I know all about it, Maddy. I'm proud of you for being able to tame that beast..you make a nice couple, and you will for a very, very long time..."

"What do you mean..?"

"Your lifespan isn't that of a normal human, my child..you age much slower. You'll live as long as your friends, maybe even longer."

"Wow.."

"I'm very proud of you, Maddy, for pulling through all that you have. I hope to talk to you again soon, for I must go. Goodbye for now, my sweet child.."

"Wait, Lady-"

   Maddy ran up to Lady as she disappeared, giving her a hug and thanking her for everything. She heard Lady chuckled as she vanished from her dream realm. Maddy had no time to cry as her dreamscape quickly crumbled around her as she abruptly woke up, gasping for air.

"Woah! Honey Bee!" James exclaimed as he was rudely woken up by her. "What's the matter..? It's 3 in the morning..!"

"I..I.." she sputtered, trying to calm herself down.

"Take your time, honey.."

"I spoke to her..I spoke to Lady.."

"You did not."

"I did..! She was so small...and pretty..she had the voice of an angel.." she whispered, leaning onto James. "She told me she was proud of me..she told me everything.."

"No way.."

"Yes, way..! She's the last of her kind..! Everyone else is scraped..! Only their souls roam the planet now..! She-"

"Hey, Hey.." James hummed, pressing a finger to her lips, "One thing at a time, Honey Bee.."

   Taking a deep breath, Maddy recounted to James everything that they talked about in her dream realm. As he sat there, listening contently, James slowly began to realize she sounded like she was telling the truth. He couldn't believe it. Lady was out there somewhere, roaming the tracks. He had long believed that she was only an old wive's tale, that she had been gone for generations. That theory began to crumble the moment he met Maddy, however, but he still hung onto it.

"That's..amazing! So that means she's alive...hiding somewhere.."

"I know..! I gotta tell everyone else..!"

"In the morning, Honey Bee, it's the middle of the night.." James chuckled softly. "C'mon, let's get back to sleep.."

   Both of them laid back down, drifting off back to the dream realm until morning.

However, when Maddy awoke just a few hours later, she noticed gold dust scattered across her pillow and stuck in her hair.