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There was a sound and they looked up, separating. Rusty instinctively took a step back until he realized who it was. The pillar of steam showed it was his father, and everyone else.
Their voices reached him, "Well done Rusty, king of the track," they sang.
Rusty looked at Pearl and smiled shyly, blushing slightly.
"Well done Rusty king of the track," the train sang, "Well done Rusty, king of the track."
At Poppa's urging Rusty took a lap around the outside of the track, his lap of honor.
"Lap of honor canceled! Lap of honor canceled!" Control shouted, "Engines to obey Control!"
For once no one looked up, everyone ignored Control.
When Rusty completed his lap of honor Poppa held something out. Rusty sank down as his father ceremoniously placed a medal around Rusty's neck. Once Rusty realized what it was, he looked up, eyes shining. Poppa nodded. Rusty turned to Pearl and gave her a hug. Then he turned and hugged Poppa and Belle and Dustin. Pearl was clinging tightly to her engine's couplings.
Buffy and Ashley, standing apart from the others were watching Pearl with identical delighted expressions. They loved happy endings.
"I love it when romance occurs on the railroad," Buffy said with a happy sigh, "The steamer she dreamed of turned up right on time."
Ashley nodded, "Now steam is the winner, now steam's back in style. Maybe smokers might rate an occasional smile." She added.
Buffy looked at Ashley and pointedly smiled at her.
Greaseball lost his balance and fell. He waited for his head to stop spinning before starting to struggle back to his wheels.
"Greaseball you're hurt!" Dinah exclaimed running over to him. She started to cry.
"No, Dinah," he said quickly, clumsily trying to comfort her. He wasn't good at it. "Please don't cry," he begged, trying to get up. He looked down at his dented frame, little more then scrap metal now, "I'm washed up, I'm finished, but...gee...Dinah I," he looked down not sure of what to say, "I'm..." he sighed and looked up apologetically, "I dunno how to tell it."
"Come on Greaseball, you can spell it," Dinah suggested.
He looked up surprised. Spell it? I could do that... he thought.
"Okay Dinah," he said. He looked down, avoiding her eyes. He took a breath, "I'm S...O...R...R..." he hesitated, "R...Y."
Dinah shook her head with a smile. She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his hair. Greaseball sighed happily but he wasn't sure what was going to happen to him, to them.
Poppa had been watching Greaseball and he had an idea. "You could be converted," he said.
Greaseball detangled himself from Dinah and looked up at Poppa.
"Whaddya mean?" Greaseball asked.
"Rebuilt, with a new and better form of power," Poppa answered.
Greaseball slowly realized what Poppa meant, but was that possible?
"You mean I could be converted to steam?" he asked.
Poppa nodded, "Sure could, and with steam you'd be under your own control."
"Engines must obey Control!" Control's voice shouted, sounding more shrill and irritating then ever before, "Engines must obey Control! Do what you're told!"
In one movement, all the trains looked up towards the voice. They had had enough.
"Shut it Control!" they shouted.
"Diesel is for unbelievers," Poppa sang. He got cheers from the others.
"Electricity is wrong," Poppa continued. More cheers.
"Steam has got the power that will pull us along!"
Rusty looked at Pearl and grinned.
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel," Poppa sang, "There's a light at the end of the tunnel. The inside might be as black as the night..."
"But there's a light at the end of the tunnel," everyone sang.
"Sing it children!" Poppa called happily.
"A light at the end of the tunnel," everyone continued, "The inside might be as black as the night but at the end of the tunnel there's a light."
"There's a light!" the girls echoed.
They formed a wide circle around Poppa and Belle.
"It's the power of James Watt, the steaming Scot," Poppa sang.
"The man who watched the pot," Belle sang, "and said, "hey I've got a brilliant plot, when that steam is hot it seems to make a lot of power.""
"It could turn a wheel," Poppa suggested.
"Lots of power!" Belle and the others shouted.
"It could drive it down a track," Poppa continued indicating the rails.
"Clickety-clack, Clickety-clack," Belle and the others chanted.
"It could drive it with a beat," Poppa added.
"Choo, choo, choo!"
"With enough left over for a..." Belle started.
"Woo-woo!" everyone sang.
Poppa and Belle skated through the circle to stand next to it.
The rest split into an inner circle and an outer circle, rotating in opposite directions.
"He saw the light at the end of the tunnel," they sang, "He saw the light at the end of the tunnel."
"Well thanks James Watt," Poppa and Belle sang, "For watching that pot."
"He saw the light at the end of the tunnel," everyone sang, dancing, "He saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The inside might be as black as the night but at the end of the tunnel there's a light."
Poppa came to a stop in front of them and they instinctively slowed to a stop.
"There are dark days ahead," Poppa warned, "When the power goes dead, when the oil runs dry." He looked over at everyone, "What can we try?"
"We could use the sunlight," Belle suggested looking at everyone. They approved.
Poppa shook his head, "But it don't shine at night."
"Electricity is fine," Belle tried again with a wink at Poppa.
"'Til there are leaves on the line," Poppa retorted.
"Nuclear fission..." Belle started.
"Makes a nasty emission," Poppa finished.
Then what could they do? Everyone wondered.
"Oh yeah," they all sang.
"Once again the pistons will be hummin'," Poppa sang, picking up the tempo, "Steam will have a second coming!"
They lined up in four lines, dancing again.
"We see the light at the end of the tunnel," they sang, "We see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"Oh yeah!" Poppa sang.
"Just dig a hole and haul out the coal," Belle and the others sang.
"We see the light at the end of the tunnel, we see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"Everybody clap your hands!" Poppa called.
The four trains split and joined together, forming a star.
"So let the water boil," Poppa and everyone sang, "Goodbye to oil, at the end of the tunnel there's a light."
"We see the light at the end of the tunnel," everyone sang, "We see the light at the end of the tunnel. When that angel Gabriel blows his magic toot, we see the light at the end of the tunnel. We see the light at the end of the tunnel."
They split into two circles around Poppa and Belle again.
"We see that distant gleam that tells you it's steam," they all sang, slowing and looking out into the distance, "At the end of the tunnel there's a light."
Poppa and Belle joined hands.
"STARLIGHT!"
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