Hero of Harmony part 3

Jokesterrap didn't stop running until he made it to his bike and rode off. He stopped behind the coffee shop when he made sure that he was alone.

"Now to see what's in this box," he said to himself. He carefully opened the box, keeping a watchful eye, gasped. He could not believe what he saw. Inside the box was an old journal, a map, some blueprints, a key, and a wrinkled letter.

"Whoa," said Jokesterrap. He picked up the letter and began to read it.

Dear Jokesterrap,
By the time you get this box, I shall possibly be long gone. Remember the promise I made when you were little? Well, now that you're old enough, Gladstone is all yours. This map will help you find her. She'll require some repairs though, but if you're willing to take the responsibility of taking good care of her and keeping her safe, then I'm sure you'll do a great job of being her caretaker. Happy Birthday.

Love,
Grandpa Porter Coupling.

Jokesterrap stayed silent for a bit. Then a few happy tears started to roll down his cheek.

"I don't believe it," he said softly. “He kept his promise.” Suddenly a huge grin spread on his face.

"Yes!!!" he cried in excitement. With that, he raced home as fast as he could. When he got home, Jokesterrap almost broke through the door.

"Mom! Dad!" he cried. "You're not going to believe it!"

"What is it, boy?"

"Grandpa kept his promise!" cried Jokesterrap. "See for yourself!" and he showed them the letter.

"Has he now?"

"Yes," said Jokesterrap. "When I was little, he promised that one day, his engine Gladstone would be mine. And now it's come true!"

"There's a slight problem with that," said Tinker. "He never told anyone where she was hidden."

"On the contrary," said Jokesterrap, holding up the map, "he left this map so I could be able to find her."

"He did?" asked Tinker in bewilderment.

"Yeah," said Jokesterrap. "And I'm gonna go find her."

"Are you sure you'll be safe?" asked Jokesterrap's mother. “What if something unexpected happened?”

"I'm sure I'll be okay," said Jokesterrap. "I told you I'd be fine when you had doubts of me coming to this school, but I showed you that I'm alright. So I'll be fine with this."

His parents were not so sure,  but they didn't argue against their son's decision.

"See you later," Jokesterrap called as he headed for the door. "I'll try and be back by suppertime. If not, then don't panic cause I probably stopped somewhere else for food."

Jokesterrap followed the map very closely as he made his way past the school. He made extra sure nobody saw him.

"I don't want anybody asking what I'm doing and following me," he said to himself.

He did a quick double take.

"All clear." And he set off again. He looked behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, but when he looked ahead, he braked hard to avoid hitting Trixie.

"Watch where you're going!" Trixie snapped.

"Sorry, Trixie! Can't stop!” And Jokesterrap took off again. Trixie was puzzled.

"What is that guy up to?" she asked herself.

His journey took him through a rather deep forest.

"Sure is deep in here," Jokesterrap said to himself, getting off of his bike to take a look at the map. "But I'm getting close."

Just as he said that, he tripped over something.

"Ouch!" he cried as he hit the ground, "Watch it, you stupid rail!"

Realizing what he said, he got right back up.

"Rail? This is it!" he cried. "All I gotta do is follow this rail to Gladstone! But which way?"

He looked at the map again.

When you find the railway lines, follow them to the west.

So that's what he did. Getting back on his bike, he followed the tracks into the forest along the dirt path.

The line went through various turns, but at last, Jokesterrap stopped to rest and gasped at what was in front of him. It was an engine shed.

"There it is!" Jokesterrap cried. With a newfound burst of energy, he raced towards the shed. "This is the moment I've waited for since I was little."

Using the key, he unlocked the shed and slowly opened it. Once the shed was opened, Jokesterrap saw something in front of him. Its top half was sheeted in tarp, and he could see that the bottom half had wheels. Jokesterrap carefully took off the tarp and gasped. His eyes widened in amazement. There, in place of the sheeted object, was an old tank engine. It looked like it had not been used for a long time.

"She's beautiful," he said quietly,

He walked around the engine, examining it. It had gathered a fair amount of dust while it was in the shed on the parts of it that weren't covered up. A cobweb or two had formed around the wheels. And the back part of its cab was missing except for the bunker. On its side tanks, he could see the nameplates that read Gladstone. Once he'd finished walking around the engine, he laid his head on its bufferbeam.

"Hello, Gladstone," he said calmly. "My name is Jokesterrap. I'm your new driver now. I'm going to fix you, take good care of you, and keep you safe from anyone who wants to hurt you. I promise."

Gladstone, of course, didn't say anything. But Jokesterrap felt that if she had a face, she wound say "thank you". Jokesterrap stayed for a little while with his new engine, cleaning some of the dust and cobwebs off of her, until the sun began to set.

"See you tomorrow, Gladstone," Jokesterrap said. With that, he closed the shed, and prepared to go home. Suddenly, he smelled something.

"What's that?" he wondered. He took a big sniff and recognized that smell.

"It's apple pie! But where's it coming from?"

Then he noticed a few familiar people at a very familiar place.

"It's the Apple Family at Sweet Apple Acres!" he gasped. "Sweet Apple Acres isn't too far from Gladstone's Shed! My gosh, what a wild coincidence! If I'd known that, I would have just..."

Suddenly, Jokesterrap had a terrible thought.

"That means that Applejack and her family will be around in the orchards," he said. "If they go deeper into this forest and find Gladstone, they'll tell somebody and Gladstone will get scrapped! I'm going to have to be very careful. Especially when Trixie is nearby. If she finds out about Gladstone, she'll probably try to get her scrapped as revenge for that Ice Bucket prank."

So Jokesterrap quietly and carefully tiptoed out of the trees away without being spotted. But just before he was in the clear, he stepped on a twig and gasped.

"What was that?" asked Applejack.

Jokesterrap dove into a bush before Applejack could see him.

"Huh," she said. "Must have been a critter."

With that, she went inside the house for supper.

"Phew," sighed Jokesterrap. "That was close."

After making double sure the coast was clear, Jokesterrap raced away from Sweet Apple Acres. Half way home, he bumped into Trixie again.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped.

"You watch where you're going," said Jokesterrap.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" asked Trixie.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You seemed in a hurry earlier today," said Trixie. "I bet you're up to something and I'm going to find out what it is."

"I doubt that will happen, Trixie," said Jokesterrap. And he raced off again.

“He's up to something,” said Trixie. “I just know it. I don't know what he's plotting, but I am going to find out one way or another!"

Jokesterrap didn't stop until he got home.

"That was a very close call," he said.

"Hey there, son," said Tinker. "How'd the trip go?"

"It went fairly well," said Jokesterrap.

"Did you find Gladstone?"

"I did."

"That's great news, son," said Tinker. He felt proud of Jokesterrap.

"You know what else I found out?" added Jokesterrap.

"What?"

"Gladstone's hideout isn't too far from Sweet Apple Acres."

"Really?"

"Yes," said Jokesterrap. "But I can't let Applejack or her family notice me or else they'll find out about Gladstone."

"You're afraid of her getting scrapped, aren't you?" asked Tinker.

"How'd you know about that?"

"Cause that's the same reason your grandpa Porter Coupling kept Gladstone's hideout a secret too," replied Tinker.

"Guess me and him think alike."

"That might also be a reason he wanted you to have Gladstone when you were old enough," said Tinker. He looked to the ceiling and remembered some time ago before Porter Coupling's death when Tinker had asked him where he hid Gladstone.

Tinker was talking to his father Porter Coupling one day in Porter's house.

"Come on, dad," said Tinker. "Can't you tell us where that engine of yours is?"

"Sorry, Tinker," said the old man. "But Gladstone's hiding spot is a secret. I can't tell anybody where she is."

"Not even your own family? That's not fair."

"It's also the best way to make sure that she stays safe," Porter Coupling went on. "Besides, the only one I want to find her is Joksterrap."

"Jokesterrap? But he's a boy."

"That's why I won't tell him where she is until he is old enough," went on Porter.

Porter then showed Tinker a box.

"This is for Jokesterrap," he said. "But don't give this to him until he's old enough just in case I don't live long enough to give it to him myself."

“Don't worry, Dad,” said Tinker. “I'll make sure when he's old enough, he gets it.” He took the box, gave his father a hug, and walked out of the room.

Tinker's flashback ended as Jokesterrap snapped his fingers in front of him to get his attention.

“You alright there, pop?” he asked.

“Sorry boy,” said Tinker. “Just remembering the past. Say why did you run home instead of using your bike?" asked Tinker.

Suddenly Jokesterrap remembered.

"My bike!" he exclaimed. "I must have left it back by Gladstone's shed! I'll have to go back for it tomorrow. Just hope I don't get seen at Sweet Apple Acres or they'll be asking questions."

Before long, the family had their supper of spaghetti and garlic bread.

"Tastes like you've gotten better at cooking, mom," commented Jokesterrap. "Nothing's burnt to a crisp this time."

Last time that happened, the kitchen had caught fire burning his mother's drapes and ruining his father's garden.

"Well I've been taking cooking lessons," said his mother. “What's your thought on Mud Pie for dessert?”

“Is that the real thing,” asked Jokesterrap, “or a pie made from actually mud?”

His mom chuckled. “The dessert, silly. What do you take me for, a lunatic?”

Before long, the family went to bed, Jokesterrap looked up at the ceiling.

"Don't worry, Grandpa," he said to himself. "I promise I'll fix Gladstone and keep her safe. Just like you did."

Then he realized something. "How am I supposed to fix Gladstone? Last I checked, steam engine parts were rather expensive. And besides that, I have no idea how to fix a steam engine."

Then he remembered something. "There was more in that box. It was a journal and blueprints to Gladstone. Those could help out a lot."

Jokesterrap then dug inside the box and pulled out the journal and blueprints.

"There we go," he said. "With these, finding out what parts Gladstone needs will be easy."

And so he began reading into the night. Unfortunately, he fell asleep halfway through it and decided to pick up where he left off tomorrow.

“Shouldn't be that difficult,” he yawned. He put the journal on the nightstand next to his bed and turned his reading lamp off. Then he looked at a picture of him when he was little. He was standing next to his grandpa while the two were beside Gladstone. He smiled at this.

"Goodnight Grandpa," he said quietly. "Goodnight Gladstone." With that, he fell right asleep.