This doesn't really qualify as a crazy conspiracy theory. It's really just limited to some speculation about our favorite magical engine, LADY!! :D
Uh, no. I'm talking about Proteus. I find Proteus really intriguing in Matt's series. He's ghostly, mysterious, and untraceable. The Skarloey Railway engines and maybe Sir Frederick Aura seem to be the only ones who know of him. What I'm really confused about is this: what are his true motives? We've been pretty much assured that his intents are of no evil, as he seems to oppose Aura, and assist those in need. However, in Just Another Wild Goose Chase, Skarloey claims to recognize the engine. After he has already stated this, he says "I'll find out who this mystery engine is, and this time I'll send him packing for good." This statement leads us to assume that Skarloey has tried to send Proteus packing before. Let's jump forward to Swashbuckler. In that episode, we see that Skarloey literally saw Proteus in his live, physical form once in his life. Skarloey was in the shed, Proteus arrived on a flatbed, he left for the quarry, and died on his way back. Skarloey even described him as a cheerful engine, and from his account of the story, he seems to have gotten along with Proteus. So why would he want to send the ghost of Proteus "packing," after claiming to recognize the engine? Truth be told, I haven't the slightest clue. Rheneas, on the other hand, doesn't recognize Proteus at all in Just Another Wild Goose Chase, which makes sense because according to Proteus' backstory as told in Swashbuckler, Rheneas literally NEVER saw him! Yet, he knows the story of how Proteus dies, and seems to know a lot else about Proteus. Well, sure, Skarloey told him about him, but still, I feel like Rheneas knows too much about Proteus for never having seen him except as a ghost. There's a bit here that doesn't add up. Jumping back to Swashbuckler again, Skarloey claims that Proteus looked like him when he arrived. In the flashback, Proteus looks just like he always had, much more like Sir Handel than Skarloey. Of course, Proteus' wooden railway model looks like Sir Handel, so this doesn't necessarily mean anything. However, I think this at least says that Proteus doesn't literally shape-shift, but each engine sees him differently, if that makes sense. I don't know exactly what that means, but it's clear that Proteus had this strange ability prior to his death. I discussed Patriot and his ghostly form in a previous blog, and Culdee Fell has given me some insight. In the beginning, as Alaric and Eric are looking at the carving of the Man in the Hills at High Peak Marshalling Yard, we see the ghosts of Patriot and Proteus together. Patriot asks Proteus why he is "here," and Proteus says "because he keeps trying to go back." I'm not exactly sure what this means, but this leads me to believe that engines do not become ghosts at random, and are brought into the spiritual realm (which I believe to be "here") for a reason. This means we probably won't see Muddle, Mayhem, Filibuster, or the Scrap Engine as ghosts, but who knows (Matt does)? Proteus seems to be able to bring deceased engines into the spiritual realm, but only if he has a purpose. His purpose for bringing Patriot into the spiritual realm is because he wants to "go back." Perhaps Patriot wants to return to our dimension to avenge himself. When he appears watching 'Arry and Bert in Munitions, this may be him "trying to go back." Proteus perhaps doesn't want him to be seeking revenge, for this is not the reason he brought Patriot back to life. The question is, though, who brought Proteus into the spiritual realm? Was it the Man in the Hills himself? Did Proteus have some divine ability to do it himself? Was it Time Baby? Is EE93 actually some sort of all-seeing entity that reigns over Sodor and controls time and spice? I don't know. I'm kinda rambling at this point, so it's probably best that I wrap this up. This was a lot more questions than answers, and a lot more random speculation than legitimate theories. Well, anyways, this is BBTE signing off. Don't forget to let me know what you think of this theory(? Can I call it that?), and let me know what mysteries you'd like me to cover!
再见 Zàijiàn!