Since entering service, each of the electric engines was assigned to a duty on their branch line. Lisa would handle the passenger runs with Ashley, Melanie and Jess, taking passengers who wanted to travel up the Culdee Fell Railway. Carole, the strongest of the trio, was in charge of the goods traffic from Peel Godred and would often bring trucks for the steam engines to take from Killdane. As for Stevie, she was usually left to shunt their trains, although she was occasionally allowed on extra passenger runs for busy days. However, they weren't frequent enough for her liking, and she wanted to go out and see the rest of the branch line more often.
"It's not much fun being left in the yards all the time," she muttered. "I don't like being stuck in one place."
"In case you haven't realized, Stevie," said Carole, "we're all sort of in the same boat. We can't go beyond Killdane."
"But I don't see any boats, and we're not inside of one," said Stevie. "At least, not after we've arrived here."
Lisa giggled. "Not that kind of boat, Stevie. It just means we're in the same position as you. We don't really get a chance to see what's beyond Killdane and we have to rely on messages from the main line engines."
"Oh, I see," said Stevie. "But all the same, I'd love to get out and pull trains more often."
"Maybe I should leave some trucks behind again," joked Carole. Lisa and Stevie couldn't help but chuckle back.
"Thanks, Carole, but I think that might lead to you getting into trouble with Mr. Dry," said Stevie.
"Let's all get some sleep," suggested Lisa. "Maybe we can work on it tomorrow."
The following morning, Stevie was the first as usual to wake up; she drowsed comfortably as her driver started her up.
"Morning already?" yawned the blue electric engine. "The sun's not even out yet."
"Maybe not," chuckled her driver, "but we've got to start shunting now or the goods train to Peel Godred will be delayed."
"Is it an important train?" asked Stevie.
"Apparently, yes," said her driver. "Mr. Hockings was pretty adamant about it."
"I assume he likes to stick to the schedule?" ventured Stevie.
"Most likely," her driver shrugged.
"I guess that's okay," said Carole. "I don't like throwing the schedule out of control."
"Me neither," added Lisa. "I guess we'd better step on it." And with that, the trio set out to work.
Stevie quickly arranged the trucks for Carole's train and Lisa got the three coaches ready.
"It's a good thing the station's not that far from the sheds," said Carole. "Maybe Freddie will try and beat his own time again."
"I wonder who will meet up with me at Kirk Machan this time," said Lisa. "There's usually a different engine on the platform, and I don't get to see Shane Dooiney that often."
"Why do you think that is?" asked Stevie.
"He's probably just shy, I reckon," Lisa guessed.
"Well, I'll take your word for it, sister," said Carole as Lisa departed; as a passenger train, she took priority.
"Be sure to give me a message," called Stevie as Lisa left.
"We both will," assured Carole. "And we'll get one from one of the main line engines at Killdane too." Soon, it was Carole's turn to leave and Stevie sighed as her friends took off.
"Back to work down here for me…" she muttered.
Lisa was coasting down the line smoothly, and it wasn't long before she heard the familiar sound of hoofbeats.
"Hello," she called out to the riders and horses. The chestnut horse - now confirmed to be a mare - from her first day seemed to nod her head in greeting. "Hope you enjoy your rides."
"Thanks, Lisa," called one of the riders. "We always do."
"Hey, girls," called another rider to her two friends; one of them was riding the chestnut horse. The rider who had spoken up herself was on the buckskin Carole seemed to have taken a liking to. "Let's see who's the last one to the creek!"
"It's on!" grinned a third rider; this one on the black mare. "Let's go, Belle!"
The three riders raced off towards the creek, but unfortunately, they didn't realize that disaster was about to strike.
A fourth girl was hiding in the bushes with something in her pocket. She pulled the object out and then gave it a few stretches before beginning to blow it up with her breath.
"This ought to show those girls they aren't very good riders," she said to herself.
As Belle started to gallop past, there was a very loud BANG that got her to stop in fright.
"Whoa, Belle!" called her owner. "Easy, girl. What's going on?"
Belle gave off a frightened whinny, and before anyone could say "you can lead a horse to water", she threw off her rider and galloped away. Luckily, she was only bruised.
"Belle!" cried the rider.
"What's happened, Sophie?" asked one of her friends.
"Belle got spooked by something and threw me off," she explained.
"Oh dear," gasped her other friend. "We'd better find her. Can you still walk?"
"Thankfully, I didn't land on my knee or ankle," said Sophie.
The rider on the chestnut horse nodded thoughtfully as she jumped off her horse. "You take Prancer."
"How will you catch up to Belle?" asked Sophie, mounting the chestnut mare.
The other girl closed her eyes for a moment, as if listening to the wind. A nickering echoed in the air nearby.
"Diablo!" she called. "Diablo, come here, boy!"
Immediately, a black stallion appeared at her side. Giving a confident smile, the girl reached into Prancer's saddle bag and pulled out a halter and lead rope, put it on the stallion and mounted onto his back. She tied the lead rope to the other end of the halter to use as reins.
"Good boy," she smiled. "Okay, could you help us find Belle?"
The black stallion nodded.
"You always think of a plan, don't you, Lara," chuckled their friend on the buckskin horse. "Hurry, Starlight."
"Let's go, Prancer!" said Sophie. "Belle can't have trotted off too far."
Unfortunately, Belle was far from trotting; she was at a full blown gallop across the clearing and racing towards the edge of the railway next to the fence. She was going so fast and a long distance that the stationmaster at Abbey station saw her rushing past.
"I must alert Lisa when she stops here," he decided. The stationmaster then checked the schedule.
"Bother!" he cried. "Lisa's already been and gone. Now what do we do?"
Just then, he heard a tooting noise coming from Carole with her trucks. The stationmaster hurried outside.
"Carole!" he called. "We've got a problem."
"What is it, sir?" the purple electric engine asked curiously.
"A black mare is on the loose," he explained.
"Not Sophie's horse!" cried Carole. "Where did she run off to?"
"Heading back down toward Peel Godred," explained the stationmaster.
"Bother," sighed Carole. "I have to drop off these trucks at Killdane next." Carole then realized something. "Stevie's down there. You could ring her and let her know about what's going on."
"That's a good idea, Carole," said the stationmaster. "I'll let the stationmaster there know about the runaway mare."
Meanwhile, Stevie was shunting the trucks ready for Carole's next goods train.
"I really envy the horses…" sighed Stevie. "They get to travel much further out than any of us do."
At that moment, the stationmaster for Peel Godred came up to the blue electric engine.
"Stevie," he cried, "a runaway horse is coming this way."
"A runaway horse?!" she cried. "Oh dear! Where's it coming from?"
"Last reported going past Abbey station," explained the stationmaster. "It should be approaching here at any moment."
True enough, the black mare came racing in, still completely spooked, which only got worse as she was bolting down the line with all the noises of the railway.
"That's Belle," gasped Stevie. "What's got you galloping all the way down here, huh?"
Belle, who didn't seem to hear Stevie's voice, raced over to the trucks.
"Belle, whoa!" cried Stevie. "Wait, those trucks, they're for Carole's next train!"
The black mare, still frightened, kicked the trucks in the middle of the train.
"Stop that!" called Stevie. "You're going to…"
SNAP!
"…break a coupling…" sighed Stevie. "I'm going to need to get a replacement now. Driver, do you have any ideas on how to calm a frightened horse?"
"Hmm, horses are not my area of expertise," admitted her driver. "But maybe she'd want something to eat."
He checked his lunchbox, and aside from his eaten sandwich, he also had some apple slices with him.
"Horses enjoy apples; maybe she'll want a few slices." He picked some up and tried offering them to Belle. Unfortunately, due to inexperience, one of the key things that all horse owners know is that horses do not like sudden movements, and Stevie's driver had thrust his hand straight at Belle far too quickly.
The mare let out a frightened neigh and raced off.
"Not again," groaned Stevie.
"I guess she wasn't hungry," sighed her driver.
Stevie paused, deep in thought. "Driver," she said, "did you say you had your apple sliced up?"
"Yes, why?"
"Try laying them out in a straight line near me," she said. "But let's be very quiet, and don't make any sudden moves. We don't want to frighten her again."
"Hopefully that will work this time," said Stevie's driver. He slowly walked out and put the apple slices down one by one, and then he sat on Stevie's bufferbeam.
Belle twitched her ears and looked around. Everything had now gone very quiet. Her nostrils had picked up on something with a sweet smell.
Apple slices, she thought. And I am starving…
She trotted forwards and started to crunch down on the slices. Though she would have preferred eating the apple whole, beggars couldn't be choosers. Then she came across the engine who had been keeping an eye on her and her friends down at the trail riding area.
"Hello," Stevie said quietly. "No one was expecting a four-legged visitor in the yards today. I'm sorry if my driver and I scared you."
Belle tilted her head down and her eyes looked shamefully over at the trucks she had accidentally broken apart.
"Accidents happen, Belle," smiled Stevie, giving a light chuckle. "Seems to happen a lot around here, actually."
Belle gave a smile and rested her head on Stevie's bufferbeam. Just then, there was some distant shouting as Sophie, her friends and the three remaining horses entered the yards.
"Belle!" panted Sophie, dismounting Prancer. "Oh, you've found her. Thank you."
"It was nothing, Sophie," smiled Stevie. "Although, if I'm quite honest, Belle seemed to find us instead."
Sophie got a better look at Belle, still nuzzled up next to Stevie.
"You know, in another life, you two could have been horse and rider," remarked Sophie. "Come on, girl, we'd better get you back to the stables."
She gently took a hold of Belle's bridle. The mare let out a sad nicker.
"I promise to continue to keep my eye out for you, Belle," smiled Stevie. "You be good for Sophie, alright?"
The black mare let out a whinny in response.
"What did spook Belle, anyway?" asked Stevie.
"We're not sure," said Lara. "One minute, Belle was fine, and the next, she was off like a rocket."
"I think I may know who," said Sophie grimly.
"Who?" asked Stevie.
"Veronica!"
"Veronica?" asked Stevie. "Who's she?"
"She's made our lives awful even before Lara joined up," said the girl who rode Starlight. "And then she tried to take advantage of Lara's insecurities before we became friends."
"Oh dear," gasped Stevie. "That's awful. She can't go about spooking everyone's horses, especially when you're riding."
"Indeed so," said Lara. "We're just glad that Sophie didn't get worse injuries than a few bruises."
"Veronica needs to be taught a lesson," said Stevie. "Hmm… and I think I know just how to do it. Girls, what's your stance on harmless pranks?"
"You mean pranks that happen when no one's riding?" said Sophie. "Well… I'm in."
"Well, as long as no one gets hurt," said Lara. "What about you, Keenan?"
"Okay," she nodded. "What do you have in mind, Stevie?"
The shunter outlined her plan to the trio, who gave grins of delight. Even the horses seemed to be nodding in a joking way.
The following day, Stevie was busy arranging her trains, although Lara, Sophie and Keenan were hiding at the station close by.
"Here she comes," whispered Keenan.
The girls instantly went quiet as Veronica strolled in.
"Hmm…" she muttered to herself. "Those three must have run away from the stables. At least maybe we may get some decent riders there now…"
She sat down on the bench to unwind, and Sophie crept up to her bag, quietly unzipping it and putting something in.
"Right, now maybe I can eat something before I meet up with-" All too soon, as she unzipped her bag, she found something with eight legs. "AHHH!"
Stevie and the girls burst out laughing.
"Ohhh," Sophie tried to say casually, retrieving the item. "There's my rubber spider."
"That was not funny!" snapped Veronica.
"And I suppose Sophie getting knocked off by Belle was?" retorted Stevie.
"At least you didn't get hurt with our prank," grunted Lara.
"Okay, okay, so a popped balloon may have gone a bit over the line," Veronica muttered.
"If you dare try and upset these girls and their horses again, you're going to have to answer to myself and my sisters," growled Stevie.
Veronica was subsided by Stevie's threat and gave a nod.
"I'm sorry…" she muttered.
And that was the way Veronica kept it. Stevie maintained a closer bond with the three riders and their horses than ever before, and Lisa and Carole would shortly follow suit. Indeed, it would seem that in another life, the trio could have very well been those girls and those horses might have been theirs to ride and love.
Author's Comments
Zack: Here's chapter three to the first volume of The Peel Godred Chronicles, putting emphasis on Stevie the electric shunter! I'll late Rachel take this from here.
Rachel: So many references in this chapter, I think it's time for a Saddle Club roundup.
- Series 1, Episode 1, The Saddle Club - Veronica spooking Belle - Comanche in the episode - with a loud noise. It was a pager in the actual episode, but it's a balloon in this episode.
- Series 1, Episode 3/4, Trail Ride parts 1 and 2 - Stevie/Sophie spooks Veronica with a rubber spider.
- Series 1, Episode 17/18, Found Horse parts 1 and 2 - Stevie/her driver letting Belle come near them with a trail of food.
- Series 2, Episode 10/11, Riding Free parts 1 and 2 & Series 3, Episode 13/14, Lisa's Choice parts 1 and 2 - Lisa/Lara's connection with Diablo.
- Series 3, Episode 2/3 Moving On, parts 1 and 2 - Carole mentions that Starlight was spooked by a balloon popping, which actually happens to Belle here.
And the names used for the "Saddle Club" girls here, Keenan, Sophie and Lara, are a nod to their series 1 and 2 actresses, Keenan MacWilliam (Carole) Sophie Burnett (Stevie) and Lara-Jean Marshall (Lisa) respectively.
Next time, we'll see another of the electric trio Rise to the Occasion!
