"That Hockings is a dirty, rotten coward hiding evidence so he wouldn't have to face the music!" exclaimed Lisa when she and the others heard about the report.

"And leaving poor Bertram's remains in the open for the others to see…" shuddered Stevie. "I'd hate to imagine what Freddie, Falcon and Stuart went through with seeing that."

"But where could his remains have ended up?" asked Carole. "Just the sight of an engine's remains is not something one will forget so easily."

"If I had to guess, a scrapyard somewhere," gulped Simon. "But you're right, Carole. It is horrific."

"I hate to say it, but until there's another serious incident, we can't really do anything more," sighed Carole.

"Indeed," said Stevie. "But we'll have to strike quicker next time."

The quartet all headed off to work, and Simon went to help out with the goods traffic.


"I still can't believe the case fell through," muttered Simon as he pulled out of the yards.

"At least the police now have a lead on the aluminum company," assured his driver. "You and the horse riders have done as much as you could for now."

"I guess we have," Simon sighed. He eventually pulled into Hawin Lake, where he saw Patch and the girls stroking their horses in the nearby paddock. In the next paddock over, there was a girl who was slightly older than Patch yet slightly younger than Lara, Kareen and Sophie. She had her own horse, a black gelding. A boy just her age was cautiously watching outside the paddock.

"Come on, Midnight," said the girl. "Please stop moving so I can brush you." Midnight cheekily tossed his head and grabbed the brush the girl laid on the ground, galloping off.

"Er, does that always happen with horses?" asked Simon.

"Not usually," admitted the girl. "Midnight is a bit… cheeky sometimes and temperamental other times."

"I usually stand well back," said the boy. "Horses are unpredictable."

"I know how you feel," sympathized Simon.

"They are really sweet when you get to know them right," said Lara.

"You have to be patient," added Kareen. "They are loving animals."

"Besides," added Sophie, "our horses did go with us to help find out what happened to Bertram."

"Well, I suppose I can't fault them for that," said Simon. He looked curiously at the girl and boy. "What are your names?"

"My name is Desaraee, but everyone calls me Desi," said the girl.

"And I'm Conner," added the boy.

"Desi and Conner are new to Pine Hollow," said Kareen.

"I'm trying to get Midnight to settle in," said Desi. "But… it's not exactly going well."

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Sophie.

"Well, I'm not sure," said Desi. "He seems to act up when I try to brush him or lead him to his stall."

"Maybe he just needs to adjust to having a new owner," suggested Lara.

"That's a good theory," said Desi. "He did change hands a few times."

"They must've found him difficult to work with, I reckon," said Conner.

"Don't worry too much, Desi," said Patch. "Soon, you and Midnight will be flying over jumps and put through dressage paces."

Simon wasn't too sure about the dressage bit, but he had seen the horses jumping over the logs near the fence on the trail.

"That must be tricky to do," he said.

"It takes a lot of practice," said Kareen, "but with enough balance and trust, it's a lot of fun too."

Simon coasted out when the guard's whistle blew, still thinking about Midnight.


Later that day, Desi was trying to get Midnight into his stall.

"Come on, boy," said Desi. "You want to stay warm with the autumn weather coming."

Midnight shook his head and shuffled over to another stall instead of his own.

"No, that's Garnet's stall!" cried Desi.

"Hey, Desi," said Veronica, coming in with Garnet; a liver chestnut horse with a blaze. "You alright back there?"

"Wish I was," sighed Desi. "Stubborn old Midnight won't enter his own stall!"

"Oh, Garnet wouldn't mind sharing for a day," smiled Veronica. "Maybe she can spend a night in Midnight's stall."

Garnet was led to Midnight's stall and Veronica absentmindedly put down her riding crop down on Midnight's door. The black gelding caught sight of it and reared up.

"Whoa, Midnight!" cried Desi. She scrambled out of the stall and shut the door.

"Desi!" called Veronica and Conner, the latter saw what had just occurred from the barn door.

"Are you alright?" asked Conner.

"I'm fine," she panted. "I don't know what happened just then."

"Why did Midnight rear up?" asked Conner. Veronica glanced at the door where the riding crop was.

"I've got to stop misplacing these things," she muttered as she picked it up, swinging it back and forth in her palm. Midnight backed into the corner of Garnet's stall.

"That's got to be it!" cried Desi.

"The riding crop?" asked Conner. "What's that to do with Midnight?"

"I've got a hunch," said Desi. "Come on, let's investigate."


The three riders left the horses to rest while they went to search Midnight's records.

"Let's see…" said Desi. "The first record of him was Sweetwater Stables…" She read on, and gasped. "His owner was reported for horse abuse. Mostly hit with a riding crop or whip. Sold shortly afterward."

"That would explain why he acts so stubborn," said Veronica. "He's afraid that his next owner will be just the same."

"Look at this." Conner scrolled down. "Second home, Cross County… reared up several times. Sold off again."

"And there's three more stables before Pine Hollow," said Desi. "All because of Midnight's abuse." The three riders looked at each other, a mix of shock and disbelief.

"What a bunch of whims!" cried Conner. "Midnight's not a bad horse; he's a scared horse."

"He needs more love than ever before," said Desi. "And I'm going to make sure he gets it."

"Does he like carrots?" asked Conner. Desi nodded and the two headed off to the fridge.


When word got back to the electric engines the following day, they were shocked.

"So all of his misbehavior stemmed from his first owner being abusive to him?" asked Simon.

"Looks like the aluminum works engines aren't the only abuse victims," gasped Lisa.

"Is there anything that can be done to help Midnight?" asked Stevie.

"I think the best thing to do is show Midnight that this home isn't like his first home," said Carole. "Just give him encouraging words when he's being ridden or in the paddock."

"I guess horses aren't so different from us after all," said Simon as he headed off with his goods train. "I just wish I could've said a kind word to Midnight earlier."


The black electric engine picked up speed as he wanted to give some kindness to Midnight as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Simon hadn't accounted for the recent rainfall, which had made the rails slippery.

"Looks like I'm making good time," he said as he got to a curve in the track. "Huh? Why aren't I slowing down?" For a brief moment, Simon thought that he was going to tip over and roll end over end down a slope. While that didn't happen, he was still moving fast enough to come off the tracks and rest his wheels on the ballast.

"Whoa!" he cried. "A little help would be appreciated."

A whinny echoed through the air, and a familiar black gelding galloped over to the electric engine.

"Midnight!" cried Simon. "Hi there, boy. I was hoping to see you, but I wasn't expecting it to be like this."

Midnight glanced over at Simon's wheels, as if to say, "that doesn't look normal."

"Yes, I know," sighed Simon, as if reading Midnight's mind. "I should have my wheels on the rails and not the ballast and sleepers."

Midnight then looked over his shoulder down at the railway. I'd better get help, he thought anxiously. He glanced back at Simon, his eyes trying to convey the message: Trust me.

"I'll hold on, boy," promised Simon. "Thank you…"


Midnight raced off as fast as his legs could carry him. He came to Hawin Lake, where Stevie was waiting with some trucks and Desi and Conner were anxiously looking for the black gelding.

"Oh, where could he be?" Desi wondered anxiously. A whinny echoed into the clearing, and Midnight raced through the open gate.

"Well, that answers your question," said Conner. "Midnight, what's wrong, boy?" Midnight trotted to the edge of the paddock and pointed his nose back up the branch line.

"You want us to follow you?" asked Desi. Midnight nodded his head at both riders and then at Stevie.

"You want all three of us to come?" asked Stevie. "Okay, Conner and Desi; jump in the brake van."

The two riders did so, and then Stevie set off up the line to where Midnight was leading them.

"Simon!" cried Stevie in shock. "Let's get you back on the rails. This could be bad for the aluminum works engines if we don't act fast."

Stevie quickly coupled up to the back of the train and steadily began to pull back. Midnight galloped to Simon's unstable wheels and tried to nudge them back into position.

"Easy, Midnight," the black electric engine warned anxiously. "I don't want you to get hurt."

But the black gelding gazed up at his engine companion with the same eyes he showed him before and continued his work.

"Easy there, Midnight." Desi and Conner came over with some jacks to help put Simon back on track.

"There," said Conner. "How does that feel, Simon?"

"Much better," sighed the black electric engine. "Thanks, you two, and you as well, Stevie, and Midnight." He glanced over at the gelding. "You've been my champion today. Thank you."

Midnight gave a slight tilt of his head and nuzzled his nose on Simon's bufferbeam.

"I think he likes you," smiled Desi.

"You know," said Simon, "I'm thinking I like him too."

"Me too," said Conner. "You were really brave today, Midnight." Conner reached out and gently petted Midnight's nose.


Later that evening, Simon met up with his fellow engines at the sheds.

"I witnessed an incredible thing today," he said. "I derailed, and Midnight galloped off to get help. He also tried to put me back on the rails."

"I saw the whole thing," added Stevie. "I can't possibly make that up if I tried."

"That's horses for you," smiled Lisa. "They're unpredictable, and sometimes they can be like that in the best possible way."

"And sometimes, horses can bring out the best in others," added Carole. "Which does remind me, Simon; why did you speed away upon seeing the horses when we first passed Hawin Lake?"

"I…" Simon sighed. "Before today, I was afraid of horses."

"But why?" asked Lisa. "It's not as if they could harm us. We're more than twice their size."

"That's true," said Simon. "But… I heard some stories about how wild horses can be unpredictable, and domestic horses share instincts with their wild counterparts. However, after finding out about Midnight's abuse and then him rescuing me… he's earned my respect in more ways than one."

"We're glad that Midnight's won you over," smiled Stevie.

"I think I'm going to enjoy my trips to Hawin Lake from now on," said Simon. "Let's hope Midnight gets plenty of pats and carrots from Desi and Conner."


And that's exactly what happened. Though it was a slow process, Midnight slowly started to adapt to life at Pine Hollow and Desi was soon riding him over jumps and through dressage tests. One day, she even allowed Conner to ride him.

"That's it," she smiled as she led him on the lunge line. "Okay, try a little trot."

Conner urged Midnight into the transition and rose and fell in time to his two-beat gait.

"You look great on that horse!" called Simon. Today, it was his turn to drop off the horse feed.

"Thanks," said Conner. "Maybe one day, I'll get a horse of my own."

"I look forward to that day," smiled Simon. "Keep up the lessons."

And with that, Simon, Conner, Desi and Midnight had to be content.


Author's Comments

Zack: Here's part three to The New Electric Engine! After some of the heaviness of the previous two chapters, I think that we needed something more light hearted in order to balance things out. Plus, it also gives more of a chance to develop Simon as a character. Also, this is the last chapter which is set around the timeframe of Thomas and Percy's first year on Sodor.

Rachel: Easily the most lighthearted of the chapters, as we are introduced to Conner/Simon Atherton (Simon's actor in series three is Conner Jessup), as well as Desi Biggins and the beautiful black gelding, Midnight. This mostly takes elements from some of the early series three episodes - in particular with One Step Forward - compressed in one story. This story was supposed to be Simon/Conner buying Midnight from Desi because her dad was going to put him down, but with the change in direction of the arc, we had to settle for this. Desi also gets a horse in the show named Jellybean - dubbed by Simon/Conner - following Midnight's sale, which we may touch upon in the future. Desi is also a bit of positive influence on Veronica in series three, which I like. Desi and Conner are a bit younger than the Saddle Club and Veronica in this take to reflect the fact they came at a later time in the show. And Garnet is the horse that Veronica owns after Cobalt is put down. Two other things to note. Kareen/Carole boards at Pine Hollow because in series three episodes two and three, Moving on parts one and two, Carole's dad is redeployed due to his military career and her mum is long since deceased. Jack O'Neil, who we saw in the previous chapter is also a stablehand we see in series three.

Next time, the branch line is under some Storm Pressure!