Edward was resting on a siding at Wellsworth when he suddenly heard a loud, unfamiliar whistle.
"Hm?" He looked down the line, and saw a big, angry-looking engine he had never seen before pulling a longer line of trucks than he had ever seen. He raised an eyebrow as the newcomer braked to a halt in the platform, and rolled cautiously alongside, reading the engine's nameplate as he did so.
"Hello...Vinnie! Are you new?" He asked, trying to be friendly. Vinnie simply stared the blue engine down, making him most uncomfortable. Finally, he responded.
"Visiting." Edward was still determined to be friendly.
"Awful lot of trucks you've got there." He remarked, eyeing Vinnie's long train. The big engine scoffed.
"What's it to you, old iron?" He snapped. Edward was taken aback, but remained calm.
"Just noticing. You might want my help over the hill up ahead; it's rather steep, and you can stick if you aren't careful." Vinnie looked ahead to where the line began to climb, and to Edward's surprise, simply smirked.
"You call dat a hill? You...what's dis place called again?"
"Sodor."
"You Sudar engines are all such pushovers, makin' mountains outta molehills! Watch this!" Vinnie whistled, and began to confidently leave the station, dragging his heavy trucks out behind him. Edward remained in his siding, watching with concern.
"Pride comes before a fall…" He muttered his breath, and began to watch. However, to his surprise, the rude newcomer appeared to find climbing the hill easy. Smoke billowed from his funnel, but there was no slipping, and the big engine grinned as he approached the top.
"Easy!" He remarked, and began coasting down the other side, his trucks rattling behind him. Back at the station, Edward was dumbfounded.
"Huh." However, he couldn't be shocked for long, as another whistle rang out and Henry rolled into the station. He noticed Edward's expression and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you alright, Edward?"
"Hm? Yes, I'm fine, Henry. It's just...that new engine just pulled more trucks than I've ever seen an engine pull...over Gordon's Hill...by himself!" Henry thought for a moment.
"New engine?...Oh, bother, you don't mean Vinnie, do you?"
"The very same; you've met, I assume?" Henry frowned.
"I'm competing against him in the Great Railway Show. I hope the other engines aren't anything like him; he's very rude!" Edward chuckled.
"Don't let one bad apple spoil the bunch, Henry. I'm sure Vinnie's the exception, not the rule. Do you want help up the hill with your trucks?" He began to run around the back of the train, but Henry thought for a moment.
"No, thank you, Edward." The blue engine stopped and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure? It'd be no hassle, and you are pulling a very heavy train." Henry, however, whistled and started off.
"If Vinnie can make it over the hill, so can I!" Edward remained behind as Henry's train disappeared into the distance, concerned.
"Alright, Henry...if you say so." Henry began to climb the hill, his heavy train behind him. The Troublesome Trucks giggled as Henry began to slow down and the hill grew steeper.
"Is that all you can haul? Vinnie's loads are longer!
Is that all you can haul? Vinnie must be stronger!" The big green engine's face began to turn red as his wheels spun. He gritted his teeth and strained furiously.
"Come...on...come...on…" He panted, but it did no good. The heavy trucks began to pull him back, and his wheels began to slip. Henry gasped in horror.
"Oh no!" He tried to regain his grip, but he kept sliding down the hill. Finally, his driver activated his sandboxes, and Henry finally managed to regain control.
"Ah." He sighed in relief, and tried to pull them back up again, but he couldn't move. Henry had stalled. He blushed in embarrassment and whistled before calling back.
"Edward! I need a push!" He groaned before waiting for the blue engine to come help.
Vinnie slowly rolled through Maron when he suddenly heard the stationmaster talking on the telephone.
"Henry's stalled on the hill? Why didn't he have a banker? What do you mean he was trying to 'prove his strength'?" The Canadian engine raised an eyebrow before beginning to snort, leading into hysterical laughter.
"Dat's too good! Henry trying to prove he's stronger than me and endin' up stuck! I can't wait to see da stupid look on his face when he gets here...HAH!" Vinnie continued to laugh, before rolling to a stop in the platform. When he finally stopped, he heard a whistle coming from nearby.
"Excuse me? Could you move, please? I have to get past with these trucks!" Whiff was due to travel through in the opposite direction, and was currently being blocked by Vinnie.
"Go around, four eyes." The bully smirked. Whiff spluttered.
"B-but-"
"Get lost! I'll crush ya dorky little glasses if ya say one more word to me, got it?" Vinnie stared the rubbish engine down, who gulped.
"Yes, sir." Whiff backed up to the junction, and quickly switched tracks so he could get as far away from Vinnie as soon as possible. As the four-eyed engine disappeared, Vinnie heard Henry's whistle, and noticed the aforementioned green engine limping solemnly into Maron. He tried to avoid eye contact as he passed Vinnie, but the Canadian engine started laughing anyway.
"Well, well, well, if it ain't mister 'even competitor'! You tryin' out mountain climbing? Hate to break it to ya, buddy, but ya just don't have the strength for it!" Vinnie laughed loud and long as Henry looked away, ashamed. Before he could respond, Vinnie sneered at him.
"Like I said; tiny fish, big pond. You're nothing compared to the other competitors, and you're nothing compared to me." He grinned wickedly as he began to pull away.
"You might as well drop out now...maybe they'll give you a participation trophy!" He cackled to himself as he disappeared into the distance, leaving a hurt and depressed Henry behind.
Later that day, Henry had to take a significantly lighter train to Ulfstead Castle. He tried not to think about Vinnie's harsh words, but he couldn't help it.
"I don't belong there...they're all way stronger than me too. I may as well ask The Fat Controller to take me out." He sighed as he made his way up the line up to the castle. As he approached the gates, he was surprised to see Stephen at the platform with several workmen polishing him.
"Stephen?" Stephen grinned at Henry.
"Hello, Henry! Guess what?" Before Henry could answer, Stephen continued speaking. "The people running the Great Railway Show asked the Earl if I could lead the Best in Show parade, and he said yes! Isn't that exciting?" Henry curled his lips into a forced smile.
"Good for you, Stephen! At least you belong there..." He muttered, sounding sadder as he went on. Stephen raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, old boy? You're one of the strongest engines I know."
"Then you must not know a lot of strong engines. That new engine Vinnie managed to pull the longest train I've ever seen over Gordon's Hill without a banker! I can't do that; I'm not strong enough! If I go to the show, I'll lose for sure!" Henry lamented. Stephen thought for a moment before smirking.
"Yes, Vinnie may be stronger NOW, but it doesn't have to be that way. With my training and your resilience, you shall be equals, nay BETTER, and you can win the Great Railway Show!" Henry raised an eyebrow.
"Training? How are you going to train me, Stephen?" Stephen grinned confidently.
"We pit you and that big new engine against each other in feats of strength, and you keep working at it until you're stronger than ever!" Henry raised an eyebrow.
"With Vinnie? Pah! He's the rudest engine I've ever met, why on Sodor would I train with him?"
"To push your boundaries, boy! Right now, you need a bar to hold yourself to, and he's your bar! Trust me, when you glide across the finish line, leaving him in the dust, it'll all be worth it, and he'll be none the wiser! Besides, I'm sure he'll jump on the opportunity to keep his strength up, which I'm sure is what your competitors are doing over at the showgrounds since their ship arrived." Henry thought for a moment before hesitantly smiling.
"Alright, Stephen...I'll do it." Stephen grinned.
"Excellent! Now, I'll deal with getting ol' Vinnie here, you just need to come here when you have your first break of the day! Stick with me, Henry, and you'll be the champ! Huzzah!" Stephen laughed triumphantly. Henry chuckled to himself, but it soon turned to a nervous grimace.
"Hopefully he'll be willing to do it…" He muttered.
Vinnie returned to Knapford later that day. His good mood from having seen Henry fail had faded, and he was now tired.
"I'm only here a day and they're already rushin' me off my wheels! I need a rest…" He scanned the station, trying to find someone to take his trucks away. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar boxcab from across the station, shunting some coaches.
"Hey! Shrimp! I've got some trucks for ya!" He called, but Philip seemed to ignore him. Vinnie rolled his eyes.
"For Pete's sake...hey, KID, I GOT TRUCKS! HURRY UP!" The little engine still wasn't paying attention. Across the station, Philip was in his own little world, his eyes shut.
"...and Philip wins the Great Race! The crowd goes wild! He's the fastest engine in the world! Yay!" Philip announced under his breath, imagining the cheering crowd around him. He moved the coaches into the platform and opened his eyes.
"Well, off to fetch another train!" He chortled to himself, and began reversing towards the junction to switch himself back to the yards. However, he heard a loud whistle, and felt something ram against his buffers, pushing him towards a siding.
"WHOA!" He cried, eyes shut in horror. When he finally felt the buffers hit his own, he opened his eyes and began to stammer in terror. Looking right at him was a furious Vinnie, his teeth gritted.
"Listen up, shrimp! I've had a long day, and I don't like t'be kept waitin'! When I tell ya that I got cars for ya, I mean that I got cars for ya! If I gotta hang around in the station so ya can shunt my trucks again, I'mma squash ya like a BUG, capisce?" Philip cowered in fear, his eyes wide and teeth chattering.
"Y-yes, Vinnie, s-sorry, V-Vinnie-"
"AND WHAT DID I TELL YA TO CALL ME!?" Vinnie bellowed, pushing Philip into the buffers further. Philip squeaked.
"Sir! Yes, sir! Sorry, sir! I'll shunt your trucks right away, sir!" The bully smirked wickedly.
"That's better." He reversed gently, leaving just enough room for Philip to scamper away, terrified. As soon as the boxcab was out of sight, Vinnie began laughing hysterically.
"Oh, dat was rich! Da look on his stupid little face!" The bully cackled as he went off to take a rest in the sheds. Back in the station, Philip coupled up to Vinnie's trucks and began pushing them towards the yards.
"S-s-s-s-stupid Vinnie…" He muttered under his breath, but knew he was too scared to do anything about it.
Chase: Vinnie's begun working on Sodor! We've set up two major dynamics with him here, the first of which, beginning last chapter with Philip blocking him from the boat, is him and Philip. Whereas in the canon special, Vinnie only really pushes Philip around when he gets in the way or does something to annoy him, we've amped up Vinnie's bullying traits, making him nastier and explicitly using Philip as a punching bag. Their dynamic will evolve further over the course of their interactions throughout the special, and although the root of their dynamic comes from the actual special, their conflict will resolve itself differently than the canon special did. How? Well, wait and see to find out. As for the other major Vinnie dynamic...
Don: Vinnie's other main dynamic is with Henry, who he also bullies, though in less of a physical way. He sees Henry as weak and pathetic while himself as strong, which we'll see develop as the story rolls along. In the actual special, the two didn't even really interact, but we felt it was yet another lost opportunity so we decided to take advantage of it. These two will also have their conflict resolved, but that'll have to wait until later.
Will Vinnie train with Henry and Stephen? Will he keep pushing Philip around? And how is progress on Gordon's streamlining? Find out in the fifth chapter, "Good, Better, Best", featuring an original song ("Good, Better, Best") that you can listen to on SoundCloud now!