The next day, princess Diana woke up early. She wanted to wake up her dad as soon as possible. But Thomas was still asleep. Diana shook her dad a little bit to try to wake him.

"Wake up dad. It's time for us to go to sodor." Diana said excitedly.

Thomas opened one eye. He was tired.

"Sweetie it's 6:38 in the morning." he yawned. "I'm not going to be late."

"Please daddy." said Diana. Then she had a cheeky idea. "You once said Gordon wouldn't like it if we don't get his express coaches to the platform on time."

That got Thomas to wake up.

"Ok princess. I'm up." he groaned. "No need to get so hyper."

Thomas woke up a little tired. Once he got dressed, he and Diana had breakfast before going to Thomas' engine.

"Polly! Honey!" Thomas called to his wife, "I am taking Diana to sodor."

"Ok dear." Lady called back. "Just make sure she doesn't get in too much trouble."

"No trouble at all." assured Thomas. "See you later dear."

And Thomas and Diana got the E2 engine fired up and they set off through the magic buffers. When they went through the buffers, Diana gasped and her eyes went wide in amazement as she and Thomas went down the countryside. Soon they arrived at knapford. Thomas told Diana to wait at the platform while he fetched the wild Nor'wester coaches.

Then Diana saw a boy who was about the same age as her walked up to her. He had a navy shirt and jeans. It was Jefferson, Gordon and Rebecca's son. He was a nice boy who is strong and kind. Though he can sometimes be impatient and can be smug when he had advantage over anything.
When Jefferson saw Diana he decided to say hello.

"Hi there kid. My name is Jefferson Gresley. What's your name?"

"Um hi. My name is Diana Billinton. I am the new princess of the magic railroad."

"Oh so you are the feisty princess my dad was talking about."

"Your dad?"

"Gordon Gresley the number 4 of the NWR. He and my mom Rebecca pull the express."

"Oh yeah. I remember, my brother and I saw my dad with Gordon and Rebecca in a photo. Where are your parents?"

"Here they come now."

And coming with Thomas is Gordon and Rebecca.

"Hello and who are you? I don't think I recognize you." said Gordon

"I'm princess Diana."

"Ah yes, now I remember. We saw you when Lady gave birth to you. We already know that you are the daughter of our friend Thomas."

"Really? Well It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too." said Rebecca. "I see that you are already acquainted with our son."

"Yeah." Then Diana heard something. "Hey, do you hear puffing coming this way?"

Everyone listened and they sighed knowing what it was.

"Oh I hear it." said Thomas, knowing who it is. "Here he comes in three...two...one..."

"HEEEEEERRRRRRES JAMES!" And puffing into Knapford is a red dude. It was James. His wife Emily came in shortly after.

"James, seriously?" groaned Gordon. "Still making that entrance?"

"What can I say? I have a knack for fine entrances." boasted James. "So does Emily's and my son and daughter."

And out came Emily with twins one of them was a boy with maroon colored clothing and the other was a girl with green clothing the boy's name is Freddy and the girl's name was Laura. They were fun children though sometimes they are a bit bossy and a little bit vain. Freddy and Laura were friends with Jefferson ever since 1st grade.

"Hey hey hey what's shaking Jeff?" greeted Freddy.

"Hey Freddy." said Jefferson giving Freddy a fist bump. "Hey Laura."

"Hello, who is the girl behind you?" asked Laura.

"Freddy, Laura, I would like you to meet princess Diana. Daughter of Thomas." said Jefferson.

"Hello, princess. it's a pleasure to meet you." Laura greeted. "I'm Laura and this boy next to Jefferson is my twin brother, Freddy."

"Hi Princess Diana." greeted Freddy.

"It's nice to meet you too. And it's just Diana."

"Greetings just Diana." joked Freddy.

Everyone laughed.

"You guys should have seen percy with his son. They were a great pair." said Emily.

Then they heard puffing.

"Hey look there is Percy with his son." said James pointing to the saddle tank engine with two people inside. Then James saw two more engines coming into view. "And if you look to your right you will see Henry, Nia and their daughter."

Then everyone looks to see Percy and his son and Henry and Nia with their daughter. He was a little guy with lime green clothing. His name is Noah. He is a cute little guy who likes to have fun. Henry and Nia's daughter is a smart and kind girl who likes nature just like Henry and is helpful like Nia. Her name is Abigail. She wears an orange skirt and a grass green shirt. Noah and Abigail are good friends with the twins and Jefferson. They went over to where their friends were waiting.

"Hi guys. It's nice to see you."

"Hi Percy." greeted Thomas. "Noah. Now is my favorite nephew?"

"I'm doing great uncle Thomas." said Noah.

Diana looked at Thomas confused.

"Percy married my sister, Rosie. So that makes me Noah's uncle." explained Thomas.

"Oh. I understand." said Diana.

"Hello guys." said Henry.

"Jambo everyone." greeted Nia.

Then Abigail sees Diana.

"Oh who are you?"

"I am Diana. Thomas' daughter."

"I am Noah. Percy's son."

"And I am Abigail. But you can call me Abi. Oh hello Jeff. Hi Fred."

"Hi Laura." said Noah

"Hi Abi. Hi Noah." greeted Jefferson, Freddy and Laura.

"Wait you guys know each other?" asked Diana.

"Yeah." said Freddy. "We have been friends when we were in first grade in school."

"Wow." remarked Diana. "I have mainly been homeschooled."

"Hey wait a minute. Where are Edward and Toby? They promised they would meet us at Knapford." said Thomas.

"Yeah, where are those old timers?" asked James.

"You called?" shouted a voice.

Then there they saw Edward and Toby. Edward had an adopted daughter and Toby had a son. Edward's adopted daughter was a nice girl who wore aqua blue clothing and eyeglasses. Her name was Grace. She was adopted by Edward and his girlfriend Isis. She is shy but is artistic and creative. Toby's son is a strong and gentle boy who wore brownish blue clothing. His name was Austin. He was a hard working young man. Soon the gang was all together.

"Hello everybody." greeted Edward. "How are you guys?"

"We are doing just fine, Edward. I see that you are doing well." said Gordon. "I see you brought your adopted daughter. What was her name again?"

"Come on, Gordon. You haven't forgotten about Grace, did you?" Edward asked in suspicion.

"Ah yes. I'm sorry." said Gordon.

"What, no hello for the old farmboy or my son, Austin?" Toby asked in disappointment.

"Of course not. We would never forget to say hello to our favorite Tram engine driver." said Percy. "It's great to see you again, Toby."

"Great to see you too, Percy." said Toby.

Then Austin and Grace saw their friends.

"Freddy! Jeff! Abi! Noah! Laura!" shouted Austin. "How are you?"

"Fine." said Abi. "We would like you to meet Princess Diana. Daughter of Thomas."

"Hello." greeted Grace, quietly.

"Howdy, Diana." greeted Austin.

"Hi." said Diana. "So are all of you friends?"

"Yeah." said Freddy. "When we all started to hang out together, most of the people in the school call our group 'The Little Steamies'."

"Of course they used it to make us a joke, but we actually liked the name. And as you can tell it sorta stuck." said Austin.

"Wanna join our group?" asked Laura hopefully.

"Of course." said Diana. "What's a group the Steam Team's children without a child of Thomas?"

Everyone laughed.

The steam team went to their work, and when they finished they talked and caught up on what happened. But unbeknownst to them, their children snuck off.

"And that's when Lady saved Diana and simon from a bear. We gave her a little bit of 'a talk'. Boy. Children these days." sighed Thomas.

"I know right. Last week Jefferson accidently slipped on a banana peel after he wouldn't give back my whistle." Gordon groaned

"Oh never mind them. They are only younguns." Toby reminded them.

"I know. But they could be troublemakers sometimes." Percy said. "Wouldn't you kids agree?" Then he notices that the children disappeared. "Um guys. Does anyone know where our children are?"

"Why they are right..." Then Emily gasped. "Oh no, they disappeared!"

"Oh not again. Where could they have gotten to?" Thomas asked.

"I don't know." said James. "Who was supposed to keep watch over them?"

Everyone glared at James.

"What? I was distracted." James complained.

"Well they couldn't have gone far. But still we better find them before they get hurt, or worse." Said Edward.

"Ok. Steam team, To the rescue!"

And they blew on their whistles and gold dusted away to look for their kids. Meanwhile the little steamies are exploring in the woods.

"Phew." sighed Diana. "Glad we got away from our parents they could be so worrying about us.

"Huh! Tell me about it." said Noah. "Yesterday, Dad was all, 'Noah don't forget your sweater. It might get cold.' And I was all 'Hey I don't need to worry about getting chilly.' And my mother was all 'Don't forget your sunscreen the sun might give you a sunburn.' And I was all 'stop worrying about me'."

"I know." groaned Freddy, "Mom and dad were worrying about me and my little sister."

"I thought you two were twins. said Jefferson, confused.

"Freddy was actually born 9 seconds before me." explained Laura.

"Well that explains a whole lot." muttered Abigail

"Hey, we can do what we like now." said Austin. "We can be free and have fun."

Everyone cheered, except for Grace. She was worried.

"Um, on second thought, maybe we shouldn't be out here." said Grace. "It's almost night time and our parents might be looking for us."

"Pft." scoffed Freddy. "Gracey Gracey Gracey. What could possibly happen to us?"

The little steamies found out soon enough. There was a copperhead near them. It soon did a lunging strike. Austin saw the copperhead. It was lunging towards Diana.

"Look out Diana!" shouted Austin before pushing Diana out of the way. But not before he got bitten himself. "OW!" screamed Austin.

"Austin! Are you ok?" asked a worried Diana.

"Yeah." groaned Austin. "But that was a copperhead snake that bit me."

"A copperhead!" exclaimed Noah. "Aren't those extremely poisonous?"

"Yeah. Austin needs anti-venom." said Abigail. "If we are lucky, we might have 3 hours before the venom takes effect on Austin."

"No time for guessing." said Laura. "Let's hurry before he comes back for a second round."

The kids hurried but they soon found themselves lost and they don't know how to get out. Suddenly, Grace tripped and lost her glasses.

"My glasses!" exclaimed Grace. "Where are they? I can't see without them."

"Don't touch the ground, Grace!" warned Abigail. "The copperhead could still be there."

"Uh oh. We are caught between a snake and a bark place." said Jefferson.

"I'm sorry, everyone." said Diana. "This is all my fault."

"Don't be silly, Diana." said Freddy. "It isn't your fault. We are still happy to have you in the group."

"I agree." said Laura. "But we are still going to get in trouble with our parents."

"If they ever find us." said Noah.

Everyone agreed. Just before the copperhead could strike again, a hawk swooped in and grabbed the snake. It was Henry's pet dog, Wilma.

Wilma was a medium sized greyhound. She was once a slave to some hunters who controlled her with a control collar. She was freed by Henry and he took Wilma in as his own pet. Wilma got in contact with gold dust which mutated her. Wilma can transform into any predator.

"Wilma?" exclaimed Abigail.

Then Wilma set the copperhead down and Henry who was an opossum appeared.

"Don't even think about it." threatened Henry "Unless you want to face against two of your natural predators.

The copperhead got the message and went away. Soon the rest of the team appeared and got to their kids. Toby saw his son on the floor.

"Austin!" Toby shouted. "What happened to your leg?"

"I got bit by the copperhead." answered Austin. "But I did it to protect Diana."

"Don't worry. I can heal you." assured Rebecca. And sure enough, Rebecca did. The steam team looked at their children with disappointment.

"Alright kids, come clean. Why did you run off without us knowing?" demanded Thomas. "You are lucky we saved you from that copperhead. You're only lucky we just happened to swing by. Next time however, you eight might not be so lucky."

"Thomas is right, this is exactly why we wanted you to stay with us." said Gordon.

"But what do you do?" asked James, rhetorically. "Go off on your own when we turn our backs away for one minute!"

"Why did you do it?" asked Percy.

Everyone stammered. Until Diana decided to tell the truth.

"We wanted an adventure." confessed Diana. "Since you were catching up, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"There is a difference when an adventure is fun, and when it is dangerous." said Henry.

"But you never let us go out on a big adventure." complained Noah.

"Yeah, why can't we go on a big adventure?" asked Austin. "We want to be heroes like you."

"It's because we care about you." replied Nia. "We were so scared. Don't ever run off like that again without telling us first. Kuelewa?"

The little steamies were a bit confused until Abi explained to them: "That means 'Understand?' in Swahili. My mother is from Kenya."

"Ohhhhhh. Yes we understand." said The little steamies.

"We are giving you are warning this time." said Toby. "Next time you do that again, we're going to have to separate you."

"No! Please! begged Freddy and Laura. "We won't ever do it again."

"As long as you understand the reason we keep you close, we are all okay." assured Emily. "Now come on let's get you guys back home."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" whined the little steamies. "But..."

"No buts no cuts no coconuts." said Edward. "It's nearly dark and you guys need the energy for school next week."

"Oh alright." groaned the little steamies. "Goodnight."

And everybody went their separate ways. Diana went with Thomas back to the magic railroad. When they got to the castle, they saw Lady and Simon.

"Welcome back, sister." said Simon. "I hope you had a nice time on your first day of Sodor."

Before Diana could answer, Thomas interrupted her.

"Well, she did make new friends," said Thomas. "but, she also went off on an adventure. Her new friend Austin, Toby's son, got bitten by a copperhead when he was protecting her."

"Oh my!" gasped Lady. "Is Austin alright?"

"Yes. Rebecca healed him." answered Thomas. "But still that was dangerous. Imagine what would happen if you got bitten."

"For the upteenth time, Dad, I'm sorry." groaned Diana. "And the others apologized too. It seems like you are going to be on my back about this every single day. You worry about me too much dad. I told you and mom that I can take care of myself."

"He is worried about you because he loves you." retorted Lady. "And I love you too. But I think you have gotten into too much trouble now, first the bear, then the copperhead. Just please don't do that again. You are too precious to us."

"Oh alright." said Diana. "I'm just glad it's only two more days till Monday, AKA my first day of school." Then Diana yawned.

"Aw, looks like the princess needs some sleep." Thomas cooed. "Guess what time it is."

"Um. Snack time?" asked Simon.

"Nope. It's bedtime." said Thomas.

"But I'm not tired." yawned Diana.

"Oh yes you are." said Lady. "Come on. Time for bed."

"Fine." groaned Diana.

And Diana brushed her teeth, put on her PJs, and went to bed thinking about her new friends, meeting the steam team, and most of all, her first day at high school next week.

"I can hardly wait. All aboard for a big adventure." Diana said to herself, as she closed her eyes and went to a peaceful sleep.