So, here's my first Land Before Time fic, a OneShot. As you will have seen in the summary, this fic contains character death, so if you're put off by that I suggest you stop reading. Well, then, the procedure is the same as ever: Read and Review, please. Honestly, I need constructive criticism. I don't mind flames, really, but I'd prefer if you could give me a reason as to why I suck, or why you think I'm a good writer. I need to know what I'm doing right or wrong, so any input is greatly appreciated. With that out of the way, enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own LBT or any of the characters.
When the World Ends
Warm, fresh summer air was around the hill. The cloudless sky was dotted with an uncountable amount of lesser lights, and a soft breeze ruffled the grass and the leaves of the trees of the Great Valley. On top of the hill, gazing over the valley, were two young dinosaurs, a longneck and a three-horn.
"It's a beautiful night," Littlefoot said, gazing up at the sky.
He was growing up fast now, his neck was getting longer, his body growing; soon he would no longer be a child, but a young adult.
"Yeah, it is," Cera replied.
She, like Littlefoot, was going through a lot of changes. Her horns were starting to grow and her body color was getting darker, almost becoming the light gray of a fully grown three-horn.
"There are so many lesser lights falling tonight," Littlefoot pondered. "Why do you think that is?"
Cera looked up as well and replied, "I don't know. Is it bothering you?"
Littlefoot didn't reply immediately, instead lying down, keeping his gaze aimed upward. Even when lying down his head was almost above Cera's.
"I just have a strange feeling, that's all," he said.
For a while neither of them spoke, just looking up at the vast expanse of the sky above them. Every few seconds or so a streak of white appeared in the sky; another lesser light falling from its place.
"Wouldn't it be great if we could just stay like this forever?" Littlefoot asked. "You know, here in the Great Valley, watching the night sky from this hill…"
Cera turned her head to give him a questioning look. "Why are you so mushy all of a sudden?" she asked jokingly, although an edge of concern sounded through in her voice.
A sudden flash of white light cut off whatever Littlefoot was going to say. It originated from the Mysterious Beyond, far behind the protective walls of the Great Valley.
"That was too bright for sky fire…" Cera muttered, her heart suddenly beating a lot faster than it had before.
Littlefoot got up, straining to see over the sheer walls that kept the Valley safe from Sharpteeth.
The Great Valley was no longer quiet, now. All around the hill dinosaurs were murmuring about the flash of light.
Then, faintly, the earth started to shake. The rumbling became heavier with every passing second, and Littlefoot could see a cloud of smoke and dust rapidly approaching the walls of the Great Valley.
"Littlefoot, what's going on?" Cera asked, sounding scared now.
"A stampede?" Littlefoot wondered aloud, before frowning and saying, "No, it's too fast for that…"
His eyes widened and he turned to Cera. "We have to get out of here, now! Come on, we have to get the others!"
The world was rent apart by a deafening roar, a roar louder than that of any Sharptooth. Littlefoot and Cera looked behind them, only to see the protective barrier of the Great Valley ripped to pieces by a monstrous force, a force neither of them understood. They didn't have time to turn around again before the wall of debris hit them.
Pain, heat, disorientation, all drowned out by that horrible, deafening noise, the noise of the planet itself screaming out in agony. Littlefoot felt his body being battered, shaken, thrown and burned, flaming embers and pieces of glowing rock battering him as he flew through the air, kept up by the unimaginable force of the storm.
When he thought he couldn't take anymore, he was roughly thrown down onto the ground, rolling a couple of times of the cracked and broken rock. As the rumbling noise distanced itself from him and his head slowly started to clear of the noise, he became aware of the pain that ripped through his body.
Groaning, he opened his eyes, amazed to find that they still worked after the beating. He turned his head to inspect his aching body. He was covered in bleeding cuts and burn marks, his dark scales stained with blood. His right rear leg stuck out under a weird angle and wouldn't move right when he tried.
Trying to dismiss the pain, and failing for the most part, Littlefoot pushed himself up off the ground onto his three functioning legs. He raised his neck, which had miraculously survived the ordeal with no more injuries than the rest of his body. He looked around, horrified at what he saw.
The Great Valley, or at least what was left of it, was ablaze. Most of the trees had been uprooted, the crystal clear water had been polluted and drained by rocks and debris, and dead and injured dinosaurs were everywhere. Seeing all the wounded around him, Littlefoot thought of Cera.
"Cera!"
He tried to shout, but he choked on the word and coughed, forcing him to take several deep, painful breaths before trying again.
"Cera! Where are you? !"
He started limping in the direction he'd been blown by the storm, hoping Cera wasn't too far away. Soon enough, he saw the silhouette of a three-horn, lying on its side amidst shattered rocks and a charred tree. He came closer, afraid of what he might find.
"Cera?" he asked softly, fearfully.
She opened her eyes and gave Littlefoot a weak smile.
"You're okay…" she muttered.
She looked even worse than Littlefoot. One of her horns was broken off completely, and she was covered in deep cuts and burns, the worst one going horizontally across her back, just below her shoulder blades.
"Come on, Cera, get up," Littlefoot said softly. "We have to find the others; we have to see if they're okay."
Cera looked at Littlefoot solemnly and said, "Go without me."
Littlefoot took a step back, confused by Cera's words. "What do you mean? I'm not leaving you here," he said, a determined look appearing on his face.
Cera smiled. "Always so stubborn…" she whispered, wincing when she shifted onto her stomach.
"I'm not going anywhere without you," Littlefoot repeated.
"Now get up! You're always so tough…" he said softly, now failing to keep up his determined look.
"Littlefoot…I can't move…" Cera whispered.
Littlefoot shook his head. "Of course you can! You rolled onto your stomach, right? If you can do that you can walk too!"
Cera looked away, not wanting to look Littlefoot in the eyes. "I can't move below my front legs. I can't even feel anything below my front legs…"
"Then I'll carry you," Littlefoot said, once again determined.
"Stop being so childish," Cera said angrily. "Your leg is broken; you can't carry me. I'm not trying to be noble here, Littlefoot…I just…want to spare you any more pain…" she finished softly, her voice trembling.
"How will leaving you make me feel any better?" Littlefoot asked, boring his eyes into Cera's and seeing the fear and sadness reflected in them.
"I don't want you to see me dying…" she whispered, her vision becoming blurry as tears formed in her eyes. She blinked rapidly and shook her head to clear away the tears, but they kept forming.
"Don't say that! You'll be fine…Once we…If we just…" Littlefoot couldn't find words as he tried, desperately, to find a way to convince Cera everything would be okay.
But now, with the Great Valley a wasteland and the earth still shaking and rumbling, with the sky thick with smoke and dust and the air painful to breathe, the notion that things would be fine was laughably naïve.
"Just go, Littlefoot," Cera said, trying to sound firm. "Get away, Longneck, and let me die in peace."
"Why do you want me gone so badly?" Littlefoot asked angrily. Weird to think he would be capable of that particular emotion at that time.
Cera smiled inwardly. Didn't Littlefoot understand? She didn't want him gone, not at all. She wanted him close, closer than anyone else. But she didn't want her best friend to see her dying, to have to live with the image burned into his mind forever.
"I'm not going," he said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you, Cera, and I never will."
Again Cera's eyes overflowed with tears, tears formed by emotions that were all surfacing now, in a completely different way than she had hoped they would.
"Littlefoot…come closer," she said, making a small gesture with her head.
Littlefoot came closer, bending his neck down so she wouldn't have to get up to talk to him.
With a huge effort of will, Cera raised herself up on her front legs and looked Littlefoot in the eye.
She gently nudged his head with hers, before sinking to the ground again.
"I'm sorry we can never be closer than that," she said, her voice filled with regret.
Now Littlefoot's eyes were tearing up as well, finally realizing that Cera would not make it, that she would die right in front of him just like his mother had.
"Don't be stupid…we can be closer than that…"
But even Littlefoot knew the futility of his lie and he fell silent, just staring at Cera, his best friend who was so much more to him than just his best friend.
"Cera…I love you…" he whispered.
Cera smiled, shakily, and replied so softly that Littlefoot hardly heard her, "I love you too…"
"Please don't go…" Littlefoot said softly, not even bothering to fight his tears anymore.
"I'm sorry…" Cera whispered, "I want to stay with you…so badly..."
She stopped talking, groaning in pain now. She looked at Littlefoot again through blurry eyes, blinking to see her friend in focus one more time.
"Littlefoot…thank you…for being here…for being my friend…for loving me…thank you…"
She lay down again. Her body felt so hot, so painful…but now everything was going dark, and the pain receded…
"Cera! Cera!"
Littlefoot nudged her with his head, but his friend didn't move. He looked into her eyes, but they saw nothing.
There we are, the end of the fic. A few notes here: It would have been more logical to have Littlefoot die, as his long neck would probably have been broken by the force of the storm. However, I wanted him to be the one surviving so I had to make the improbable happen. Another thing is that I think I haven't used enough detail here. For some reason it feels like there should be more but I just can't manage it in this one. Lastly, I hope you enjoyed the story. Please leave a review, and I hope I'll see you in one of my other fics!