Growth affects all. Those wonderful feelings as a child disappear and turn into something else. It could be magical and useful or it could be frightening and deathly. The reality is that life will happen unexpectedly, and one must react to it. The strong ones will rise above it as the weak will fail. For the weak, their fate lies in those strong enough to help them. If not, they would die.

A brown Apatosaurus heard it from the adults as a child, especially from Mr. Threehorn, a gray adult triceratops. Compare to the others, he was weak and feeble. What did they expect? He hadn't reached his full height yet. He was growing, but it wasn't fast enough. His brain grew faster, but he wanted to be bigger. His friends were smaller than him, but he knew they were growing faster than he was. His friends all hoped they would grow in time for the Night Celebration.

Celebration Night was a night dedicated to the end of the Cold Time. The young adults would leave the Great Valley for three days and come back on the fourth. The Apatosaurus never knew this because his grandparents had always stayed behind. He soon knew about it when his yellowish threehorn friend was complaining that her father and stepmother were out for four days. She didn't know why, but she complained the fact that her babysitter was Mr. Thicknose, a wise Pachyrhinosaurus that bored her to death by his knowledge. A Pteranodon and a Parasaurolophus also mentioned that their parents left during that time too. A Stegosaurus nodded with what the Parasaurolophus said. The Apatosaurs was now curious and tried to think of why his friends' parents left. He decided to ask his grandparents. When both of them realized what he was talking about, his gray-bluish grandfather told him he would go more in detail when he got older. It frustrated the Apatosaurus, but he respected his grandparents' decision.

A few days before the end of the Cold Time, the gang of five childhood friends was relaxing in a hot spring. They had grown to their appropriate dinosaur-teenaged sizes. His friends started the conversion of what they called Celebration Night.

"I can't wait," said the Pteranodon.

"I know, Petrie," said the Parasaurolophus.

"Just only a few more days, Ducky. Oh, I can't wait."

"Littlefoot," said the triceratops. "Are you ready?"

The triceratops's green eyes pointed at the Apatosaurus.

"Ready for what, Cera?" asked the Apatosaurus.

"Oh," said Ducky, completely ignoring him. "I hope it is good like the adults told us. I hope."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Didn't your grandparents tell you, or do they still treat you little?"

She laughed about it. Irritated, the Apatosaurus whipped her nose with her tail.

"Hey! Watch it, Littlefoot."

Littlefoot got out of the hot spring and faced his friends.

"Just because I don't know, you shouldn't be able to tell me."

"Yes," said Ducky, walking over to the Stegosaurus, "but your grandparents told us to not tell you where we were going."

The last sentence caught Littlefoot's attention.

"Going? Going where?"

Cera looked at Ducky.

"Nice going, idiot."

"Cera, you better tell me."

"Fine, if you'll stop talking. Remember the years when we were babies and left behind as our parents went somewhere? Well, that's where we're going?"

"Wait. You're talking about that? It's time."

"It's in a few days, but you can't come."

"Why the hell not? I am older than Spike, and I'm guessing he's going."

"But your grandparents are not taking you. First timers need to have at least one guardian."

"That's stupid. We're all old enough."

"Believe what you want," said Cera. "The fact is that you're not going."

Littlefoot got fed up and walked off. Cera chuckled, and they talked about the event called Night Celebration.

Littlefoot walked over to his grandparents. They were eating the plants that grew near their hot spring. Littlefoot confronted them and asked right away.

"Why are all my friends going to where the adults go and not me? You didn't tell me if I could go to the Night Celebration."

"Littlefoot, where did you hear that?" asked his grandmother.

"Cera. She made fun of me, because I couldn't go. Grandpa, why can't I go?"

"We feel that you are not ready."

"Ready? I'm a young adult now."

"But we feel that you are too young still."

"Grandma, I am old enough. What kind of society is this when someone like me can't go somewhere when you reach the age?"

"Don't worry. You're not missing anything."

"So do you know what is at that place?"

His grandfather swayed his head.

"You are old enough. I suppose you ought to know the purpose of the Night Celebration. See, we are grateful when the leaves come back for us to eat. All the adult and young adult leaf-eaters gather in a guarded valley and thank the spirits who provided it to us. We entertain them with games, eating plenty, and perform the miracle of mating."

"So how come we don't have a lot of kids here?"

"Most people in the Great Valley are either old, married, or please the providers in other ways. So most of the males do mate, but the females are from different herds."

"Dear," snapped Littlefoot's grandma.

Her husband realized what he said and decided to sum up the topic.

"That about wraps it up."

"But-"

"Oh, will you look at that? I'm passed my nap time. Littlefoot, why don't you go with your friends?"

Littlefoot turned around and starting walking away. He mumbled something about his age and decided to seclude himself from everyone until sunset.

As the snow melted, the residents of the Great Valley returned. The adults were talking to the first timers about the event that was going to be held in a valley two days from the Great Valley. The coaches knew Littlefoot was not going, because his grandparents would not take him. Littlefoot tried to hear what the adults were teaching to the first timers, but he was always caught and thrown out.

"If I was the size of a bug, then I wouldn't be kicked out every time."

Littlefoot perched himself on a ledge. From a distance, he watched his friends being coached. He sighed.

"It's not fair," said Littlefoot to himself. "I am old enough, but my grandparents think I'm still a kid. Even when I pass their height, they'll probably say I'm too young to do anything. They worry too much. Well, I am the last of my herd, but I should still be able to go."

Littlefoot looked up in the sky and smiled. He had to go.

The day came for the dinosaurs going to the event to leave. The kids that weren't old enough were left in the care of Mr. Thicknose, Grandpa Longneck, and Grandma Longneck. Littlefoot was there with the kids to trick the adults. After two hours, Littlefoot told his grandparents that he needed a break from the kids. They were running all over the place. Grandpa Longneck smiled and told the kids he would tell a story. The kids lined up and listened to Grandpa Longneck as he talked. Littlefoot smiled and headed to the waterfall to bathe.

He knew Mr. Thicknose was watching him. From time to time, he would see the knowledgeable dinosaur walk back and forth. Littlefoot came up with a plan to lose him. He got out of the water and walked into a thick forest. As presumed, Mr. Thicknose followed him, but he kept his distance from Littlefoot. Littlefoot smiled and began to run. Mr. Thicknose saw this and chased after him. The forest was basically a maze, so Littlefoot made sharp turns to lose Mr. Thicknose. He emerged out of the forest and walked towards the exit of the Great Valley. He looked back and saw Mr. Thicknose nowhere. He grinned and walked out of the Great Valley.

Footsteps were easily spotted. He laughed and followed them. If he saw the herd, he had to make sure that he was undetected. The trick was to follow the herd but to not see them as well. He walked until the sun was starting to set. He yawned and decided to find a place to rest. He found a spot next to a shady tree near a pond and took a drink before resting in that spot. As he drank, thoughts popped into his head. By now, his grandparents already knew that he had disobeyed them. they were old, but they were very aware of their surroundings. When he got back, he was going to be in so much trouble. He needed to go though. The only problem though was to get in. He would have to hope there was a secret route or to blend in with a herd. He lied down in the resting stop and closed his eyes to have energy for tomorrow.

Littlefoot continued walking as the sun rose high into the sky. The wind provided some cooling. The harden ground would burn a baby's foot, but Littlefoot didn't mind the heat. He needed to follow the footsteps on the ground. He walked and walked until he heard a screech. He looked to the side and saw two raptors jumping at him. He dodged the first one, but the second one got onto his back. Its talons dug into Littlefoot's body. He crunched his teeth in pain. He used his head as a batting ram and knocked the raptor off. His partner jumped towards Littlefoot, but the Apatosaurus defended himself with his tail. The raptors skidded across the ground. The other raptor saw this and jumped up onto his side. Littlefoot slapped it off with the side of his head, but the raptor managed to claw his eye. Both of them regrouped and screeched at their opponent. They decided to leave the Apatosaurus and ran away. Littlefoot looked at the claw digging in his back and was sure they would heal in time. He faced forward and continued his walk.

Night fell upon him as he continued to walk. Those raptors made him lose at least an hour. He pressed onward. The pain on his back was coming back again, but he needed to go on. After he felt sure that he covered the scheduled distance, He slept near the trail that was out in the open desert. His guard had to be up, but he needed the rest. Boy, he sure wished he had someone with him. He lied down and got some rest.

He woke up after three hours of sleeping. Today was the start of the event. He figured he was close now. He walked over a sandy hill and marveled at what he saw. The herd was at the distance, getting into a secluded valley. The valley did have some passageways to climb over, but they were all difficult paths. The dinosaurs he knew were lined up in the entrance of the valley. Two tough longnecks acted like body guards. Littlefoot noticed that the adults said something, and the two dinosaurs let them in. For their first timers, they told them something and the young adults nodded. They went inside with their folks.

Littlefoot found some thick woods nearby and entered them. From there, he could see the valley. He scanned it and saw a steep path that scaled up the cliff's side. It wrapped around the valley, going over the guards. The path seemed to be big enough for him. He grinned wickedly and snuck over quickly to the start of the path at one end of the cliff. He examined the path and noticed it was steep. He had to be careful of not falling.

He started his climb. He cautiously walked along the path. As he neared the area above the body guards, a pebble started to roll down and eventually off the path. One of the guards heard it and went to investigate. He looked up and saw nothing. Content, he headed back to the entrance. Littlefoot exhaled deeply in relief. He continued his ascent until the path stopped at the top. He looked down and noticed that the dinosaurs couldn't see him. He smiled and looked at the path to go down. He started to walk down, but he slipped and slid down. He slid into a forest filled with trees. He slammed into something softer than a tree.

"Ouch, watch it!" exclaimed a female voice.

"Sorry," said Littlefoot, getting up.

The female also got up and faced him. She was stunned at his handsomeness despise the fact of the claw mark across his eye.

."It's okay, as long as it was an accident."

The female looked into the male's eyes.

"Do I know you? You look familiar."

Littlefoot knew that he would be kicked out if she knew his name.

"You must be confusing me with another longneck. My name's…Jake."

"Jake? Nice to meet you. I'm Ali."

Littlefoot, or Jake, was shocked to hear that name once again. The female was a pinkish Apatosaurus with bluish eyes. She looked beautiful as she shouted at him. She looked even more beautiful when she stood calm with a smile.

"Likewise," Littlefoot replied.

"Where did you-"

"Ali. Ali."

The male voice sent chills down Littlefoot's spine.

"Oh, that's Tyler. Well, I better go. I'll see you around."

"Yep. Hopefully I bonk into you again."

Ali chuckled and walked out of the forest. Littlefoot sighed and walked deeper into the forest.