Everything seemed to be grim; with Ali's herd on wanting Littlefoot to go through with the betrothal against his will. He was beginning to hate Ali just like he hates her herd; especially the Old One. All the young ones except for Ali have decided to meet at Cera's nest.
"Me no can believe it; Ali was nice as a young girl; now, me no like her," Petrie said.
"You are right, Petrie; Ali has no right to force Littlefoot to do what is expected of him," Ducky claimed.
"That's right; if she can't accept that me and Cera are in love with each other; then, she can leave along with her prejudiced herd," Littlefoot sneered.
The rest of the gang nodded in agreement.
"Why must Ali's herd be so mean?" Cera wondered.
"I don't know-"
Littlefoot was interrupted when Cleo and Ali came up to the group.
"There you are; all you longnecks come with us; the rest of you, stay," Cleo snarled.
"Why should we?" Littlefoot asked.
Cleo narrowed her eyes at Littlefoot and growled.
"Because I said so; and you have no right to talk to me like that; as my future son-in-law, you have no right to hang out with non-longnecks," Cleo retorted.
"That's right; our wedding will take place tomorrow night; and the next day, we're leaving," Ali added.
"We're not going anywhere with you; the only one I have in mind to marry is Cera; that's what my heart wants," Littlefoot said.
Cleo raised her tail and smacked Littlefoot in the face. Petrie saw this and walked over to Cleo's leg.
"You really starting to piss me off," Petrie claimed, peeing on Cleo's leg.
"Ahhhhhhhh! My leg is not a relief spot," Cleo exclaimed.
Soon enough, Topsy overheard this and walked over to the group and laughed hard.
"It just goes to show that you shouldn't make the wrong person angry, Cleo," Topsy said.
"Stay out of this horn face!" Cleo growled.
Topsy didn't seem to be fazed by the insult since he heard it so many times throughout his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.
"I will not! Besides, Littlefoot is a grown longneck and should be able to choose his own mate," Topsy growled.
The others nodded; except for Cleo and Ali. In fact, Cleo reared up on her hind legs and almost slammed her front feet onto Topsy's back in hopes of breaking his spine. However, Cera managed to push her out of the way before it could happen.
"Nobody does that to my dad and gets away with it," Cera snorted.
Everyone including Topsy was surprised at what Cera did.
"You saved me from being crippled; thank you," Topsy commented.
"You're too young for that, Dad; you have a long life ahead of you," Cera responded.
Soon enough, the rest of Ali's herd and the Great Valley herd came by.
"What happened here?" Old One asked.
"THAT threehorn; Cera I believe her name is attacked me; all I was saying is that Littlefoot will marry Ali tomorrow night and we'll be leaving the day after the wedding," Cleo said.
The elderly longnecks looked down at Cera.
"I know this looks bad; but, I just pushed her out of the way since she was about to slam her front feet on my dad's back and attempted to cripple him," Cera explained.
"That's different; you were only sticking up for your dad; and for that, it's very noble," Grandpa said.
"That's not all; that beakbrain peed on me," Cleo added.
"That only 'cause you hit Littlefoot with your tail for not giving in to your demands," Petrie retorted.
At this, Jenna faced her cousin and growled.
"Take your herd and get out; no one hits any of my friends and family for no reason," Jenna snarled.
"No! This wedding will go as planned; I don't care what you think; Littlefoot has no right to choose his own mate; especially THAT threehorn female," Cleo said, referring to Cera.
Then, the Old One turned to Cera.
"You heard the lady-"
"Lady? Bah! She's no lady; nothing but a closed-minded longneck with bad manners," Topsy snorted.
"Look who you're talking to pal; I'm big enough to break your neck with one stomp of my foot," Cleo snarled.
"Well; it looks like I've gotten off on the wrong foot," Topsy remarked.
None of the longnecks in Ali's herd found that remark amusing; however, everyone in the Great Valley herd chuckled. Soon enough, Cleo engaged Topsy in a brawl. However, due to Topsy's size and the fact that he's smaller than the average threehorn in terms of weight; Cleo managed to beat him out. He groaned in pain since some of his ribs were cracked. Cleo stood up and lowered her head to his.
"You just messed with the wrong longneck, horn face," Cleo snorted.
Topsy breathed deeply to try and resist the urge to roar. Cleo and the Old One gathered the herd and left for their resting place. Topsy looked up at the herd and growled.
"I hate those longnecks; but, you longnecks are okay; it's your damn cousins I hate; especially Cleo and the old fart," Topsy said.
"I don't particularly like them either; Cleo had no right to do that to you," Grandpa stated.
Topsy tried to move; but, it was very painful. However, he did manage to shift onto his right side. There was a lot of bruising on his underbelly and his tail looked like it was sprained in the fight.
"Dad; are you gonna be okay?" Cera asked.
"I might be injured; but, you can't get rid of me that easily," Topsy claimed.
Cera smiled.
Soon enough, Grandpa gently rubbed his head along Topsy's ribs. Topsy let out a roar of extreme pain. Grandpa jumped back, startled. He wasn't used to this; in all his years, the injuries he had inspected had been minor; such as a scraped knee or a twisted ankle or tail; but, not cracked ribs. Tears of pain were rolling down Topsy's face. Grandpa had not intended on making him cry; he was just making sure he was okay.
"I'm sorry; I had no idea you were in that much pain," Grandpa responded.
Topsy nodded as he closed his eyes tight as the tears kept flowing. He kept on breathing and quietly cursing the longneck who did this to him.
"Are any of his ribs broken?" Grandma asked.
"No; but the ones on the left side of his rib cage are cracked; and it'll take a month or two before he can do anything strenuous; that includes doing his rounds; someone will have to substitute for him during that time," Grandpa explained.
Topsy looked up at the elderly couple and groaned.
"This is the thanks I get? I stick up for Cera when she's insulted and I get seriously injured?" Topsy snarled.
Soon enough, Theresa came rushing through the crowd.
"What happened? Who did this to you?" Theresa asked.
"I'm afraid it was my supposed future mother-in-law Cleo," Littlefoot said.
Theresa sighed and nuzzled Topsy as gently as she could.
"Oh, Mother; please be careful, my ribs are killing me," Topsy said.
Theresa sighed. She was sad that Topsy was seriously injured; however, she knew that his ribs would heal soon. After a few moments, Theresa helped Topsy to his feet and led him back to his nest. It would take a long time before Topsy would forget this. He already hated the Old One and her herd; now, after Cleo's attack on him, he hated that herd even more.
A/N: So much drama; lots of time went into this chapter.