A/N: Littlefoot talks about past adventures. New characters make their debut.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Land Before Time and its characters. Original Characters are mine though.

CHAPTER 2

Father and son cleared the Great Valley.

"Um dad, where are we going?"

"Well son, we're going back to the rest of the herd."

"But dad I don't want." Littlefoot started.

"I know son, let me finish. When I make the journey to the Great Valley, not everyone comes along with me and that's fine. I'm going back to let them know what my plan is. That way they won't have to worry if something bad has happened to me, their leader. Also they can choose whether they want to come with me or not, or stay where they are or something completely different all together. As their leader, I have to be fair with everyone, so that's why we'll be staying a few days. And you're with me so we can spend more time together, just you and me. You have my full attention now son."

Littlefoot's mouth formed an "o" even though his father couldn't see it because he was sitting on top of his head.

"I understand now." was all Littlefoot had said. Realization had dawned on him, "there will be more longnecks staying in the Great Valley?

"Yes son, I think it's important to be around our own kind as well, so you can learn things too," was all Bron had said.

They came to a break in the earth. Littlefoot had saw this and slid down his father till he was back on the ground. He spotted the same tree that Cera had knocked over earlier.

"Watch this dad," he walked over to the tree and easily climbed up.

He then crossed the chasm with no problem, Bron had watched on and when his son cleared the chasm, he simply walked across it himself.

"I take it you've done this before son?" Littlefoot beamed and nodded his head in agreement.

"The first time I had to knock over a tree was when my friends and I were running from the liquid fire and the egg nappers."

Bron asked the one question currently on his mind. He wanted to know how his son had become friends with a sharptooth.

"How did you and the little sharptooth become friends?" Bron asked his son.

"Well my friends and I chased egg nappers into the Mysterious Beyond after we saw them steal an egg from its nest. We found an egg thinking it was the same egg we saw. I hatched Chomper and stayed with him when my friends ran away. He was just a baby, and it didn't matter to me that he was a sharptooth."

Bron sighed, then again he couldn't blame his son for not wanting to leave the baby sharptooth alone when all the others had run away.

"So you stayed with the little sharptooth. That was nice of you. What happened after you and your friends escaped the liquid fire?"

"Well we ran into two grownup sharpteeth."

"Grownup sharpteeth were in the Great Valley?" Bron questioned.

"Well my friends and I accidently caused a rockslide in the great wall which opened the Great Valley up to the Mysterious Beyond. The grownups and the sharpteeth started fighting and when it finally ended, I went to search for Chomper since he was a baby and was all alone. When I finally found him, the sharpteeth found us as well and we ran. I ended up getting stuck in a log and I thought Chomper and I were goners. I told Chomper to run away and save himself but he wouldn't leave me. The sharpteeth were roaring really loud and in front of me too. And it was really scary. Come to find out they were Chomper's parents who had come looking for their baby in the Great Valley. After they found them, they left the Great Valley and returned to the Mysterious Beyond. Everyone worked together to close up the great wall."

"Wow son, that sounds like quite the adventure."

"Yeah my friends and I like adventuring," Littlefoot smiled up at his dad and the two continued walking.

"I miss Littlefoot, yep yep yep," Ducky sighed.

"Me miss him too" Petrie agreed.

"We miss Littlefoot too," Ruby spoke for Chomper and herself, Chomper nodded his head in agreement. Spike grunted a sad grunt. Cera had yet to say anything and Ducky noticed this.

"What about you Cera, don't you miss Littlefoot too?"

Cera rolled her eyes. "Yeah I guess so". Ducky was surprised because normally Cera would make everyone chase her before she'd give an answer, but this time she answered immediately, which meant to her that Cera had really missed Littlefoot too.

"Grandpa said its not forever, so I don't think we need to worry," Ruby spoke.

Just then Chomper perked up, "well we could go after him, I know my sniffer can find him." Chomper said proudly pointing to his nose.

Ruby shook her head, "we shouldn't do that, because Littlefoot needs to spend time with his father alone without the rest of us. Remember his outburst yesterday?"

"Oh yeah, I remember." Chomper rubbed his head.

"What outburst?" Cera demanded.

Chomper and Ruby exchanged glances, "it's not for us to say, we heard it by accident," Ruby finished.

The whole group sighed out loud, each one missing Littlefoot immensely. The elder longnecks made their way to the watering hole. There they found Littlefoot's friends moping about all sad like.

"What's wrong children?" Grandma asked.

Ducky looked up, "we all miss Littlefoot a lot, yes we do."

"I know you do children, but as grandpa said before, it's not forever. Littlefoot and his father are traveling to where the rest of the herd is. Then it will be decided who wants to come back here to the great valley, who wants to stay where they are, or who wants to continue migrating."

"So Littlefoot's dad and other longnecks will be living here in the Great Valley?" Cera asked.

"That's right." Grandma confirmed.

"But, but it will just be Littlefoot and his dad all alone in the Mysterious Beyond and the swamp. What about sharpteeth and the belly draggers? It will be dangerous. It will. It will."

The children gasped. They hadn't thought of that.

"Littlefoot's father is very strong and very brave, don't worry little ones. They will be back before you know it." Grandma spoke.

Grandpa walked up as he was finished drinking some water. "How about I tell you all some stories?"

The children looked at one another, getting excited. They loved hearing stories, they wagged their tails in excitement then sat down.

Littlefoot and Bron reached the swamp. Littlefoot had remembered what happened the last time he was at the swamp with his grandparents, so he opted to ride on his father's back.

"Son, you're probably going to be riding for a while, got anymore adventures you want to talk about?" Littlefoot thought about it for a bit.

He looked around, "well with all this water around us, it reminds me of the time when the flying fire rocks caused a rockslide in the Mysterious Beyond, which made the thundering falls stop flowing with water. Grandma told me that because the Great Valley was so dry that fires could start easily."

"Your grandma is right. Whenever the land is very dry, fires are common."

"Dad, have you seen lots of fires?"

"Sure I have. Whenever my herd and I settle in a place I always make sure to know ways to exit in case of a fire. Being a leader, you have to keep your heard safe from natural dangers. So the Great Valley was dry, then what happened?"

"Bullies had chased my friends and I."

"Bullies? Are they still bothering you?" Bron turned back to look at Littlefoot.

"No dad, they leave us alone for the most part. We had ran into the Mysterious Beyond to get away and that's where we saw the water being trapped. It was very windy and sky fire had caught a tree on fire and it quickly spread. We ran all the way back home to tell the grownups about the trapped water and the fire. Grandpa went after Cera and her father since they didn't want to follow us. I stayed with Grandma and she started leading everyone towards safety, but the smoke was too thick for her and all the other grownups. I led everyone to safety using my voice alone since they couldn't see too good. Grandpa, Cera and her father met up with us shortly after that."

Bron was very impressed to say the least. "Wow son, you did that? As your father I am so proud of you. I know your mom would be proud of you too." Bron turned back again and nuzzled Littlefoot briefly.

"Thanks dad." Littlefoot nuzzled him back a bit.

Bron continued on through the swamp. "So how did the water get freed?"

"Well after we told the grownups about the trapped water, they started arguing about the best way to free the water. Just then we saw the bullies leave the Great Valley and head towards the Mysterious Beyond. My friends didn't want to go after them, but they ended up coming with me anyway after them. We found Hyp stuck in a tar pit and his friends didn't even help him. So my friends and I helped him out. Eventually the grownups found us all, but so did fast biters. A fierce battle broke out between the grownups and the fast biters. Knowing we couldn't really help fight, we went to move the rocks to free the water. When we got back to the Great Valley, the water was flowing again and it put the fires out, but a lot of our food had been burned. All the herds worked together and we ended up finding a canyon that had enough green food for us all. Every year since then we now celebrate the time of the great giving." Littlefoot finished his story.

"Wow son, that sounds like quite the adventure."

Littlefoot looked around, "dad?"

"Yes Littlefoot."

"How come we haven't seen any belly draggers in the swamp?"

"Belly draggers only prey on things they can actually eat. They go after young, sick or dying dinosaurs. They would never attack big dinosaurs like me, son."

Littlefoot sighed, "I wish I was big too."

"Be patient son, you'll be big before you know it. For the time being, enjoy being carried like this and such."

Littlefoot sighed again. He looked up at the leaves and licked his mouth. He jumped towards a branch and missed the mark completely, he landed in the water.

"Littlefoot," Bron called out his voice full of concern.

He spotted some bubbles and they looked like they were getting closer to them. A belly dragger must have seen Littlefoot fall into the water. Littlefoot broke the surface, gasping for air. He started to try and swim. The belly dragger revealed itself and opened its mouth ready to attack Littlefoot.

"Ahh" Littlefoot screamed, just then Bron had picked Littlefoot up by his tail and out of the water. Littlefoot watched the belly dragger swim away.

"Littlefoot, you've got to be more careful. That was close." Bron said as he placed Littlefoot once again on his back.

"I'm sorry dad. It's just that I'm hungry and I thought I could reach those leaves."

Bron sighed, "let's clear this swamp first, then we'll eat."

"Okay." Littlefoot yawned then closed his eyes, a nap couldn't hurt.

Grandpa and grandma had left the children to play. Chomper had followed after the elder longnecks. He wanted to talk with them, he caught up with them.

"Grandma, grandpa," he called out to them.

Grandpa spoke up, "what is it Chomper?"

Chomper looked at the ground, then up at the sky not sure how he should continue. The elder long necks were patient with him.

Chomper took a deep breath, "I heard Littlefoot yesterday speak about his mommy," he began.

The elders exchanged glances, not sure where Chomper or the conversation was heading.

Chomper continued, "I just feel really bad about it and I'm also really confused why Littlefoot is friends with the same kind that killed his mommy."

The elders exchanged looks again, it was grandma who spoke, "Chomper, you weren't responsible for what happened so long ago now. We all know that. You see, the circle of life is never ending. Some of us arrive and leave at different times than others." She spoke softly at him.

Chomper looked up, "I don't understand grandma," he sighed.

"Someday you'll understand little one, someday." Chomper stayed with the elder long necks a bit longer before making his way back to his friends.

After clearing the swamp and eating, Littlefoot became curious. He was riding on his father's back.

"Dad what happened to Shorty's father and mother?"

Bron looked back at his son, then forward again. "There was a fire where the herd and his family had lived. Everyone had panicked instead of trying to find a way to safety. They all died from breathing in too much smoke. Shorty as well as dozens of hatchlings were orphaned. When I first came upon them, Shorty was hesitant and he didn't trust me at all. I checked them to see if any were you, but they weren't. I started walking away and they started following me. They figured I could provide food and protection and they were right." Bron paused.

Littlefoot spoke up. "I know many ways out of the Great Valley, should fires break out."

"Yes Littlefoot I know."

Littlefoot sighed, "what happened to Shorty's parents was awful."

Bron nodded in agreement, "yeah it was very awful. After some grownups joined us, they soon began to adopt the hatchlings themselves. Most of them had lost their young to egg eaters, so them adopting the orphaned hatchlings started to fill that void within them. They wanted children and the children wanted parents. So it happened to work out fine. But nobody wanted Shorty, so I took him in and I'm his guardian."

"Dad, when I first met you he was very mean to me. In fact, I had caught him trying to run away so I went after him to bring him back."

"Ah, I see. Shorty doesn't like when my attention isn't on him. I guess you could say he gets jealous easily."

"Same with Cera too, she gets mad and jealous easily."

"She's a threehorn after all." Bron chuckled a bit, then Littlefoot joined in on the laughter.

Father and son came to a canyon. Trees, plants and water here were more than abundant. They were welcomed back by Bron's herd.

"Our leader is back," a grownup had shouted, getting the attention of the others.

Another grownup with a smirk had approached. "You found another one?" he asked looking directly at Littlefoot.

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes picking up on the tone and meaning of that question. He already didn't like this particular grownup. Bron picked up on this as well, but choose to ignore it to set a good example for Littlefoot.

"This fine young long neck is my son, thanks for noticing."

The other grownup with the smirk huffed then turned to walk away.

"Bron, you're back." Shorty had raced towards Bron, not seeing Littlefoot at first. He came to a screeching halt, as he saw Littlefoot sliding down his father's tail.

"Aww, why'd you have to bring him for?" He asked annoyed.

"Be nice Shorty, why don't you show Littlefoot around?" Littlefoot and Shorty exchanged looks.

"That's okay dad, I'll look around by myself," Littlefoot took off without another word.

Shorty looked up at Bron who only looked at him with sad eyes.

Shorty sighed, "oh okay, I'll go after him."

Bron nodded his head in approval then turned to make his way to the rest of the herd. He needed to talk with them about his plans to live in the Great Valley with his son.

Shorty found Littlefoot drinking water from the river. He rolled his eyes not even sure what he was going to say to him. Littlefoot stopped drinking water and looked directly at Shorty.

"What?" Shorty looked away angrily.

"Nothing, forget it," he then ran off.

"I wonder what that was about?" Littlefoot asked aloud to no one in particular.

He then jumped into the water and flipped onto his back. He wished his friends were there to play with him. He didn't realize how much he would miss his friends until now. He kicked his legs a bit splashing the water. A few hatchlings had made their way to the river and watched Littlefoot curiously. One stood too close to the edge and ended up falling in. When the little one had surfaced again, she began screaming for her mother then sunk below the surface again. The rest of the hatchlings started screaming for help too. Hearing the cries for help, Littlefoot had immediately swam where the little one was. He dove beneath the surface and saw the little one struggling. He surfaced with the little one in his mouth, she was coughing and fighting for air. As Littlefoot stepped out of the river with the hatchling in his mouth, a grownup had come rushing forward. Littlefoot set the little one down, who had immediately ran towards her mother. The mother spoke looking between Littlefoot and her hatchling.

"What happened?"

"She fell in the river and I saved her from drowning."

The mother nodded her head, "thank you for saving my little one, she's, she's all I have."

Littlefoot smiled, "you're welcome."

The mother longneck nuzzled him in response. The little one had licked him then retreated back to her mom. The mother longneck thanked Littlefoot again, then turned away to leave. She walked away a bit then turned back.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Littlefoot."

"Littlefoot? You're Bron's son, right?" Littlefoot nodded. "I'm going to tell everyone that you saved my baby." She then picked up her little one and set her on her back then walked away. "Come along children", the other hatchlings had followed too. Unbeknownst to Littlefoot, Shorty had seen the whole thing.

Shorty had watch Littlefoot lay on his back and look up at the sky. He approached Littlefoot once again.

"I could have saved that hatchling you know." Shorty said by way of announcing his presence.

Littlefoot sighed out loud making it very clear that he didn't believe that. He stood up, to be on the same level as Shorty.

"I highly doubt you would have had enough time." Littlefoot had said, bored of the whole thing this time.

He knew Shorty didn't really like him and it was hard enough as is to be around him.

Shorty narrowed his eyes, "you got lucky is all. I've saved my fair share of hatchlings too."

Littlefoot too narrowed his eyes. "I've saved my friends on plenty of occasions too."

He stopped talking when he noticed other hatchlings approach both him and Shorty.

Shorty smirked when they stood next to him, "you see I'm their leader, they like me."

"Well my friends like me too," Littlefoot countered.

Shorty watched on in disbelief as one by one the hatchlings started to leave his side and approach Littlefoot. They all started nuzzling him. Littlefoot guessed that they were thanking him, since they too had seen him save their friend from drowning. Just then, a few grownup longnecks had approached.

"See there he is, Littlefoot the hero. He saved my baby from drowning."

They were surrounding Littlefoot and the hatchlings who were still nuzzling him.

The adults began to talk, "this is Bron's real son, right?"

"He's following after his father."

"His father must be so proud."

Littlefoot had looked around, shocked at all the attention he was receiving. It really wasn't that big of a deal to him. He had saved his friends on many occasions. He noticed Shorty wasn't there any more either. Just then a few grownups had moved aside to let Bron through. Bron had a smile on his face and lowered his head to Littlefoot's level.

"Good job today big guy." He then went to nuzzle his son.

One of the grownups had spoken up, "Bron you must be so proud."

Bron smiled looking at the grownup, "I am proud, thank you."

Littlefoot had climbed atop of his father's head. Bron raised his head again and stood to his full height. He looked at the grownups present and smiled. After being admired for a bit, the grownups and hatchlings had finally dispersed. Bron turned to leave as well.

"Dad, I think something is wrong with Shorty. He was here and when the others arrived, he took off."

"Hmm, I think I know where he might be."

"Dad, can I tell you how I really feel about Shorty before we head back?"

"Sure." Came the reply.

"Well right before we were chased by those sharpteeth, I wanted him and I to be like brothers. And after I passed the big longneck test, I've been feeling like he doesn't like me much at all. And today he didn't like when the hatchlings stood by my side instead of his side. Right before the grownups arrived to thank me, he took off. Now I feel like I don't want us to be brothers."

"Sounds to me that Shorty see's you as a threat son." Bron observed.

"But dad, I've never threatened Shorty. I've been nothing but nice to him, and I've walked away from fights with him too." Littlefoot was confused.

"Littlefoot its hard to explain, but just trust me with this one. I know how to handle Shorty. He's a good kid deep down. I just know it."

"Ah, okay dad." Littlefoot had sighed hoping his father was right.

Bron had climbed up a steep ridge and found Shorty sulking. Littlefoot had slid down his father and sat next to Shorty. Shorty had looked at Littlefoot then up at Bron, becoming angry all over again. Bron looked down at both Shorty and Littlefoot.

He spoke, "Shorty what's going on?"

Shorty looked down at his feet, "nothing."

"Shorty come on its me."

Littlefoot said nothing as he looked between his father and Shorty.

"It's not fair, ever since he came," Shorty gestured to Littlefoot, "you ignore me, like everyone else. He got to take the big long neck test and you wouldn't let me. And he's the hero now for saving that hatchling," Shorty shouted angrily.

Bron sighed. "Shorty listen, I'm sorry you feel that way. But Littlefoot is my son, if I hadn't been looking for him, I wouldn't have found you or the others. You haven't really proven to me that you're ready to take the big long neck test. And as far as today is concerned, were you there when the hatchling fell into that river?"

"Well no, but." Shorty started.

Bron then continued, "well then, how do you know you could have saved that hatchling in time?"

"Okay I guess I wouldn't have made it in time. But everyone still ignores me."

"Maybe if you were a little nicer, things would be different."

"How can I be nice when I'm still angry that both of my parents are dead?" Shorty had shouted.

Bron looked on with sad eyes. A couple days ago, it was the same scenario but with Littlefoot.

"Shorty, I lost my mother as well. To a sharptooth and right in front of me too." Littlefoot had said in a small voice looking out into the horizon. "Even though she's not here, she'll always be with me."

He then looked up and spotted a sky puffy that was shaped like a longneck. Bron and Shorty looked up and saw the same thing. Angry tears fell from Shorty's eyes. He ran off without another word.

"Shorty wait," Littlefoot called after him, he was poised for flight too.

"Come on son, let's head back."

"But Dad, I."

Bron shook his head. "Littlefoot I know Shorty. He needs some time to sort out his feelings. And this is how he deals with it."

Littlefoot looked at the direction in which Shorty had ran then looked back at his father who had already turned away. He trailed after his father.

The night circle was already up by the time Shorty had returned. The entire day weighed down on Littlefoot who was now yawning. He curled up next to his father promptly and fell asleep. Bron had watched Shorty approach. Shorty didn't say anything, he simply went to curl up on Bron's other side and fell asleep. Bron replayed the last couple day's events in his mind. He thought about the conversations he had within his herd. Even though some displayed anger at his wanting to live in the Great Valley, they respected his decision. Some had expressed delight and some had expressed fear, but they all universally respected what he wanted to do. The elder dinosaurs had decided to continue living in the canyon, the ones with hatchlings had decided to come with Bron and live in the Great Valley as well. The ones who had children Littlefoot's age and the ones without children would continue to migrate across the land. They all knew strength was in numbers so they wouldn't have to worry about sharpteeth attacking them since they only hunted in twos and threes. The ones in the herd who were undecided or indifferent would probably join up with another herd. Many visitors passed through the canyon and eventually they would leave with travelers or stay. Bron had been just and a fair leader. He listened to the pros and cons to a lot of the scenarios that came up. He offered his insight and wisdom when it was asked for and he supported what his herd wanted to do. Bron looked at Shorty on his left side then looked at Littlefoot on his right side one last time before he scanned the area. Sensing no danger, he finally permitted himself to sleep.

Littlefoot was the first to wake up the next day. He yawned then stretched out his legs. Today, they would make their way back to the Great Valley and back to his grandparents and his friends. He stood up and made his way over to a tree with plenty of tree stars. After eating the ones he could easily reach, he paused and thought about how he could reach the others. Normally his friends would work together and climb on one another to reach the higher tree stars. But they weren't there, so he couldn't do that either. He then thought about pushing down a tree as his father and grandfather had shown him. But the tree was too big and he couldn't do that either. He finally thought about Doc and how he whipped his tail to break a branch. Again the tree was too tall for that and he hadn't mastered whipping his tail yet either. Defeated, he sighed and sat down still hungry. Bron had woken up, he checked on Shorty who was still asleep then he spotted Littlefoot not too far from where he was. He had watched on as Littlefoot tried pushing on the tree as well as trying to whip his tail in the air. When both methods failed to yield any results, Bron stood up and made his way over to Littlefoot who was now impatient.

"Need some help?"

About to deny it, Littlefoot merely nodded his head. Bron lifted his front right leg and put his foot on the tree's trunk. He applied enough pressure to bend the tree down so Littlefoot could reach the tree stars. He stayed like that till Littlefoot ate his fill.

"Thanks dad." Littlefoot said when he was nice and full.

"No problem son." Bron took his foot off the tree and took a step back.

He then went over to a taller tree and began to eat as well. Shorty had woken up and looked around for Bron. When he spotted him at the tree, he made his way over to him. Bron felt Shorty's presence. He stopped eating and instead took a branch in his mouth and wiggled his head causing the tree stars to fall. Shorty began to catch the tree stars and Bron resumed eating.

There was an awkward silence between Littlefoot, Shorty and Bron. Bron eventually shared a glance with Littlefoot who seemed to understand that he needed to talk to Shorty alone. Bron nodded and Littlefoot took off.

"See you later," he called back as he left his father and Shorty.

Bron looked down at Shorty who still had a mouthful of leaves. Shorty felt Bron's eyes on him, he then swallowed the leaves.

"What?" he asked Bron harshly.

When Bron said nothing and continue to stare at him, Shorty's attitude softened.

Bron started the conversation, "we need to talk about yesterday and what you said."

"Bron there's nothing to talk about." Shorty had said not looking at Bron at all.

Bron sensed that Shorty wasn't ready to talk about it, so he changed the subject.

"We're going to live in the Great Valley."

"But I don't want to live there let alone in one place all of the time."

"Well, Shorty what do you want?"

"I don't know, but I do know that the Great Valley isn't for me."

"Do you want to continue living here then?" Bron gestured to the land around them.

"No, I just. I just want to migrate across the land I think."

Bron nodded in understanding. He understood why the young longneck wanted to migrate. Bron figured that Shorty felt trapped being in a valley or crater or somewhere surrounded by mountains, probably brought back memories of what happened and how he lost his family due to fires. The young longneck's fear of fire blocked everything else out Bron knew. Bron thought about what he wanted for Shorty. He didn't want Shorty to migrate or to stay here, he wanted him to come live with him and Littlefoot in the Great Valley. He wanted to give Shorty a sense of family since his had been taken away from him so early in life. He would figure out a way to work with Shorty and help the young longneck.

When Bron didn't respond, Shorty looked up and saw him with an intense look in his eyes.

"Bron?" He called out. "Bron?" Shorty called out again.

"Shorty, you're coming with me back to the Great Valley." He said while barely moving his mouth.

"But Bron, I." Shorty started.

"Shorty, you're coming with me." Bron said in all seriousness.

Shorty had never seen Bron so serious, let alone having heard that tone of voice before either. He decided to stop resisting. He honestly would go with Bron wherever anyway.

"Oh okay," was all Shorty had said.

"Good. Now let's go," Bron had ended the conversation and turned to walk away.

Littlefoot had found a steep hill and struggled to climb it. When he finally got to the top, he was able to see the entire canyon. He finally spotted his father and Shorty at the front of the herd. He knew it would be time to leave soon enough. Littlefoot had wanted a better relationship with Shorty. But he couldn't be the only one putting in the effort. Shorty had to put in the effort too. If he didn't, well Littlefoot would have to deal with that when the time came. He looked up into the sky, no signs of any storms or anything. It was a beautiful day. He stood up and started to descend the steep hill. He then broke into a sprint seeing his father start to walk away. He didn't want to get left behind. He was running at full speed, not even paying attention to where he was stepping. Littlefoot tripped when his foot made contact with a hole that had been dug up, he went tumbling down the steep hill.

"Woah woah woah." Littlefoot couldn't stop, he was going too fast. The momentum and gravity made it nearly impossible to stop.

"Dad help!" Littlefoot screamed out seeing as though he couldn't stop himself.

Bron turned around and looked up as he heard Littlefoot calling for help. He raced towards him as fast as he could. At the bottom of the hill, there was a slope that curved upward. Littlefoot hit that slope and was flung into the air, he screamed again.

Bron had caught him in midair by his tail. "Gotcha."

Littlefoot had covered his eyes with his front feet. He opened them again and everything was upside down for him. Bron had set him down, and Littlefoot gave a sigh of relief. Father and son made their way back toward the front of the herd. Shorty rolled his eyes as he saw them approach. He thought Littlefoot got in trouble on purpose to get all of Bron's attention.

"Alright everyone, listen up. We're leaving now, stay close to the ones in front of you and watch the children." Bron had spoken up loud and clear.

The grownups had nodded in understanding, while others simply picked their young up and placed them on their backs. Bron led the herd away with Littlefoot and Shorty not too far behind him.

Chomper and Ruby had gathered everyone and made their way over to Littlefoot's grandparents. The elder longnecks watched the children approach.

"What can we do for you children?" Grandpa asked.

Chomper was the first to speak. "When will Littlefoot return?"

"Well from what Bron said, maybe a couple days." The children sighed.

"I wish a couple days would pass already. I do, I do." Ducky spoke, Spike grunted in agreement.

"Can we go bring him back already?" Chomper asked. The elders exchanged looks.

"No children, it's too dangerous, beyond the mountains is the Mysterious Beyond filled with plenty of sharpteeth," grandma explained.

"But we've beat those stupid ole sharpteeth before and we can do it again." Cera spoke up. Chomper narrowed his eyes at this. He never liked hearing sharpteeth being called stupid.

"I'm sorry children, but the answer is still no. Be patient little ones, Littlefoot will be back before you know it."

The children sighed a universal sigh.

Chomper had an idea, he gingerly walked over to Cera touching her nose, "tag you're it."

He and the other children then ran away. The elder longnecks chuckled to themselves as they watched the children run and play.

"So dad when we get back home, do you have to talk with the council?" Littlefoot asked his father and they continued on.

"No son, I already did and they approved. They understand the meaning and importance of family." Bron had emphasized the last part, hoping Shorty would get the hint.

When Shorty looked away to hide his blush, Bron understood that he got it but was too stubborn to admit it. Bron knew that he had a real challenge to take on. He just hoped he could get through to Shorty before it was too late and he did something foolish. Littlefoot and Shorty were walking side by side. Shorty still hadn't said a word at all. Littlefoot felt like the frozen water gave off more warmth than Shorty did. An idea came to him. Shorty may have put on this tough guy façade, but he was still a kid and wasn't immune to playing.

He lifted his left foot and tagged Shorty, "tag you're it. Betcha can't catch me." He then took off, running around his father's legs.

"Betcha I can." Shorty wasn't one who backed down from challenges. He took off after Littlefoot.

"Be careful you two," Bron called out.

His warning fell on deaf ears seeing as though both Littlefoot and Shorty were running around. Bron chuckled, this was way better than the awkwardness he thought. Maybe Littlefoot could help get through to Shorty as well. Those two had more things in common than they had originally thought.

Bron was Shorty's guardian and he cared for the stubborn young longneck. Under his care, he had seen Shorty start to blossom. Some days were certainly better than others, but Bron took the good with the bad. A sudden realization had occurred to him just then, ever since he and Littlefoot were reunited, he noticed that he really wasn't spending as much time with Shorty as he used to. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he and Shorty had ran around and played together. He couldn't remember the last time he comforted Shorty when he got hurt either. He could remember all those things with Littlefoot though. The whole situation bothered Bron greatly. He knew he had to find time to be with both Littlefoot and Shorty equally. Things were complicated as it seemed they both weren't getting along. Things would be easier if they learned to get along, that way at least he could spend time with both of them together. He then watched both boys for a bit. Shorty had tripped and Littlefoot pounced on him, both of them went sprawling. Laughter filled the air, the scene warmed Bron's heart. Maybe things would work out after all.

Bron looked back at the herd and he kept moving seeing as though everyone was keeping up. Both Littlefoot and Shorty were running under him and around his legs still playing tag. Bron spotted the same swamp just up ahead. Without warning, he caught Littlefoot and hoisted him up by his tail and set him on his back. Soon after he did the same thing to Shorty.

Both Littlefoot and Shorty watched on as Bron led the herd through the swamp. They spotted some bubbles, which indicated belly draggers were there and watching them.

"Bron, what's with those bubbles over there?" Shorty asked while continuing to look at the bubbles rise and pop.

"Shorty those are belly draggers." Bron answered.

"Belly Draggers?" Shorty asked.

"Yes, as in they drag their bellies as they walk, and they are also swimming sharpteeth. As I've told Littlefoot before, belly draggers only prey on things they can actually eat. They would never attack a herd like this."

Shorty looked to Littlefoot, who was also watching the rising and popping bubbles. "Have you seen belly draggers or swimming sharpteeth before?"

"Yes I've seen both, my dad, Sue, and Archie saved me from belly draggers before. And Elsie saved us from a swimming sharptooth too."

"Yeah right, I bet you're lying." Shorty said, his disbelief was clear.

"I am not lying!" Littlefoot countered.

"Grownups would never let you near a belly dragger let alone a swimming sharptooth."

"My friends and I have gone on adventures without the grownups!"

Seeing as though a fight may breakout, Bron stopped for a moment and looked back at the young ones on his back.

"Littlefoot, why don't you tell us how you encountered the belly dragger?" Littlefoot looked at Shorty who was currently glaring at him, then he looked at his father who was smiling at him. He took a deep breath and decided to tell the story.

"A while ago we had a herd of longnecks come to the Great Valley. Grandpa had gotten sick and the old one told us that the only way he could get better was to find the night flower in the land from where the migrating herd came from. The land of mists. No one wanted to travel there with me and grandma to get this flower because they said it was too dangerous. Ali, a girl longneck my age said she would take me there but without my friends since they weren't longnecks too. I was so worried about grandpa that I went with her. Ali and I journey through the Mysterious Beyond till we came to the sky colors and cave. I got trapped after an earth shake had blocked my path with rocks. There I met an old swimmer with a hard shell covering his body named Archie."

"I've seen beings with shells covering their body too. They walk very slow." Shorty observed aloud.

"Yes, so Archie and I weren't alone in that cave. A blind belly dragger and a sharptooth beak friend were on our tails. Just then the rocks blocking our path had been smashed by my friends. Ali went back and they came with her to find me. Archie led us to the exit of the caves and we continued the journey through the land of mists. We found the night flower and it gets its name as these special flowers only bloom when the night circle is up. On our way back with the night flowers with us, we ran into the belly dragger again. It made a swimming sharptooth longneck angry who ended up chasing it away."

Shorty interrupted, he had heard enough of this. "Yeah right, there isn't such things as a sharptooth swimming longneck." He rolled his eyes.

"Yes there is. I know what I saw. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. At least my dad believes me. Right dad?"

"Yes Littlefoot I believe you. Shorty, they live in the ocean. One must have gotten through from the earth shakes mentioned which is probably how you saw one Littlefoot. Shorty just how there are different types of land longnecks, there are also different types of ocean longnecks too." Bron continued on.

Littlefoot stuck out his tongue and Shorty sulked.

"You said you saw a swimming sharptooth, yet in your story you only mentioned the longneck kind." Shorty pointed out.

"That's because that's a different adventure all together." Littlefoot had said rolling his eyes.

"Well son, since we still have a ways to go, why don't you tell us about that adventure too?" Bron encouraged.

Littlefoot looked around and saw children resting on their parents' backs as well. Like his father had said, the belly draggers weren't attacking them. It made sense to him now why that blind belly dragger kept going after them.

"Well after the swarming leaf gobblers ate all the green food in the Great Valley, we were forced to leave in search of food. After days of not finding food or water we came upon duckbill bones. Mr. Threehorn and grandpa got into a fight and it was every herd for themselves. The next day the herds would disperse. My friends and I didn't want that so we snuck away before the grownups could stop us." Littlefoot paused wondering if his dad would watch him to make sure he didn't sneak away when they would start to live together.

"We walked goofy to make our foot marks easy for the grownups to follow. We eventually got to the big water and found a land path that led us to an island with plenty of green food. As we were on the land path an earth shake had started, we ran for our lives and made it up the cliff before the big water took out the land path. We found ourselves trapped on the island. We pushed a fallen tree into the big water and when it didn't sink that was the way back. Petrie saw the swimming sharptooth first. It was really big and had rows of sharpteeth and a big fin on its back too. My friends and I worked together to get away, we hit a rock in the big water and it sent us flying through the air, we all landed face first into the sand."

At hearing that, Shorty burst into laughter. And he couldn't stop laughing. "That's hilarious, I wish I had been there to see that." More laughter escaped him.

"It's not funny. Dad make him stop." Littlefoot cried.

Bron looked back, "Shorty that's enough, settle down now."

He faced forward again, scanning the area to make sure it was safe. He treaded on.

"Go on Littlefoot, tell us the rest." Bron called back.

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes, he didn't want to continue especially with Shorty still trying to smother his laughter. But his father had encouraged him to continue on.

"So after finding a safe place to sleep, the next morning we saw a sharptooth shadow and ran. Come to find out it was only Chomper."

Shorty stuck out his tongue. "Gross. Why are you friends with a sharptooth?"

"Chomper is my friend, and he would never hurt me." Littlefoot defended his friend.

"Grow up, sharpteeth are mindless killers."

"That's enough Shorty." Bron interrupted.

"But it's true though, sharpteeth can never be friends with us, we are their food source. Huh, what was that?" Shorty was interrupted by grunting and roaring.

"I don't know but it sounded like its coming from over those hills." Bron turned back to the herd, "stay here everyone, I'm going to see what's going on over there."

The grownups nodded and Bron took off towards the hills with Shorty and Littlefoot still on his back.

Over the hills, Bron, Littlefoot and Shorty saw a lone longneck taking on two fast biter sharpteeth. One had jumped towards the longneck aiming for the neck. The longneck moved its neck mere seconds before impact. It then swatted the fast biter with its tail against the hillside. The second fast biter was circling the unknown longneck, it made a lunge towards the legs. Not only did the longneck evade the bite, it stood up on its hind legs to a gargantuan height for a split second and came down with a devastating force, which caused the ground to shake. It landed on top of the fast biter, crushing both its head and body beneath its feet, instantly killing it. Blood and entrails now covered the unknown longneck's feet. The first fast biter saw this then backed away, turning to run away not wanting to suffer the same fate.

"That's right, you better run!" The unknown longneck called out to the fleeing fast biter.

Bron, Littlefoot and Shorty all had their jaws agape.

"Dad I didn't know girls could fight like that." Littlefoot's voice reached the unknown longneck, who in turned looked at the hills and spotted Bron. She made her way towards them.

"I'd advise leaving this place, sharpteeth have a very keen sense of smell. Pretty soon this place is going to be crawling with them.

Bron nodded, "where are you going?" She looked around.

"With you now I guess."

"This way," he then turned around and started to walk back towards the herd and that's when she spotted two young longnecks on his back.

"Why hello there," she said with a smile.

"Hi," both Littlefoot and Shorty said in unison.

When they got back to the rest of the herd, the unknown longneck stepped into the water a bit to rinse the blood off. She then gasped as she was immediately welcomed by everyone.

After clearing the swamp and the land of the featherhead sharpteeth, Bron and everyone else had made it back to the Great Valley. The grownups had dispersed and went to settle down. Littlefoot had raced to the Thundering Falls where he was greeted by his grandparents and friends.

"Why hello there Littlefoot," Grandpa had called out, Grandma had nuzzled him, "thank goodness."

Chomper ran over to Littlefoot and hugged him around the neck, Ducky wasn't too far behind.

She hugged his leg, "Oh Littlefoot I am so happy you are back, I am, I am."

"Yeah me too." Chomper agreed.

"We all are happy you are back." Ruby spoke up hugging him as well. Spike grunted a happy grunt, licking him and Petrie hugged him too.

Everyone had cleared the way as they heard Cera's approach.

She tackled Littlefoot and the two went sprawling, "finally you're back." Littlefoot laughed.

Cera was brash and had an interesting way of showing her feelings. But Littlefoot knew the truth. She really did care.

Littlefoot stood up again. "I missed you all too. I'm so happy to be home."

Bron watched on with mild amusement. Shorty had hung back near Bron, jealousy coursing through him. The elder longnecks spotted Bron and walked towards him.

Grandma looked down at Shorty, "why don't you go play with Littlefoot's friends," she suggested.

Shorty looked up towards Bron, then at the elder longnecks.

"Oh okay," he then slowly made his way over to Littlefoot and everyone else.

A/N: Just who is this new longneck? And what will they think of her?

R and R please. Thank you