Littlefoot and Rex were in front of the girls, questioning one another.

"So, how did you meet my dad?"

"I was traveling with my parents. We were lost for days until we stumbled onto a herd. The leader approached us and asked who we were. We explained our story, and he welcomed us into his herd."

"That's pretty normal," stated Littlefoot. "My dad became the leader of the herd because he was taking care of orphans. One day, more longnecks joined him, and then some more until they became a herd. You've met Shorty?"

"Difficult person, but he just has some growing up to do."

Littlefoot nodded.

As the boys continued their conversation, Ali and Yasmine were doing the same.

"So we know that this Rex guy is in Littlefoot's dad's herd," said Yasmine. "How bizarre."

"Something new happens every day," Ali said.

They noticed the boys had stopped and walked up behind them. Littlefoot looked back and tilted his head towards the path in front of them. The girls peeked over his neck and saw the scattered group of longnecks. All had collapsed due to dehydration. Littlefoot lowered his head.

"We need to pass them."

They formed a line and slowly marched forward. The smell told Littlefoot they had been dead for about two days or so. In fact, they might had died before the earthquake. Ali broke the line by walking up to Littlefoot's side as they pass through the longnecks. The fear that she might see someone she knew toyed with her head. Littlefoot noticed that she felt uneven and asked.

"I'm scared. If it someone I know…"

"I know."

In the back, Rex looked around.

"This is awful," he said. "It seems that they were headed in the direction we're going."

"They were only a day from the Great Valley. I remembered walking here when my grandparents and I were heading to the crater."

"So we're close, even though the sight is unbearable to see."

Littlefoot passed a young one and gulped. With their lives shortened by drought, Littlefoot could only reflect on himself his younger years. If his mother didn't encourage him to find the Great Valley, he would have died a long time ago. He thanked his mother in his thoughts.

They finally passed through the longnecks, but Littlefoot stopped soon. He turned around to make sure he saw wasn't true. Tears swelled up in his eyes as he walked over to the bodies. Ali walked up to him and saw who he was staring at. His grandparents laid on the ground with their eyes closed.

"Littlefoot?" wondered Yasmine.

"Grandpa. Grandma. No. They were so close."

"Littlefoot, we need to go," said Rex.

"Not without my grandparents."

"But they're dead. We need to get moving. You still have my father."

Littlefoot sniffled.

"Yeah, but my place is the Great Valley. My grandparents took care of me, and I took care of them. We were family, but now they're gone. It's only me."

"Littlefoot, I know your grandparents were special, but we need to go," said Ali.

Littlefoot wiped his tears away with his eyelids.

"I guess so."

With that, the group left the dead herd. Ali comforted Littlefoot the best she could.

"It'll be okay," said Ali, rubbing his cheeks. "It's part of the circle of life."

Littlefoot's eyes looked down at her face as she rubbed his cheek. He closed his eyes and remembered when his grandmother rubbed his cheek. He smiled at the though and thanked Ali in a whisper.

Night fell on them. Rex and Yasmine gave Littlefoot and Ali some room. She was still calming Littlefoot down about what he saw today. Yasmine understood why he was still mourning, but Rex could not get it through his head.

"He still has a dad."

"Yes, but you're missing the point. Littlefoot's grandparents were like his dad and mom. Ali told me that his mother died when he was journeying to the Great Valley. His dad was never around, so the only people he relied on to take care of him were his grandparents. Now, both are gone, so he feels he's all alone."

Rex nodded.

"I understand, but…"

"But what?"

"He still has his dad."

Yasmine sighed and laid down. Rex was so hardheaded.

"Littlefoot, aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten all day."

"No thanks Ali."

They had found a couple of trees with a little bit of leaves on them.

"You need to eat."

"But I'm not hungry."

Ali sighed and nudged his head.

"You need to. Here."

She grabbed some leaves from a small tree and dropped them in front of him. He sighed and took a depressing bite to please her. She sat down next to him and looked at him.

"I'm so sorry."

He stopped eating.

"Why are you saying that? It's not your fault. I don't need sympathy."

Littlefoot's tone frightened Ali.

"But Littlefoot, please try to move on. Your grandparents would've wanted you to."

"You don't know what my grandparents wanted," he snapped. "Just leave me alone."

Ali finally got fed up with his rudeness.

"Fine!" she replied with watery eyes. "If you need someone, don't count on me."

She left in a hurry. Littlefoot didn't care she left. He was too focused on his grandparents' death. He took one more bit of his food until he felt too uneasy to eat. He finally curled up and went to sleep.

Littlefoot woke up as the sunlight rained down on him. He yawned loudly and looked around. He had slept alone for the night. Probably he shouldn't have snapped at Ali. He needed to apologize to her. He walked to where Rex and Yasmine were. Both were chewing the leaves off of a plant. Littlefoot walked up to them and asked if they have seen Ali.

"She was with you, wasn't she?" questioned Rex.

"No, we got into a fight yesterday. I was hoping she went to you."

"No," said Yasmine. "Wait. A fight? What did you say?"

"I was just…being a jerk. Ali was trying to cheer me up, but I kept on shunning her."

"Oh dear. Hope she hasn't gone far."

"Then we need to split up and go find her," said Rex. "Did you know when she left?"

"The moon was climbing up to its highest spot," explained Littlefoot. "She could be anywhere by now."

"Let's see if she left a trail," said Rex.

Littlefoot, Rex, and Yasmine frantically looked for any signs of a trail. Rex noticed footsteps and called Littlefoot and Yasmine over.

"It looks like she went in that direction," said Rex, pointing to the west with his head.

"Then it's the direction I must go."

"We're coming with you," said Yasmine.

"No. It's my fault she's out there all alone. I already lost my mom and my grandparents; I'm not going to lose her too."

Littlefoot followed the footprints as quickly as possible. Rex and Yasmine sighed.

"So we wait for our leader?" questioned Rex.

"No," said Yasmine, "the Great Valley is not too far from here. Littlefoot said it was a little bit more that way."

She pointed northward with her head.

"The best strategy is to tell the adults."

"Aren't we adults?"

"Can you fend off a big sharptooth if one appeared?"

Rex swayed his head.

"Then let's go."

The duo ran towards where the Great Valley was to find some help.

Stupid Littlefoot, thought Ali. I was being supported, and he has the nerve to yell at me. She sighed. Still, he had seen his grandparents lay dead in front of him.

She was resting on a hard, cool rock, recollecting the events that happened last night. She had walked for some time, not thinking where she was going or why he was so mad. She just needed to get away, and that is what she did.

Probably I should go back. He might be worried. Maybe by now he cooled down.

As she took in her final thought, she heard low growls. She lifted her head and checked the bushes that surrounded the big clearing of the forest she stumbled upon. There was no movement, so she laid her head down. Rustling in the bushes made her stand to her feet.

"Who's there?" she asked dumbly.

Two raptors appeared from out of the bushes. Ali recognized both of them. It was only a couple of days ago that Littlefoot bravely fought them. The two raptors roared at her and surrounded her. She shivered as the two raptors roared again.

One raptor soon dashed as her. She stepped back as it neared her. When it was close, she whipped it with her tail. It fell back and rolled on the ground to get back up. As Ali defended herself with one, the other raptor jumped him into the air and came down clawing her back. She fell instantly at the pain and looked around. The two raptors slowly came in, preparing for the final kill.

A tail wrapped around one of the raptors neck and was thrown as a brick to knock the other raptor down. Ali was relieved that Littlefoot appeared. He jumped to her side and faced the two raptors angrily. He had seen the blood dropping from Ali.

The two raptors looked at the two longnecks once they got up. They hissed at the male and charged at both. Littlefoot turned his side at them and fell towards them. The two raptors were thrown back. Littlefoot quickly got up and walked over to the raptors that were still on the floor. He choked one with his tail and used it as a bat to knock the other one out.

The remaining raptor got up and noticed his friend was dead. He hissed and ran off, knowing that he didn't have a chance. Littlefoot walked back to Ali and looked to see if she was alright. She had stopped bleeding, but the scar would remain. He lowered his head in shame. Unexpectedly, Ali reached out and licked his cheek. Littlefoot tilted his head up and formed a small smile.

"Thank you," she said.

"Ali, I'm sorry about the fight. I was only thinking of my grandparents."

He noticed that the trees had big enough leaves and walked over to get one. He barely reached one and walked over to Ali to place it on her wound. He used some nearby mud to make sure it would stay. He finally sat next to her.

"We were right," he said. "I was being a selfish jerk. You were trying to comfort me, but I kept on pushing you away. If it wasn't because of that, this wouldn't have happened."

"Well, I'm kind of glad it did."

Littlefoot looked at her confused.

"If I didn't walk off, you wouldn't have protected me like if I was special to you, and you would have never learned that."

Littlefoot thought about it and concluded she was right again. After she left, Littlefoot was very afraid of losing her. He blamed himself for what could happen to her. He faced her again and rubbed his cheek with her cheek.

"Ali, you are special to me. I was afraid that I would lose you forever."

Ali smiled and lowered her neck to rest. Littlefoot did the same, and the two longnecks took a short nap before returning.

Yasmine and Rex were finally near the Great Valley. The only question was how to get in. They were unaware of the many entrances the valley had to offer. Plus, they needed a big entrance. Yasmine looked around and sighed.

"Probably this was a bad idea," said Rex. "We don't know any entrances to the valley. We should have followed Littlefoot."

"But he told us it was his problem and he had to fix it."

"I kind of feel guilty for not following him though."

"Same here."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Hey!"

The two longnecks turned where they heard the voice. They saw Ali and Littlefoot approaching them. They ran to them and greeted them.

"Both of you had us worried," said Yasmine.

"We had some detour, but we're fine," said Ali. "Hey, we're at the Great Valley."

"We're finally home," said Littlefoot. "C'mon, we need to use the entrance on the other side."

Rex and Yasmine mentally slapped their faces. Of course the entrance would be on the other side. They had scaled this side for about an hour, but they didn't bother with the other side. They followed their leader into the Great Valley.

Cera, Petrie, Ducky, and Spike sighed. The eclipsed had passed, but Littlefoot hadn't returned yet. He promised to be back in about seven bright circles. Ten had passed. Cera got to her feet.

"It makes me mad that he's not back yet."

"Relax, Cera," said Ducky. "He'll get back. He promised."

"But he broke the promise three days ago."

"Maybe he taking break?" pointed out Petrie.

"Taking a break? I guess. If he was a threehorn, he would be in trouble. Threehorns don't take breaks."

"So is that why you nap," brought up Petrie.

Cera whipped him off of Spike's head. She accidentally got Ducky also. Ducky got up.

"That wasn't very nice. No, no, no."

"Sorry. I'm just annoyed Littlefoot isn't back yet."

"I am too," said Petrie. "I'm worried. What if something bad happen to him?"

Spike thought about it and shivered.

"Petrie, don't scare us," warned Ducky.

"Sorry."

The group of dinosaurs heard some footsteps going towards the entrance Littlefoot left through. A flyer had spotted four longnecks coming into the Valley. Everyone thought it was Grandma, Grandpa, Littlefoot, and probably a lone longneck. All gathered around the entrance to welcome them. Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike walked to the front.

"About time," commented Cera.

"We finally see Littlefoot," cheered Ducky.

"But who is the fourth longneck?" questioned Petrie.

The dinosaurs waited in anticipation as the first longneck came into view.

"It's Littlefoot!" cheered Ducky.

Ali followed behind him.

"And Ali?" wondered Petrie.

"It is Ali," said Cera.

Two unknown longnecks followed Ali.

"Who are they?" wondered Ducky.

"Bigger question is where Littlefoot's grandparents," said Cera.

Spike nodded.

The dinosaurs crowded around the longnecks. Mr. Threehorn, Cera's gray-scaled father, confronted Littlefoot.

"Littlefoot, where are your grandparents?"

Littlefoot held back the tears before answering.

"They didn't make it. An earthshake happened, and we were separated from all our herds. You know Ali. Rex is from my dad's herd, and Yasmine was also separated from her herd."

Voices rose amongst the crowd.

"So Grandma and Grandpa Longneck are dead?" asked Mr. Threehorn, making sure.

"Yes. I saw them with my own eyes as they lied on the ground, breathless."

"Oh dear," said Petrie's bluish mother.

"Are you alright, son?" asked Mr. Threehorn.

"We've been through a lot. We need to rest, and then I'll tell my story."

The four longnecks walked away from the crowd. The dinosaurs parted. Littlefoot's friends followed him and stopped him.

"We need to hear your story," demanded Cera.

"Hi, Littlefoot," said Ducky. "Excuse Cera. She is just mad that you didn't come on the day you said you would."

"I know," said Littlefoot.

He walked over to get a drink from the nearby creek. After he did, he walked back to his friends and sat down. His friends sat down as the other longnecks got a drink. Littlefoot began the story of what happened.

A year passed. Everyone had grown to their adult sizes now. They were welcomed into the community of adults, and Littlefoot became the voice of the herds. Mr. Threehorn was still their second opinion. They would quarry on what was best for the herds most times, but they would reach a compromise when the situation was extremely serious.

Months earlier, Bron had come to visit and recognized Rex. He told that his father had met a gruesome fate, but his mother was still alive. At first, Rex cried at the last of his father, but he remembered his mother was still alive. She was probably worried sick. He nodded and went with Bron when he left.

Yasmine also went with Bron too. She had no idea where her herd went, and most likely, they would never come to the Great Valley. She decided to go with Bron. It was sudden, but Bron agreed to take care of her, like he did with Shorty. Shorty was thrilled of having a foster sister. They all left three bright circles after they arrived.

Ali had hoped her herd would appear, but none came. She grew more worried as each day passed. Littlefoot comforted her and took care of her in the meantime. She thanked Littlefoot for being so supported, and eventually, both fell deeply in love. When Ali's herd did arrive, Littlefoot's heart sank. Ali spent more time with her mother than she did with Littlefoot. Littlefoot felt alone now, but he was glad she was happy. Days passed, and it was time for Ali's herd to leave. Littlefoot and his friends of the Great Valley said their final goodbyes to Ali.

"We'll miss you, Ali," said Cera.

"Come and visit us soon," said Ducky.

"I will."

She faced Littlefoot and smiled.

"Thank you, Littlefoot."

He nodded.

Ali came up and rubbed his cheek.

"I'll miss you," he finally said.

"I'll miss you too."

"Ali," called her mother.

Ali parted from Littlefoot and said her final goodbye. She joined her mother and they walked off. Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike smiled and went back home. Littlefoot just stood there, wanting her to come back. When all hoped dwindled down, he sighed and walked back to his nest.

Ali was looking back constantly. Her mother noticed this.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

"No Mother."

"Ali, you're a woman now. You can make your choices. I won't stop you."

"But Mother…"

"Do you love him?"

Ali thought hard and deep.

"Yes. My heart wants him."

"Then go. I won't stop you. Be happy with him. I'll come by to visit."

Ali rubbed her mom's cheek.

"Thanks Mother."

She ran back into the Great Valley and thought where Littlefoot might be. She concluded that he was at the nest and ran to it. She saw Littlefoot sleeping on it and walked up to him.

"Littlefoot."

"Cera, not now," he said in his sleep.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

He opened his eyes and nearly jumped when he realized it was Ali. She chuckled.

"Ali, I thought you left with your herd."

"Well, I came back to be with you."

Littlefoot rubbed her cheek in joy.

"Ali, I wanted to say this to you after the incident with the raptors. I love you."

"I love you too."

The bright circle shone down upon them happily. A new beginning had unfolded for the two longnecks. As Littlefoot was receiving a lick from Ali, he looked up at the sky. Today was the beginning of happy days for him.