Epilogue

Chomper studied his companion carefully. The little pink Fastrunner who called herself Ruby had braved quite a lot to try to win his friendship. Things hadn't exactly started well, but since she'd managed to avoid being eaten the four times he tried, Chomper had felt that she would make a fine friend She obviously wasn't afraid of much, and she spoke Sharptooth, so Chomper was fine with her company. She spoke to him as if she already knew him, trying to tell him about his past, which he was also alright with; Chomper couldn't remember anything about his past, save for one thing. He wasn't even sure what it was, though he suspected it was some kind of memory, but somewhere, deep within the recesses of his brain, he knew it existed. He would need to dig deep into his mind to discover it, he knew, but perhaps someday, with Ruby's help, he'd know the truth. Until then, he would continue to search for his parents: the one goal that had remained clear in his mind throughout the transformation into the Sharptooth he was now.

He and Ruby had returned to the part of the Drylands near the Big Water where he'd first scented his parents. The smell was much fainter, now, but it was definitely present. Out of the corner of his eye, Chomper noticed something: depressions in the ground, evenly spaced. He moved over to them, and Ruby followed, silently, waiting to see if Chomper remembered what to do next. As she watched, Chomper lowered his head to ground level, and blew the sand out of the depression with one quick snort. Underneath the sand was a Sharptooth footprint. Chomper knew the print; one of his parents had made it. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

"How did I know how to do that?" he asked himself, "I've never tracked anything that way before..."

Again, some part of his mind seemed to insist that he'd learned the trick from someone. If only he could remember who. He shook his head and began to follow what he now knew were his parents' tracks. He would find his parents, and when he did, he thought, he would try to solve this mystery.

Behind him, Ruby smiled. There was hope for Chomper, after all. It was a small start, she knew, but then again, everything started small, didn't it? Yes, she reasoned, Chomper's knowledge of his past just needed time to grow. One day, like a great tree, it would bloom, and perhaps, just perhaps, she thought, he might remember.

She walked on, following her friend and companion. Someday, maybe, things could be the same again. Until then, she would remain by Chomper's side, as she had always done, proud to be his friend, as she knew she always would be.

You may have noticed the absence of an Author's note in the last chapter. I did that to preserve the mood between it and the epilogue, in order to maintain the story's closing mood. A few words on this story: it turned out to be much longer than I initially thought it would be. I had envisioned a kind of "short story" to bridge the gap between my "One Shot: The Lesson," and "The Land Before Time: Fyn," as far as story length was concerned. Instead, I found myself pulled into this story, trying to feel what the characters felt. There came a point where, even though I had the story mapped out from day two, the characters seemed to write themselves. In hindsight, I feel almost as if this tale symbolized my graduation, which I will face next week. My friends and I will go our separate ways, seemingly forever, but who knows? Maybe someday we'll all see each other again. I'll be on about a one week hiatus while I try to figure out my next story. After that, you can probably expect one more story followed by six weeks of... nothing. I will be at USAFA basic training, but I plan on getting right back into writing when basic's done. Anyway, I hope you had as much fun reading this story as I did writing it.

May the Bright Circle always guide your journey,

-YF-23ace

By the way, please take time to review, if possible. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.