Claire felt her heart pounding in her chest as she thundered across the plains. After a lengthy trek through the jungle, she had managed to come out the other side with just as much enthusiasm as when she had entered. Owen bounced up and down on her frill, leaning forward like a jockey. Barry followed close behind, trying his best to keep up as his wheels spun uncontrollably in the mud. It wasn't long before they came across a set of very distinct footprints. Claire looked down at them and laughed giddily.

"Yes! I knew I was on their trail! I can smell them from a mile away . . . Or maybe that's just Dirt . . ."

Owen beamed happily, pricking his ears.

"They can't be far now! Keep running!"

"Well, I'm not about to stop, Owen!" Claire laughed merrily.

Behind them, Barry honked his horn to get their attention.

"Hey, guys, I'm gonna trail behind for a bit. All of this speeding is eating up my fuel, and I kind of need gas to move around. Unless there's an Esso nearby, I don't think I can afford to waste my miles. Go ahead and find your herd. I'll catch up with you eventually."

Owen gave him a little wave.

"Sure, Barry! See you later!"

They separated from the puttering smartcar and charged down a steep slope. Claire called out with an energetic voice as she pranced through the swaying grass.

"Rock! Sandy! Cloud! I'm back!"

There was no reply. Owen folded his ears back uncomfortably.

"They might still be mad at us. Are you sure you want to call them like this?"

Claire nodded.

"I'm through with lying. I want them to know that I'm coming."

Owen plugged his ears as she shouted louder.

"DIRT! VINE! TREE! BLOSSOM! SKY! FLOWER!"

She winced as she began to change into a human.

"Shit. I forgot."

Owen slid down her growing hair and landed in the grass.

"Don't worry. We can still catch up to them. Follow me."

Claire hobbled after him on four legs until she could stand up straight. She stumbled through the grass and hopped on one foot.

"Hang on, Owen!"

She lifted her feet one by one and removed her shoes. Owen stared at her with incredulity as she tossed them to the side.

"Oh, now you choose to ditch the heels?"

Claire picked him up by the scruff of the neck and bolted across the meadow.

"Who cares about some stupid shoes? I want to be with my family!"

She ran barefoot over the crest of a hill. Owen looked down at the ground and frowned in confusion.

"That's strange. The tracks are farther apart here. They must have started to run for some reason."

Claire whooped excitedly as a warm wind began to carry her across the plains.

"It's a beautiful day! Why shouldn't they run?"

She sprinted over another hill and grinned. Bo was resting peacefully in the grass ahead of her. Claire ran up to him with a big smile.

"Bo! I'm back!" she cheered, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was sooner, but I was afraid you wouldn't accept-"

She froze when she placed her hand on his side. His scales were ice-cold, and his body was wet. When she pulled her hand away from his belly, it was covered with blood.

"Bo? . . ."

She hadn't seen the wounds from afar, because his scales were bright crimson. Taking shaky, terrified breaths, Claire stepped backwards and broke into a cold sweat.

"He's dead . . ."

As she turned to look away, she was met with another horrifying sight. Blossom was lying not too far away, splayed out in an unnatural pose. The grass around her was stained red. Claire stumbled over to her corpse in a trancelike state. Owen split away and scampered up to high ground. As she knelt beside Blossom's body, Claire heard him choke out a single word.

"No . . ."

Claire hurried over to where he was standing and looked over the field. The entire colony lay spread out over a large distance. Every stegoceratops was lying on their side, and none of them appeared to be breathing. Claire fell to her knees.

"This isn't happening . . . This isn't happening . . ."

She half-crawled to the battlefield with a pale complexion. Along the way, she saw Sandy draped over Rock. The torn-up grass around them indicated that they had fought until the very end. Vine, too, lay dead in the grass, his mouth parted eerily in a silent scream. Claire saw Dirt's body near him, and it took her a long while to register that he was missing his head.

She passed the rest of her friends one by one. First, there was Sky. He had wounds deep enough to show bone. Then came Tree and Stone and Boulder. They had died from some sort of impact. Between them, hundreds of unfamiliar faces, all cold and lifeless. Claire felt as though she might throw up.

As she approached Water, she noticed his chest moving ever so slightly. She limped forward and crouched down beside him, holding his head in her hands.

"Water? . . ."

It took a moment for his eyes to focus on her. When they did, his face solidified into a hateful glare.

"You're even uglier up close . . ."

Claire sobbed lightly and pressed her forehead against his beak.

"I'm sorry, Water. I'm sorry. What happened?"

"The elephants came," he wheezed, "We tried to fight them, but we were no match . . ."

He broke into a fit of coughing. Claire squeezed him tighter.

"Try to hang on, Water. If we get a doctor-"

"You've done enough," Water snarled, "This happened because of you. We would have had a fighting chance if you hadn't given us hope."

Claire didn't know what to say. She stroked his muzzle gently and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Water coughed harder than before. A trickle of blood slid down the corner of his mouth.

"You did this . . . It's your fault . . ."

He gave a gurgling cough and went limp. A few minutes later, he was dead. Claire stood up on shaky knees and stumbled away. Owen was busy running from corpse to corpse, trying to identify the victims. He scurried back to Claire, nearly out of breath.

"I don't see Flower."

Claire looked around.

"She could still be alive. She must have escaped with Cloud."

Without a moment's hesitation, Owen darted forward, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"FLOWER! . . . FLOWER! . . . FLOWER!"

They moved across the plains, calling out every few seconds. Just when it seemed she wasn't around, a tiny whimper came from an overturned log in the forest nearby. Owen ran over and looked inside. He saw a pair of amber eyes staring back at him.

"Flower?"

She inched forward. When Claire came into view, however, she shrunk away and squeaked nervously,

"Don't be afraid, Sweetheart," Claire muttered, "I won't hurt you."

Flower shook her head and backed up, whining pitifully. Owen folded his ears.

"Claire, I think you'd better go."

She looked down at him in disbelief.

"I have as much right to be here as-"

"JUST GO, CLAIRE!"

She paused, frozen with shock, then nodded reluctantly and eased away. Owen waited until she was gone, then reached forward.

"You can come out now."

Flower wiggled out of the log and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing lightly. He was greatly alarmed by the deep wounds on her side, which were still bleeding in places.

"Flower, Peanut, are you hurt?"

She nodded, shaking a fresh batch of tears out of her eyes.

"The purple monster got me. She was the one leading the elephants. We were traveling across the plains when they attacked. Olive went to fight them, and he-"

She broke off, weeping heavily. Owen stroked her cheek, trying desperately to comfort her.

"I ran away with Cloud, but she fell behind," Flower continued, "One of the elephants put his tusks through her and she fell down and . . . Owen, I don't think she's alive. I saw blood on her tongue."

Owen pressed his forehead against hers.

"Shhh . . . It's over now, Sweetie. It's okay. I'm here."

They turned their heads when they saw Claire lumbering back. She had changed into a stegoceratops. She lifted her head, looking at them timidly.

"Can I stay now? . . ."

Flower looked down, then nodded. Claire sighed with relief and ran over.

"Flow- Sweetheart, I'm so sorry for leaving you. And I'm really sorry for lying. I didn't mean to frighten you. I promise, I will never, ever, ever lie to you again. I love you."

Flower leaned gently against her leg.

"I love you, too."

Claire smiled through her tears and rested her chin on Flower's back. The child lowered herself onto her belly and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"I don't feel very good . . ."

Claire sat down beside her, curling her tail around her body for protection. Flower rested her head on her front feet and began to tremble.

"I'm so cold . . ."

Owen kissed her forehead and curled up beside her to keep her warm. Claire licked her wounds gently before nuzzling her.

"It's okay, Sweetheart. You're going to get better, I promise."

Flower closed her eyes.

"There are lots of butterflies out here. You were telling the truth. I saw all kinds . . ."

She gave a light whimper. Claire felt fresh tears trickling down her cheeks.

"The sun is brighter. It's so warm. I should have come here sooner."

She hiccupped, and Claire ran her front foot over her back.

"Shhh, it's okay, baby. It's okay . . ."

Flower looked up at her with teary eyes.

"I never had a mother. Thank you for coming close."

Claire smiled sadly and nudged Flower's shoulder.

"You know what? Things are going to turn out just fine. When you get better, Owen and I will take you home with us."

Flower took a shallow breath.

"Really?"

Claire nodded.

"Mhm. You're going to come live in the city. You can meet Zach and Gray, and we'll have Christmas together-"

"What's Christmas?"

Claire smiled.

"It's when we give each other presents to show how much we care."

"Do I get one?"

Claire laughed quietly.

"Of course, Sweetheart. You'll get lots and lots of presents, because we love you so much . . ."

Owen nuzzled up against Flower.

"I'm going to teach you all about the world. I'll even show you how to start a fire, if you want."

Flower blinked slowly.

"Do we have time?"

Owen nodded eagerly.

"Yes, Flower. We have forever."

They continued to make promises about everything they'd do when they got home. Flower looked up at them with sparkling, if somewhat unfocused, eyes. Claire told her what it would be like to have birthdays. Owen told her what it would be like to ride a motorcycle. Claire told Owen that she didn't think it was safe to let Flower ride a motorcycle, and they agreed to at least show her how to drive a quad. They talked and talked and talked until they fell asleep, curled up beneath a crescent moon. Claire had begun to believe that things would turn out fine after all. She fully intended to carry out every single promise she made, and then some. She drifted off with thoughts of family and parenthood flowing through her mind.

She was ready to be a mother. She had always been ready. Now there was no need to lie. Nothing stood in her way. Claire allowed herself to dream for the very first time, somehow knowing that she'd get a happy ending.

But the next morning, Flower did not wake up.