EPISODE 32: THE FAST RUNNER RACE

CHARACTERS

Littlefoot

Cera

Ducky

Petrie

Spike

Chomper

Ruby

Grandpa Longneck

Grandma Longneck

Elana (Fast Runner OC)

Oli (Fast Runner OC)

Eric (Fast Runner OC)

Ned (Fast Runner OC)

Elana's Father/Rafael (Fast Runner OC)

Elana's Mother/ Anastasia (Fast Runner OC)

Ruby was racing against her younger brother Paris. "I'm going to beat you, big sis!" Paris called to her.

"Don't be so sure my little brother. You haven't won until you've won." she replied.

Paris was indeed quite a pace ahead of her. Ruby sped up, moving as fast as her legs could carry her. It simply wouldn't do to let her younger brother beat her in a race. She'd never hear the end of it if he won.

She sped up and passed him up. "Sorry little brother, but it is not you that is going to win, but it is I that am going to win because I will get there first." she bragged. However, she'd spoken too soon. She was not paying attention to where she was going and ran off of a cliff. "Ahhhhhh!" she yelled as she fell.

She was about to hit bottom when she heard Paris yell "Ha, I win! I beat you Ruby!"

"No, it's not fair!" Ruby cried as she hit the ground at the bottom of the cliff.

Ruby jumped up out of her sleep. She heard someone coming. Chomper came into the room. "Ruby, what's going on?" he asked her.

"A bad Sleep Story. That was all it was." she told him. She was in the Secret Caverns in the Great Valley. She'd not really fallen to her death. "Go back to bed. I'm fine."

"Normally, you don't have bad Sleep Stories" Chomper said.

"I do sometimes." she sighed. Chomper left. She lay her head down on the ground, muttering softly to herself "Like Paris could beat me anyway! I'm the fastest runner in our family, not to mention our entire herd." She fell back asleep with a smirk on her face.

[Theme song: "All I see is the day in front of us. All I see is the day in front of us. Burning bright with a new-born sun. Burning bright with a new-born sun. Come follow me. Hills to climb and valleys to roam

Oh, streams to follow all the way home
To the Land Before Time
Before time."]

The next day, Ruby awoke. She had dreamed about racing, and most, importantly, winning all of her races. There had been no more bad Sleep Stories. Chomper soon greeted her. "Hello Ruby." he said.

"Hi Chomper." she replied. The previous day it had been overcast and cold, and often rainy. She had spent a good part of the day inside the Cave of Many Voices with Chomper. Despite having stayed in the Cave of Many Voices for over a year, there were still parts that she and Chomper hadn't explored yet. Thus, they had explored some of those parts the previous day. The two headed outside and found that the weather was gorgeous. "Today is a great day to feel great on." she remarked.

As Ruby and Chomper headed to see their friends., they saw some Far Walkers coming into the Great Valley. Much to her surprise, they were Fast Runners. Bothteeth didn't often come to the Great Valley. There were four families; each of them had a kid about her age.

"Hello there." Grandpa Longneck greeted them.

"Hello." said an oviraptor female.

"So, this is the mythical Great Valley we've heard about." commented her mate.

"Yes, welcome." Grandma Longneck said.

"My name is Rafael." the adult male added. "This is my wife Anastasia and my daughter Elana." he said, indicating his light-orange-colored mate and pink-colored daughter.

Ruby walked over to Elana. "Hello there. I don't believe we have met before." she said.

"Hello there, my name is Elana." she said.

"My name is Ruby." said Ruby.

Before they could say more, Chomper, who wanted to get a better look at the newly arrived Fast Runners, came into sight."Ahhhhh, Sharptooth!" yelled the Fast Runners, taking off in fright.

"Wait, come back!" yelled Chomper. This only scared them the more.

"The Sharptooth can talk!" yelled Anastasia.

"He must be very smart if he can talk! That makes him even more dangerous!"Rafael cried.

"Run!" they all yelled. They were all headed toward the exit.

They were nearing the exit to the Great Valley when Ruby caught up with them. "Guys-, he is a-friendly Sharptooth! He won't hurt you!" she others paused and turned around to stare at her.

"Friendly Sharptooth?" asked one of them in shock.

"Yes, Chomper saved my life from Red Claw. He's really nice and wouldn't hurt anyone here." said Ruby.

"I've never heard of a nice Sharptooth. "replied Elana skeptically.

"He hasn't chased after you like he would chase after you if he were a mean Sharptooth." Ruby pointed out. She led them back into the Great Valley. They still looked around warily for Chomper, as though he might come bursting out from behind a corner or leap out from behind a rock and attack them at any moment. However, once they had come near the point at which they had turned to run, they found Chomper still there, standing around, non-threatening, with an annoyed expression on his face. He was saying to Grandpa and Grandma Longneck "I hate it when that happens! This is the third time this has happened this week!"

Grandma Longneck turned and noticed that the Fast Runners had returned. "Oh good, they've come back!" she sighed in relief.

"Yep, I caught up with them before they could leave the Great Valley." Ruby replied.

"Say, you're pretty fast. I'm the fastest runner in my herd. Wanna race us?" Elana asked Ruby.

"Well, I can suppose that I can." said Ruby.

"I'll race you first." said Oli, a silver female Fast Runner.

"I hope you win Ruby." said Chomper.

"He doesn't bite, does he?" asked Oli, who was still skeptical of Chomper.

"No, he doesn't….." said Ruby. She was interrupted as Chomper attacked a Biting Buzzer, splattering bug goo all over his face.

"Yuck!" Oli pshawed.

"No, it's tasty actually." argued Chomper. Oli grimaced.

"You'll get used to it." said Ruby.

"I don't think I want to." Oli replied.

A few minutes later, Cera remarked to Ruby "You sure seem excited about this race Ruby."

"We have loved racing ever since we became Fast Runners. My mother told me this story of how we were once regular Bothteeth. Then one day a vicious Sharptooth arrived and challenged our kind to a race. Anyone that lost to him got eaten." Ruby said, speaking in a very dramatic tone. "One day a very brave Oviraptor named Ovo decided to challenge the Sharptooth. He asked the Bright Circle to help and was given the ability to run fast, far faster than a normal Oviraptor. He was raced the Sharptooth for hours and ended up beating him in a race. He demanded that the Sharptooth leave and never return. But the Sharptooth was angry and wanted to eat him anyway. Ovo ran from the Sharptooth and came to a cliff. There was a log bridge across and he ran across. The Sharptooth chased after him but fell to his death when the log broke. The Bright Circle gave all Oviraptors the ability to run really fast because of Ovo saving the Mysterious Beyond from the dangerous Sharptooth. And so now we all like to race and be the fastest just like Ovo." Ruby said, finishing her story.

"So you think you can win?" Cera asked.

"I am the fastest Fast Runner in my family. I think I can win"

"I'm the fastest in my family too." Oli said.

"Well, good luck." Ruby said. She hoped that she would win this one. She didn't think she could bear it if she lost in the first round of the races.

Ten minutes later, Ruby and Oli were about to win race. They were at the top of a hill. They had to race down the hill, across a forest, and stop at a watering hole.

"Ready, get set. Go!" said Elana. Ruby and Oli took off. Oli had the lead for a short while.

"Come on Ruby! You can do it!" Chomper called to her. Ruby sped up. She passed up Oli as they reached the bottom of the hill. Ruby continued ahead of Oli as they entered the forest. Oli sped up, chasing after her. Much to Ruby's chagrin, her lead over Oli dwindled the closer she got to the finish line. I can't lose! It would not do to lose because then I would not be a winner. Ruby thought.

Oli and Ruby were neck and neck as they neared a patch of trees. Oli sidestepped them in time, but Ruby collided with them and fell. However, she got back up and began to catch up with Oli. She hopped over a rock that was in her way just in time. Oli wasn't so lucky and tripped. However, she soon got back up and started to catch up with Ruby as they left the forest.

"I'm going to beat you!" Oli called to her.

Ruby didn't want to lose her lead and so sped up. Oli came in sight of the watering hole. However, Ruby had reached it already.

"Ruby wins." said Elana. Ruby smiled.

"Well done Ruby." Oli said.

"Thanks." Ruby replied.

"You can race Ned tomorrow." Elana said.

"You guys are staying in the Great Valley for a while then?" Ruby asked. Elana nodded.

"Nice going Ruby." said Cera to Ruby a short time later.

"Thanks Cera." said Ruby.

"You'll race Eric tomorrow." Elana informed Ruby.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm sure you can beat him." Ducky said to her.

"I want to go practice some." Ruby said.

As Ruby headed off to practice running, she spotted Eric. He was climbing a steep hill but, despite the increasing pull of gravity, was still moving at a brisk pace as he ascended. He was certainly going to be harder to beat than Oli!

"Oh dear. He can run fast. And I'll have to run faster than he can, or else I won't win tomorrow." Ruby said to herself. And so, she went to the bottom of a steep hill and tried to climb it in the same time that Eric had. Much to her dismay, her time wasn't as good as Eric's had been. "This is not good. If I cannot do as well as him, then I shall lose tomorrow. And I do not want to lose for if I lose, then I won't win."

She went back to the bottom of the hill and began to run up it again, pushing herself harder this time. The idea of losing was too much for her ego. She began to sing to herself, to help boost her confidence.

"Oh I will be the best.

I will be greater than all the rest.

Oh they will all see.

That the best runner in the Great Valley is clearly me.

I will keep the best pace

So that I will win the race.

I will not be a disgrace.

I want to be able to grin

When I pull off another win.

Oh I will be the best.

I will be the winner of the contest.

Oh I will win, there's no doubt,

And when I do I'm going to shout.

Oh I will be the best.

I will be better than all the rest." Ruby sang while she ran.

After an hour of practicing, it began to rain. "Oh great, sky water!" Ruby sighed. However, she continued to practice anyway. "It's just sky water. It won't stop me." Eric also continued to practice in spite of the rain. Both of them were taking the upcoming race quite seriously. Eric slipped on mud and fell and rolled down the hill. Ruby normally would have stopped to help him, but she was too absorbed in her racing practice to pay him much attention.

Eric decided that it was pointless to run in the rain and risk falling over; Ruby, however, continued to practice. Though her legs were starting to feel sore, she ignored the pain and continued on practicing.

"I have to keep practicing so that I can beat him." Ruby said to herself. She practiced for several more hours. By the end of the day, Ruby was exhausted. Her body was all sweaty and her feathers were sticking to her skin. The oviraptor yawned. "I need to rest. I cannot win tomorrow if I cannot get up tomorrow due to being so tired that I cannot get up to race." she said to herself.

She feebly moved into the Secret Caverns and lay down and fell asleep at once. She had a nightmare in which she lost badly to Eric. "I thought you were the fastest runner in your herd. You're awful." Cera said.

"You've shamed our family Ruby!" her father said.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby sobbed.

"You should have tried harder!" Littlefoot scolded her.

Ruby woke up. She couldn't let that happen! Though it was still dark, she went off to practice She practiced for hours. She ran up and down the hill and through the forest until he legs ached and she was in danger of falling asleep while running. Finally, about two hours before dawn, she went back to the Secret Caverns and went to sleep.

She woke up three hours later. It was actually Chomper who woke her up as she had been so sleepy. "Ruby, get up, the race will be up two hours!" he said.

"Wha-?" she moaned groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Ruby, you overslept. The race will be in two hours!"

"Oh no, I've got to go and practice!" she cried.

"Don't you think you're taking this too seriously?"

"No, I need to win this race!" she said as she took off. Chomper groaned.

Ruby practiced until ten minutes before the race began. "I think you've practiced enough Ruby." Chomper said to her.

"I hope so because if I'm wrong, then I will lose this race."

"Relax Ruby."

"I'm trying to relax but being so nervous about this race is making it hard to relax."

"It's just a dumb race."

"I have to win it!"

"I hope you win too, but even if you don't, it's not the end of the world."

Ruby, however, felt as though it would indeed be the end of the world if she lost her race. Ten minutes later, she was still feeling very uneasy. The race was now about to start. "Good luck, Ruby." Eric said to her. Ruby was so nervous that she didn't reply back wishing him good luck.

"Ready….set…go!" Elana cried. The two took off. Eric had the lead but not for long. Ruby sped up and caught up to him a minute later. The two continued neck and neck for three more minutes. Ruby felt that her extra practice had been well spent, in that she felt that she couldn't have kept up with Eric without it. On the other hand, she had to admit that she had perhaps overdone the practicing, making her more tired.

As the two approached the top of the hill, the ground began to shake. "Earthshake!" the two Fast Runners cried. The force of the quake knocked the two over and sent them rolling in two different directions. Ahead of Ruby, the quake broke open a large chunk of rock, revealing a tunnel behind it. The tunnel was part of one of the Great Valley's many caves. It hadn't had an opening at this spot, however, that is, until just now. Ruby went rolling through this opening. When she gained her bearings, she got up and found her way out of the cave.

Eric had also, by this time, regained his bearings. He ran back to the top of the hill, having been sent part of the way back down it due to the earthquake, and sprinted toward the finish line He eventually arrived, but Ruby had arrived there first.

Ruby had found that she had come out of the tunnel near the path and behind some bushes. They weren't supposed to be heading off the main paths, per the race rules, but she hadn't gone off the path on purpose, thus it wasn't cheating. She got back on the path and ran, not looking behind her, until she had reached the finish line by the lake. Eric arrived two minutes later.

"Congratulations, Ruby!" Eric said, shaking her hand.

"Nice job too, buddy." Ruby replied.

"Well done Ruby." Ducky said.

"You win again like me knew you would." Petrie said.

"You'll race Ned tomorrow." Elana told Ruby.

Ruby wanted to practice for her race the next day. However, her legs were too tired from her practicing that morning plus racing. She needed to rest. She slowly walked back to the Secret Caverns to go take a nap. She didn't plan to take a long nap for she wanted to practice for her race against Ned the following day.

She caught sight of Ned running and was unnerved by what she saw. Ned was running a lot faster than she'd seen Eric run the previous day. She began to doubt that she could beat him. She really didn't want to lose. After napping for only an hour, she got up, despite still feeling sleepy and her legs still aching. She ran as fast as she could but didn't think she was reaching the same speed as Eric. By the end of the day, she was very exhausted, yet felt that she still wasn't good enough.

She had another nightmare that she lost the race. When she woke up the next morning, she felt very uneasy. She wondered how she could possibly beat Eric. Then she remembered the passage that the earthquake had opened up. Last time she had gone that way involuntarily. If she went this time, she would be cheating. Right before the race was to start, Ruby still felt conflicted about what to do. Spike smiled at her, trying to encourage her; however, it didn't make her feel any better.

"Good luck Ruby." Eric said to her.

"Good luck." Ruby nervously replied.

"Ready….set….go!" Elana said.

As they took off, Ruby's pride got the better of her. She decided that she had to win the race even if it meant cheating. As they went up the hill, Ruby deliberately lagged behind. She wanted Eric ahead enough that he wouldn't see her take her forbidden shortcut.

Chomper, meanwhile, saw two butterflies fly past him. He hadn't had breakfast yet and was feeling somewhat hungry. He wandered some distance from the finish line, chasing the butterflies. He came near the newly formed exit of the cave. "I don't recall that being there before." he said to himself. Not thinking much more of it, he continued to chase the butterflies.

Ruby, meanwhile, headed through the cave. She reasoned that nobody would see her cheat as they were all by the finish line and Ned was ahead of her and wouldn't notice.

Chomper, meanwhile, had caught and eaten the butterflies. He had chased them behind a bush, which blocked him from view of the cave. Thus, he was there when he saw Ruby come out of the cave. It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. "Ruby, how could you?!" Chomper quietly gasped as he watched Ruby cheating.

Ruby, meanwhile, unaware that Chomper had discovered her unethical conduct, continued the race. Ned was still ahead of her. However, using her shortcut, she soon gained on him till they were neck and neck.

Ned was shocked that Ruby had caught up to him so quickly. He sped up till they were neck and neck. Ruby, however, was determined to win and sped up herself. Thus, she was able to cross the finish line half a second before Ned did.

"I won!" Ruby cried.

"Congratulations, Ruby." Littlefoot said.

"Well done." Cera said.

"Me knew you could do it." Petrie said.

"Thanks guys." Ruby replied, feeling guilty deep down that she did not really deserve their praises.

She began to walk toward the Secret Caverns to rest for a bit. At the entrance to the cave, she encountered Chomper. "Hello Chomper. I won my race." she said.

Chomper folded his arms and rolled his eyes at her. "Riiiiight!" he said sarcastically.

"What do you mean by that Chomper?" Ruby asked, wondering why he was acting this way.

"I mean that you said that you won your race. I could win too if I took a shortcut and cheated." he snorted.

"I don't know what cheating it is that you're talking about but the cheating you're talking about wasn't done by me!" Ruby lied. Inside, she was frantic. How had Chomper found out?

"I saw you when I was off chasing two Pretty Flyers."

"No, that couldn't be me that you saw. What you saw must have been another Fast Runner that was not me!" she lied again, starting to shake with nerves.

"Ruby, knock it off!" Chomper snapped.

"Ok, I cheated!" Ruby sighed in resignation.

"Why would you lie to everyone like that and cheat?" Chomper asked her.

"I wanted to win all the races so that I wouldn't look bad if I lost any races."

"So you cheated on all of them?"

"Nope, this was my first one. The Earthshake made that passage that I took this time."

"I thought you were better than this."

"I really didn't want to lose."

"You shouldn't have cheated."

"Are you going to tell the others?"

"No. First off, it would be my word against yours. Second, I think you should do the right thing and tell them yourself."

Chomper left, leaving Ruby by herself. Ruby wasn't totally conflicted on what to do. She likely wouldn't have beaten Ned without having cheated. Elana was an even faster runner than Ned so there was no possible way that she could beat Elana without cheating. If she just raced without cheating and never admitted to having cheated the last race, then she would still lose anyway.

"Oh what to do.

I wish I knew.

I really wanted to win

But things went wrong when

Chomper learned that I cheated.

Now I feel like I've been defeated.

But if I tell what I've done,

Then Elana will know that I haven't really won.

But if I don't tell then I won't be free.

My conscience will keep bothering me.

Oh what to do?

I wish I knew." she sang.

Ruby didn't sleep well that night. She kept tossing in turning, bothered by a guilty conscience. Finally, she awoke the next morning. She still was planning on racing Elana and cheating to beat her, so she could claim that she was faster than the others. The others wished her encouragement for the final race, but she felt very uneasy inside.

They lined up to race. "Congratulations on making it this far Ruby. Good luck. " Elana said to her. The two were going to race in one minute.

Part of Ruby wanted to race Elana and take her unethical shortcut and clam that she was the fastest runner when she had beaten her. However, she knew Chomper would see through it. And she also knew that she couldn't really believe that she was the fastest runner when she had cheated. While the others might believe she was good, her own conscience would never let her believe it. Right before they were to take off, Ruby cried "Wait, stop!"

"Why?" Elana asked.

"I can't race you.

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't really win the last race."

"What do you mean?"

"The reason that I beat Ned is because I cheated so that I could beat Ned."

Ruby's friends all gasped. "You mean you not really beat Ned?" Petrie asked.

"No." Ruby sighed, hanging her head in shame.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Littlefoot asked.

"Because I didn't want to lose and wanted everyone to think that I was the best runner." Ruby sighed.

"We already think you are a good runner, Ruby. You did not have to cheat." Ducky said.

"I know that now."

"What you did was wrong." Ned said. Ruby hung her head in shame. "But I forgive you."

"You do?"

"Yes. It was just a silly race. No reason to be mad at you forever."

"I promise that I won't ever cheat again."

"Maybe someday you'll be able to beat me in a race." Elana said.

"I hope so. I'll have to practice a lot if I want to win the right way."

Sometime later, Elana and the other Fast Runners were about to leave the Great Valley. "We'll be going soon." Elana said to Ruby.

"I hope that you'll come back sometime soon."

"I hope so too."

"Bye." Ruby said. She would indeed race them some day in the future. And she would indeed beat Elana, this time by doing it the right way.