Hi everyone! Well I was really motivated and had these ideas in my head for a while, so I'm back right away with the next chapter. It'll be longer before I upload the next one though, so stay tuned for when I publish it!

Again, I'm still open to ideas, so if there is anything you would like to see, feel free to PM me and I'll consider if I can fit it in. Also please fav/follow/review if you like it, I do appreciate feedback. As always, Land Before Time and its universe belongs to Universal.

Chapter 2 – The Herd's New Leader

Littlefoot spent the next day sunning himself on a high cliff at the top of a hill in the middle of the Valley. While still numb from losing both of his grandparents in one day, his friends were more than ready to give him all the support and comfort they could offer. Cera was leaning against him on one side, Ducky and Spike sitting on the other, and Petrie was perched on his back. It felt good to be as close to his grandparents high above as he could at the peak of this cliff, and with Ali and Shorty standing nearby to talk to any well-wishers, he could mourn at peace until he was ready. Many well-wishers greeted them, asking Ali and Shorty to give Littlefoot their condolences. Most notable of all were Bron, who repeatedly asked Shorty how Littlefoot was doing, and Topps, who was visibly fighting back tears, seeming to take Grandma and Grandpa's death almost as hard as Littlefoot did.

Littlefoot didn't say much throughout the morning. After one last goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa's bodies, he passed the time on the cliff, feeling the Bright Circle's light and imagining Grandma and Grandpa, now free of all their wrinkles and pains, gallivanting off in the sky puffies just as if they were hatchlings. He smiled as he imagined them being reunited with his mother and his heart warmed a little. "If I can't be with them, at least she can," Littlefoot said tearfully as he stared into the sky.

"Yeah, that's right," Cera said supportively before hearing someone approaching from down the hill.

"Hi Littlefoot," Ali smiled gently. "How are you doing?"

"Better," Littlefoot said, relieved that his voice didn't sound hollow anymore.

"Good," Ali smiled. "I've got a surprise visitor for you."

Littlefoot sighed. Much as he loved him, Littlefoot wasn't sure if he was ready to see his father just yet. He would be bound to ask Littlefoot a lot of questions on his well-being, and considering his experience that prior night, he really wanted to wait a little before doing that. But to his surprise, Ali was accompanied by a sharptooth, who looked forlorn as he saw Littlefoot.

"Chomper!" they all gasped inviting him to come over. Warmly, they made room for Chomper to sit on Cera's other side. "Hi everyone," Chomper said before first turning sadly to Littlefoot. "Littlefoot, I'm really sorry to hear about your grandparents. I ... I'm really grateful for all they did to help me out, you know, allowing me and Ruby to stay here," he said. "I don't know if anyone else would have done that."

"Yeah, my grandparents really did their best to see what's inside," Littlefoot smiled. "Thanks Chomper ... I'm doing okay. Everyone's really helping me get through this, and you being here makes it all the better," he said warmly. "You staying for long?" he asked hopefully.

Chomper nodded. "Uh-huh. Mom and Dad are teaching me how to water hunt, and we got a whole caveful of swimming sharpteeth, you know, the kind with the big fin on their back," he said happily. "I'm so full now I can't fit anything else in. Not that I could get hungry around all these stinky flowers," he said in disgust as the others chuckled. "But yeah. As long as we keep finding waterteeth, I'll be able to keep going back and forth."

"That's great," Littlefoot as the others agreed. "It truly is."

"Hey, did you see that strange flying rock earlier this morning?" Chomper asked.

"Oh yeah," Petrie said. "It got lots of dust in our eyes!"

"So it was from the rock," Chomper said thoughtfully. "I thought I was imagining things and that it was just some sand clouds." Chomper looked at them. "Has Ruby come back yet?"

"No, she is still looking for her family, she is," Ducky said.

Chomper sighed, "I sure hope she's okay."

"She'll be fine Chomper," Littlefoot said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I'd like to see any rockheaded fast biter try to catch her," Cera smirked.

"Hey! Look up there!" Petrie exclaimed. To their surprise, they saw a giant flyer swooping toward them. And on top of the flyer was a sight that made all of their hearts soar.

"Hello my friends, my friends hello!" someone called out. There was no mistaking that voice or that speech pattern.

"Ruby!" they all exclaimed as the flyer made landing and Ruby got off the flyer. "Thanks Questar!" Ruby told the flyer as he flew off back to the distance.

"I wish I could still ride a flyer like that, yep yep yep," Ducky said longingly. "There are advantages to being little, there are, there are."

"Yes, but there are advantages to being big like you are now," Ruby smiled. "Remember how I told you how to try to talk big? Well, now you don't need to try to, for talking big is what you already do! You are big enough to scare lots of sharpteeth now that I still have to hide from. You could be the scarer and not the scared."

"Oh yes yes yes," Ducky giggled. "I forgot I can do that now."

"And me can still glide down with you from high cliffs if you want," Petrie said as Ducky beamed at her mate and gave him a hug.

"So Ruby, how was it? Did you find your family?" Littlefoot asked.

Enthusiastically, Ruby nodded. "My family are doing well because they're part of a new family now," she explained. "They've joined a peaceful notooth herd of fast runners, rainbow faces, long arms and clawhands."

"What's a clawhand?" Cera asked.

Ruby pondered for a moment before saying, "Eggstealers who've vowed to never eat eggs because they think egg eating is wrong. They eat mostly plants, but eat the occasional shellswimmer, just like the rest of us noteeth. They look dangerous, but the ones in my family's herd are fine, I'm sure of it."

"Just don't let them meet Mrs. Maia," Cera smirked. "I don't think she'd understand."

Ruby chuckled. "Oh I'm sure she wouldn't. But maybe you guys can meet my family. Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, you haven't met them yet, and Chomper, Ducky, Spike, I'm sure they'd love to meet you again."

"I think it's wonderful," Chomper said, beaming at her as Ruby blushed a little. "It's like your family has their own Great Valley for noteeth. Maybe they can move here someday!"

Ruby smiled. "For now I'm just happy they're safe. But who knows, maybe. I'll go let your grand …" Ruby said, but upon seeing everyone's somber expressions, Ruby abruptly stopped. "Oh … Did ..."

"Yes," Littlefoot said sadly. "Just yesterday."

Ruby could only hang her head. "I'm so sorry," she said gently. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better than I was," Littlefoot said simply, making a mental note to tell Chomper and Ruby about what happened, especially since Chomper had previously tried starving himself and Ruby was intimately involved in that situation. "I'm gonna really miss them," Littlefoot sighed. "But they're in my heart, and they always will be."

Ruby smiled gratefully as Littlefoot smiled back. "I'm just so grateful to have such great friends at my side," and together, the rest of the gang of seven surrounded Littlefoot and gave him a group hug.

The next few days passed gently by. A mourning service was held in Grandma and Grandpa's honor, to which Littlefoot gave a few heartfelt words along with Mr. Threehorn, Bron, Mama Swimmer, Mama Flyer, Mr. Thicknose, and even the newly returned Pterano. Littlefoot got a chance to have a long talk with Bron, during which he was able to honestly reassure him he was doing as well as he possibly could. Mr. Threehorn too seemed to want to check in on Littlefoot as much as he did with Cera, a gesture which Cera explained was his way of showing his grief without admitting such. Other than that, Littlefoot spent most of the next few days lazing with his friends chatting, eating, and lying around.

One lunch, Petrie invited Guido to join them. They enjoyed catching up with him as he commented upon his life.

"So now that you're not hunting crawlers anymore Chomper, I'm the only crawler hunter here," Guido said. "They're all over the place, so I don't have to go far from my nest to get my fill. I guess that's the only thing … Except … Did any of you guys see that flashing flying rock a few days back? That far away rock with the tiny sand clouds?"

The others looked at Guido. "Yeah, we all saw it," Littlefoot explained. "We were at the edge of the sinking sand when it happened, and Chomper saw it when he was coming back here."

"I saw it too," added Ruby. "So that makes all of us who saw it."

"Yeah, but you know what the weird thing is?" Shorty said. "Dad said he didn't see it, and he's usually quick to notice anything."

"My herd didn't see anything either," Ali said. "Not a word from them about it since."

"And we're sure not gonna let the elders know about this weird rock," Cera said, as she, Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie and Spike remembered the last time when something like this happened.

"This reminds me of the time I saw that stone," Littlefoot told them, recapping to Chomper, Ruby, Ali, Shorty and Guido the time they saw a so-called Stone of Cold Fire.

"Do you think it could be a real Stone of Cold Fire?" Ducky asked thoughtfully.

"Nah," Cera snorted. "The whole thing was just a bunch of sharptooth dirt the rainbow faces came up with to get us to think beyond the Mysterious Beyond, whatever that means."

"Still, that was kind of a weird rock," Littlefoot commented. "It was bright, not dark like most are. And this one didn't have a fire tail like the others."

"Sounds like a stone of no fire to me," Shorty chortled.

"And how come we were the only ones who saw it?" Ali asked.

"Maybe we are not," Ducky suggested as to their surprise, Ducky and Petrie's mothers had both arrived.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Mama Swimmer, "But we've got a herd meeting soon at the Rock Circle."

"What happen?" Petrie asked anxiously. "Anything wrong."

"Oh, nothing dear. Just we haven't had a herd meeting in a while, and so we need to announce to everyone the new leadership in the Great Valley." Mama Flyer explained.

"Well who is it?" Mama Flyer asked.

"You'll find out at the meeting," Mama Swimmer said.

"Hey no fair!" Cera exclaimed. "How come you know but we don't know!"

"You'll know soon enough," Mama Swimmer reassured them.

"If you come to the meeting, that is," Mama Flyer added.

"Hey Mama," Ducky asked tentatively. "Did you or Petrie's mom see a strange rock a few days back?"

Both shook their heads before they said goodbye and went away.

By the mid-afternoon, the news about the meeting spread, so that almost every adult and many children were packed all around the Rock Circle. The gang had been speculating amongst themselves on who the new leadership exactly could be.

"Littlefoot, did your grandparents say anything about this?" Chomper asked.

Littlefoot shook his head. "No, but I know they'd want it to be an arrangement we could all agree upon."

"I'm surprised my dad hasn't said anything," Cera said. "He's always had an eye out for ensuring the safety of the valley."

"Blundering half the time he does from what I've heard," snarked Shorty, causing the others to snicker, except Cera. "Well at least he tries hard," she said, glaring at him.

"Oh sure, he try hard," Petrie added. "Like Uncle Pterano try to create Great Valley paradise."

"Except that was just flyer nonsense," Cera shot back. "That would probably have led to our deaths with his foolishness."

"How you know? No more than your father fire escape plan," Petrie retorted.

"You two are both nuts if you think either of them will end up as leader," Shorty guffawed. "Heck if they were in charge of Bron's herd, the whole herd would be gobbled up by sharpteeth."

"How would you know?" Cera escalated. "Just because he's not a perfect longneck?"

"Well he obviously he has better ideas than your father or your uncle," Shorty laughed.

"Well if you ask me asking Littlefoot to leave us was a dumb idea," Cera snarled.

"Yeah! We not grow up together if Littlefoot listen to Bron!" Petrie agreed.

Littlefoot was growing uncomfortable with his friends' increasing bickering, and judging by the expressions on Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper, Ruby, Ali and Guido's faces, so were they. "Guys, stop arguing," Littlefoot interrupted. They did and Littlefoot said, "Whatever the elders have got planned, I'm sure it's something we could all live with."

"That is right," Ducky agreed, sounding very relieved with Littlefoot's interjection. "They will make sure the Great Valley is a great place for everyone, they will."

They got to the Rock Circle, where they found that just like they were, the other adults were muttering about who would become the herd's new leader. Indeed, they were arguing so much that Littlefoot tried tuning most of it out, hoping Grandma and Grandpa laid out a contingency plan for their passing. He only hoped his friends' tension would not get magnified by the heated discussions of the others.

Craning his neck over, Littlefoot saw a group of elders huddled together at the inner edge of the Rock Circle, Mama Flyer, Mama Swimmer, Mr. Threehorn, and Mr. Clubtail among them, and Littlefoot saw that much of the crowd was looking at them as well. As time went on, more and more of the crowd watched the elders as they talked, until they all nodded, and from within the group, Mama Swimmer emerged, and the whole crowd went silent.

"I did not know my mother wanted to be leader," Ducky whispered in shock.

"Good afternoon everyone," Mama Swimmer said solemnly. "As you all know, these are some very sad days for our Great Valley now that we've lost our esteemed herd leaders. Let us take a moment of silence in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Longneck, for of all their wisdom and guidance, and to ensure that their memories will never be forgotten."

Everyone did, many bowing or falling to their knees in honor of the longnecks as they spent a shared moment in respectful silence. Once everyone was done, they looked at Mama Swimmer expectantly, who continued.

"As Mr. Longneck and Mrs. Longneck have said so often to us, we cannot have a fair and just valley if one opinion outweighs all of the others rather than relying on everyone's participation. So as herd elders, we've come to an agreement, discussed and agreed to by all of us, that tries to put everyone's interest at heart. I'll let Ms. Flyer explain where the Valley will go from here."

Mama Flyer nodded, taking Mama Swimmer's place in front of the circle of elders. "Thank you, Ms. Swimmer," Mama Flyer said respectfully, "Let me explain the agreement we've come up with. First, again, let me express my gratitude for the longnecks and their leadership. Through their responsible actions, they have left us a peaceful Great Valley where we can all live in harmony with one another. It is our duty to them that we preserve the Great Valley in just the way they left it, and the first thing we need to do in fulfilling that is to select a new leader to keep our Valley in good care."

Clearing her throat, she said, "So we as herd elders have come to an agreement. We knew we had to select someone that all of us could agree upon to ensure the herd's harmony. Someone who has advanced wisdom and life experience. Someone who can be trusted to put the herd's interest as a whole in front of those of certain members. And someone who has listened to and someone who will do their best to follow in Grandma and Grandpa's footsteps, who we can place our trust in to carry out their leadership of our beloved Valley." She paused before saying, "It is with unanimous agreement from the herd's elders and the gracious consent of him that we have chosen Mr. Thicknose to act as our new herd leader."

Like a swarm of stinging buzzers, the crowd began to murmur at once in shock. So too were Littlefoot and his friends. "Mr. Thicknose?" Chomper asked. "I didn't know he wanted to be herd leader."

"I didn't think so either," Littlefoot agreed. "But I think it makes sense. He's been through a lot and mentored so many of us."

"Didn't you say he lied a lot about what he knew though?" Shorty asked skeptically.

"Well yeah," Littlefoot said uncomfortably. "But that's just another lesson he learned."

"Yeah, from us," Cera added.

"We all have things to learn Cera," Ruby reasoned. "For we have to learn to know anything."

"Shh … I think he is going to speak, he is!" Ducky exclaimed as Spike grunted to get their attention.

Mr. Thicknose stepped forward, and at once, Littlefoot could see Mr. Thicknose was very nervous. His body was stiff and he was pawing the ground uncertainly, and Littlefoot watched him gulp down deep breaths several times. Then with a clearing of breath, Mr. Thicknose spoke. "Ahem," he said. "Thank you all for coming here. It is truly an honor to be named as our herd leader, a position of which I will try my best to serve. But I must confess that I have never been one to seek conflict or tough decisions. I much prefer sharing my knowledge and experiences with young ones over the cold times than trying to exert authority over others. Therefore, my role will largely be ceremonial."

Pausing, he continued, "In this time of peace, I put my trust in the herd elders to make good consensual decisions, which I will in turn share with the rest of the herd. It is through listening to everybody that made the Longnecks such good leaders, and I intend on carrying on with that tradition. It is only in the rare case when the other elders are deadlocked that I will use my position to have the final say, but hopefully that will never come to pass. In this time of peace, I intend on letting everyone carry on with their lives as they wish and to provide you with updates whenever the herd elders make a new agreement. With that, I wish everyone well and encourage everyone to go enjoy our Great Valley."

With that, the crowd dispersed. Littlefoot and his friends headed away. "I think Grandma and Grandpa would be happy," Littlefoot smiled.

"Yep yep yep!" Ducky agreed.

"He have good ideas about keeping herd together," Petrie said.

"And at least he's not trying to throw his weight around," Cera added.

"I hope he'll be as tolerant and open as they were," Chomper said.

"And wise," Ruby added.

And with that, everyone continued with their lives, enjoying living in the Great Valley just as much as they always had.