COMFORTING A FRIEND

They'd tried their best, but they were a day late and a Treestar short. Truthfully, it was just a few hours late. But that was enough to ensure that Grandpa Longneck didn't recover. True, the delivery of the Night flower at least made his passing comfortable, as it was usually an unpleasant death. But die he did. And now, that left his wife, Littlefoot's grandmother as a widow, and with a very big decision.

"We wasted our time! It was all for nothing! Maybe it would have been better if I'd died in the Land of Mists!" Littlefoot lamented.

"Sometimes things can't be changed," Grandma Longneck sighed, trying to console her grandson.

"It's not just that he's gone, it's that I've lost my mother too, and now him."

"I know. It is hard for one so young. But your mother's death was truly the harder one. Your grandfather at least lived a long and happy life. And it wasn't like he didn't know that this day could come. Indeed, he had plans in the event that this happened."

"Plans to go with Ali's herd," Littlefoot sighed. He'd known what his grandfather had planned. And it was one of the reasons had gone into the Land of Mists. Not just to save his beloved grandfather, but also to ensure that he got to stay and didn't have to leave his friends, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike.

"I'm sorry about your grandfather. It's my fault. If I'd come right away with Ali, we might have been able to get there faster," Cera said, tears in her eyes. Even her father, who often wasn't on the best terms with the old Longneck, was clearly dejected and downhearted by his passing.

"It's not your fault, Cera. We just weren't quick enough. I suppose it was just his time. Part of the circle of life, like my mother."

"Now that we've failed, you'll have to leave!" Cera lamented, tears dripping from her eyes. Cera was not one to let her emotions show like this.

"I guess it's for the best," he said, putting a foreleg around her and hugging her tightly. The fact that she didn't recoil in annoyance, as would have been typical of her, showed how vulnerable she was at the moment.

One by one, all of Littlefoot's friends stated how sorry they were that he was going to have to leave and how much they were going to miss him. He stated that he too was sorry he was doing to have to leave. They all hugged him and Ducky and Cera kissed him. Ducky was expected, but Cera was a surprise to him.

Ali, meanwhile, watched the tearful exchanges. Having learned that other kinds were bad, like she'd long believed, she knew how much that Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike meant to Littlefoot and didn't want to have him leave without at least making an attempt for him to stay. An idea soon occurred to her. It would be a major change for herself, but one she believed was worth it. She went to her mother and voiced her idea.

A few hours later, the Old One said "Ok, it's time to leave and move on."

"Come on, Littlefoot," Grandma Longneck said. Like her grandson, she didn't want to leave the Great Valley, but it was best to be with other Longnecks. Sure, she wasn't biased against non-Longnecks, but it was best to have other Longnecks, family, help out in times of need.

"Yes, Grandma," Littlefoot said mournfully.

"Wait!" Ali's mother cried.

"What is it, Arikani," the Old One asked.

"I think we're going to stay here with Littlefoot and Barbara. We are family and they need someone. We'll become more accustomed to staying in one place than they would living in a migratory herd."

"Are you sure?" asked the Old Longneck, furrowing her brows. "You've been with us for a long time."

"I know, but we have to do what's best for us and for them."

"If that's how you feel, we wish you the best." And with that, the Longneck herd departed.

Sometime later, Littlefoot talked to Ali alone. "Why'd you do it?" he asked. "Why leave your herd behind?"

"Because, it's what friends do. And you're family anyway. My grandmother and your grandmother are cousins. So that makes us family enough. My mother can help your grandmother when she runs into problems when she gets too old."

"Thank you!" He kissed Ali on the lips. He'd never kissed a girl or thought of kissing a girl before now, but this seemed an appropriate occasion.

Ali blushed scarlet. "Thanks, Littlefoot."

"I can't thank you enough! You've let me stay with my friends and stay in the Great Valley!"

'"It's what friends do. And I think it's what your grandfather would have wanted. I know that I can't replace him, but I'll do my best to help you through this troubling time."

"Thank you, Ali."

"Another good thing that comes of all of this is that I get to get to know your friends more. We went through a lot in the Land of Mists together and it would have stunk to possibly never see them again. Now I get to."

"Yeah. I guess good can come out of any bad situation. Like, for instance, if my mother hadn't died, I might never have met Ducky, Petrie, and Spike."

"Yes. Life is unpredictable, and you need to take what comes along, both good and bad, and live it to the fullest."

"That sounds like something my grandfather would say."

"Well, he wouldn't want you mourning all day long. He'd want you to move along."

"It will take time to let go of the hurt."

"I understand. I went through the same thing when my father died."

"How did you move on?"

"Same way you did with your mother. Know that they'll always be with us as long as we live, and that they'd want us to move on."

And so, Littlefoot would move on and grow up, always remembering what his mother and grandfather had taught him and passing it along to others, such as Ali.