And here's the conclusion! Thank you to all of my readers for sticking with this and making this possible. I could not have done this without you! I hope you've had as good a time reading as I had writing this.
If you want some more music, you can start this track AFTER the chapter break, when we flash forward a few weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjqHuGR6PqU---------------------
Epilogue"Quite frankly, Pterano, I find your story incredibly hard to believe, but in light of the fact that it has been corroborated by not only Hyp, Ducky, Spike, Petrie, Cera, Chomper and my own grandson, I hereby declare you exonerated of any and all blame in the disappearance and kidnapping of your nephew. Furthermore, your actions have demonstrated just how far you were willing to go to save Petrie, and your conduct should at least be commended." Grandpa Longneck heard Mr. Threehorn muttering about some conspiracy going on as he spoke, and he silenced him with a stare. "From all of us, welcome back to the Great Valley. I know we welcomed you a few days ago, but this time, consider it official." the elderly longneck nodded solemnly, and Mr. Threehorn stepped forward, after being prodded by Grandpa Longneck's tail.
"Err... I... guess... you... well... sort of... maybe... kind of..." Mr. Threehorn spoke very hesitantly, looking at everyone but Pterano full on. Grandpa Longneck gave him a slight slap in his flank, and Mr. Threehorn glared at the older one. "Grrrr! Don't get rough with me!" he snapped, but Grandpa Longneck only sighed, shaking his head. "FINE! Look... Pterano... perhaps you AREN'T as bad as I originally thought. And perhaps you DO deserve to live here with us. I find it hard to believe that Brightneck ever could have perpetrated something like this... but my own daughter claims it's true so... I suppose... I'm... s... ssss... sorry." he slid the words out, as if he had just tasted acid, and turned away immediately to walk back to Grandpa Longneck's side, muttering the whole time.
Pterano, who stood before the assembled adults, smiled. It wasn't a smile of pride, or accomplishment. It was a smile that said "thank you" without actually speaking the words. He didn't need to say anything, and even if he could, for once in his entire life, the flyer found himself at a loss at what to say. Everyone expected some form of bragging or boasting, but nothing came forth from the flyer's beak. It was as if he had been struck mute on the spot, and he only nodded at them.
"Now that that business is settled, I propose we..." but the longneck elder was interrupted by shouts of acclaim from off to the side. He glanced over, surprised, and then smiled as he saw the gang cheering. They were all cheering the successful conclusion to this whole nightmare, and celebrating Pterano's absolution.
Pterano swiveled his head to look over at them, and sighed happily. He closed his eyes, and felt like taking a long rest. He still needed to recover after all, but more than that. The flyer knew what it was he was experiencing. He still carried guilt over what had occurred in the past, but no longer did he see the past as a gaping hole that constantly followed him around, yawning with its wide maw and threatening to snap him up. He was at ease with it now. He was finally there. He was finally at his haven. He had found, dare he say it? Peace.
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A few weeks passed, and Pterano had recovered well from his injuries and burns. He'd bear a few of the larger pockmarks for the rest of his life, but otherwise, he was as good as new. The gang visited him for most of the days of his recovery, and he was grateful for their company. After he had healed, the gang visited him anyway, to keep the infamous old flyer in good spirits after all that had transpired.
Pterano was sitting against a rock this particular day, enjoying the sun as he played a game with the gang while Hyp and Selene sat off a distance away on the grass. "Is it... a treestar?" Pterano asked, playing the equivalent of twenty questions.
"Nope! I win!" Chomper exclaimed, grinning widely.
"Oh, blast! I suppose you do. Well played, young one. What was it that you stumped me with?" the flyer inquired.
"It was the treesweets hanging right above your head!" Chomper pointed, giggling as he did so.
Pterano glanced up, and opened his mouth as he noticed the branch that provided him with a measure of partial shade, and broke into a smile. "Huh... well who put that there?" he questioned, rolling his eyes.
"Heheh, I was thinking, Pterano, about... well a few weeks ago." Littlefoot spoke up now, sitting down before the flyer as Pterano shifted his gaze over to the longneck.
"Yes?"
"When you think about it... I don't think a single one of us could have saved Petrie on our own. I kind of like how we all blended together in the end there."
Pterano gave him a nod. "Yes, Littlefoot, it all worked out rather well. Without Ichy..." he glanced over at the sharpbeak, who was sitting off by himself, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun. "We never would have found Petrie."
"Yeah! Thanks Ichy!" Littlefoot called over, and the gang joined in with their plaudits. The bird cracked an eye, and frowned, then gradually smiled. "Eh... lousy brats." he said, waving his wing dismissively at them, to which they all laughed.
"And if it hadn't been for Hyp, I don't think I could have taken on Brightneck myself. I just... I'm not really the flyer I used to be." Pterano admitted, looking over across the grass to Hyp, who was leaning back on his hands as he sat next to his prospective mate, and smiled in a small, smug way.
"And if hadn't been for Selene, I wouldn't have even been there!" he called over to the flyer, taking Selene's hand in his.
"Yeah... you certainly aren't what you used to be." Cera said, half mockingly. "I guess no more battling hundreds of sharpteeth for you, huh?" she asked skeptically.
"No... I suppose not." Pterano chuckled. "And if it hadn't been for Chomper, Hyp would have been struck down the first time."
"Would not have!" Hyp shouted back, shaking his head.
Pterano rolled his eyes again. "Anyways, he knows what you did, Chomper. He just won't ever admit it." the flyer reached out to give the young sharptooth an affectionate pat on the head before continuing on. "And if it hadn't of been for Littlefoot, Chomper would have been attacked as well."
"Yeah! Thanks Littlefoot. We seem to look out for each other a lot, don't we?" Chomper asked, looking over at the longneck, who looked down at the ground in a reserved manner.
"Awww... that's what friends do." Littlefoot stated, kicking at the earth in a distracted manner.
"As for the rest of you... Cera, Ducky, Spike and company, the other two I've already named, we never could have moved that rock without teamwork. So you see, it was a group effort on everyone's part." the flyer declared, giving them all a nod.
"By the way, what about that flower he had you eat?" Cera asked now. "It wasn't poison, so why did he have you eat something that was OK?"
Pterano shrugged, unable to come up with an answer.
"Maybe..." this came from Chomper. "Maybe... he wasn't all bad? Brightneck wanted his revenge, but he still did good things before all that. Or... it could be that he just didn't want to risk Pterano dying early before he could carry out his revenge. It was all a test anyway. I dunno. I give up." the sharptooth said, shrugging as well. The others shook their heads. Brightneck's motivations were anyone's guess, but Littlefoot had to admit that he liked Chomper's line of thinking. If it was all a test... maybe it was just to scare Pterano, and test his willingness to give up his life for another. Another method of seeing whether or not he was worth taking revenge on, or something twisted like that. The secret would remain a secret, as it had died with Brightneck.
"Hey, uncle! What me do?" Petrie asked, looking up at his uncle eagerly.
"You, Petrie." Pterano fixed his gaze directly upon his nephew, smiling. "You... taught me a few things about life... and love. If it hadn't of been for you... uncle Pterano might never have changed." he said, his voice quiet, subdued, so unlike his usual bravado.
"Oooh. Change good!" Petrie agreed, nodding. "How about you? What you do? You not tell us!" he added. Pterano seemed to hesitate, as if he was pondering this.
"Me? Well... I... I suppose I forgot myself in all of this." he said, shaking his head. "Terribly sorry about that." he paused, as if about to speak. The gang all eagerly leaned in, wanting to hear what he would say. But Pterano did not speak. He kept silent, and looked at each one of them in turn, a relaxed, sedate expression upon his features.
Littlefoot caught the flyer's gaze, and he thought he understood. Pterano was not going to say anything because some things were best left unsaid. Pterano was certainly the changed flyer, from what Littlefoot could see. No boasting, no bragging, and no incredible story about how he'd saved the day. Littlefoot knew the pain and suffering and trials he had endured to save Petrie, and as far as Littlefoot was concerned, he was looking at a living hero. As real to him as his grandfather was, or his mother, and in that instant, he rather felt a strong desire to speak up and thank Pterano for all that he had done.
In terms of solving the mystery and defeating Brightneck, Pterano played little real part. But that wasn't the point in Littlefoot's eyes. It was what Pterano had been through... all the things he had willingly subjected himself to in order to save Petrie. How far would Littlefoot go to protect the ones he loved? Even he couldn't answer that one, but he knew Pterano could. Love was a powerful motivator, and in Littlefoot's eyes at least, it had helped shape Pterano into a new flyer.
He smiled, and gave the flyer an understanding nod. He didn't have to say anything to glorify himself.
Pterano seemed to catch this, and opened his mouth. "But... rather than me bore you with what I did, why don't I tell you about the time I saw something truly incredible out in the Mysterious Beyond?" he suggested, and the rest of the gang seemed to brighten at this. Littlefoot shook his head, but continued smiling.
"Now... this is a story that is entirely true! Well... at least as far as I can remember it!" the flyer added with a flap of his wings. He knew the gang was fast coming of age, and soon, they would only continue to expand and add on chapters to the story they had begun weaving for themselves so long ago. Turning to look around his audience, he started his tale, holding them enraptured as usual through his eloquent and engaging manner of speaking.
His eyes eventually came to rest on Petrie after about five or ten minutes of his storytelling, and here he paused.
"Come on! What happened next?" Cera demanded.
Pterano blinked, and realized he'd broken up his narration. "Oh! Right! Um..." but he found himself once again looking straight at Petrie, and filled with such an incredible fullness. It filled him to every crevice and brim of his being. It was bursting at his seams, and he suddenly reached out and hugged his nephew tightly against him.
"What does THAT have to do with the story?" Cera asked, before getting an "ahem" from Littlefoot. Cera realized that this wasn't part of the story then, and quickly quieted down.
"I'm just... very happy... to have someone like you in my life, Petrie. You're worth more than anything I could ever obtain in this world." Pterano said, sniffling a little. "I'll NEVER leave your side again... and this time I mean it." he nuzzled him, and received a hug around his neck in return from Petrie, who was beaming.
Pterano closed his eyes, and moved a bit more into the sun, letting its rays warm him and enhance the very full and deep feeling he was experiencing. Peace? Love? It didn't need words. All he knew was that it made him feel complete, and whole. He was not empty or fragmented. He enjoyed the feeling of the warmth that moved over both his exterior and through his inner being as well. To him, nothing could top this. Nothing at all.
Fin
