A Lingering Mystery
”In the name of the noble flyers who ruled the world so long ago, I beseech you great stone, bestow upon me your gifts!” The tension hung in the air as Littlefoot looked at the odd show in front of himself. Did Pterano actually believe himself in what he was doing? Did he actually believe he would receive some magical powers from the Stone of Cold Fire? Inside, he was curious himself to see if the Stone whose fall he had witnessed was indeed something special as he had wanted to initially believe.
Seconds passed on slowly as the longneck glanced at his friends briefly. It was clear they were just as eager, or afraid, of what would happen. Even Cera, who hadn’t wanted to believe in his story at first, seemed worried about what would happen after their long journey to the summit of the Threehorn Peak. Everything would depend on the next few seconds…
Just as Littlefoot was starting to believe that nothing of interest would happen, his eyes widened in surprise. First, the flyer’s finger started to glow with a weak blue light which quickly began to spread into the orange-brown dinosaur’s arm. The boy stared in shock and fear as he saw Pterano starting to grow before his eyes, taking a malevolent expression as he turned towards his two pawns and the five children in front of himself.
“It’s working! I can feel the power of the Stone flowing through me! This is exactly the power I came here to look for! Dear nephew, tell your friends everything is well now! Together, we’ll make the Great Valley the paradise it’s meant to be!” He cried but before the younger flyer could answer in any way, Cera spoke to him in anger.
“We don’t need your help, beakbrain! Even now, the Valley is better off without you to mess things up!” It was clear that the male was far from happy to hear those words and he glanced at Petrie askingly, clearly not willing to hear any objections from him. Petrie stared at him for a few seconds before he gulped, knowing there was only one right thing to do.
“Uncle… Cera right. You don’t need to make things any worse than they already be.” He said, those words paining him deeply. Pterano looked at him for a few seconds, bringing his hand to his forehead and shaking his head briefly.
“After all I’ve done, even my nephew still doesn’t believe that all I’ve ever wanted was for the greater good! Very well, if this is how you want to become a part of my Valley, then so be it! I can easily change your mind with my powers...” He said as he walked towards the younger dinosaurs, his hand starting to glow again with unnatural light as the flyer grew ever larger before Littlefoot’s eyes. Almost immediately, he turned around and cried to his friends.
“Follow me, quickly! We have to get out of here as quickly as possible!” He yelled as he noticed a major force of cold lightning hit a stone besides himself. The boy closed his eyes, hoping he’d get away from here before the flyer’s strength would turn him into a mindless servant…
However, before he got practically any further, another most unusual sight filled his vision. Even if his eyes were closed, he suddenly saw endless hues of the sky colors dancing before him. It was as if he was swimming in a sea of those colors until he heard a question that made his face turn into a deep frown.
“Aren’t you interested in having a real chance at escaping, longneck? We’ll give you a ride you won’t easily forget…” The female voice said and as Littlefoot opened his eyes, his heart nearly stopped for a moment. He was now standing on the Stone of Cold Fire itself even if it was much larger than it had been before. The longneck was only starting to process what was happening when he heard Ducky call to him in alarm.
“What are you waiting for, Littlefoot? We have to get away from Petrie’s uncle, we do!” She cried as she passed the longneck while riding on her brother’s back. Littlefoot looked at her in shock before seeing a dark shadow being painted in the rock under himself. As the boy looked to the skies, his confusion only worsened. Pterano was now almost big enough to block the entire sky and his body seemed to be burning with the blue fire. His voice was like sky fire as he yelled to the younger dinosaurs.
“You have no chance of escaping from me! In time, I will catch you all and then together, we’ll force the others to bow to my will!” He cried as he grew ever closer to the hapless longneck. Littlefoot could fear tears forming in his eyes as he tried to run ever faster in the small rock that was flying through the endless blackness. The lesser lights gleamed everywhere around him but that mattered little as he was like a prisoner tied to the stone for now. But just as he thought things couldn’t get any worse, he suddenly saw another chilling sight in front of him.
It seemed like a massive sharptooth completely made up of the lesser lights appeared in front of the five young dinosaurs, roaring right at them in an otherworldly voice. Littlefoot stared at that sight in disbelief and fear and as it slowly opened its mouth to swallow the entire flying stone whole, Littlefoot screamed loudly.
“Jump off the rock and don’t waste more time!” He yelled, not even thinking about the implications of that order. The others seemed to hesitate for a moment but one by one, they did as was told. However, only when the longneck realized he was falling into nothingness did he realize his folly. Suddenly, he felt a hopeless cry leave his mouth as he yelled to a certain duo of dinosaurs.
“I know you are watching somewhere, rainbowfaces! Why can’t you help us in our time of need?” He yelled but just as he had finished that sentence, his vision was again filled by the insane colors but this time, they were accompanied by mocking voices that haunted him deeply.
“Life is full of little mysteries, Isn’t it?”
“There is more to the Circle of Life than you can possibly imagine.”
“Now, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?”
Sentences like these seemed to swirl within the longneck’s mind without an end until they seemed to become one with his thoughts. Deep down, he wanted to get rid of the voices and he let out a loud cry that he hoped would drown those sickening, mocking cries…
“Ouch! What hit me?” Littlefoot asked as his eyes suddenly flashed open. He briefly looked at his leg that was bleeding slightly. The boy sighed slightly as he looked at the nearby stone, deciding he had likely hit it in his sleep stories by accident. The longneck only stared forward as he tried to calm down his racing heart that almost felt like it was going to fail at any second. However, slowly and surely his body relaxed from the bad sleep story as his mind returned completely to the waking world.
A slight sigh escaped his mouth as he glanced around himself, seeing his grandparents sleeping calmly. At the very least he hadn’t let out any scream that would have woken them up this time. That was a relief at least but even then, Littlefoot couldn’t feel any calmer about everything. He had woken up to a similar sleep story every night since the conclusion of his latest adventure and the reason to that was clear: the mystery behind the rainbowfaces.
The longneck raised his gaze to the skies, thinking about that duo’s departure. They had literally vanished behind his back, accompanied by some odd voice that was very unlike anything he had heard before. And if that wasn’t enough, right after that point he had seen an odd flying stone that had moved upwards rather than towards the ground. A thing like that shouldn’t be possible but certainly not even the rainbowfaces could do something like that… could they?
Slowly and silently, the boy rose to his feet and looked upwards, deciding to ignore his doubts for a moment. Something told him that the rainbowfaces had somehow used that stone to leave the Valley because… there was no other options! They had always been unbelievably quick in moving and after everything they had told, the longneck wouldn’t have been surprised if they could actually fly in the skies!
The night was a clear one, just like it had been when the supposed Stone of Cold Fire had fallen. The Valley was entirely silent with only a few sounds of the crawlers and a few dinosaurs to be heard. However, the calm around the child was a far cry from the storm within his mind as he tried to make sense of it all.
He had met them three times and each time, they had only created more questions without providing him with any answers! Littlefoot had always been a curious soul and he had always wanted to know at least the basics of everything he had seen or learned. But now… now he had nothing he could do. He wanted to know who the mysterious duo had actually been, how they knew what they did and was he right about their departure… but that was impossible. He snorted mockingly as he looked at his own reflection from a small pond.
“Thinking about everything we still have to know being part of the fun… Yeah, good going, Littlefoot! As if I can even think about something I don’t know!” He growled at his reflection, more than a bit frustrated by it all. The rainbowfaces had simply left him without explaining what was happening which was something the boy was less than happy about.
The longneck tore his gaze away from the pond as he turned towards his sleeping spot. It was too late to ponder about stuff like that at this point anyway. His moment to learn the truth had come and one and he couldn’t help but feel unusual anger… anger towards himself for allowing that mysterious duo leave like that. Littlefoot snorted deeply as he laid back at the ground, trying to force his thoughts away from that evening three days ago. However, that turned out be a far more difficult chore and soon enough, he found himself simply rolling around, the sweet curtain of sleep stories eluding him for many more hours…
“It’s time to wake up, Littlefoot! The Bright Circle rose to the sky ages ago and I, for one, am more than ready to get to the playing part!” A commanding voice suddenly shattered the longneck’s slumber even if it took real effort for him to even open his eyes. It felt like he had fallen asleep only a minute ago and every part of his body ached with fatigue. His voice was a weak one as he tried to answer.
“W… what? But… Cera, it must still be early morning!” He said but as he glanced above himself, he could see the Bright Circle looming nearly at its zenith. That realization was followed by a deep groan as he realized that his last hope had just died but before he could rise up, Ducky approached him with a worried look.
“Are you sure you aren’t sick, Littlefoot? It is not like you to sleep this long, it is not.” She said, followed by Petrie’s affirmative comment.
“Ducky right, usually you one of the first ones to wake up.” Those words hardly resonated well within Littlefoot’s mind and it took some real effort for him to give his answer. The boy’s mind was still in the same issues they had been the previous night and deep down, the longneck knew they weren’t going to go away.
The thought of more nights like this one chilled him greatly and he knew that if he ever wanted to sleep peacefully again, he’d have to search at least some help that could even start to calm his racing mind. In a way, he wanted to tell about his last meeting with the rainbowfaces to his friends but in the end, that would help little and at most, if would make Petrie even more miserable than he already was after Pterano’s exile. And inside, the longneck was still bothered by his initial lighthearted reaction to the rainbowfaces’ departure. Littlefoot’s voice was bothered and heavy as he finally answered.
“I’m okay guys, don’t worry but… I’ve been very tired since our trip to the Threehorn Peak. I’d want to rest this day if that is okay to all of you.” He said, frowning deeply as he saw Cera’s clearly unbelieving expression. The threehorn walked closer to him and spoke questioningly.
“You can tell us just what is wrong, Littlefoot. I can see there’s something that bothers you really badly.” She said, causing the longneck to frown even more. He would have wanted to tell of his worries but he didn’t want to bring his concerns on his friends right now if he could avoid it. Besides, he already knew who he’d want to ask about the many issues circling within his mind: Mr. Thicknose. He forced a happier look to his face as he spoke to the threehorn.
“No, it’s alright Cera. I just need a bit more rest.” He said, earning a highly unimpressed look from the girl. However, she found no real way to push her issue any further and she gave a resigned sigh as she spoke to her friend.
“Well, if that is what you really feel, Littlefoot, then be alone for today! Let us others play at the very least!” She said as she waved her friends to follow her. They looked at her hesitantly but seeing the longneck’s encouraging smile, they said their farewell and followed the threehorn. Littlefoot looked after them with a rather gloomy look as he hated to lie to his friends but he wanted to get over the questions that plagued his mind. With a hopeful look, he turned around and headed towards the spot where he’d most likely find the wisest dinosaur in all of the Valley.
As he walked through the rolling plains, the young longneck was forced to narrow his eyes to shield them from the endless gleam of the Bright Circle. The day was an extremely hot one but that hardly bothered Littlefoot right now. The only thing he cared about was to hear what Mr. Thicknose knew about the rainbowfaces and all the things they had spoken about. He wasn’t often eager to speak to him as the older dinosaur often felt very distant and even grumpy but in times like these, he’d very gladly seek his help. The boy’s mood improved as he saw older male resting in the very spot he had expected to find him. Littlefoot walked close to him, able to tell that the other dinosaur didn’t notice his approach.
“Uh… Mr. Thicknose? May I bother you a moment?” He asked, grinning slightly as he saw the other leafeater twitch noticeably as he heard that voice. He was bathing in the warmth of the Bright Circle as he often did these days as there was little left of the excitement and energy of his youth. His voice was extremely surprised and even slightly happy as he spoke to the longneck, always glad to hear that someone wanted his help. As far as he was concerned, his guidance was used far too seldom.
“Oh, it’s you, Littlefoot! Why, of course you may ask me anything you want!” He said, clearly curious to hear what the longneck wanted to ask. The two hadn’t spoken too often and thus far, he hadn’t really been sure what to think of him. Littlefoot cocked his head slightly, gulping deeply as he prepared to ask his question.
“Umm… well, I’d like to ask you what lies above us?” He asked, the thought of the flying rocks and the rainbowfaces’ departure filling his mind. The older dinosaur looked at the longneck for a long time before giving his answer.
“Why, there are only the sky puffies and some mountains as well as a few flyers above us! Surely you know that much as well!” He said, eager to hear what the longneck was getting at. Littlefoot frowned at that answer, taking a step or two closer at the other male.
“Of course but… there is also the Bright and Night Circles out there as well as the lesser lights! Where are they? Why can’t the flyers reach them?” He asked, those questions bothering him greatly. The older dinosaur looked at him for a moment before giving his answer in a weary voice.
“They… they just are there and no flyer has just not been able to reach them! I hope that this isn’t about that stupid stone again, Littlefoot.” He asked dryly, remembering Littlefoot’s initial story to the Valley. The latter cringed deeply and covered slightly, confirming Thicknose’s doubts. However, he wasn’t about to give up just yet.
“No… not really. We found that the Stone was nothing special but… the rainbowfaces were.” He said, causing the larger dinosaur to shake his head in annoyance. He bowed towards the longneck and spoke in the tone the boy had learned to heartily dislike.
“There was nothing special about them, Littlefoot! They were just some odd fools who tried…” He spoke but before he could finish, Littlefoot cut him short and spoke in a nearly desperate voice.
“No, you don’t understand, Mr. Thicknose! They knew things no one else does, they got to the Threehorn Peak impossibly quickly and… and they disappeared right next to me! Please, I swear I’m telling the truth!” He said in an almost pleading voice but the other dinosaur’s earlier curiosity had turned into deep suspicion and even disappointment. He spoke to the longneck in a voice that didn’t even attempt his displeasure.
“Well, Littlefoot, if they really were so smart, what did they know that I don’t?” He asked, not expecting to hear any real answer. The boy looked more than bothered as he thought about everything he had heard from those two. After a moment, he finally found something to say that wouldn’t sound utterly stupid.
“Well… you heard yourself what they said about what is beyond the Mysterious Beyond. But other than that, they got the idea to put us on a rock inside a deep hole on the Threehorn Peak, knowing the smoke would send us flying all the way to the summit! And… and they also got us a pile of food even if there would have been none of it nearby!” He spoke, causing the other dinosaur to shake his head even further. It didn’t take long until he gave his answer.
“What they told first was utter nonsense and after a moment of thinking, anyone who knows something would have realized the pressure inside any smoking mountain like the Threehorn Peak. And getting you food hardly makes you anything special.” inside, he knew he was lying as the longneck’s words about the Threehorn Peak impressed him deeply. Yes, he knew how it was possible but truth be told, he would never have realize to do so himself. Littlefoot could hardly hide his deep disappointment as he stepped forward.
“B… but when they left me, I heard an odd, buzzing voice and the next thing I saw… was a gleaming flying rock that raced ever higher to the sky! They must have somehow gone to the sky using that rock!” He sputtered, hoping that he’d somehow raise the larger male’s interest. However, those words were clearly too much for Mr. Thicknose.
“Are you wasting my time on purpose or out of your mind? You know no dinosaur can simply move from one place to another in the blink of an eye and flying rocks don’t fly upwards! I thought you would have learned something about your stupid story about the Stone of Cold Fire but it seems like I was wrong!” He spoke, causing Littlefoot’s head to fall steeply. He hadn’t thought his questions would be this badly received but he decided to try one, final time.
“B… but I saw all of it. Kind Mr. Thicknose, they were different from any dinosaurs we…” He spoke but before he could finish, the other dinosaur decided to end the fruitless conversation.
“I hope I don’t offend you, Littlefoot, but I’ve seldom heard such trash! Be on your way now and have at least a bit more believable questions when you come see me next time.” He said while turning around, leaving the longneck to stare after him with mournful, sad eyes. He let out a deep sigh as he answered silently.
“Well, thanks for nothing, Mr, Thicknose.” He said while starting to head towards some place where he could gather his thoughts. His steps were heavy and slow as he tried to come to terms with the cold reception he had received. At this pace, he’d only prove himself right in that he’d never again get a chance to learn what really was up there and… and whether those two were normal dinosaurs at all. He was just about to head to a nearby forest to gather his thoughts as he felt his heart jump to his throat.
A dinosaur whose face and back gleamed with the hues of sky colors flashed before him, running towards the Roaring Falls. Suddenly, Littlefoot’s face turned into a smile as he remembered that the Valley had a few rainbowfaces of its own! They had never acted as oddly as those two, true, but perhaps everyone of their kind shared some hidden knowledge? At least there would be no harm done if he asked the female rainbowface a few questions. He yelped after her briefly, hoping that he’d learn at least something about this discussion.
“Hey, you! Do you have a moment to spare?” He asked, smiling as the two-legged dinosaur stopped and looked at the boy with an uncertain expression. Her voice was a rather high one as she spoke.
“The name’s Glowback, Littlefoot, was it? What do you want?” She asked, causing the boy to suddenly frown somewhat. Only now did he realize just how ridiculous asking something like “Do you know secretly how to fly without wings?” would sound but now that he was here, he might just as well at least try to satisfy his curiosity. He gulped deeply as he looked at the rainbowface, asking her the only question he could.
“Well… I was wondering about those two rainbowfaces that visited us those few days ago… I’d like to ask whether you know somet… umm, I mean if you had some answers to what they said?” He asked extremely awkwardly, causing the other dinosaur to frown deeply. She looked at the boy with a bothered look, not too amused by the question either.
“Just because I’m a rainbowface? Littlefoot, I thought you’d know better than thinking that members of some kind are all the same by now. I am not any crazy mumbling fool who goes around, trying to lie to the others, trying to earn their respect!” She said, causing Littlefoot to sigh again with a clearly bothered expression. He then looked at the larger dinosaur in disappointment, silently speaking up his mind.
“So you know nothing about what is beyond the Mysterious Beyond or that kind of stuff?” He asked, causing the female to snort deeply. She put her hands on her hips and snapped at the longneck in slight annoyance.
“Those were lies, all of them! You are far too clever to believe such tales! Now, leave me alone if you have nothing better to talk about!” She said as she looked at the moody boy. Littlefoot cocked his head slightly while talking in a low, clearly disappointed voice.
“No, that was all, Glowback. Thanks for your time anyway.” He said, rolling his eyes slightly as he left the dumbstruck female behind him. At that point, the longneck had no idea about what to do.. except that he wouldn’t hear anything new from the other residents of the Valley. The best idea right now would be simply to spend a few minutes in peace and try to calm down...
Suddenly, the longneck’s eyes were fixed on a small, lonely hill overlooking the Sinking Sand. Maybe being closer to the sky would tell him something about what was up there? Inside, Littlefoot knew that such thoughts were completely irrational and dumb but at the very least, that would be a perfect time to spend some time alone. With a hopeful run, the longneck headed towards the rock, not really having better ideas about what to do.
It took far longer for Littlefoot to climb the rock than he had expected, piles of stone threatening to collapse under him, sending him back into the ground and resulting in a possibly dangerous injury. However, slowly the boy got higher and higher until he finally was able to collapse on his belly onto the rock, looking at the Great Valley below him. The Bright Circle still shone hotly even if the day was slowly starting to turn into an evening. Yes, this place would be a good place to try to calm down and hopefully even realize something.
Slowly and carefully, Littlefoot raised his gaze towards the skies, forced to admit once again that whatever was up there was simply out of his reach for good. During all of his previous adventures, he had always been able to find whatever was behind the problems he had faced but now, it seemed like everything would remain an eternal mystery for him. He’d never meet the rainbowfaces again and he’d never find anyone who could tell him the things those two had known.
No matter how much he tried to tell himself it was okay, he couldn’t help but feel miserable by this feeling of helplessness. Even with a mysterious thing like the Saurus Rock, he had fixed it in the end and never before had he faced a thing he wouldn’t be able to prevail over. That fact alone made his mood fall fur…
“This simply doesn’t do, Littlefoot! You can’t claim you are okay while moving from one place to another to look like we had just been eaten by a sharptooth!” He heard a familiar voice that made him jump to his feet almost defensively. His eyes widened as he saw Cera and the others walk towards him with clearly worried looks. The longneck cringed deeply as he looked at them, not willing to see this day get any more difficult.
“Cera? Guys? How… how did you even get here? It took me ages to climb up here!” He asked, not able to believe they would have climbed the entire way up here without him noticing. However, his expression turned into an even more confused one as Ducky started to suddenly laugh.
“We didn’t climb here, no, no, no! We walk all the way because the Secret Caverns spread to this cliff as well, silly!” The swimmer grinned as she pointed towards a small opening not far from the group. The longneck’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment as he realized that he, too, should have known about that way. He tried to calm down as he answered.
“I… umm… well, of course you did. I’m just not feeling like myself today.” He said, those words surprising absolutely no one. However, Petrie’s words were hardly the one that got closest to the longneck’s concerns.
“Petrie understand that well! No one can be themselves after uncle Pterano cast away into the Mysterious Beyond, all alone! Petrie understand Littlefoot perfectly!” He spoke but before Littlefoot could react in any way, Cera glanced at him murderously.
“Come on, Petrie! None of us others is going to miss him in a long, long while. So, Littlefoot, stop wasting our time and tell us what bothers you! Is it something about the Stone of Cold Fire? Don’t tell me you’re upset that it exploded!” She said, causing the boy’s eyes to flash open in slight surprise. He hadn’t expected to hear such words from the threehorn and it took a brief moment for him to gather his thoughts. There was no reason tide his true worries any longer: in the end, he should have told them about his thoughts already in the morning.
“What? No, no, no, that’s not what I was thinking. Nor Pterano. It… it is the rainbowfaces I’ve been thinking of.” He said, causing the others to glance at each other with confused looks. It was clear none of the others realized just what was in the longneck’s mind and Petrie’s oblivious comment summed up all of the four dinosaurs’ sentiments completely.
“W… why you think of them? They help us a few times but now they gone, along with their herd.” He said, not exactly able to think what to expect. Cera quickly continued from the flyer’s surprised words and her voice was almost stern as she spoke.
“Indeed and in the end, they were nothing interesting, Littlefoot! They knew a lot of stuff but it’s probably something many dinosaurs in the Valley know too! At least they knew nothing someone like Mr. Thicknose doesn’t know about!” She said, causing Littlefoot to roll his eyes. At that point, he decided to take control of the conversation and snap at the his two friends.
“In fact, I asked about these things from Mr. Thicknose and he knew absolutely nothing about them! Now, there’s this final meeting I had with with them that you didn’t see.” He asked, causing the others to glance at each other questioningly. They hadn’t know about such a meeting at all even if Ducky had an immediate idea about when it must have occurred.
“Littlefoot… did that happen just before we found you staring into the sky as the herd left? You seemed really strange back then, you did!” She said while recalling at that night. Spike grunted audibly to affirm his sister’s comments and Littlefoot’s face softened as he heard those words. It was clear his friends would see through him in a matter of moments and that was one thing he loved so much about them. The longneck gave the swimmer a smile as he answered to her.
“Exactly back then, Ducky. You are completely right.” He said, willing to hear the obvious answer before continuing. And indeed, it wasn’t long before Petrie spoke to him again.
“B… but you no tell us what you see back then, Littlefoot! What make you change your mind now?” He asked, causing Littlefoot’s face to fall slightly. It took several seconds before he found the right words to answer that question. And when he finally did, the longneck’s voice was even surprisingly regretful.
“I’m sorry I ever did that, Petrie. Back then, I thought of it all as just another mystery that would have an eventual answer. And while it is fun to have to have some mysteries in life, I… I’m just sad I’ll never get to learn them!” He said, thinking about how to voice his thoughts as well as possible. At that point, Cera took the spotlight and walked closer to the longneck.
“There is nothing mysterious about them, Littlefoot! They were likely just making stuff up from the beginning and they just knew a faster way to the Threehorn Peak than we did! The Stone was just a lie and so was likely everything else about their stories!” The girl exclaimed, not really understanding the fuss Littlefoot was making about this issue. She grew increasingly annoyed as Littlefoot took a weird smile as he prepared to answer that question.
“You might be right, Cera, if I hadn’t seen what I saw. That evening, they rose to the sky right in front of me, heading to some place with another flying rock.” He said calmly, not seeing any value in getting to the details once again. In his mind, that was what had happened and that was the version he would give to those around him.
The silence after the other dinosaurs heard those words was deafening. They all stared at the longneck with astonished looks, none of them really expecting this kind of an answer. After a moment, Cera spoke again before being interrupted by Ducky.
“Rose to the sky? Are you cr…”
“But… that is not possible, it isn’t! We can climb towards the sky but none of us, not even Petrie, can just rise there! Also, the rainbowfaces were not flyers!” The swimmer spoke earning a puzzled look from the longneck. He looked at each of his friends in the eyes, wiling to show them just how serious he was about his story. Still, he knew he owed the others at least some answers and he did so without any major waiting.
“I know all of that, Ducky. But… I was there when it happened. I couldn’t believe it otherwise myself but I can’t question what I saw and hear.” He said, eager to hear just what the others would make of his story. He looked one by one at the other young dinosaurs, happy he had at least got his message through. At the very least, they now believed that he believed his own words. After a few moments, Petrie spoke carefully, clearly nervous of what the others would make of his next words.
“Well, they know a lot and they weird all along but… they not flyers, Littlefoot! They can not fly!” He said, hoping to hear some clarification from the longneck. Littlefoot rolled his eyes slightly before answering, having expected to hear such a question from the smaller boy.
“They didn’t fly like you, Petrie. They just… seemed to use a beam of light and then I saw the stone flying towards the sky. I can’t say how they did that but that’s what happened.” He said, a haunted look within his eyes. Ducky brought a finger to her chin, clearly deep in thought. After a moment, the swimmer spoke with a bothered voice, clearly unsure about what to say.
“I don’t know if that matters in any way but they seemed like they were just guiding us to do whatever they wanted. Back in the Valley, it seemed like they wanted us to see things the way they did even if it did not make any sense to us. One thing that I especially remember was when they told that we can set our gaze beyond the sky… or even higher? That didn’t make any sense, it didn’t.” The swimmer said, shaking her head in clear loss. Suddenly, everyone else turned to look at her oddly, as if she had just said something shocking. After a moment, the girl asked the others with an almost worried look.
“Uh… did I say something wrong?” She simply asked before Littlefoot broke the silence. His mood was almost more lighthearted than before even if his voice still held the bitter curiosity.
“No, it’s just that… I asked Mr. Thicknose about what is over the sky and… even he knew nothing of it. After all of this, it feels almost as if… as if the rainbowfaces know it very well. As if… they might even live there.” He finally voiced the deepest suspicion within his mind, one that he hadn’t even admitted to himself. It earned immediate rebuke but not from the one he had expected.
“That impossible, Littlefoot! Petrie know there nothing up there and no flyer has ever got higher than the sky! Do not be silly!” He said but suddenly, Littlefoot stood up and walked towards the flyers with a familiar twinkle in his eye.
“I’m not, Petrie! Just think of it: they knew of the Stone, this Beyond the Mysterious Beyond seems to be whatever is up there and they went there in the end! There is no other possibility!” He said, causing Petrie to cover slightly under the bigger dinosaur’s eager words. Cera frowned at him but there was no trace of any kind of outrage or doubt within her eyes. Suddenly, her face softened slightly as she finally spoke to the longneck.
“If no one else knows what’s up there, do you really think we’re the only ones who even got close to that truth, Littlefoot? If even Mr. Thicknose didn’t know of it, I have a hard time believing the rainbowfaces did either.” She said but almost promptly, the longneck walked closer to her, asking her with an excited voice.
“Do you have other ideas, Cera? Think about it all for a moment and listen to what your heart says about it all. There is only one possibility.” He asked, causing Cera to look at him with a torn look before sighing in resignation. But before she could answer, Ducky started to speak.
“But… even if all of that is true, why does it matter to us? They are up there and we are here.” She asked, that question causing Littlefoot to frown deeply. He looked at the swimmer for a few seconds before asking her with a bothered tone.
“It just that… nobody knows of that and we could have learned more than any of our kinds before! And we have always wanted to learn more about the things around us… haven’t we?” The longneck asked as he earned mixed looks from his friends. Cera looked especially unsure about what to answer and when she did, her voice was more conciliatory as the boy had expected.
“We’ve done that too, Littlefoot, but most often we went out there to make things right again. I, for one, am happy now that the peace is again restored to the Valley.” She asked, the longneck’s story having made a less profound impression on her than she had expected even herself. Petrie looked at the bigger male with a slightly more sympathetic look but which still told the longneck that he wouldn’t completely agree with the next remark.
“Besides, we know far more than many grown-ups in the Valley! Petrie often wonder what beyond all the places we go to but… after all, the Valley will always be the best place for us. You say it yourself: it fun to think what we not know but Petrie believe we never able to even know everything that happen out here!” He said, earning empathetic nods from the others. Littlefoot turned to look to the skies with a bothered look, not having expected his friends to be so accepting of the reality. He took a deep sigh as he prepared speak out his mind.
“Of course that is right but if we really wanted, we could find out what lies beyond the Land of Mists, for example. But… we have no way of going above the sky. We’ll never have the chance to see it for ourselves.” He said, his earlier determination slowly starting to break. However, his heart grew lighter by the second as he saw Cera walking towards him.
“Littlefoot… that was also the case with Elsie and the Big Water. Not even Ducky could follow her down there and that is another world that is forever closed to us. But you know what? I’m fine with that as I am a threehorn and not a swimmer or a rainbowface and neither would I want to be! The way I see it, it’s best for all of us to accept our place in the Valley and be happy with what he have out here. It’s more than enough for me at least.” She said, surprising even herself with how well thought-out those words sounded. Littlefoot looked at her with an unsure look but Ducky continued from the threehorn’s words before he could speak.
“She is right! And besides, we might well have a chance to visit those places one day if we keep having these adventures, Littlefoot! If we ever will be able to do just that, I will go with you, I will! We’ve already seen so many unbelievable things and the last one might just have been the oddest we’ve come across! To be honest, I look forward to seeing what our future will bring!” The swimmer said in a cheerful voice that finally managed to break the longneck’s self-imposed mental turmoil. Suddenly, he realized many things at once.
His place was still in the Valley and it was here that he’d build a life for himself in the seasons to come. Of course he’d continue his efforts to learn more about the things around him but that wouldn’t prevent him from enjoying the things he had right now. He had been right after all on that night: wondering about the things he didn’t know was part of the fun but only a part of it: there were more important things in life than that. And besides, Ducky was also correct: it wasn’t impossible he’d meet the rainbowfaces again one day and that thought made him breath more easily than in days. He couldn’t help but feel he had learned an important lesson today about separating his wish for sating his own curiosity and living his own life. The longneck sat down while looking at the threehorn and the swimmer warmly.
“You two are right. Nobody can know everything and at least we know more about something than even Mr. Thicknose! We’ll see if we’re meant to ever learn more but at least for now, we’re having too good a day to be wasted on thinking about things like these! I’m sorry for acting like I did for the past few days. You would have deserved far better.” He
said, earning a slight chuckle from Petrie.
“It alright, Littlefoot! Petrie has been thinking a lot about uncle as well but he return in time! For now, we have everything we need! Our home and each other!” He said, earning deep nods from everyone around him. Suddenly, the day seemed much brighter for Littlefoot and he turned towards the Secret Caverns and cried to his friends!
“I couldn’t have said it better, Petrie, but follow me! Let’s get to finally doing something fun for a change!” He cried as he started to run, taking one last glance at the sky above him. His endless yearning to find what was above it had subsided for now but it was still ready to wake up the day he could embark on another adventure of learning and friendship.
This is my entry for Gang of Five’s June prompt. It is nothing too ambitious but I’ve long wanted to do a story that in some way utilized the rainbowfaces but not quite in the way they’re usually seen in fanfiction. I quite liked the premise of this story and I hope this was a good read for you as well! I look forward to your thoughts and see you with the next chapter of Separate Ways.
