The Adventures of Littlefoot and Ali

[Threehorn]

Same here, I ususally read them on a off chance

[The Chronicler]

This is quite an interesting story, I can't wait to see how it turs out. You said that "the big chapter" would be up by mid- or late-January, right? It's almost mid-January, so how much longer do we need to wait? (no, I'm not imatient)

[Kor]

pokeplayer984 may be very busy.  I'm sure the next chapter will be posted when it'll be posted.

[pokeplayer984]

Well, it's FINALLY done!

This is the chapter many have been waiting for.  The realtionship between the 3 longnecks will change forever!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 8

The Changing Moment

Ali and Ret finally met up with their friends after the big meeting.  All of them were there, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Ruby and Chomper.

“So, are you both ready to play?” Littlefoot asked.

“You bet!  I’ve been wanting to play with you guys since we got here!” Ali said.  She then whispered in Littlefoot’s ear. “Plus, Ret still only plays ëRescue’ with me and that really gets boring after only so many times.” The two longnecks started to giggle at that.

“Ha, ha, ha!  Very funny!” Ret said, hearing exactly what they said.

At this point, Cera decided to step in. “Oh, Ali…” She began.

“Yes, Cera?” Ali asked, having her full attention.

“Before you decide what you would like to play, I’d like you to meet someone who will be joining us today.”

“Oh?”

Cera then looks behind herself. “You can come out, now!” She said in a gentle tone.

Ali then saw something peek out behind Cera.  The tiny being then emerged from behind Cera and Ali could tell that it was a female threehorn baby that was colored a shade of pink.  The little baby threehorn then walked up to Ali and started speaking in some sort of baby gibberish as if to say “hello”.

“Ali, this is my step-sister, Tricia.” Cera introduced the baby.

Ali bent her neck down to the baby’s eye-level. “Hello, Tricia.”

Tricia walked up to Ali and attempted to wrap her front feet around Ali’s nose as if to give her a hug.

Ruby giggled. “It looks like Tricia likes Ali already.” She said.

It wasn’t long until Tricia stopped hugging Ali and allowed her to bend her neck back up.

“So, what do you and Ret want to play, Ali?” Littlefoot asked.

Ali and Ret started to discuss what they should play.

“So, what should we play?” Ret questioned in a whispering tone.

“Whatever we pick, we need to make sure it’s safe for Tricia.” Ali said in the same whispering tone.  She suddenly became a little serious. “And don't let it be ëRescue’!” She said sternly.

“Okay!  I get the point!” Ret suddenly felt a little scared at his best friend.

Ali then got an idea. “Wait!  There’s one game I haven’t played in a long time.  Besides, we’re naturals at it with being in a herd and all.” She winked.

“Oh, I know what you’re talking about.” He winked back.

The two then faced the gang. “We’ve chosen the game ëHide ën Seek’.” Ali told them.

“Okay, great!” Littlefoot said.

“Oh, and since we’re playing, we have a few ëspecial’ rules for this game.” She piqued up.

“W… what kind of rules?” Littlefoot sounded a little nervous at that.

“Oh, nothing that will change the very nature of the game.” Ret promised.

“Instead of one being the one that ëseeks’, there’s two of them.” Ali explained.

“Two seekers that seek?” Ruby questioned.

“Uh-huh!” Ali nodded. “The two ëseekers’ will look for everyone else.  The first two that are found are the new team of ëseekers’.”

“On top of that, you must ëhide’ in teams of twos.” Ret added.

“Aside from that, all other rules apply.”

“So, it’s like Hide ën Seek, but with teams?” Cera asked, pretty much understanding the whole thing.

“Yep!  You got it!” Ret said.

“Okay!  Sounds great!” Littlefoot said.

“Me and Ret will be a team on this one.  What will your teams be?” Ali asked.

The gang huddled up together and started to speak among themselves how they would organize their teams.

“So, who should be with who?” Littlefoot asked.

“Well, I’m stuck keeping an eye on Tricia because once I asked, my Dad and Tria said I had to be with her until the end of the day.  They said they had their own plans for today.” Cera said as she rolled her eyes.

“And I’ve got to keep an eye on Chomper because of the promise I made to his parents that I would promise to keep him safe.” Ruby said.

“Well, at least that takes care of two teams.” He then let out a sigh, having a little trouble figuring out how to pair up the last of them. “I think Ducky and Petrie will work well together on this one.”

“Good point!  In this case, you need the right teammate to get the edge in the end.” Cera said.

“I guess that leaves me and Spike then.”

The gang of eight then faced Ali and Ret, having made their decisions. “Okay, our teams are, Me and Spike, Ducky and Petrie, Ruby and Chomper, and Cera and Tricia.”

Ali smiled, believing this would be easier than she thought. “Alright!  Now we just need some good hiding places.” Her smile then faded. “Do you know of any?”

Several of them just nodded at her. “Yep!  This way!” Cera said as she started to head off in one direction, only to be stopped by Littlefoot.

“Uh, actually Cera, the better hiding places are this way.” He said, motioning in the opposite direction Cera was going.

Cera shook her head. “Uh-huh, it’s this way!”

“No!  It’s that way!”

Cera started to get a little irritated. “No!  It’s this way!”

Littlefoot was getting upset as well. “That way, Cera!”

“My way is better, Littlefoot!” Cera was getting mad now.

“My way has plenty of hiding places!” Littlefoot defended himself.

“My way has better hiding places, including ëThe Sheltering Grass’!”

“You know its against the rules to use ëThe Sheltering Grass’ as a hiding place as no one can find you even if you hid in there!”

“Oh, no, no, no!” Ducky said, realizing what was going on.

Ruby sighed. “They’re at it again.” She said in disappointment.

“Yeah, that’s why it’s the best!” Cera argued.

“We don’t need ëThe Sheltering Grass’!  We’ve been creative before!” Littlefoot argued back.

“They haven’t gotten any better at this since we left, huh?” Ali asked the ones watching the argument, who only nodded. “Thought so!” She sighed.

Ali walked up and separated Littlefoot and Cera before it could go too far. “Okay, you two!  Break it up!  I’ll decide which way we go!” She turned to the threehorn. “Cera, you lead the way!”

“Humph!” Cera said, feeling proud. “Follow me!” She said in a cocky tone.

Littlefoot sighed. “I just know she’s going to hide in ëThe Sheltering Grass’ now.” He mumbled as he reluctantly followed.

It wasn’t long until they reached the area where they would be hiding.  It definitely had a good number of hiding places.  There were plenty of bushes, trees and rocks to hide them, as well as The Sheltering Grass.  The Sheltering Grass in particular was just a bunch of tall grass that could easily cover a number of the dinosaurs within The Great Valley, particularly ones the current height of Littlefoot.

Ali and Ret smiled at the location they were currently in.  The two knew this was the perfect place to show them the skills they had developed from being in a herd most of their lives.

“Okay, everyone ready play?” Ali asked and everyone nodded to her. “Okay, me and Ret will count at this tree nearby.  You know all the rules, so let’s play!” Ali secretly let out a sly smirk, knowing just how easy she made it for her and Ret without anyone else figuring it out.

Ali and Ret started counting.  Littlefoot and Spike quickly hid behind a mass covered rock.  Ducky climbed up a tree and hid within the foliage as Petrie flew up to join her.  Ruby and Chomper both quickly hid within a bush.  Finally, Cera and Tricia hid within The Sheltering Grass, as Littlefoot predicted.  All the time though, the gang didn’t realize that the two seekers were using their highly developed ears to pinpoint the location of the other eight.

The two were soon done counting. “Ready or not, here we come!” They called out.

Ali and Ret immediately looked at The Sheltering Grass with whirly smiles.  The two then looked at one another.  Ret nodded to her, knowing exactly what she was thinking.  Ali walked up to The Sheltering Grass and stopped at a certain location.  She the reared up and jumped right into the tall grass, letting out a playful roar.  A high pitched scream emitted from the grass.

“They didn’t find her already, did they?” Littlefoot questioned in shock from hearing the scream that he knew only came from Cera.

He, Spike, Petrie, Ducky, Ruby and Chomper all came out of their hiding places to find Ali right in front of an on-their-back-and-surprised Cera and Tricia.

Ali gave a proud smirk of her own to Cera. “Found you!” She taunted.

“This is impossible!” Littlefoot said, definitely surprised.

“No one has ever finded Cera before!  No, no, no!” Ducky said in complete shock.

“Except for that one time she wasn’t playing, no one has ever found her when she is playing.” Ruby said in a matter-of-factuality.

“How she do it?” Petrie asked.

Cera regained herself. “Okay, either you got lucky or you cheated, because no one has ever found me that easily.” She said as she started to glare at Ali.

Ali let out a giggle. “I guess I should explain.  When you live in a herd, you are given some rather special information on how to look out for sharpteeth.  We have learned to stay alert with our ears.”

“Wait!  Are you saying you heard us, because me and Tricia never made a noise.” Cera interrupted.

“True, but we did hear you go into ëThe Sheltering Grass’, while we were counting.” Ret told them.

“You both could hear us while you were counting?” Chomper asked.

“Yes!” Ali continued with her explanation. “From birth we are taught to focus on the areas around us.  We are told to carefully block out other sounds and carefully listen for sharpteeth that could be lurking nearby.”

“But, couldn’t the herd you live in protect you from sharpteeth that try to eat you?” Ruby questioned.

“Yes, but there are some very clever and highly skilled ones out there.” Ret explained.

“They move like the wind and can strike you without warning, some of which can get you in a place that just means instant death if they got you.” Ali explained to them.

“W-we’ve never run into one like that.” Littlefoot said.

“Few like that exist, but you take no chances with a herd.  Sharpteeth need the element of surprise on their side, and you need to make sure they don’t get it.” She then turned to Cera. “And that’s how we got you.”

Cera had her mouth wide open in shock throughout a good portion of Ali’s explanation.  She then let out a proud smirk. “Okay, you win!  I guess that makes me and Tricia ëit’ now, huh?” Cera said.

“Actually, there is one more rule I forgot to tell you all about.  Since I was the one that found you, I get to have my teammate switch teams with one of the members of your team, and I choose you, Cera, to switch teams with Ret.”

Ret rolled his eyes. “Great!  I just love to baby-sit.” He said sarcastically.

“Hey!  You’d best keep an eye on her or believe me,” Cera said as she came closer to Ret, “I won’t be the only one giving you punishment if something happens to her.” She promised in a threatening tone.

“An untimely death by a family of threehorns.  I understand.”

“Good!”

“Okay you two, if you’re done, let’s get back to the game.” Ali said.

“Looks like hiding won’t be that easy now.” Littlefoot muttered out loud to himself.

So they started up the game again, this time allowing “The Sheltering Grass” as a hiding place since Ali and Ret had such advanced seeking skills.  With this new rule in play, Ruby and Chomper decided to hide in the tall grass.  Ducky and Petrie hid in a different tree this time.  Ret and Tricia hid behind a rock, though Tricia was making a lot of noise and Ret had to try to keep her quiet as not to give them away.  Finally, Littlefoot and Spike hid within a bush, which Spike couldn’t help to start munching on and Littlefoot had to stop him and his gluttonous appetite.

“Ready or not!  Here we come!” Ali and Cera yelled.

The two split up and started to look for the others.  Ali didn’t pay much attention with her ears like the last time, so she was giving them a better chance.  Unknown to her though, Ali was walking near the bush where Littlefoot and Spike were hiding.

ëWow, she’s definitely good!  No way I’m allowing her to seek again.  I’ve got to try and at least make it harder for her to find me.’ Littlefoot thought to himself as he saw Ali approaching.

In an attempt to hide better, Littlefoot started to back up a little.  Unknown to him though, there was a plant right behind him that had very sharp needles sticking out of it.  He backed up into the plant and the needles pierced the skin on his bottom enough to emit pain through his whole body.  As a result of this newfound pain, he jumped through the bush while screaming in pain.

As Littlefoot landed, his mouth ended up closing around Ali’s, resulting in an open-mouth kiss.  Both of the longnecks were shocked by this sudden turn of events.  The two slowly removed their lips from one another and continued to look at eachother in shock.  A million thoughts contemplated into their minds.  The sudden touch of their lips, though brief, was quite an amazing feeling to both of them.  Though Littlefoot and Ali were kissed by their grandparents and mother respectfully, they had never felt anything like they did with such a simple connection of the lips.  There were hardly any words to describe exactly what they were feeling.

The unexpected moment did not go unnoticed one bit.  All of their friends had seen the scene.  They were all quite shocked by the sudden turn of events.

“Did I just see what I think I was seeing?” Ruby asked.

“Yep, yep, yep!  I think we did see Littlefoot and Ali kiss.”

“Ali… Littlefoot… kiss?  But, that mean…” Petrie began.

“That Ali and Littlefoot are in love!” Cera finished, taunting the two longnecks that were currently blushing.

“Look guys, it’s not what you think…” Littlefoot began.

“Uh, uh!” Cera started to tease them. “Littlefoot and Ali sitting under a tree!” She sang.

“Stop it!” Littlefoot yelled, interrupting the song Cera was taunting singing.  He let out a disapproved sigh as he turned away from his friends. “I… I have to go!” He said as he left just to get out of getting teased by his friends.

Cera cocked an eyebrow. “What’s his problem?” Cera looked at the others and Ducky, Petrie, Ruby and Chomper all shrugged their shoulders while Spike mumbled something that was probably the equivalent of “I don’t know”.  She then noticed someone was missing. “Hey, where’d Ali and Ret go?”  Everyone looked around and couldn’t see them anywhere.  Cera sighed. “Come on, let’s go and find them!” Cera then led the way, making sure Tricia wasn’t far behind, as they all began to search for their friends.

Unknown to them, all three longnecks had taken off in different directions.  They all wanted to get away to contemplate their thoughts on the event that recently happened.  Littlefoot had to figure out what was going on.  He knew it was a complete accident and yet, a part of him couldn’t help but think that he wanted to do that all along.  Ali was a great friend and all, but since they had first met, he had felt something different about her.  He couldn’t figure out what was going on.  He even didn’t understand why he felt so indifferent when she returned and introduced Ret to them.  Then again, there was a pain in his chest he couldn’t understand.  He couldn’t figure out anything.  All he knew was that his grandparents might have an answer, and that’s where he would head over soon.  Right now, he was trying to figure out how to tell them.  He was currently sitting on a grassy field, trying to contemplate how to approach it all.

Meanwhile, Ali had sneaked away from her friends while they were busy teasing Littlefoot.  Ali felt sorry for her long-term friend, but she was too embarrassed by the current circumstances to help him when he needed her the most.  There was more of a complicated problem going on than her friends thought.  She had developed feelings for not one, but two males of her species.  Littlefoot had been in her heart for the longest time.  For a while, she had fantasies of when they were older and had kids of their own.  It was quite normal at her age to be feeling that way, despite having her whole childhood ahead of her.  However, as time went on, she missed him more and more.  Her feelings for him only got stronger.  She knew that she would return to The Great Valley someday and tell him exactly how she felt… or so she thought.  She had soon met Ret.  He did tell lies to try and make Ali like him, but the truth was that she had other reasons to like him.  The reasons she liked him were her own.  She couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, she just seemed attracted to him.  She tried to find other reasons to like him besides his looks, but she really couldn’t find anything else.  Yet, that didn’t stop her feelings from only getting stronger.  In time, she had almost forgotten her feelings for Littlefoot because of Ret.  Now that this accidental kiss had just somehow happened, her long-forgotten feelings for him had returned.  It had suddenly put her in a conflict with her own heart.  Could her heart love two, or was it quite true that there was only room for one?  She was so conflicted by it all that she collapsed onto the ground and went into deep thought.

As for Ret, the very moment he saw the kiss, he was completely heartbroken.  He was completely sure that the kiss had sealed everything and that Ali would choose Littlefoot over him.  As a result, he ran off before anyone could find out.  He was so attracted to her because of how beautiful she looked to him.  He couldn’t help but fall in love with her.  He wanted to tell her the truth, but was unsure as to whether or not she would love him back.  However, he now believed that the kiss between Littlefoot and Ali had all but ended it for a possible loving relationship with her.  He soon sat down and started going into a state of depression.

Unknown to each of the three longnecks, Littlefoot, Ali and Ret all let out a saddened sigh and said at the exact same time, “What am I going to do?”

---End Chapter 8---
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Well, I hope you enjoyed that.

Next one will be up in March.

See ya later! ^_^

[lbt/cty_lover]

I am liking the story.

However, the kissing scene was the mental equivalent of a bullet going through my head.

The "'What am I going to do?'" thing is like the movies.

[The Great Valley Guardian]

That was the longest chapter I've read so far...and I liked it alot. The accidental kissing scene was kinda expected at some point, but it far surpassed my expectations. I look forward to the next chapter in March!

[The Chronicler]

An excellent chapter, I can't wait to see what happens next.

[kjeldo]

its not a fanfic anymore... its a legend!

[lbt/cty_lover]

its not a fanfic anymore... its a legend!

Agreed. This is awesome. But the kissing thing still haunts my dreams.

[Kor]

Yes, the kissing would have happened sooner or later.  Likely was as much of a surprise to the readers as to them.  Maybe expecting it to occur a bit later or something.

[pokeplayer984]

I am terribly sorry, but due to certian circumstances, I was not able to finish the chapter by now and as such, it must be delayed.

Once again, sorry for the inconvenience. -_-

[The Chronicler]

No hurry, take your time. I never realized how long it could take to actually write a fanfic until I tried it myself. I started writing in late January and I've finished chapter 11 last Saturday. I thought I would have reached that point before this month. I guess it takes more time to write a story than to read it (surprise surprise : ).

[pokeplayer984]

Ugh!  After a whole month delay, it is finally finished.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 9

The Truth of Hidden Feelings

It was a while before Littlefoot finally got his thoughts together and went to his grandparents for advice.  He knew they would definitely know quite a bit about the subject he was going to approach them with and be able to give him the information he needed to handle the situation he was in.  He soon found his grandparents at one of the many lakes within The Great Valley, having a drink to quench their thirst.

He approached them. “Um, Grandma, Grandpa…” Hearing their grandchild, the two old longnecks raised heads out of the water and looked at him. “I need to talk to you about something.”

The two old longnecks could see the solemn look within his eyes that couldn’t be hidden. “What’s wrong, little one?” His Grandma asked in a concerned manner.

Littlefoot knew they could tell when something was bothering him.  There was just no hiding it.  With a sigh to relax himself, he told them everything.

“Well, me and my friends were playing Hide ën Seek and Ali and Cera were ëit’.  I was hiding within a bush and Ali had come near where I was hiding.  I backed away a bit to try and hide better and hit a prickly plant.”

“Are you okay, little one?” His Grandma asked in concern, interrupting him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He answered.

“Then please continue.” His Grandpa instructed.

Littlefoot took a deep breath before continuing. “Anyways, the pain that I felt made me jump forward and out of the bush.  Then, when I landed, my lips were suddenly around Ali’s.”

“So, you’re saying that you accidentally kissed Ali.” Grandma summarized.

“Yeah,” he confirmed with a slight nod, feeling a little embarrassed. “But, the thing is, I really liked the kiss.  A part of me didn’t want to separate my lips from hers.  It felt different from when Spike gave me a friendly lick or you guys kiss me.  Is it wrong for me to feel this way about it?”

The two elder longnecks smiled at one another and let out a chuckle.  Seeing his grandparents laugh, Littlefoot was confused.  The old longnecks soon got their laughter under control and resumed their conversation.

“Oh, Littlefoot!  It’s very natural to feel that way about a kiss.” Grandpa said.

“Especially, when you are in love with the one you kiss.” Grandma confirmed.

Littlefoot was shocked by the revelation. “Love?” He then lowered his head in sadness. “Oh no!  My friends were right!”

His grandparents looked at him in greater concern. “Is something wrong, Littlefoot?” His grandpa asked.

“It’s just that, when I had kissed her, my friends teased both me and Ali about it and sang ëthe song’.”

Having heard “the love song” themselves, his grandparents knew exactly what he meant. “We understand, Littlefoot.” His grandma said with deep respect.

At this point, Littlefoot just wanted to get this whole conversation over with. “So, what can I do about it all?” He asked.

“Well, there’s not much you can do about it.  Love is something that is unavoidable in life.” His grandpa started.

“However, it is one of the greatest things you can have in life.  You should feel grateful that you have it at such a level that you do at a young age.” His grandma continued.

“So, should I tell Ali how I really feel?” Littlefoot questioned.

“Well, that is your decision in the end.” His grandpa answered.

“However, understand that the heart is just as fragile as it is strong.  If she rejects you, you’ll more than likely be hurt by it for a while.” His grandma furthered.

At this point, Littlefoot became worried about it all and his face definitely showed it.  His grandma lowered her head and gave him a comforting rub.

“The only real advice we can give you is to tell her when the time is right.” His grandma said.

“How will I know?” He asked.

“Your heart will tell you.” His grandpa confirmed.

He let out a final sigh. “Thanks!” He then left. “Bye!” He said unenthusiastically as he left.

The two elders silently watched their grandchild leave.  When he was out of earshot, Grandpa turned to Grandma. “Think we’ll see any great-grandchildren out of those two soon?” He asked her.

Grandma let out a light chuckle. “We can only hope.” She said.

The two chuckled together and gave one another a loving rub as they began to think of the possible future that was ahead.

Meanwhile, Ali was still contemplating everything that had been happening lately.  In her current situation, there was little she could do about it all.  The sad thing of it all was that she loved both Littlefoot and Ret.  However, she knew in the end that she could only choose one of them, or at least that was what her mother had taught her.  She was quite unsure of which one to choose.  She was even unsure how she could choose between them.  She was just lost in it all.

A little further away, an elderly dinosaur that was known as a thicknose by the residents of The Great Valley was enjoying one of his usual brisk walks through the area.  He just usually looked around and enjoyed the vastness that nature had to offer.  However, he soon spotted a small longneck.  He got a little curious as to why such a young creature would be all alone.  He started walking towards the longneck and he soon noticed it to be the young female that had been at the meeting earlier that day, who was separated from her herd.  He got closer and noticed the sad look upon her face.  He stopped right in front of her, and having noticed that she really wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, started to talk to her.

“Excuse me, Miss,” he began, getting her attention. “Aren’t you Ali, the one who is staying in the valley until her herd returns?” He questioned.

“Yes,” answered Ali, “and you are…”

He bowed his head at her. “Forgive me.  I am Mr. Thicknose.  I am known to be the most knowledgeable dinosaur in the whole valley.”

This revelation seemed to peak Ali’s interest. “Well, if you are as knowledgeable as you say you are, then maybe you can help me with my problem.” She offered.

“Perhaps.  Just tell me what is wrong.” He said in a calm manner, which seemed to ease the tension that Ali was currently receiving.

She took a deep breath to calm herself further and so that it would be easier to tell a complete stranger what the problem was. “I’m in love with two longnecks and…” At that point, she was cut off by Mr. Thicknose.

“You can’t choose just one, can you?” He guessed, though he was sure he was correct.

Ali was shocked that he figured it out so easily, but answered his question in a rather calm manner. “No, I can’t!” She stated in a gloomy tone. “I’ve loved Littlefoot for the longest time and Ret has been so caring while I’ve been away from the Valley and I fell for him too.  How can I choose just one?” She questioned.

“What does your heart tell you?” He asked.

“I’m not receiving an answer from that because it is so conflicted.”

“I understand.”

“In all truth, Mr. Thicknose, my mom knows about this problem I’m having and is rather upset at me.  She’s demanding that I choose just one.  I want to respect her, but it is so hard to choose.  Why is she making me choose just one?”

“I cannot exactly say, but I think I might have a basic idea.  Ali, have you ever heard about spirits and a time after death?”

Ali thought about it for a minute. “I’ve heard of a few things about it all.” She answered truthfully.

“Well, there are those who believe that there is someone out there that you are meant to be with for your entire life, to love and care for, to have children with and to be with even after death.  This one is what many refer to as a ësoul mate’.”

“You really think that is what my mother is so concerned about?  That I’ll never find my soul mate?”

“That is my best guess.”

“But I’m just a kid!  I’m not ready for something like what you described to me.”

Mr. Thicknose smiled at the maturity she was showing, despite being so young. “And no one should tell you otherwise.  It is your choice in the end with whomever it is you choose as your soul mate.  Always remember that.” Figuring she understood, Mr. Thicknose turned and walked away from her.

Ali called out to him. “Hey, one last question,” she said, getting the elderly dinosaur’s attention. “How will I know who my soul mate is?” She asked.

He continued to smile at her. “You’ll just know.” He told her, leaving Ali to think further.

As Ali pondered her thoughts, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Tricia, Ruby and Chomper were busy searching for their friends that had run off earlier.  Chomper was the one leading the group, using his nose to track the three longnecks.  Ducky was currently riding on Spike like she did most of the time.  Her small amount of weight made it easy on the spiketail, so he hardly minded it.  Petrie had gotten tired of flying around during the search and was currently resting on Cera.  She didn’t mind the extra weight.  In all truth, she could barely feel the little flyer on top of her.  She was more concerned about finding her friends, especially Littlefoot.  Cera was worried that her teasing might’ve gone too far and that he was mad at her.  If that was such the case, she knew she had to apologize to save their friendship.  Even if he wasn’t mad, Cera was still going to apologize to him in the end.

Seeing as how Cera was preoccupied with her thoughts, Ruby took it upon herself to keep an eye on Tricia, who was currently snuggled up fast asleep in the fast-runner’s arms.  Looking down at the small pink bundle in her arms made her smile.  This little experience seemed to also make Ruby think about her family that she had to leave behind.  It was her duty to find a way to stop the sharptooth that was currently terrorizing everyone, as well as other sharpteeth, in the Mysterious Beyond.  It was hard for her to adjust.  Sure it was great having all of the amazing adventures she did with her friends, but she missed her family so very much.  However, as much as she missed them, she knew she would return to them someday.  For now, she had to focus on the mission of finding the longneck trio that was missing.

It wasn’t long until Chomper came up to a bush.  He noticed it and started rummaging through the shrubbery.  He soon was able to part it and allow himself through.  Cera walked easily through it by uprooting it with her horn.  Spike, not wanting the food to go to waste, started eating the green food the plant provided.  Ducky sighed at the sudden sidetracking due to her brother’s gluttony.  Finally, Ruby came through the brand new opening, still holding a sleeping Tricia.

Chomper stopped, which made everyone bump right into him, coming into an abrupt halt, Spike hitting them last due to his earlier side-tracking.

Cera was very annoyed by this. “Chomper, why did you stop?” She asked, feeling rather irritated.

“Look!” Chomper said, pointing straight ahead.

Right in front of the group was Ret.  He had a look of sadness upon his face and didn’t seem to be paying any attention whatsoever to the group that had just found him.  The group approached him and, noticing the look on his face, decided to find out what was going on.

“Hey, Ret.  Why you leave?” Petrie questioned.  Ret didn’t answer, even though he heard them.

“Yeah, I mean, Littlefoot and Ali I could understand, but why did you?” Cera asked.

“What is going on, what is?” Ducky asked.

“What is going on with you that is going on with you?” Ruby questioned.

Knowing they weren’t going to stop asking, Ret sighed and turned to them. “Do you think Littlefoot is the only one in love with Ali?  Truth is, so am I.”

The entire group was shocked by this sudden revelation.  Not a single one of them knew what to say, because the only thing on their minds at this point was just how big of a dilemma this was.

---End Chapter 9---
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Hope you enjoyed that.

Please review.

Next one in June.

See ya then!

[Kor]

It was an interesting read and a  dilemma  that would likely occur sooner or later.  The characters seem like the ones we know, and for a plus there is not magic or such.

[kjeldo]

ah finally, just what i need, a good new chapter of a good new story!

[Cancerian Tiger]

Looking good, PokePlayer !  Boy, Ali is in such a pickle at this time .  I definitely like Littlefoot better.  That Rhette character is, in my opinion, trouble <_<.  BTW, please be sure Cera apologizes to Littlefoot in the next chap.  It's a relief when a conflict is resolved, especially between those two.  They're such inseperable best friends :  !

[The Chronicler]

Another great chapter! Good work!

Hey, I was wondering if you were going to update this story on fanfiction.net. If I remember correctly, you only have the first four chapters of this story there.

[The Great Valley Guardian]

Now that is one mighty shock to their systems. I do wonder what Ali and Littlefoot will do with their new found knowledge? Well I guess only time will tell. I await the next chapter.

[pokeplayer984]

Hey, I was wondering if you were going to update this story on fanfiction.net. If I remember correctly, you only have the first four chapters of this story there.

There are currently a few problems with the editing area, and until I can find a way around them, there will be NO updating at fanfiction.net.  I just can't stand EVERYTHING getting "centered" on me, and this is becoming quite a hassel.  So for now, please blame the site creator over there.  It's not my fault he has a little bug. :

[landbeforetimelover]

I am so far behind. I don't even remember what chapter I was on.  I'll wait until there's an update at FF.net and then I'll read everything again.