"But I'm sure it was over here," Littlefoot said.
"You just led us the wrong way!" Cera replied.
"No, Littlefoot is right. This is where that land path used to be," Chomper spoke up.
"What!?" they all cried.
"But don't worry. I have a plan," Chomper said proudly.
"You mean that you knew it was gone and didn't tell us?" Cera asked angrily.
"There was no need to worry you guys since I have it figured out. Just log ride to the other side. I do it all the time."
Everyone gasped, remembering what happened the last time they tried that.
"You mean, you have log rideded to the other side?" Ducky asked.
"Not to the other side. I just meant that I log ride in general all the time, but not all the way across. But it's really easy. I go a little ways from shore then head back. No problem."
"There is a problem if you go out far enough! There are some swimming sharpteeth out there that aren't as nice as the others here," Cera informed him.
"What!?" he cried. He asked his mother about that since she had come to see them off.
"Not just a few right now. Lately, the water has been very rough and I see more sharptooth swimmers out there than usual," Terri replied.
Everyone was in shock after the translation. "Does anyone know where Elsie is?" Littlefoot asked hopefully.
"She's far away right now," Chomper said quietly.
"So, we're stuck here?" Cera asked in disbelief.
"We can always wait for a new land path to form," Chomper suggested. (This is common for places like this. The internet said how land bridges form and for this time period it is even more likely.)
"How can that happen?" Cera demanded.
"You didn't know?" Chomper asked surprised. "The land path you used the first time was destroyed, remember? This is actually the fourth one to show up somewhere on this island since you left."
"Phew," Littlefoot said, relieved. "How long do they normally take?" he asked.
"There is no normality for this. They could show up at any time. Three days apart or three hundred. There is no way to tell," Terri roared to Chomper after he had roared Littlefoot's question to her. Chomper then translated back for the others. There was a deadly silence. "We could be here the rest of our lives!" Cera screamed.
"Don't worry, Cera. New ones always show up and they can be fairly close together. Elsie told me that she will come back to visit soon anyway, so even if a land path takes awhile, you can count on her," Chomper told them.
They started to relax until Littlefoot exclaimed, "Our families won't know what happened to us and will be worried sick!"
Chomper asked his mom who smiled. "No worries there, kids. I know a flyer here who will be happy to deliver a message to the Great Valley, as long as they don't run him off since he's a sharptooth. But I suppose he could just yell at them from above," Terri replied.
Chomper told the others who were even more relaxed. "But we not suppose to be here! Grown-ups kill us when we get back!" Petrie whined.
Cera had an idea. She described Ecco, who was covering for them, and said to have the flyer find and tell only him. "He is so clever with words he can help them relax."
"You want Ecco to lie to our families?" Littlefoot asked, appalled.
Cera smiled. "You know Ecco. He can be honest and hide the truth at the same time. He can stall for us."
"I don't know..." Littlefoot trailed off.
"If your grandparents hear that you are stuck on an island full of sharpteeth, they'll die from shock. This will be your way to protect them," Cera answered cleverly.
"When you put it like that... Okay. Do it," Littlefoot agreed.
Chomper translated and Terri nodded. "Since you will all be here at the very least tonight, and since we still have some daylight left, I know the perfect thing to do to make you all relax and forget about this for now. I think you'll enjoy it," She replied with a smile, then added, "If you are going to stay though, some of you should help clean up the mess." When Chomper told them, they had no idea what she had in mind, but they were stuck here and they might as well enjoy that last bit of Chomper's Star Day, even if some of them had to do a few chores. So they nodded and went back with Terri to do this "relaxing" thing, whatever it was.
Flashback to a bit before Rita went to where the land bridge was to hear how Chomper proposed to get them across:
"How did you like today?" Chomper asked Rita.
"Being with you and your family and friends all day on your Star Day turned out to be the best day ever for me," she replied with a deep smile.
Chomper smiled too, more happy from her words than she could have imagined. "Thank you, star," he whispered.
"That's right!" Rita exclaimed, remembering. "Your wish must have come true, right? Now will you tell me what it was?"
"I wished- that you would have as good a time today as I would. And after what you said, I know it came true."
Rita had never been more touched in her life. She started crying again in front of Chomper but wasn't embarrased this time. These were tears from her heart being touched warmly by the one she loved. She couldn't be ashamed of tears from that. She embraced Chomper, who held her in his arms, and they were now closer than they had ever had been.
