Well guys, this is it. The last chapter of the story. This took quite a long time to finish and Rhombus and I can safely we're a little relieved it's over haha.

As a final word, I understand a few of our readers were not very satisfied with the outcome or the story itself. When my co-author and I set out to write this, there was a certain theme I wanted to follow I thought could ensure this fic stood out on its own. For some of you, it did not and that's okay. We all have different opinions and critiques on things and that's what this site is for. It also helps us to become better writers. For those who did like it, I'm happy you did.

So a final thank you to all of our readers for going along this journey with us. I hope the epilogue to this roller coaster is satisfying to you.

Lastly, I should say that this is my last LBT story for awhile. My current focus is on other fandoms, other ideas, but I may revisit it in the future. It's time for a break, but I will never rule out a return. The ideas are always churning in my brain haha.

Anyway, thank you all.

Epilogue: A Wish Granted, A Promise Fulfilled

Stories teach us empathy. They reveal to us ourselves in the skins of others. ~Justin Simien

The green fastbiter ended his story with a pleased tail-smile as he finally opened his eyes to look down at the enthralled hodgepodge of leaf-eaters in front of him. For a moment he could imagine that these were his friends from so long ago… the ones who used to chase until, in the end, they helped him find himself.

But he knew exactly who these children actually were.

"So your mother finally decided to see what old Chomper and I were up to eh?" Thud asked the purple fastrunner with a smirk. "I haven't seen her until she ran off with that male that she said that I couldn't eat!"

Devon, for his part, stared at him in horror.

"I hope he is well too…" Thud snorted.

"Soooo...what was the point of the story again?" the female longneck asked rather pointedly.

"Sauria, did you listen to anything he said?" her brown colored brother said rolling his eyes.

"I haven't been here as long as you have," she sassed back, sticking out her tongue. "Besides, I had to make sure he wasn't going to make a snack out of you."

The green fast biter raised a brow.

"You're rather abrasive for a longneck."

"What's that mean?"

"It means there's a reason you and Bambo get along so well," Tumble remarked, leading the two swimmer twins, Sally and Ana, to start giggling.

"Don't you two start!"

"We didn't say anything," the two chorused together with a not so innocent look.

"Must I play peace maker, yet again?" Devon sighed.

"You might have to," the young threehorn snorted. "Honestly, we can't go five minutes without arguing."

"More like three," said the slow voice of Brian the spiketail. "I've observed you all enough times to know."

"So like the valley adults…"

Upon hearing the booming voice several of the children took refuge behind the green fastbiter's back, unaware of the irony of that action in the terror of the moment. Only the flyer stayed where it was though she looked like she could take flight at any moment. All the while the steady booming sound of footsteps could be heard in the night, unimpeded by anything in its path. It did not take long for the shadow of a massive two-footer to descend across the light of the Night Circle like a coming eclipse.

The sharptooth sniffed the air. "Have you been scaring the little ones, Thud? I do not want to be rammed by a threehorn again." The voice was deep but surprisingly without malice. And, much to the surprise of the children, it was in their language.

It was Sally who finally put it together. "Chomper?"

"The one and only," the enormous Tyrannosaurus said with a toothy grin that still did not completely ease the fear felt by the rest of the children.

"So wait a minute…" Pterry said, shaking her head. "If you're Chomper and you're Thud. Then does that mean that the rest of the sharpteeth in that story were our parents?"

The massive tyrannosaurus nodded. "Mhm…" his voice came out like a rolling burst of thunder. "The story is too crazy to make up."

"Just like the characters in it," Thud mocked.

"Watch it, tail-chaser!" Chomper teased with a mock chomp in his general direction. "So all of you children mind as well as your parents then? Or did they send you all to hear a story from Thud here?"

"It sort of happened by accident," Tumble admitted, slightly embarrassed. "I snuck off to find some sweet bubbles and he sort of found me. I didn't know he would turn out to be friendly, so I ran…"

He paused.

"You are friendly, right?"

Thud rolled his eyes. "You're still talking, aren't you?"

"And what about the rest of you younglings?" Chomper asked with an almost paternal diction to his words. "Did you also have the urge to munch on sweet bubbles despite your parents' instructions?"

"Please," the female longneck said, sticking her neck out loftily. "I was just trying to find my brother before mom and dad found out he was gone and grounded him again."

"And I suppose the rest of these random assortment of dinosaurs just happened to find you as well?" Thud said, catching the youngling in an obvious fib.

The young female didn't respond, but blushed in response knowing her so called noble intentions were merely a cover.

"Busted, Sauria," Bambo said with a grin.

"Shut up!"

"Well, I am not sure about this." Brian questioned as he took on a ponderous expression, "If our parents went through this, why have we not heard this story until now?"

Without warning, loud footsteps could be heard in the background and they were quite familiar to the young dinosaurs who heard them.

"Now that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Tumble looked at his sister, who gulped in response.

"Speaking of which, would you also mind telling what you two are doing out of the nest this late at night?"

"I would like to know that as well...Bambo," spoke a large orange threehorn.

"As would I."

It seemed that everyone's parents had shown up to what was becoming quite the gathering. An average passerby would have had to blink more than a few times to take in the fact there were longnecks, threehorns, swimmers, fliers, spiketails, fastrunners, fastbiters, and a giant purple sharptooth all within a semicircle.

Immediately the children started to think of half thought of excuses.

"Well you see-"

"We were just-"

"It's the funniest story-"

"It is quite the story," cut in the voice of Thud who stepped forward with a grin. "Though you might not approve of all the details."

He bowed low to indicate his respect for the leaf eater families on their ground.

"My apologies Littlefoot, I didn't mean to occupy your young ones in the late hours. I found your son and thought it would be best to catch his attention with a tale as it would have been unwise for me to escort him back to you in the middle of the night. Some of your fellow residents might have found that...unsettling to say the least."

The adult brown longneck gave a hearty laugh, and whatever confusion or tension there was immediately evaporated.

"No apology needed, Thud. We were hoping to save this little surprise until tomorrow evening but clearly my adventurous son had other ideas."

"I wasn't exactly looking to find a fast biter and a sharptooth on purpose, Dad," Tumble murmured, embarrassed.

"You weren't supposed to be searching for anything at all, young one," the voice of his mother lightly scolded.

"Which is why I tried to find him and prevent him from-"

"Don't you start, Sauria. Your older brother certainly doesn't need any lecturing from you. I have a feeling you were adventuring just the same as he was."

Thud could only look on in amusement at the longneck family and Chomper gave a deep chuckle of his own.

"Tree sweet didn't fall far, did it?"

"No, it certainly did not," Thud laughed.

"Indeed, these two are a throwback to old memories sometimes," Littlefoot said, pressing a foot in between his children to stop their bickering. "I don't believe either of you have had the opportunity to meet my wife, Lily."

Thud took a hesitant step forward before offering her a bow of greeting. For his part Chomper offered her a nod.

"We had the pleasure of hearing of your mating from Petrie," Chomper nodded at the flyer in the distance, "But we did not think a trip to the valley would have been wise. We might have met up with Cera's mate then!" He added the last bit with some good humor.

"We were wondering when you were going to notice us," said a sarcastic but teasing tone. "It's good to see you Chomper, Thud."

"You as well, Cera. And Ruby, Ducky and Spike as well."

The adult swimmer and spiketail gave their pleasantries before Bambo interjected.

"Mom, Dad, you really know these guys? The story is true?"

Cera, along with her husband, didn't look entirely sure on how to handle this question. There were only a handful among the Valley who still held recollection of that particular tale, and they had all agreed not to incorporate it into the oral tradition due to its controversy. Better to let it fade into legend, but then again what did one do when you were that legend.

"Yes, the story is true." Ruby's pink form affirmed, "But this is not a true story to be shared with the valley."

A series of 'aww's greeted her affirmation.

"...but it is something to be passed on in our families. We must never forget what was learned here," Littlefoot added with an approving nod from the pink fastrunner, "And never forget our friends."

"And above all, don't forget the lessons that they teach," Ducky said softly. "Just because they are sharpteeth does not mean they are bad or evil. You will never walk in their footsteps and see how they must live every day."

Spike gave a grunt along with an affirming nod, eyeing his son carefully but gave a smile just the same, which Brian returned.

A flyer yawned on a nearby tree. "Well, I can let everyone know when it is safe to meet tomorrow. And you, daughter, know not to fly at night! We not night flyers!"

"Aww… dad…" was all the little flyer said in response before reluctantly nodding.

"He still sounds like his old self when he's trying to be a disciplinarian," Cera joked, nudging Littlefoot, who gave her a wide smile in return. They would never know what they had gone through, no story could fully do that justice. But their children didn't need to know the messy details, just the lesson itself. That was enough.

"Your father is right, young one," Littlefoot agreed. "It's late. We must return to the Valley to rest while the night is still young."

There was a reluctant murmur among their children, but they did not argue as most were now starting to feel rather sleepy themselves as the adrenaline rush from the excitement wore off.

"Come now," Lily said in a motherly tone. "Time to sleep, children. And no adventuring tomorrow."

"Awwww….."

The gang of five looked at each other knowingly, and Littlefoot even gave a small wink to Cera, who returned it, their bond as strong as ever. As parents, they could not condone or even openly encourage dangerous behavior. They could, however, let their children explore as need be just as they once had themselves. There was no sense in suppressing the wondrous curiosity that lay in all young dinosaurs. In time, they would learn the same life lessons their parents and grandparents had once taught them.

"OW! Hey, Sauria! Don't whack me in the head you know I hate that!"

"You're imagining things!"

"Quiet, both of you. You are not to even come near the border of the Beyond for a week. Is that understood?"

Littlefoot silently laughed. He loved his children and Lily would always attempt to be the disciplined one. But there was no denying the life inside of them both. There was a time to punish and a time to let go…

The group made their way back towards the Valley entrance, but not before Littlefoot stopped and turned around one more time.

Chomper and Thud stood in the darkness with only the light of the night circle to outline their shapes, but he could tell they were smiling. Despite the darkness and the danger of their days among the sharpteeth, in the end, it had only strengthened their bond. There was an understanding that had not existed before.

"A wish granted. A promise fulfilled."

The response was short but simple and true.

"As it will always be, my friend."

Littlefoot nodded, turned and went to rejoin his wife and family, unbridled joy and peace filling his massive body knowing he had all the love and care one could ask for. He would never underestimate that again as long as he lived.

Thank you, Thud. Thank you, Chomper.

Thud watched the longneck depart with a a mixture of joy and anticipation. Tomorrow they would meet again and have a proper reunion with the sharpteeth-who-once-were, but regardless of what distance separated them at other times they would always have their bond and the memories that would not fade.

"You going to keep hiding, Bluehide? I think you successfully evaded detection."

Chomper looked confused for a moment until he saw Thud looking intently at a bush. Then, as if embarrassed, a blue fastbiter emerged from the foliage.

Thud smiled. "A bit shy around the other children?"

Bluehide looked take aback. "No! I just… um…"

Thud cocked his head back in a 'come here' gesture as his son jumped on his back. As the two departed Chomper could hear the words trail off.

"Now, I will tell mom that you were practicing your evasion with me, but you have to promise to not be shy tomorrow. I think you might like that one longneck. She reminds me of a two-footer I once knew…"

The purple sharptooth inwardly smiled at this show of family love and companionship. More so than that, tonight had shown that while nature dictated they must spend most of their lives apart, they were never truly gone from each other's hearts. From the moment he broke free from his egg, to the days of leading his pack through every peril and pitfall, to the final peaceful conclusion...there was no forgetting that. Something like that, sealed you as closer than family.

Though I hunt alone, you are always with me, my friends. You know the same struggle. You know the same love. That's what really counts after all. Not what we eat, but who we are.

Chomper bid the night circle farewell as he lumbered off quietly to find a resting spot to sleep. He would need it. For tomorrow would bring another chapter of the story that would never truly end.

The End