Always Together

That evening, after the rest of the family returned from the lake, Aylene spent as much time with them as possible. Derek had kept his promise and got his little sister a puna-shell necklace. It was green in the shape of a starfish.

One thing that Aylene was very relieved about was that her parents didn't ask too many questions about what happened earlier. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy a nice, quiet evening with everyone.

And a nice game of Scrabble to end the night was great for laughs, especially with her grandmother's hot chocolate.

It was truly wonderful to be home.

Soon, the time came for everyone to sleep.

Aylene tiredly made her way upstairs and back to her room. As she changed into her pajamas, she wondered how her friends were enjoying their first night in their new home. She hoped they were enjoying it. They certainly deserved it.

Finally, Aylene crawled into bed and pulled the covers over herself, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

Aylene looked around and saw that she was standing in the Great Valley in the middle of the stars shown brightly in sky and the moon gave off its beautiful radiance.

Just in front of Aylene, a large shape began to take form. It arched its long neck down until its face was directly in front of her. As it took on full form, the girl stared in wonder.

Littlefoot's mother!

The translucent Apatosaurus looked at Aylene with eyes filled with gratitude. She smiled and nuzzled the girl.

Aylene returned the gesture by petting her snout.

The female longneck slowly pulled away and looked at Aylene once more.

"Thank you for saving my son," she said graciously.

Aylene smiled and nodded.

Then, almost as quickly as she come, Littlefoot's mother gently faded away in the breath of the wind.

In the Great Valley, Littlefoot gazed up at the night sky.

He smiled softly as the stars' luminous glow reminded him that he was safe in his new home. He looked over at his sleeping grandparents and felt happiness grow in his heart. He was back with his family once again.

Although Aylene had left, he couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the end. It was as if a small whisper was telling him that he would see her again. As for when, he didn't know. All he could do was hope that someday she would return.

"I hope it's soon," he whispered as he laid down his head and drifted off to sleep.

When the week came to an end, Aylene's family left her grandparents' house and drove back home.

As Aylene watched the landscape fly across her window, she replayed the memories of her adventure over and over in her head. Even now, she still had a hard time believe that she really went to another world. And even more amazed she made it back alive.

One thing was for sure though, she had finally had a special place she could call her own, and she couldn't wait to go back.

As the thought of this, a faint glow down in the corner of the window caught her attention. She realized it was part of her reflection. She looked down and saw that the Time Stone around her neck was starting to glow again. She smiled to herself and clasped the Stone with her right hand.

She knew what she was doing when she got home.

Five hours later, the car pulled up into the driveway.

Aylene quickly helped carry the luggage in before grabbing her suitcase and archery equipment. She hastily got to her room and immediately unzipped the suitcase. She rummaged through it and pulled out her green two-piece swimsuit, black gym shorts, and navy-blue sandals.

After she laid those things out, she grabbed her gym bag and made her way to the kitchen. She filled up a large water bottles, grabbed a small handful of granola bars, a few packets of peanuts, a couple of selected spices out of the cupboard, and threw them into her gym bag.

After that, she went to the laundry room and found a large beach towel in a cupboard above dryer. She rolled it up and stuck it in the gym bag. She then went back to her room, closed the door, pulled out a drawer of her desk, grabbed her swiss army knife, and stuffed it into her bag.

She opened her archery case and pulled out her bow and quiver, which was completely restocked with homemade arrows.

She quickly changed into swimsuit, shorts, and sandals. She then strapped on her quiver, threw her bag over her shoulders, put two black hair elastics on her left wrist, and put her bow over her shoulder.

She was ready.

She held up her Time Stone and said in a clear voice, "Portal Open!"

A stream of light emerged from the stone and the rift opened up.

Without hesitation, Aylene leapt through and the portal closed behind her with a small snap.

The warm sun sparked through the trees and the sweet smell of flowers and grass swept all around her, as to welcome her back to this world.

She was back in the Great Valley.

Back in the Land Before Time.

"Now, where are they?" Aylene said out loud, looking around for any sign of her friends.

Then, she saw Littlefoot. Standing on a small hill with his back towards her.

"LITTLEFOOT!"

The long-neck looked back in surprise as he heard his name called out by a familiar voice. He turned around and surprised happiness filled his soul.

"AYLENE!"

The two friends immediately ran to meet each other.

Aylene wrapped her arms around Littlefoot's neck and he rubbed his face against her soft hair.

"Aylene! How'd you get here? I thought you went home!"

"I did!" the human explained. "But it turns out that my grandmother came here before me! She told me how to use the Time Stone! Now I can come here whenever I want!"

The two friends embraced each other again, happy to be reunited.

"Littlefoot!" Cera's voice came from over the hill.

At the sound of their friends, Littlefoot and Aylene sprinted up the hill. The other soon joined them. Joyful laughter overflowed from the group as they welcomed their human friend back.

"I knew you'd come back!" Ducky cheerfully said. "Yep, yep, yep!"

"Me glad you back, me miss you!" Petrie responded happily.

"I missed you guys, too!" Aylene laughed as Spike licked her check.

"Welcome back, Aylene!" Cera nuzzled Aylene's face.

They all huddled together in a group hug.

Littlefoot smiled. "Now we'll always be together."

Their herd was once again complete. Their journey was at an end. But deep in their souls, they knew this was only the beginning. There were still more adventures out there waiting for them.

In the Great Valley.

And in the Land Before Time.

THE END

Well, that's it! Land Before Time Retold is now complete!

However, this story is not over yet. "The Great Valley Adventure Retold" is coming up. Don't miss the next adventure of the next "Land Before Time Retold" series!

I want to thank all of you for your views, comments, and feedback. I really appreciate your support and responses.

Special thanks to Wen Bin Li for helping me with the edits. Makes the story look so much better. And to MaggiesHeartLove for creating such a beautiful cover.

And again, thank you all so much for reading my story. I hope to bring you more entertainment in the future.

Have a Good Day!