The great circle of life. Some talk of it as a metaphor. Some say it is the sun herself. Some even worship it as a almighty god, one that controls everything. Whatever existential view one may have, one thing remains universal. - The sun is necessary for all life. - Even when one does not know the workings of cosmos, or even that there are any of the sorts, the sun is both a life-bringer and a potential danger to all that flourishes throughout the land which it touches. It is a truth that every living creature has to accept, even in a land of dinosaurs, even in a land before time.
The beams of the sun cut through the gray clouds in the sky, creating twilight. Here it seemed as if the great circle had a special plan for the land. - The ground laid barren. The trees had almost lost all of their green. The rivers were murky, some dried away.
In these lands the great circle had decided that it was survival of the fittest. When the plant eaters searched for greener lands they left the meat eaters in fear of starvation. - When the meat eaters prayed upon the plant eaters it left them in fear of being hunted. In these lands, fear was the greatest tool one could have.
The great circle of life. Some think of it as a metaphor, some consider it to be the sun herself. A longneck female silhouetted against it as she gazed into its guiding light. She closed her eyes. She let the words run through her head again.
Follow the great circle until you reach the mountain that is shaped like a longneck and pass the mountain that burn.
It had to be there. It simply had to, or else, it would all have been for nothing. All the wandering, the gathering of the remaining green, the hatching of the young.
The longneck heard footstep behind her, followed by a voice.
“Is everything alright, my dear?”
Bron! The name roared inside the longnecks’ head, but of course she recognized it was the voice of her father, not her mate. Still, Mother Longneck felt a smile form across her face. She never got tired of hearing his kind tone.
“We should move on.” She urged.
“We could take a rest if you want to. We can always play with your son.”
It took almost ten seconds for Mother Longneck of turn her neck around and face her father. Behind him she saw her mother approach with her son. He was the only longneck child born in a long while, their last hope for the future.
Mother Longneck smirked. “I’m fine, thank you, unless you...?”
She never had time to ask before Grandpa Longneck was laughing it off.
“Don’t worry about us sweetie. Me and your mother spent a long time wandering back in our days.” Grandpa winked to his daughter. “We won’t tire so easily.”
Mother Longneck spotted a few leaves on a nearby tree. It was like Grandpa had a set of eyes behind his head. “You should take some dear, build strength.”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry, you need food so you don’t wither away, old longneck.” Mother Longneck joked.
Both longnecks’ exchanged laughters.
“Then I'll figure that you want the little one to have some.” Her father proposed. This was always the case of Grandpa Longneck. It was like his very voice was Mother Longnecks’s own mind speaking to her, the side that only cared about love and compassion. It almost brought her to tears. Mother Longneck faced away from her father and continued their o so long wandering. Her neck, which reached almost as high as the tallest trees, swayed forward and back as she did. It gave her body momentum and allowed her to save strength. She intended to learn her son the technique came the time.
“Mother? Is this all there is left to eat?” Mother longneck heard her son ask. She glanced back at him. Her father had just given him some leaves.
“Oh, I’m sorry my dear. The land has been changing. That is why we must walk as far as we can, each day, until we reach The Great Valley.”
Mother longneck scanned the trees ahead. Her eyes widened.
By the great circle. Is it?
“Littlefoot. Quickly, come here!”
Mother Longneck stretched her neck to confirm what she saw. Indeed, one had survived, against all odds. She spoke to her son in awe.
“Look up there. A tree star. It is very special.”
The tree star was a big leaf with beautiful pointy edges, ending in five main ones that indeed made it look like a star. Mother Longneck used her teeth to pick it off from the highest branch. She used her neck to hoover it down to her son, who was jumping up and down in ecstasy.
“A tree star.” He quickly buried his face in it.
“It is very special. It’ll help you grow strong. Where we are going, there are so many of these leaves.”
Mother longneck let her son play with the leaf for a while before moving out. She saw him toss it into the air and let it fall over his head. He smelled it and used his cute little tongue to lick it.
"Come along."
Mother longneck had no idea how long they had to walk. Secretly, she didn’t even know if The Great Valley existed. If that was the case, than her and her sons fate would truly belong to the great circle. The thought was almost too heavy to bare. Mother longneck told her son all about the amount of food and water that they would find there, as much to lift his spirit as her own.
“Have you ever seen The Great Valley?” Littlefoot suddenly asked.
It took a couple of seconds for Mother longneck to turn her neck to answer her son. During those seconds, unbeknownst to her parents, Mother longneck went through a short crisis. Her son was no fool.
We won’t make it both of us. Mother longneck couldn’t help it, the thought had formed in her mind against her will. Her answer came out with a tinge of irritation.
“No.”
Littlefoot strutted closer to his mother. The tree star she gave to him he kept stored on his back. It fell off before he asked worried.
“Well, how do you know its really there?”
Littlefoots curious eyes sparkled with youth. Mother longneck never ceased to be amazed by her son. She was proud of how smart he was, or he would be if he continued asking questions like this. But this was no time for smart, this was time for hope. She looked distinguished into his eyes.
“Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart.”
Littlefoot sighed. He lowered his head. “I don’t understand mother.”
Mother Longneck put her head underneath his chin. She lifted it and whispered. “You will understand. Some day.”
The great circle of life. Some talk of it as a metaphor. Some say it is the sun herself. Some even worship it as a almighty god, one that controls everything. Whatever existential view one may have, one thing remains universal. - The sun is necessary for all life. - It is a truth that reaches across dimensions.
The city of Canterlot was the main capital of Equestria, the land of the ponies and home to so many other magical creatures. Its rulers names were Luna and Celestia. Two sisters, one of the night and one of daylight. While her sister raised the moon, each morning, as each pony was getting ready for work it was Celestia that raised the sun. Some could almost be excused for considering her being the sun. One was eager to meet her now.
“Wait for it.” The unicorn stallion whispered, knowing his daughter could hear. He scanned the line beyond the horizon as he gazed at it from the top of the balcony. He could hear hooves behind him.
“Father?”
“You’ll see her soon dearie. Just wait.”
The unicorn girl put on a pouting face. “Daddy, when do you think I will get my cutie mark?”
The midnight-colored unicorn stallion with dark-blue mane did not pay attention to his daughter. He knew Celestia raising the sun would sheer her up just like it had every other time.
“She will be out any minute now. Wait for it.”
The stallion thought he saw a flicker in the horizon, but other than that, nothing. The night sky stayed as deep and mysterious as before.
Where is she? She never used to be this late?
“Father, please.”
“Just a moment dearest. She’ll be here.”
The filly shot her father a goggly glare. The next day would be the day when she would join Celestias school for gifted unicorns. - She knew there would be a test, her father knew there would be a test. - She knew there was no way she was ready for the test and that she would fail and remain a blank flank for the rest of her life. - Her father was an idiot. No, not an idiot, a fool...
“Wait for it. Wait...”
The stallion heard crying behind him. He faced his daughter.
“What is wrong sugarcube?”
“I’m going to fail dad.” The filly sobbed.
The stallion went down to her level.
“You are not going to fail, look at me.”
The filly looked at her father, Night Light. Her purple eyes sparkled like her name.
“Look at me, Twilight Sparkle. You will pass. I know you will, nopony in Equestria study as hard as you do.”
“But I will never be like you.”
“You don’t need to be like me. You just need to do your best. And if you do that, then I know that you will become something great.”
Twilight’s wet eyes gained a tinge of curiosity. Night Light nodded at his own proposal.
“But how do you know that?” Twilight Sparkle suddenly asked.
Night light opened his mouth, but hesitated. He had a creeping feeling that if he failed to say his next words correctly he would ruin the life of his daughter. How did he know that she was not going to fade away in a lonely apartment somewhere when she grew up? Was there such a ting as destiny?
Night Light shook the complicated thoughts out of his mind. Behind them he saw what he know he had seen before, the image of a beautiful lavender mare, the brightest one in all of equestria. Did she have wings too? He opened his mouth and told his daughter the truth.
“Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart.”
Twilight stared in bewilderment at her dad, who was normally all for cracking one liners.
“I don’t understand, dad.” Twilight lowered her head. Night Light used his hoof to lift it up again.
“You will understand, some day.”
Celestia never had time to raise the sun before Night Light made his way inside to make morning supper. Twilight stayed behind. She figured she might as well watch sun rise now when she was there, but all of the waiting made her bored. She used her magic to fondle a nearby flower as she sulked in a corner of the balcony.
There was a light. Twilight Sparkle turned her attention toward the railing. She jumped up to it and gazed into the horizon that laid beyond the walls of Canterlot.
There was indeed a light, but it wasn’t the sun. Twilight strained her eyes. The light intensified behind the clouds. The clouds separated, revealing a star. The star flashed with a white light.
“Heeeh, what?” Twilight said.
The white light pulsated as it slowly turned into fragrance of green. It blinked three times and gave a last long blink with a much greater loom. Twilight’s lavender coat sparkled in its light. The green star reflected in the young unicorn’s eyes.
The white star reflected in the grown alicorns eyes. It bounced up and down on the walking Longneck’s flank, the one that had so randomly shown up after the ponies met Littlefoot for the first time.
Could it be?
“Twilight? Is something going on in that mind of yours?” Rarity asked.
Twilight turned to the white unicorn. She was about to answer but was interrupted when she needed to avoid slipping on a slope rock beneath her. She gained her bearings. “Argh, its alright Rarity, I was just thinking.”
The group was making their way through some kind of rock cemetery. Pointy cliffs made navigation easy but wandering hard. More than once the group needed to turn tail and find a way around the countless crevices and ravines that could be found in the area. It was lucky that the ponies had a guide, Twilight thought. She studied the odd herd that consisted of both ponies and dinosaurs.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flapped their wings each time they encountered a gap in the ground. Pinkie Pie was jumping playfully between each rock she could set her hooves on. Apple Jack had her eyes tethered to the ground so not to lose hoofing. Twilight studied the dinosaurs in the group.
Cera brutishly forced each rock that stood in her way to the side with her strong neck and horn. Littlefoot knew the lands and was their guide. He also seemed to be the most experienced of the wanderers. He didn’t even need to look at the ground as his feet always seemed to step on the right rock. Sitting on Littlefoots’ back with her arms around his neck was their new friend, who had informed them earlier that her name was Ducky and that she was a swimmer. The ponies needed all the friends they could get in this harsh land that Canterlots’ magic mirror had dumped them into.
Ducky looked back at Twilight, her blue eyes sparkling with expectation. Twilight shook her head and smirked. She let the magic flow to her horn, creating a purple light at its peak. Duckys’ sad face lit up into a smile that would rival Pinkie Pie. She moved her mouth, seemingly saying something in whispering awe before facing away from the alicorn and grasped Littlefoots’ neck. Twilight didn't hear what she said but she had read it on her lips.
Ever since Twilight was saved by her after the Sharptooth attack Ducky had been calling Twilight Light Horn, even after Twilight told the swimmer her real name. Twilight was alright with it. Even if she towered slightly over Twilight in her Juvenile age Ducky was an extremely cute dinosaur.
Littlefoot turned his long neck around and shot a modest grin at Twilight. He then exchanged smile with Ducky.
Ever since Ducky joined the heard she and the longneck had been inseparable. Twilight recalled the reunion they had, which had been even more wonderful to watch than the one between Littlefoot and Cera. Duckys’ eyes had turned bulgy in disbelief, her huge mouth with lips that went all the way to the back of her head widening into a universe of pure happiness, her eyes watering with tears of joy, her happy shout echoing throughout the entire forest.
“LITTLEFOOT!”
Twilight wasn’t the only one thinking back. Littlefoot could not believe that he was traveling with his friends again after all this time, and on the road to The Great Valley at that. The only friends that was missing now was Petri the Flier and Spike the Spiketail.
The group stopped. A small gap laid between them and their road forward. Littlefoot looked back at the others. His eyes met Cera, who returned him with a grin.
“Oh, please Littlefoot, we’ve been through this enough times.” The Threehorn then jumped the crevice with ease.
One by one, the others followed.
Apple Jack didn’t even need to gain momentum to make the jump. The earth pony landed on her strong hooves with a heroy grump.
Twilight Sparkle used her alicorn wings to keep herself airborne just long enough to make the jump.
Rainbow Dash didn’t even need to jump. She thrusted her wings and sailed right over the crevice. She plummeted once she was over and violently face-planted the sand. Littlefoot could hear her curse and punch her wing in frustration before looking nervously at the others.
Fluttershy barely managed to make it to the crevice. She glanced down the seemingly endless pit. She whined and shrunk.
“Urgh, This again!? Can someone please help Fluttercry!?” Cera blasted brutishly.
Hearing this made Fluttershy shrink even more. Tentatively, she made her way to the crevice. She felt herself lift into the air. Littlefoot used his long, strong tail to heave the pegasus over the gap by her belly like a kitten.
Rarity made the jump with not much problem. More problem was the sticky thing that got stuck on her hoof upon landing. She ewed and tried to shake it off.
Littlefoot backed away before leaping across. The ground rumbled by the landing of his ton-heavy longneck body. The hands around his neck grasped tight.
“Everything alright Ducky?”
“Yes.” Ducky didn’t sound frightened.
“Then why are you still holding me? We are over the gap Ducky.”
“Because...” Duckys’ voice trailed of. “Because I’ve missed you, Littlefoot.”
The tension in the silent air could have been sliced with a Sharptooths’ jaw. “We all did.” Ducky added. Littlefoot saw the others look expectingly at him, one more than the others. It was like Cera was slurping out Littlefoots’ soul with her green eyes.
“Look.” Littlefoot urged. “We need to move. Can we talk about this later? I promise, I’ll explain everything."
“You don’t need to. All that matters is that you’re here now.” Ducky said reassuringly.
“Oh, but he do need to.” Cera spelled out coldly. “He do, and all that matters is that he is here now to tell us.”
The ponies shared bewildered looks. Twilight Sparkle walked up behind the Threehorn. “Excuse me Cera. If you don’t mind me asking, but what is this about?”
Cera turned to the alicorn. Her anger showed no sign of cooling. “If I don’t mind? Of course I do, Morning, Light, Shine, Sun Shine... whatever.”
Twilight felt her humility run through the sand below her. She frowned. Her voice gained a pointy edge. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Well, whatever! That’s none of your business Twi-until dawn. You heard the Longneck, let's move!”
Cera took the lead. Littlefoot and Twilight exchanged glances, the Longneck barely failing to hide his relief. Twilight looked after the Threehorn. She wailed her hoof in the air and spelled out. “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”
The great circle of life. Some think of it as a metaphor, some consider it to be the sun herself. Littlefoot saw the sun set ahead, the red sky paining the landscape orange. He let the words run through his head again.
Follow the great circle until you reach the mountain that is shaped like a longneck and pass the mountain that burn.
Littlefoot turned his head and looked behind. Ducky had fallen asleep on his back. Ahead of him the ponies and his friend Cera had taken the lead.
Mother? If I get lost again, promise that you’ll show me the way.
He glanced back at Ducky again. He smiled. “Like you did before.”
Littlefoot faced the road that laid ahead and followed his herd.