Chapters Chapter 1: A Mysterious Invitation
“Okay class, last problem. Four-hundred and eighty divided by two.” Cherilee spoke out to twelve young students. They each sat at their own desks, taking—or passing—notes. There was a bit of quiet murmuring amongst themselves before one little filly rose her hoof. She had a soft white coat and a dual colored curly mane of pink and purple. Her eyes green like limes.
“Ah yes. Sweetie Bell. Four-hundred and eighty divided by two please.”
“Um…Two-hundred and thirty… nine?”
“Nice try Sweetie Bell!” Cherilee gave an encouraging smile “You were close, it’s actually two-hundred and forty.” The other students chuckled a bit at Sweetie bell’s wrong answer.
“Hey! I don’t want to see any of you laughing, unless any of you think you can do better.” An awkward silence befell the class now as Cherilee scolded the rest of them. “Now, are there any questions before we move on to the next lesson? Ah yes, Apple Bloom.”
“Um, Excuse me miss, but what’s that thing over on that there poster?” Apple Bloom pointed to a creature which resembled a dragon, except it stood on two powerful legs and lacked any form of wing. Another differing detail was its big head and nubby, two clawed, arms. Moonshy, who was spectating the lesson from outside, wondered how that ancient creature even stood up right, it was so front heavy. He knew what it was but could hardly understand it. Nopony did, even the ones who studied them for a living. After all, those creatures have been extinct for many millions of years.
“That’s a very good question Apple Bloom, a perfect way to ease into our next lesson. You see, that there is, what we ponies call, a dracosaur. That one in particular is called a Draconis Rexidae. Although…” Cherilee’s voice grew more lighthearted “He prefers to go by his nickname, D-rex.” She smiled and giggled, the class joining in with her.
“Yeah, that’s cool and all,” Scootaloo stated from the middle of the classroom, channeling the one pony Moonshy understood to be her idol, Rainbow Dash. “but it can’t be real, I mean, I don’t think anypony in Equestria has ever seen one for real.”
“Well Scootaloo,” Cherilee answered happily, “That’s because it went extinct a very long time ago. You won’t find a D-rex living today. Good thing too, they, and all the dracosaurs, were far too dangerous. If they still walked this planet, we ponies wouldn’t be.”
“Okay… well how do we know that they were real?”
“My, aren’t you inquisitive today Scootaloo? We know because paleontologists from all around the world have been digging up their bones. Now, any other questions? Featherweight, how about you.
“Um, what drove them all into extinction miss Cherilee?”
“Oh, now that’s a long story. You see, back when the dracosaurs shook Equestria’s grounds, there was no magic.” The classroom lit up with the gasping of fillies and foals alike. Each having a mixture of awe and shock in their voices.
“Well… not the kind of magic we know of anyways. You see, back then, the weather changed by itself. It rained when needed, and winter came and went by itself. The creatures that evolved to survive these conditions thrived for millions of years. That was… until one day, when an asteroid from far beyond Equestria smashed into our planet. Now, as you all know, most asteroids don’t typically make it to the surface, the atmosphere burns it up generally; but this was no ordinary asteroid. Or so scientists believe. This asteroid was large, the size of an entire mountain range. It held the very essence of all magic we know today, and when it hit, the explosion sent that magic to every crack and crevice in Equestria. It is even speculated that some of it went back out into the cosmos, affecting the sun and moon. For many years after that, nature was thrown out of balance. The sun and moon were stuck in one spot, half and half across the sky. All the lakes, rivers, trees and plants dried up, killing off the dracosaurs with a lack of water and food. The few animals who survived learned how to harness the magic they were suddenly thrust upon, and changed the weather for themselves. That was where we ponies came from.”
Moonshy stood quietly outside, listening to the rest of the lesson intently. Dracosaurs always interested him as a foal. The thought that there were once creatures on this planet so large that they could trample towns in one fell swoop amazed him. Even more so, what amazed him was the thought that an entire world existed once, a world without magic. An unfathomable concept if not for his experiences in the Everfree Forest. He continued to watch as the children’s eyes lit up with wonder, something Moonshy always enjoyed seeing in younger minds. Childlike wonder, is a trait that everypony should always possess. It inspires them to learn new things, and express themselves fearlessly.
DING, DING, DING, DING! The school bell tolled, signaling only one thing, schools out! The children inside rapidly grabbed their stuff, all finishing within ten seconds. They rushed out the door to meet their parents, siblings, whomever their current guardian was, and began escape the premise. Cherilee, noticing Moonshy through the window, gave him an intent smile. After that, she accompanied the stragglers through the door.
“Well hello there sir, how are you today?” Cherilee spoke from behind him as he was walking away.
“Um… I’m fine, thanks.” Moonshy turned around to face the school teacher. Her eyes going wide as she noticed the moon shaped birthmark surrounding the inside of his left eye.
“Oh goodness, hello, Moonshy. What brings you to our humble little school?”
Sense the changelings, many of the ponies in Equestria learned his name. Too many. They would fallow him around town when he walked, asking questions that steadily became more and more personal. At times, he felt more like he was being interrogated than idolized. So, he was hoping to escape before Cherilee could do the same. The obvious means of escape; spreading his wings and flying up, or bolting the other way; would be good, if not for their suddenness. Those would be seen as a bit disrespectful. So, his mind buzzed with several unfinished escape plans, none of them coherent enough to work.
Maybe I can talk my way out of this one.
Not likely! You know you’re still lacking in the social skills department.
Well, I guess that means I’m screwed then doesn’t it?
Pretty much, unless you can pull a miracle from out your rear.
That’s… hardly reassuring.
“Um… I jus- love children.” Oh no… Please tell me you didn’t say it like that! You did… BUCK! Oh, please don’t get the wrong Idea miss Cherilee, you’re a reasonable pony right?
She looked at him, disdainfully confused at what he just said. She seemed to think exactly what Moonshy didn’t want her too.
“Oh! Nonono, NO! Not like that! Not like that at all.” Moonshy stated nervously “I mean that… Ok. Seeing children learn, seeing those little… err… lightbulbs ding above their heads, it fills me with hope, which makes me smile. You’re a teacher, surely you understand… right?”
“Oh, okay.” Cherilee chuckled at herself for a second “And here I was thinking you meant something completely different. Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to come down to the café with me some time for a bit of coffee and some donuts.”
“Er… why?” Oh no, is she asking me out for a date… or, what is she doing?
You know, she is pretty cute for a school teacher.
Shut up! Shut UP! You know I already have my eyes on somepony. And it’s not Cherilee!
Cherilee looked confused once more, but she quickly shook it off. “It’s the least I can do for a hero of Equestria.”
Phew… it’s just her being nice, okay.
If you consider “nice” pulling personal answers from out of you, than sure, I guess she’s nice.
Don’t jump to conclusions just yet.
“Besides, I was hoping you could tell me more about your encounter with the changelings. My student’s do enjoy a good love story.”
Okay, now you can jump to conclusions. NOT OKAY! NOT OKAY AT ALL!
“Um… I think, with the hospital fixing my wing and the mayor giving me a house for free… Th- Th- The, er… That’s enough. What I’m trying to say, you don’t need to do anything else for me.” Moonshy smiled with his eyes closed, his nerves making him shake like an earthquake. Tiny beads of sweat trickled down his neck.
“Hey, um, miss Cherilee.” Scootaloo stepped up next to her, taking Cherilee’s attention off of Moonshy. Never had he been so relieved to see a filly talk to a teacher.
“In a minute Sweetie-.”
“I’m Scootaloo.”
“-Ah… in a minute Scootaloo, Just let me finish talking to mister Art here and I’ll be right with yo- huh?” She asked as she turned her head back around to face Moonshy. He was no longer there, he had taken the instant opportunity to fly off and get away. Thankfully she didn’t see him after that.
At least I still remember my stealth maneuvers from before, though it was a little sloppy. Sweet Celestia that was a long recovery. I really need to start practicing again.
To avoid catching anypony else’s attention, his flight was short. He entered a particularly shady alleyway and climbed down into the underground tunnels he had discovered during his last venture through Ponyville. At the very least, he could thank Chrysalis for that. Closing the wooden trapdoor above him, he dropped down into the still somewhat muddy ground and walked towards the direction of his house. It didn’t take much longer than ten or so minutes to get there. He climbed up a ladder and opened up another trap door, this one leading into a small closet-like space.
I wonder if all houses in Ponyville have a secret entrance like mine. Moonshy chuckled, that would be a major security flaw on the architects account.
He opened his closet, creaking the door open. His house was dimly lit, and for whatever reason, his blinds were shut.
That’s funny… I don’t remember closing those earlier this morn-
“SURPRISE!” Shouted a collective set of familiar voices as his lights suddenly clicked on.
“GAHH!” Moonshy jumped back, hitting a wall. Before he knew what exactly was happening, a pink pony with cotton candy like hair grabbed his arm and began to dance and sing.
“Happy birthiversary to you, yes you today! I-can’t-believe-your-already-twenty-one. Time-sure-flies-doesn’t-it-WOW! Seems-like-only-yesterday-we-met-you! But now your twenty-one today, HEY! ”
The pony he finally recognized as his friend Pinkie Pie stopped dancing and took a deep breath. Now he wasn’t staring just at her, but the rest of her friends as well. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and… Fluttershy; his heart filled with butterflies when he saw her beautiful form. His best friends, they were all there, standing right in front of him. He nearly couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Happy birthday Moonshy!” They all cheered collectively, expecting him to say something. When he didn’t though, there was a bit of awkward silence.
“Well, what do you think?” Twilight asked, breaking the silence.
“Um… Uh… How did you guys know it was my, err… birthday.” He asked, still trying to break free of the shock of this pleasant surprise.
“Fluttershy told me!” Pinkie bounced, announcing in her high pitched voice.
“What? No I didn-.”
“PARTY CANNON!” Pinkie Pie interjected, she rushed out of the room as quick as lightning, and just as quickly, came back with a gigantic blue cannon. She lit the fuse. Moonshy only had a second to realize… that it was aimed right for one of his artistic works-in-progress.
“No no NO!” Too late. All he could do was cover his eyes anxiously. In an obnoxious squeak, the party cannon fired, unleashing flurries of confetti, balloons, and streamers. Before he knew it, his house was flooded with colorful decorations. He opened one eye, and then the other. He realized that the decorations managed to hit everything but the painting itself. Sighing with relief, he flicked some sweat off his brow. Stsstunce, Stsstunce, Stsstunce, Stsstunce. Fast paced music with a techno sort of beat now filled his hovel, the rest of his friends danced, but he continued to stand in awe.
“Hey? What gives Moonshy? It’s like you’ve never had a party before.” Rainbow stated in her usual manor.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I- I haven’t. Not sense I was like… six.” The music stopped suddenly, and everypony in the room stared at him with shock in their eyes. Pinkie Pie gasped noisily and rushed over to Moonshy.
“Oh my gosh! You went fifteen years with no birthday party!?” Pinkie asked, looking as if some blasphemy was spoken upon her religion. Not long after, she grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him back and forth.
“FIFTEEN YEARS!? How did you even survive out there!?”
“Uh… by eating… Pinkie, I don’t think birthdays are required to-.” He grunted as Pinkie Pie lifted him with a death hug. A little bit of air leaving his lungs.
“I’m Sooooo sorry you had to go through that!”
“N- No, really, it was, it was no problem. C- Can you let me down please?” His voice was mushed and abnormal, sounding like his voice box was squeezed down to the size of a frog’s.
Pinkie gasped again, this time like she had a really good idea. “You know what this means right?” She asked excitedly, dropping Moonshy to the ground.
Gasping for breath, Moonshy replied “Thank you. And… what?”
“More Presents!”
“Oh no, that’s really not necessary.” Wait… More presents? But there’s not even one- Oh… There was one present, sitting over at his dining table wrapped in striped paper of jungle green and sunset orange. There was a golden seal underneath the yellow ribbon that encumbered the box. “Wait! Before you go and, get more presents…” It’s useless to convince Pinkie that I don’t need presents, isn’t it? “…How about we open that one first.” He said, pointing towards the tiny wrapped box. When his six friends looked over at what he gestured towards, they all grew befuddled, even Twilight… Twilight is never befuddled!
“Um, Pinkie.” Twilight inquired, “Did you get him that?”
“What? No! I remember every present I’ve ever given ever. And that one is not one of them.”
“Okay… Uh… Rarity then?”
“My present for him is still at the boutique, I was going to have him try it on later. Anyways, it’s much too big to fit in a box that small, and even if it wasn’t, I would NOT have wrapped it in a color combination as HIDEOUS as that.”
“Rainbow?”
“Um… I kinda, sorta, forgot all about Moonshy’s party until we came here… heh heh… yeah. Sorry.”
“Ajay?”
“I’ll be honest with you Twilight… I left my bits at the farm, so I couldn’t buy anything for Moonshy here.”
“Er… Fluttershy? You’re the only one left. Did you get Moonshy this present?”
“Oh, No I didn’t Twilight. I was actually going to bring Moonshy over to my cottage so he could choose a pet for his birthday. Um… Oh, I’m sorry, do you not like pet’s Moonshy?”
“What? No… No, I mean, no, I don’t, not like pets.”
“Ooookay then…” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well then, who is it from?”
“Well, err… there’s only one way to find out.” Moonshy trotted over to the table and got a better look at the seal. It was stamped with a picture of a Draconis Rexidae skeleton. It stood with its right side facing the Pegasus, and the framing of the circle cut off most of the creature. Only its torso head and claws showed. Weaved into the ribbon, a small rectangular note-tag hung off the side. He turned the thing around and read the words on the tag.
“To: Moonshy Art, Hero of Ponyville. From: The hard-working and intelligent scientists of… The UJRC? ” Moonshy looked up first at Twilight, and then to the rest of his friends, wondering if any of them knew what “The UJRC” was. None of them seemed to have any idea what that meant, or what that stood for.
“Well, go on, open it.” Rarity urged Moonshy.
To his surprise, the box was incredibly light for its size, felling like it had nothing more than a feather inside it. He raised an eyebrow and shook the box, listening for anything inside. There was something, it created light vibrations against the cardboard and tiny little thuds from inside the container. He set it down gently and began to tear away the paper. The box itself was made up of some nice black velvet.
Oh look, the kind of material one would… put a ring in?
Ring? What do you mean?
You know what I mean. If I could, I would totally be winking at you right now.
He gazed over at Fluttershy briefly. Shut up.
Oh, Come on Moonshy, You know you want to.
I haven’t even started dating her yet! …I’m pretty sure marriage is out of the question.
Opening up the lid, he saw a sealed scroll wrapped in a green ribbon lie in the center of the cushioned box.
“Err… It’s a scroll.”
“What does it say Moonshy?” Fluttershy asked.
“I don’t know… I haven’t opened it yet.” He replied, taking the scroll out of the box. When Twilight saw him struggle to open up the scroll. She smiled and trotted over to help him out with her magic.
“It’s Okay Moonshy. Here, I’ll read it to you.” Twilight cleared her throat and began to speak once more.
“To the pegasus Moonshy, It is with great enthusiasm that we courtly invite you to attend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You may have heard about dracosaurs, but never will you be able to see one up close… or so they say. Here in Jurassic-Questria, the UJRC has worked tirelessly studying ancient biology and have finally made the biggest breakthrough in the history of genetic science. Here we reconstruct these long dead creatures and bring them back to life, atom by atom. You will never see anything like them anywhere else, so come on over to Jurassic-Questria and be amazed at nature’s most magnificent creations walking once again on Equestria’s life giving soil. … Well that’s pretty vague don’t you think?”
U… u… scientists. Well twilight is pretty close to a scientist… and she was a unicorn before she became an alicorn. Maybe the U stands for Unicorn. Jurassic-questria, Jurassic-questria, Oh! Maybe the J stands for Jurassic… as for the other two letters, R and C, I have no clue.
“Seems pretty clear to me.” Moonshy said after a second of thought.
“No, I mean, it doesn’t give any explanation as to who the UJRC are beyond scientists, and like, what do they mean when they say “reconstruct”?
“Well, I think the U might stand for unicorn. So… uh, yeah. Maybe they mean that they have… created accurate magical images? Oh I don’t know. The place just sounds like a fancy museum to me.
“Okay, well… I guess that still leaves one question. Who are the UJRC? Why have they only surfaced now?”
Chapter 2: Train Ride Arrangements.
WHOOoooooo! The trains whistle blew as it chugged into the station. Fumes of steam and the charcoal-scenting, burnt wood like smell of coal filled the air with unnatural aromas. The heat of it all made Moonshy feel uncomfortable, for the air around him felt polluted with dust. His lungs felt like they were getting clogged or jammed with the unclean steam.
I swear, If I have to feel like this the whole train ride than I’m going to-
“What’s the Matter sugar cube?” Applejack asked, noticing his scorn for the air around him. “Not like of the smell of trains in the morning?”
“Can’t say I’m all that fond of it… no.”
You’ve spent most of your life traveling the wilderness. Why not just do it again, if you’re so distasteful of machine travel?
Well, If I don’t, I won’t make it to… the park at the time my invitation says I should be.
Why do you care what the invitation says? I thought you weren’t planning on going.
Yeah, and then curiosity got the better of me. It happens.
“Oh relax Moonshy, Train travel is Super FUNERIFIC!” Pinkie invaded, “Besides, you won’t even smell it inside the train cars. Just the… delicious train food.” Pinkie looked as though she was swooning over something, then her mouth watered and she licked her lips.
“Sorry we can’t go with you this time Moonshy.” Twilight said, a bit of friendly remorse in her voice. “But, heh, you know, duty calls.” She gestured towards her cutie mark. It was pulsing with flashes of white, after each one, about six smaller copies traveled into the main cutie mark. It made a magical sounding Bleweep type of noise when it did, sounding like a signal of some sort. It was odd… but he did remember Twilight mentioning that she had a map which summoned them to certain locations every so often.
Handy as magic may be sometimes… it is incredibly weird.
“It’s… um, fine.”
“Do you really think that Moonshy? I mean, you’re a really… shy colt. And, well, there’s going to be thousands of people there. I just don’t want you feeling like we’re thrusting you out of your comfort zone is all.”
I’m twenty-one! I’m older than you! Why are you acting like my mother?
Their just concerned for you is all. Their your friends, their allowed. Besides, she has a point.
I’m pretty certain I’ll be fine. Positivity is key.
“Twilight, I’ll be fine, I eh…” Moonshy paused for a second, looking for some way to make sure the promise he was about to make was more meaningful than just “I promise.” That was when he looked at Pinkie Pie. Perhaps he could pledge in the same sort of way she did. “I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He finished out the right gestures, Pinkie nodding with enthusiastic approval.
“HE WILL! HE MADE A PINKIE PROMISE! HE HAS TO NOW! HE’LL BE A-OKAY!”
“If you say so.”
“Twilight, perhaps you’re the one that need’s to relax.” Moonshy stated with a friendly chuckle. “Go on, duty calls. That is what you said isn’t it?”
“OH MY STARS! The summon, I almost forgot! Come on girls, we need to get going!” The next few goodbyes came in this order. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy
“So-long.”
“Farewell!”
“Bye bye!”
“See ya later Moonshy!”
“Remember to run if something chases you. Oh, I mean, stay safe!”
“Remember to run if something chases you”… Eh…
The way she said it was absolutely adorable. Oh no wait! I didn’t mean that as in invitation to- … well you’re doomed.
This thought ran through his mind for a brief moment, but a certain impulse forced him to ignore it. For a fleeting instant, his love for Fluttershy clouded all reasonable judgement. He stepped forward, ready to close in on her, but then stopped. For he realized what he was about to do. He wanted to kiss her, that was the long and short of it. But doing that would have answered everypony’s question regarding who he was in love with to have such power against Chrysalis. The reason he didn’t, was because he knew how she felt about fan attention. If everypony found out who he was in love with, they would start to pester Fluttershy in the way they pestered Moonshy. He didn’t wish that upon her, for he knew that she wouldn’t much enjoy the attention. When the impulse was forced back last second, it decided to transform itself into words, words which he almost blurted out before he forced them back too.
“Fluttershy uh…” I love you. The others turned around as he spoke, Twilight in particular seeming to get a sudden thrill of excitement. She was the only one who knew how Moonshy felt about Flutter, and simply loved using that to torment him with. Playfully and in good fun, of course.
“Th- Thanks for the warning.” With that, Moonshy let loose a nervous titter, smiling in kind. “Er… bye guys.”
“Twilight, what the hay is going on here?” Rainbow asked in response to Twilight’s snicker.
“Oh, Nothing. Come along girls, let’s let Moonshy catch his train.”
WHOOOOOOoooooo! “All aboard!” The conductor bellowed, waving a hoof to gesture everyone to get on. Catching himself staring a Fluttershy once again, Moonshy shook his head and dashed towards the nearest train car.
Not far away, three little fillies had found their way onboard the train. The apparent ring leader in this situation was a tiny-winged pegasus of orange coating and dark magenta mane. Hair combed upwards and around like a short haired Rainbow Dash. A white coated unicorn filly fallowed sheepishly, trotting sluggishly a fair distance away, along with a yellow coated earth filly who was doing her best to keep up with the hasty pegasus.
“Are you sure about this Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked, brushing a bit of dust out of her curls.
“TOTALLY! Think about it, a tropical rainforest exploration cutie mark. How cool would that be?!”
“I doubt our sisters would be alright with this.” Apple Bloom objected, looking for a good place to inconspicuously bail.
“I think they’d be fine with it. I mean, they go off on adventures all the time. Why would they keep us from doing it?”
“Um, because we’re younger than they are?” Said Sweetie Belle
“And because they think we can’t take care of ourselves.” Added Apple Bloom
“Well don’t you want to prove them wrong?”
The other two didn’t have much to say in reply to that. They looked at each other and shrugged, knowing full well that they, in fact, did want to prove themselves. Such is the way of the minds of children. Their unwavering curiosity forces them to do many things. Not all upstanding. But hey, that’s how they learn.
WHOOOOOOooooo! The train whistle blew one more time, signaling that it was about to depart.
“Oh shoot! We got to go! COME ON GUYS!”
“Hey! Scoots… WAIT UP!”
Hisssssss! Steam pushed its way out of the pistons, and with that, the wheels started chugging. AND THEY WEREN’T EVEN ON THE TRAIN! Booking it as fast as they could, the Cutie Mark Crusaders zipped through the crowd at the train station. Their diminutive size allowing them to slip through the legs of other ponies as if they were air, but the train was gaining speed. Now the cars were going a tad bit faster than they were. Panicking, Scootaloo searched franticly for a way on, getting an idea so impractical… that it just might work.
“FALLOW ME!” She barked, moving her little form closer to the cars themselves. The other two did what they were asked and managed to speed up and get right next to her.
“Scoots? What are you doing!?” Apple Bloom asked, next to terrified at the train’s massive wheels.
“We’re going to jump onto the caboose! Ready, one!” The end of the train was coming up fast. “Two!” If the caboose had some sort of bar extending from the wheel, it would be pushing their rears right about now. “THREE!” Scootaloo jumped, using her wings to give her any extra inertia she could get. With a sloppy skill roll, she reared herself up onto the back terrace of the train. Apple Bloom, managed to get three of her four hooves up, the other slipping and nearly forcing her off, but she made it too.
“AHHHH!” Sweetie bell screamed, she was the furthest away from the car, and hence, was the one who couldn’t quite make it. SHE WAS DANGLEING FROM THE BACK! And upcoming, a mail post was coming in hot!
Seconds before the sign post would have ended Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom rescued her. They pulled her up and set her down gently. A few moments of heavy breathing and relief took place before Scootaloo stood back up energetically.
“Let’s, never do that again.” Sweetie Belle said half-heartedly.
“ARE YOU KIDDING!” Scootaloo argued “That was the COOLEST thing ever! We pull off a few more stunts like that and we might just get our cutie marks in extreme risk taking!” Sweetie and Bloom groaned at this, flopping back down onto the terrace like dead fish.
“Hey, come on guys. What’s the matter?”
“The matter of it is, Scootaloo, is that you three shouldn’t even be on this train.” A cheery colored earth pony with a light rose mane came up to the three little fillies, a look of seriousness expressing itself through her lime colored eyes. The CMC knew this face well, for it was the warning look of their teacher, Cherilee. All their little hearts sunk. They knew they were in trouble now.
Pinkie was right, thankfully. He could no longer smell the rancid fumes of the coal, nor the grungy infection of the steam in his lungs. He was thankful for that at the very least. He ran through a mental checklist before looking down at his Jurassic-Questria ticket. Weather out of temporary boredom, or repeated curiosity, he read what was on the ticket for the umpteenth time. This time, something got caught in his attention, creating force-fed food for thought.
The UJRC would like to remind you of how young a race we ponies truly are, how new we are compared to the creatures from the most ancient of days.
Ticket No: 7293: Moonshy Art plus one guest. May you never be silenced.
“May you never be silenced”? That’s a rather odd thing to put on a ticket, that doesn’t even make sense!
Maybe not now, but it might later. I’m sure they will explain it to you once you get there.
They can’t even explain WHO THEY ARE in a letter! I seriously doubt they’ll explain anything like this.
Do you doubt that they’ll explain what their resort is?
That’s something we’re going to have to find out for ourselves- Moonshy’s train of thought stopped. It was interceded by a voice that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Not so much out of fear as nervousness, for his last experience with that voice didn’t go quite so well. With subtle haste, he pulled a magazine out from under the seat and hid his face with it, acting as though he was enthralled in the… pictures… Well crap, any observant pony would notice this and become suspicious of my behavior.
Please don’t look at me, PLEASE DON’T LOOK AT ME!
“You three, give me one good reason why I shouldn’t inform the conductor of your nonsense and have him kick you off at the next stop.”
Huh? Well that’s… different. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Cherilee get mad at ponies before. She’s generally nice and encouraging. Perhaps… just one peak. I’m curious as to what’s going on.
“Please Miss Cherilee! Don’t kick us off. We were just- Uh…” Apple Bloom struggled to find an excuse.
Growing up with Applejack, element of honesty. I bet that filly doesn’t have the slightest Idea how to lie.
“Our sisters are out of town!” Sweetie Belle picked up the slack “We have no one to go to back in Ponyville right now!”
Nor do you have a ticket to catch the train back home. They would just have to stowaway again. I’m assuming that’s what’s going on here. WAIT!? Who watches you guys during the other times Twilight and her friends are out!?
“Now I know that’s not true Sweetie Belle! Rules are rules, and I’m afraid that stowing away on a train is against them. Even if I were to use my plus one, that would still leave two of you unchecked.”
YOUR plus one… does that mean… oh no. The other reason I wanted to go on this trip is so that I could GET AWAY from the ponies who know who I am… Now it seems they’re coming with. Ugh, just my luck I guess. Hang on… “that would still leave two of you unchecked.” You can’t kick any them off Cherilee! Their just children… They probably don’t know their ways around any train stations beyond the one in Ponyville. THEY COULD GET KIDNAPPED!
“Err…” Moonshy pulled the magazine from his face, setting it down casually and trotting over to the scene. “Perhaps I… could, use my plus one.”
What the buck do you think you’re doing!? Not only will that still leave ONE filly on her own, but Now Cherilee knows you’re here! You know she’s going to sit next to you and ask you personal questions now!
I have to help somehow!
Cherilee’s look was that of confusion, then it turned into cynicism and went straight to correction mode.
“You do realize, Moonshy, that that still leaves one of these three fillies unchecked right?”
“Um… yeah. I was kind of… just thinking that. Well what should we do then? I mean… this isn’t good. The conductor is going to be here to check tickets any minute now!”
“Then I suppose it’s only right, That I use MY plus one then. You know, to avoid any battle that might take place.” A low and friendly voice called out from behind them. It belonged to a unicorn of charcoal black coating. His mane was gold of color and his eyes red of hue. His muscular body type and well trained physical stature gave him the look of having some sort of Military background, young though he may be. It wasn’t until Moonshy saw his signature cutie mark, a fancy crest with twin swords crossed behind it, that he realized who he was. This was-
“VALIANT!” Apple Bloom perked up excitedly, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck. Supposedly ‘Valiant Charge’ spent a lot of his time around sweet apple acers. (Though he was unsure why, Moonshy had a pretty good guess. He just didn’t want to jump to that conclusion, seeing as it’s a longshot) Despite his duties as a royal guardsman for Princess Celestia. Hence, Apple Bloom viewed him like any other filly would an older brother, even though Valiant wasn’t related to her in the slightest.
“Hey there Bloom!” Valiant smiled, Excited to see his little sister figure again. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“I know! It’s been like… FOREVER! What are you doing here?”
“I got an invitation to Jurassic-Questria as well. So, tell me, what are you doing here.”
“Um… well…”
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and I are trying to get our tropical exploration cutie marks! Um… We didn’t have any tickets, so we jumped onto the train.”
“A MOVEING train… If I MIGHT add.” Cherilee said, sternly stomping the ground as to get more attention. A common trick used by teachers when a class or group of student’s doesn’t cooperate. “That dangerous stunt could have severely hurt you three.” Her strict voice faded into concern as she said the last part.
Valiant stood up in the CMC’s defense, keeping a positive can-do attitude about him. “It’s fine miss Cherilee, this is how kids learn.” He turned his head look back at the CMC “Just, next time, don’t chase a moving train, got it guys?”
“Uh-Huh!”
“Yep!”
“Will do!”
Moonshy listened to the rest of their conversation. Finding a nice shady corner to sit in, hoping not to be noticed as easily. It was ponies like Valiant, Moonshy had a certain degree of envy for. How they managed to stay cool in social situations, while still maintaining the right amount of verbal charisma, impressed him. Most times, he wished he had that ability. It would help him dramatically by reducing his nervousness, thereby allowing him to communicate himself better. That way, he wouldn’t have to leave other ponies in the dark all the time when it comes to his emotions.
More than that, what struck Moonshy higher attention was Valliant’s relationship with Apple Bloom. A sibling bond like that is hard to come by these days. Or maybe that’s just in Moonshy’s case. Nevertheless, it was something he envied even more. He longed for someone to look up to him like that. Just, without any memory of siblings, that seemed an impossibility. Unless…
You could have kids of your own you know.
KIDS!? Um… well, that would be a bit nice… I guess, if it weren’t an impossibility.
Impossible!? What happened to “positivity is key?” You did think that, practice what you preach!
Is it negative if it’s fact?
It’s negative that you think its fact. It’s really not. Not when you’re young and still have passions burning.
The only pony I have any passion for is one that turns more and more impossible by the day.
She’s… not impossible. YOU just haven’t talked to her much! Besides, that’s not exactly what I meant. Just like there’s more than one kind of love, there’s more than one kind of passion. You’re watching Valiant talk to Apple Bloom right now, even Sweetie Belle and Cherilee are joining in. But, look who isn’t. Scootaloo. She’s busy staring out the window, probably fantasizing about flight—You know… because of her wings—why don’t you go to her and-
Valiant’s figure passed in front of the sunlight, the sudden change in lighting distracting Moonshy out of thought once more. It took a second (and a bit of pupil adjustment) before he realized… Valiant was trotting towards him. Already close enough to speak and not let Moonshy out. “Hey Moonshy. How’s it going?” Valiant spoke rather casually, as though he had known Moonshy like a friend would another. This, is sort of true. They had met briefly in the past. Moonshy once helped him train his squires and Prince Blueblood by setting up a survival challenge for them. Not much more than that though.
“Oh, n- nothing. Just… uh… thinking.”
“About what?”
“Um… Dracosaurs.” Moonshy lied.
“Makes sense… I mean, how can you not!?” Valiant exclaimed excitedly “I’ve seen creatures similar inside the Un’Goro crater back on Azeroth. There the most magnificent, and dangerous, things you’ll ever see, aside from dragons… and demons. Though they, ” Valiant emphasized “they”, expressing that he was talking specifically about the demons. “lack in the magnificence domain.”
Azeroth… Un’Goro… I know you came from a different world… but those names are just the weirdest thing’s I’ve ever heard.
“Interesting. Um, can you tell me more about them…? The dracosaur-like things, I mean.”
With that, Valiant went on a long… well, ramble—for lack of a better term—though Moonshy listened to it, doing his best to give him his full attention. His introverted nature making it impossible NOT to think about other things on occasion. When this happened, Valiant interrupted that thought process with friendly taps on the shoulder. While this annoyed him a little, Moonshy was grateful that he was able to, more or less, talk to someone for once.
The rest of the month-long train ride went by basically like that, sleeping and eating here and there to mix things up a little. Valiant’s intriguing stories made the time pass by quicker. Every chug from the engine up front drawing them ever closer to the mysterious new park. One supposedly full of creatures from ancient times. A constant nagging worry… that this might not be the most pleasant trip ever. After all, not even the ponies who studied dracosaurs for a living understood them to any half-decent extent. But hey, unicorns have magic. Powerful magic at that, assuming it aligns with their special talents. Things can’t possibly get too bad… can they?
Chapter 3: A Cruise to Dismay
Droplets of water toppled off the leaves in consistencies similar to rain. Small creatures up above rather franticly ran the massive branches, shaking them. They were trying to hide, trying to get away from something. Some sort of apex predator. The sounds made by bugs, frogs, monkeys, lizards and any other creature native to the tropical rainforest seemed eerily absent. To make matters worse, Celestia’s radiant summer sun seemed to fade behind the clouds and tall canopies, making the forest dark enough to pass for night… even though it was high noon.
Okay, well, this probably isn’t good, but most predators can’t fly. So long as he kept his hooves off the ground, he should be safe. “Should”, being the key term. If any creature was still on the ground, more than likely, they were eaten. Gently, he flapped his wings. Hard enough to stay high off the ground… but not so hard that they made beaconing noise. He flew slowly, careful not to run into any rainforest branches, or get caught in any vines. He was making good headway, within an hour or two, he would likely be out to safety, or so he hopped. He wasn’t entirely certain where he was going, nor was he sure of what he was to expect. He just kept going because that was where it seemed best to go.
Something heavy… something tubular, and something scaly fell onto his back. Trying not to panic, for fear of making too much noise, he turned his head to look at what it was. It was long and it had no limbs. A serpent, one as green as the leaves above began to slither around and squeeze his stomach. It leered its blank yellow eyes up at him, the silted pupils shrinking to a creepy size. It’s forked tongue flicked a few times as its muscles expanded and contracted, moving it’s abnormal body further and further around him. Most ponies by now would have panicked in this situation, but Moonshy knew better. Trying to maintain a cool head, he attempted to slowly push it off using his fore hooves. He made a few inches of progress before the slick serpent caught on. The rainforest snake opened its mouth, revealing a long set of fangs. Bulbous sacks of some sort of liquid swelled in size and droplets of dark liquid began leaking from its teeth. These features… practically advertised the fact that it was a poisonous snake… AND IT WAS ABOUT TO BITE!
In a momentary surge of desperate panic, He flailed his body in unnatural ways, using every muscle he had to get this snake off of him. When his efforts didn’t appear to work, fear took over every instinct he had and made him think it a good Idea to fly as fast as he could away. A few seconds passed before he realized that he was unharmed. Looking back, the snake appeared to have fallen, the sudden jolt of movement shaking it off before any damage could be done. With a momentary sigh of relief, he turned his gaze back forward. Just in time to notice a branch mere inches from his face.
BANG! The splitting head pain made him black out for several moments, his mind regaining perception just in time to see himself smash into the ground. The soft grass and the number of branches he undoubtedly hit on the way down kept the fall from being lethal, but it still came with a tremendous amount of pain. His lungs felt like they had been shut off. His heart felt like it stopped, and his nerves still felt unconscious. Bit by bit though, his body slowly started to work again. He could once again feel his now rushing heartbeat. His lungs sucked in air once again, but there was still one issue. HE COULDN’T FEEL ANYTHING BELOW HIS WAIST! His spinal cord… it was broken! He screamed for help. He begged life to have mercy on him. He pleaded for Celestia, Luna, Cadence, anypony that could possibly hear his cry… but nopony came. After ten minutes, nopony even seemed to care for his wellbeing.
He lied there on the ground, helpless. Easy prey for anything. Even the tiny little ants that occupied the forest floor. With no hope of surviving. He sobbed. He wanted to see the smiling faces of his friends again, but now he couldn’t. He wanted to feel the warm touch of one he loved as he spoke the words “I do”. He wanted to see if he would ever have children. He wanted to see them grow up. But now… he would never have those opportunities. He would have to live the rest of his drastically shortened life weeping. Mourning over memories he would never have. He prayed… that if death came to him soon, that it would be quick.
Nature… was about to answer that prayer. Ironically, its answer came in the form of something… unnatural…
The bushes around him rustled as something large pushed its way through. Low guttural purring sounded from a distance and was soon joined by other creatures making the same sound. Closer they came, snapping twigs, and tearing leaves off the branches. Sweat beads trickled down Moonshy’s face. He turned his head, trying to catch a glimpse of what it was… but he didn’t see anything there. He didn’t know what it was that was hunting him… but whatever it was, hearing confirmed that it was definitely there, and it was going to strike at any moment. There was no hope of stopping it… moving in any way was hopeless. His hind would just drag along and slow him down, making it impossible to escape whatever was coming.
The beasts from wherever were close now, but still hiding for whatever reason. One bellowed out a loud “CAWV”, coaxing others into doing the same. They sounded as though they were calling something, more of their kind perhaps? He didn’t know… all he knew, was that he was paralyzed to the spot. The sounds made by the mysterious creatures meant only one thing. They were going to dine on pony this day.
The last thing he was to remember before… moving on, was the ear splitting unearthly screeches of the predators… and the closing of many long needle like teeth around his throat.
“Moonshy! Hey, MOONSHY! Wake up! You’ve got to see this!”
Moonshy jolted out of sleep. The fear of what happened confusing him to no end, and causing him to shout a little. He brought his hooves to his throat first, feeling for any injury. Next, jumped out of his seat and began to examine the rest of his body, looking like a dog chasing its tail as he did. He stood up on his hind legs and patted himself several times… testing his nerves to see if he was still alive.
I… I’m alive! Wait… how did I get here-? Oh… It was just a nightmare. Looking around, He noticed that he was getting several funny looks from the ponies around him. Embarrassed, Moonshy smiled sheepishly, taking several uneasy steeps back to his seat. “Um… uh… sorry about that. I’m just gonna,” He tried to get some leverage on the back of a seat using his right arm… but he missed it multiple times, almost toppling over onto the ground. It took him about three tries before he grabbed his goal. “S- sit down now… yeah, Nothing to see here. I’m not crazy… I promise.” With nervous haste, he rushed himself back down to the window seat, attempting to hide himself form any further staring.
“Um… Are you okay?” Asked a little orange Scootaloo.
“Yeah… I’m fine. Jus- Just a nightmare, that’s all.”
“Some nightmare… BUT HEY LOOK!” Scootaloo energetically sprigged from her spot next to Moonshy and onto his back. Looking out the window, she appeared to be enthralled with… the trees? He lifted his head to notice the… same gigantic tropical trees he saw in his nightmare.
“Aren’t those just the coolest trees you’ve ever seen? I can’t wait to climb a few of those!”
“Heh, heh… Yeah…” Moonshy croaked.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Scootaloo inquired.
“Yeahhhh, it’s fine, I’m fine. Everything is just fine.”
Scootaloo cocked her head, oblivious to the reason behind Moonshy’s odd anxiety.
“Oh, he’s probably just got the morning gitters, that’s all Scootaloo.” Cherilee got up from her spot two seats in front and across from Moonshy. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom standing by her side. “Come now, we should head to the front of the train. You don’t want to get stuck in a line do you?”
Scootaloo lowered her head, she obviously wasn’t thrilled that she had to stay near her teacher at all times, but she couldn’t really rebel seeing as she was in a place she knew nothing of. One far away from Ponyville and made up of an entirely different climate. She just quietly groaned, rolling her eyes and traipsing forward.
The train blew its whistle several times, its chugs slowly coming to a halt as the wheels screeched to a finish. Everypony onboard shook backwards a little, signaling that the train was officially docked. All at once, ponies from everywhere got up out of their seats and reached overhead for their luggage. When it took Moonshy several minutes just to get halfway out of his train car, he realized that Cherilee had some extremely good foresight to get ready as early as she did. They were probably standing outside the station waiting for him and Valiant by now. It wasn’t until what seemed like an hour later that Moonshy was finally to step off the train.
The first thing that hit him when he got off, was the heat and humidity of the place. It was hot! He almost felt like he was boiling because of it. He didn’t know how, but his body instantly dampened. He sniffed himself, making sure he still smelled decent, out of consideration for others, and realized that this wasn’t sweat at all. Sweat smells salty and filled with body odor.
Glad I’m not wearing any clothes… or this would be a nightmare! He thought lightheartedly, trying to ignore the apprehension that carried over from his dream.
Apparently, this tropical part of Equestria wasn’t where this mysterious “Jurassic-Questria” was located. Ironically, it was located on a large island located about 90 miles (144km) from Equestria’s southeastern-most tip. Undeniably beyond Equestria’s border, but close enough that… it could pass for being part of Equestria… sort of. This island was named “Isla Dogger”, the very name of it seemed odd, and somehow made the hairs of the back of Moonshy’s neck raise.
Wait, what? Why is that word so frightening? “dogger” It’s like… I’ve heard that word somewhere before… and it meant something bad. But I don’t know what.
I don’t know Moonshy… but… it might just be you… over reacting. I mean, the nightmare did shake you up quite a bit.
Yeah… speaking of the nightmare… why won’t its impact leave my mind?
Some dreams are more intense than others… you know that. Some just love to stick in your brain longer than gum would an outdoor bench. It’ll fade eventually, assuming the rain erodes it down.
But… this one was, it was overly intense. The fact that I still remember EVERY detail is a bit troubling.
Well… try not to think about it.
Humph… easier said than done.
“Everypony boarding the S.S. Orcasaur, non-stop cruise boat to Isla Dogger, This way please!” A banana yellow unicorn stallion with orange eyes and a bland greasy mane stepped up. Across his chest and halfway down his body rested a light tan over shirt, designed like kakis. He wore a tan safari hat of the same shade along with a patch bearing the Jurassic-Questria symbol. His posture was that of a worn out employee stuck in a “dead end” job, causeing Moonshy to draw the assumption that he had been doing this for a while and got tired of it. Odd, seeing as the park has only been open for month… and they were JUST NOW getting their first guests. It seemed that the more Moonshy stayed… the more this place became suspicious. He started to grow a bit cynical, something he didn’t often enjoy doing.
Oh joy… more… traveling. We literally just got off a train… doesn’t anypony in this part of the world give anypony time to stretch their legs wings or horns? I’ve kind of been cramped in a train… and haven’t been able to fly in so long… no, okay, fine.
The boat was huge! Almost worth the line he had to go through to get to it. He almost felt violated of a right, for he wasn’t allowed to fly over them in any way shape or form. The mere act of opening his wings was enough to get him several dirty looks. So, out of guilt, he folded them back in. He didn’t want to seem inconsiderate after all… even though everypony else was unwittingly being inconsiderate to him. Grounding a pegasus is a major stab at their pride. The fact that they didn’t realize this was just…
Infuriating? No, no, Moonshy. Don’t think like that. That leads to racism. They don’t know pegasus culture, they’re not trying to be inconsiderate. Flight is an unfair advantage that they don’t have. Remember that and take pity alright? You’re not superior to them in any way shape or form.
Once everypony was loaded onto the cruise ship to take their day long journey across the sea, Moonshy analyzed the area around him. There were too many ponies onboard the ship. There were three levels to it, and each one was packed.
Oh shoot… too many sets of eyes… one of them is bound to recognize me. I can feel it. Well, there’s got to be someplace to go where I can avoid most contact! Every place has that one area where no one goes!
You could try the very back of the ship. Most eyes are looking forward, and if you keep your back to them, you’ll blend in… maybe.
Maybe? Ugh… what do odds have against reassurance!? Oh well… perhaps it’s better than nothing.
Closing his eyes, Moonshy listened to the beautiful noise of the ocean waves, and the seagulls that flew by with captivating squalls. He let the wind caress his face, and the refreshing sea spray tickle his form. Perhaps… the tropics weren’t all that bad. Ten minutes, twenty, thirty. An entire hour passed without interruption and he found that he lolled in the light of the tropical breeze. He entered a state of comfort… allowing him to get lost in thought once again. Something enjoyed doing whenever he had the chance. He imagined the magnificent sights he would undoubtedly see; the sort of things he would learn; the thrill he’d get from taking in unfamiliar sights. Perhaps most of all, he was excited for the time he would have. Time… to paint all the magnificent things he might see. He couldn’t help it, he was already planning his next series of works. They were going to contain new and wondrous creatures… the dracosaurs!
The… dracosaurs… their vicious teeth, their horrific noises, their unnatural existence. Oh Luna… PLEASE HELP ME!
“Hey Moonshy, Whatcha doing?” Valiant found Moonshy once again… how does he keep doing that? Being tapped on the shoulder, Moonshy resisted the impulse to jump back in frightful surprise.
“OH! uh… hey Valiant. I’m jus- I’m just thinking… that’s all.”
“What about?”
“I’m… not entirely certain I want to talk about it… the others on this ship might think me mad.”
Valiant looked around, everypony else seemed to be sitting down facing the front, or looking over the side, taking pictures of the various birds and sea life… Like they haven’t seen a seagull before? Come on! Nevertheless, some overly curious pony could be listening in right now. Keeping their head turned away as to not seem obvious. So, he reared up onto rail with Moonshy and scooted in closer, implying that they should keep their conversation quiet when talking.
“You know, In Azeroth; individuals who go “mad” tend to be wise and exceptionally smart. They see things others don’t. Their like… links to an ethereal realm, or, well, a lot of them are. Either way, my point is, crazy ponies are the ones we should be listening to. However, I do understand if you don’t want to talk about it. I just thought I should bring it to mind.”
Moonshy sighed submissively, in some obscure way… Valiant made a bit more sense than everything else at the moment. There was a short pause as Moonshy’s head was batting around some last minute debates. When those were resolved, he picked up on Valiant’s body language and spoke softly.
“Have you ever had nightmares Valiant?”
Valiant cocked his head, wondering if Moonshy was playing some sort mind game. For the answer was obvious… and the same with everypony. “Um… yeah, of course. Doesn’t everypony from time to time?”
“No… like, I mean, ones that stick with you hours after they happened… ones that were so real, you wondered if it was some sort of… augury.”
Valiant grew even more confused. He had heard the term before, but never really associated it with a dream. “Well, I can’t say I have… Doesn’t Princess Luna stop nightmares before they reach that level of intensity?”
“Only when she feels there is a lesson to be learned… that, and my last one was sort of… interrupted by a certain energetic little pegasi.” Moonshy said this with emphasis—but not distaste—as he was trying to convey who he was talking about. Valiant seemed to acknowledge the hint, seeing as he nodded with certainty. “I don’t think Luna was able to get to me before I woke up.”
“She is quicker than light when it comes to the dreams of her subjects. This much is certain. So I don’t think that was the case.” Valiant assured as he looked around again for anypony listening in. “It was probably just a very terrifying nightmare. Just try not to think about it.”
Again… easier said than done!
“… Thing is… I’m not sure I can. I mean, this one was particularly intense... Like, the only time I’ve had one JUST as intense as this one was…” Moonshy paused again. This time, it was because he made a realization… one that happed to be a particularly peculiar coincidence. It freaked him out to say the very least.
“Was what? … Moonshy? What are you talking about?”
“… was the Changelings.” He said with a bit of confusion in his voice. He paused again, trying to comprehend the connection he drew.
The nightmare I had before the changelings turned out to be a vision… It was intense… and somehow Chrysalis actually talked to me. The one I just had, I was eaten by a creature I couldn’t see… one that sounded surprisingly draconic. But dracosaurs have been extinct for millions of years… the UJRC couldn’t possibly have…
“the biggest breakthrough in genetic science…”
“Here we reconstruct these long dead creatures…”
“walking once again on Equestria’s life giving soil…”
HOW STUPID OF ME! HOW COULD I HAVE NOT SEEN IT SOONER!?
HANG ON MOONSHY! Before you go jumping to any conclusions… shouldn’t you, you know, ask someone?
“I’ll be right back Valiant!” Without hesitation, he launched himself off the rail and darted towards the opposite direction.
“Wha- Hey! Moonshy, where you going!?”
Stairs… no, I’m on the bottom level. That would take too much time… flight… Well… YES!
Not giving anypony a moment to breathe, Moonshy flapped his wings and shot himself up into the air. With flight now a factor, and all obstacles now averted, it didn’t take long to fly up to the helm. He got several harsh looks from the other ponies onboard, but this time, he didn’t care. Careful not to startle the captain of the ship, Moonshy landed softly behind him, about 3 meters away.
“Well, looks like somepony is eager for their turn at the helm-.”
“The Dracosaurs on Isla Dogger, are they… real?” The sea colored captain was taken aback by Moonshy’s out-of-nowhere question. His dark black ascot and snow white sailor’s outfit shaking from his startled gesture.
“Uh… what? Wait… WHAT? What’re you talking about?”
“The Dracosaurs on Isla Dogger, are they alive? Do they walk, jump, bleed… eat?”
“Well, uh, yes. They eat…” The captain paused for a second, picking up on Moonshy’s growing fear. “You don’t need to worry though, they are securely held behind thick stone walls. Walls which were designed by the best engineers Equestria had to offer.”
Not for long… wait… “had”
Moonshy! Stop this! You’re overreacting again. He said they were secured behind the most elite of walls. So long as you stay on the OPPOSITE side of them, you should be safe.
Supposedly nopony even understands these creatures! What if they underestimated their intelligence… and a few Dracosaurs managed to get out… what then?
Moonshy, the UJRC probably know more about these creatures than anypony else alive to date. They probably took the proper precautions and researched these creatures while they were very young. They probably-
The UJRC… don’t describe anything in their letters… or give us any warnings… OR ANYTHING! Do you know why that is?
No but-
It’s probably because they don’t WANT to tell us anything. They’re hiding something… and anypony who hides something with this sort of tightfistedness can’t be trusted.
“Turn this ship around!”
“What?”
“I said, turn this ship around! Right… now!”
“Hang on! Who are you to give me orders?”
“I will not stand by and let you sail these ponies to their deaths! There’s Children onboard this boat! Families!” He felt a violent nudge perforate his side. When he looked over, he noticed that a security guard was preparing to grab him. He grunted, only to feel another grapple his neck. Not willing to let this stand, Moonshy began to struggle harder, ignoring the harsh assaults on the side of his body.
“Now sir! I don’t know who you think you are but-.”
“No! NO! YOU’RE SENDING THEM TO THE FEEDING DISH! THEY’RE GOING TO GET EATEN! Hey! Let me go- OUFF!” WHAM! Moonshy felt the side of his head get slammed by something wooden… There was a splitting agony… and then everything faded to black.
No words could describe how confined Scootaloo felt being stuck with her teacher for this whole trip. She wanted to explore, she wanted find every nook and cranny she could, every shortcut there was. But it seemed her teacher… wasn’t going to let her out of sight. She always enjoyed knowing the ins and outs of everything, and she always loved racing through her world on her scooter. This time though, she didn’t have it… and she felt lost without it.
She thought this trip was going to be fun, but it appears her shortsighted overview of the idea made everything turn out for the worse. She leaned on the rail next to her seat, looking out over the stunning vast blueness of the sea all around her. The sun was getting ready to enter the twilight hours and flocks of seagulls flew to some place far ahead of them. But alas, the otherwise breathtaking view of the new world around her wasn’t quite enough. The humming of the boat’s massive steam engine called to her. She knew that where there was an engine, there was bits and pieces of salvage. Maybe she could… fashion herself a new scooter out of the pieces she found? Now there’s an idea. There’s just only one issue. Cherilee. Scootaloo looked over at her teacher. She was watching Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom play some sort of card game, giving them instructions on what to do in certain situations.
She’s not paying much attention to me at all… this is awesome! Let’s just hope she stays that way.
Analyzing the area around her, she was having trouble finding and escape route. If she just blatantly got out of her seat, Cherilee would notice. She had to do this sneakily… but how do you do that when you’re pushed next to a wall? That was when she noticed a slight gap in-between the seats and the wall. Lifting her arm from the railing, she got a better look at the gap right next to her. It was a tight squeeze… but she’s small enough… maybe she could just barely slip through. Yes, that is actually a very smart guess.
Making sure Cherilee wasn’t going to turn her head back anytime soon, she tested the gap using an arm, than the other arm, than her entire body.
Yes, a very tight squeeze… but I think I can make it.
Stepping carefully, Scootaloo made her way towards the back of the boat, staying low so that she avoided any prying eyes. Now, all she had to do was make her way down the steps and she’d be golden. Wait… but how was she going to get into maintenance without being noticed?
Meh, I’ll think about that later.
Once she got to the steps, she rushed down as quickly as her little legs could take her. Hoping that Cherilee didn’t see her. Once she got down to the bottom level, she scouted around the edge of the boat for the entrance to maintenance. In the process, she spotted a pair of gruff looking Unicorn Stallions wearing white hard hats make their way towards a large metal door.
Shipboard engineers, bingo! Now to get in. When they opened the door, she booked it as hard as fast as she could towards the door… only to be cut off by a pair of two gossiping mares.
No no no! Aww chickens… Scootaloo thought as the door slammed shut.
“Hey didn’t you hear? Some idiot got himself arrested this morning.”
“Yes I did actually! Something about… getting eaten by Dracosaurs? Pfft As IF! If you ask me, the colt’s just crazy.”
“Ha! Yeah, like OMG, dude had a total conniption fit. Really like, if you’re going to go insane, at least do it where no one can see you.” The two mares giggled it out… but something stuck to Scootaloo, making her go wide eyed with fear.
She gulped and said out loud “Eaten… B- By dracosaurs? Come on Scootaloo! Don’t be a chicken. Rainbow dash wouldn’t be acting like this! Besides… the dracosaurs are all dead… right?”
“Oh hey Scoots! What’s up?” A friendly voice spoke up from behind her.
“AH!” Scootaloo jumped, for the voice startled her… even though it sounded familiar. When she bounded around, she landed with her front facing the voice. Looking up, she noticed a Unicorn of charcoal black and crimson eyes look down at her. “Oh… Hey Valiant… Um, I’m just… exploring the ship.”
“Does Cherilee know where you are?”
“Pfft… Totally!” Scootaloo lied, Valiant’s right brow raising up a little bit.
“Uh, Huh… Well, I don’t suppose you know where Moonshy is do you? I haven’t seen him sense this morning. He sort of had a weird fit and flew off to the top of the boat… after that, He sort of just, vanished.”
“Um… no? No, I haven’t. I’m sorry.”
“Well, if you see him, tell him to come look for me alright?”
“Sure thing!” She stated nervously as he trotted off.
Now, let’s get back to it. The door is closed… so it might be locked. Well, let’s give it a try anyway. To Her surprise… the door handle wasn’t locked. She continued to push down until she heard a click.
SWEET! It’s unlocked… now, how do I open this without the ponies inside seeing me…
In her head, she developed a simple but possibly effective plan. She opened the door slightly, careful not to let it creek too much, and when it was open juuust open enough for her to slip in, she let it go and did just that.
Creeeeeekk SLAM! The noise it made caused her heart to skip a beat, as she sat straight up, afraid to move for a brief moment. Nopony inside seemed to notice, for there was no noticeable reaction from anywhere. She sat for about a minute as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.
The area around her was dark, metal pipes and things of the like lined the walls and ceilings. Down the hall some ways, she could hear rattling… Not from the pipes, but from, Chains? What? Why would a boat need chains when everything is already bolted in? Curious, but maybe she could use those chains for something… perhaps as a way to pull the wheels when she installs the motor, like a bicycle chain.
As she walked down further, she couldn’t help but get a tad bit creeped out by the eerie noise of the chains. The dark hallways and pipes which occasionally shot out steam didn’t help either. Soon she found herself jumping at every slight movement. She had a bad feeling that something was going to go wrong… but, she still had to get parts for her scooter! She began to hyperventilate as things below deck grew creepier and creepier.
CAWV!
“Ahh!” She screamed, throwing herself against the nearest wall… the rattling of the chains grew more violent as she did so. That noise… it was so strange. She had never heard anything like it before, and it wasn’t pleasant to hear either. She didn’t know what it was… but it did not sound good. She wanted to run… but she still didn’t get the parts for her scooter, so, she found herself at a quandary. Risk being bored for the rest of her journey, but making it out… possibly unharmed. Or, hope to Celestia that her steps would be light, and she wouldn’t be noticed. Making it out with parts for a scooter and an entire time free of boredom.
Reluctantly… she chose to be boredom free. A choice she will come to regret, for what she was about to find will forever haunt her nightmares.
CAWV! CAWV, CAWV!
The strange sound boomed again, its deafening noise reverberating through the dark hallways. This time… the sound was followed by something that made it even more frightening, the desperate screams of terrified worker ponies. With them being so clear now… Scootaloo could tell exactly where they were coming from… they weren’t coming from further down… they were coming from up above!
She looked up. This part of the ceiling up above her was made up of some sort of metal meshing. It was like a screen, a window to the floor up above. Through it… she caught wind of a desperate struggle. Several unicorn ponies were using their magic to hold a chain, a chain witch strained and jerked with all some mysterious creature’s strength. They all pulled on the chain, panicking, attempting to keep this creature contained… but its strength was too much for them to handle. In one final jerk of the chain, and all the keepers’ grips were thrown off… THE CREATURE WAS FREE!
Realizing their defeat… they ran, they screamed for aid, but no aid could have saved them from it. The creature was fast, and extremely deadly. Before any of them could escape… it slaughtered them all using a vicious set of long black claws. Blood… red… BLOOD! So much blood, it began to seep down through holes in the floor, and into the hallway Scootaloo occupied. She didn’t even have a moment to think… adrenaline took over her system. The fight or flight response had never been stronger… and the meter was jammed onto the most extreme of the flight settings.
She ran, faster than she ever felt she could in her life. She didn’t know how fast she was running, but she didn’t care. The threat was too great to allow for any thinking. She heard something land far behind her, the creature… THE MONSTER, screeched, the terrifying tap of its talons growing faster and faster… gaining on her with every step. She dared not to look back, for looking back would slow her down… something that she couldn’t have happen if she was to survive this horrific encounter. She was inches from the door… and she could almost feel the creature’s hot wet breath on the back of her flank. She franticly opened the door, the light of the sun outside blinding both her… and hopefully the creature. All she knew to do… was to close the door behind her… and hopefully that would work. The last thing she saw before the metal separated her from the darkness… was a set of dangerous, needle like teeth; and a pair of burning yellow eyes. Eyes… that were starving… and merciless. This wasn’t anything she ever saw before… this was something different… this was—dare she admit it—a dracosaur!
SLAM! BANG! The door was secure, the dracosaur undoubtedly rammed into it. She was safe… but if this Island was filled with things like this… how long would that fact stand. How long would safety, a concept taken so much for granted, last while every day, creatures like this roam free.