Bakula: The Land of Big Catsby PantheraManChaptersChapter 1: Dawn of a New AdventureChapter 2: Hunters Death trapChapter 3: Expect The UnexpectedChapter 4: ReunionChapter 5: Why the Big Cats of the Hunters Death Trap hunt manChapter 6: How the Mega Jaguar hunts the BuffaloChapter 1: Dawn of a New AdventureIt was the last of school, everyone was excited, even Twilight Sparkle now that she knew she could read anything she wanted. As they were walking down the hallway of Canterlot High, they started talking about their plans for summer vacation. "So, what is everyone's plan for summer?" Sunset Shimmer asked "I'm gonna be working on the farm." Applejack replied "I will be working at the boutique I work at, and hopefully we'll bring in a new fashion line." Rarity answered "Well having fun of course!" Pinkie Pie happily answered "Well my family and I are going on a cruise after school." Rainbow Dash said "So is my family." Relpied Twilight Sparkle "And so is mine." Fluttershy said "Really? when are you going?" Asked Sunset Shimmer "We'll head out sometime after school." Answered Rainbow Dash "Well I hope you all have fun." Replied Sunset Shimmer After school like Rainbow Dash said, they all went on board the cruise and then they went off to sea. On that night, there was a big buffet in the dining room. This was some good eating as Rainbow was just crazy over the shrimp. While Fluttershy ate a salad as she was a vegetarian. "Man this shrimp is tasty, best seafood I've tasted!" Said Rainbow Dash "I can see that." Giggled Twilight "Me too Rainbow." Said Spike "Wanna try some Spike?" Asked Rainbow Dash "Nah, I'm good, though I do wish I could eat stuff like horse and elk meat, just like my ancestors did." Spike replied "Huh?" Wondered Rainbow Dash "He watched a documentary about the Dire Wolf." Twilight responded "Wait, those actually existed?" Asked Rainbow Dash "Yeah, and they were awesome!" shouted Spike "And now he wants to eat like one." Replied Twilight But before they could say anything else, more than a dozen men came on board the ship, armed with swords, axes, bows, and arrows, they caused all the passengers to panic. But it turns out that they were only there for their belongings. But Twilight, Rainbow, Spike, and Fluttershy were all captured before anyone could notice. Later, they were put in jail cells on the enemy ship, and then the pirates set sail for land. When they did reach land, the pirates unloaded the ship, tied the girls hands behind their backs, and Spike to a rope, they went outside, and the captain with a white shirt, black beard, brown eyes, and an eye patch was just not too thrilled. "Why on earth did you bring back these people and their mutt?" Asked the captain "Well captain, we figured we could use some ladies to do chores for us." Answered a crew mate "Excuse me?' Rainbow Dash grolwed "Plus a dog would come in handy for picking up the scents of any wild beasts." Said another pirate "I see your point, there are monsters in these parts that will kill a man without a second thought." Answered the captain "Just you wait, search parties will find us and rescue us, and you will all be punished!" Shouted Twilight "He he he, that won't happen for you see, this place is not even on the map, none of your people have ever come onto this land. So you can kiss your old lives goodbye." The captain answered But before he could say anything else, they heard menacing growls, these sounded a bit like a mix of lion and tiger growls. This caused the hairs on the back of everyone's necks to rise, everyone was sweating, hearts were racing. The men got their weapons out, ready to fight whatever was out there. "Put the prisoners in those cages." Ordered the captain Which one of the men did, and he locked the cage doors in the process. Then, out of the darkness of the night, a big cat pounced and grabbed one man by the throat and ripped it out, before the men could kill the cat, more of these felines attacked, killing the men with their powerful jaws and single swipes from their paws. These cats had no mercy on the men, not a single man was to survive. The last man was killed right in front of the girls with a bite to the back of the skull. They didn't recognize these cats because they were unlike any cat they ever saw. They were as big as tigers, had black stripes like tigers, but in body shape, they looked like cougars, they were the same color as a lion, they had a tuft of fur at the ends of their tails, and at least seven of them had manes like male lions. The feline that killed the man in front of the girls was one of the maned animals, and it roared at them, and then growled. "Such language!" Fluttershy said After that, the cats did something no other predator would do after killing a human, they literally chewed the heads off the corpses, ad carried them off into the night. "Did we just see what I think we just saw?" Asked Spike "Gotta get the key." Said Fluttershy "No Fluttershy! wait for the morning, I don't want those things hunting us, even if I could totally outrun them." Said Rainbow Dash "She's right, this is clearly a place where humans are the ones who are hunted." Replied Twilight And so they went to sleep for the night, but at the same time, worrying about what else lives in this place that they have found themselves in. In the morning, they wake up, and Fluttershy was thankfully in reach of the key, and unlocked the cage doors. While they were walking in search of breakfast, they came across a water hole. "This could be what we need, we might be able to find some eggs in a nest we could eat." Suggested Twilight "Eggs!" Fluttershy whimpered "I hate to break it to you Fluttershy, but if you want to survive, you'll have to eat some meat" Said Rainbow Dash But before they could get close to the water hole, a huge herd of Wildebeest came to the waterhole to drink. This herd numbered in the thousands, making it harder to sneak up on for any predators. "Aw come on!" Complained Rainbow Dash "Why is this such a bother Rainbow?" Asked Fluttershy "How are we supposed to get to the waterhole without scaring those things?" Asked Rainbow Dash "They're Wildebeests Rainbow. But you do have a point, I mean I would like to not get trampled by this many animals." Replied Twilight However, luck was in their favor, as the herd suddenly ran. They were very fast, but it was clear that it wasn't the girls that scared them. When the most of the herd had gone by, they saw a teenage boy chasing after a Wildebeest, he had orange skin, black hair, a buffalo hide for clothing, and he was running on all fours. He was accompanied by a type of wild dog with pointed ears, a bushy tail, and a white pelt. The boy leaped onto the Wildebeest, used his arms, and his claws that came out of his fingers, and his retractable canines to get the Wildebeest down on the ground, once he got the Wildebeest into a position where he could kill it, he clamped his jaws around it's throat, and he didn't let go until the Wildebeest was dead. He then roared in victory, and the girls noticed he had a scar going down between his eyes and across his nose, an another scar above his left eye. "That. was. AWESOME!" Said Rainbow Dash "Let's go ask him if we can have some of his kill." Suggested Spike They approached his kill while he and the dog were eating it. But they approached with caution. When they got really close to the kill, the boy growled like a tiger, warning them to stay away. "Um, hi, um, we just wondering if we could share some of that kill with us?" Said Fluttershy But instead of sharing, he roared at the top of his lungs, and he charged at them to get them away from the kill that was rightfully his. "Okay okay, we get it, you don't have to be so mean about it! Sheesh!" Complained Rainbow Dash After that, they were forced to look for food the whole day, but they were unsuccessful, but they did manage to drink enough water. But they didn't manage to get a single meal, leaving them with empty stomachs for the night. They took this as a lesson that their lives here will not be easy. Author's Note Hey guys! hope you like the first chapter to my story, and let me know what you thought about the cats in the chapter. Chapter 2: Hunters Death trapThe next morning, the group wakes up for another day in the wild. Hungrier now more than ever since they haven't eaten in forever. "Ugh, I haven't been this hungry in forever. Complained Rainbow Dash "Well we just have to keep trying until we get our bellies full." Said Fluttershy "Yeah, if starvation doesn't kill us first." Replied Rainbow Dash "Well we have to try regardless, I'm just hoping we don't bump into that boy from yesterday again. Said Twilight "I know right? I can't believe he's that rude." said Rainbow Dash "Oh come on guys, maybe he just has a good reason for doing that." Suggested Spike "Out of greed maybe, but I wish I ate some of that Wildebeest." Replied Rainbow Dash They go ahead and get a drink of water, then go out in search of a suitable meal, they try everything from catching hares, to trying to trap Hipparion horses, but nothing worked. They even tried to catch buffalo, but you better believe that didn't work out. This carried on for hours, and they didn't eat any of the fruits because they had no knowledge if they could eat the fruits without getting sick. After many hours of this, they became exhausted, and weak. This got to the point where Rainbow Dash collasped. "I can't go on, I'm too weak, I need food." Said Rainbow Dash "Well we can't just leave you here, we'll carry you." Twilight replied "No Twilight, go on without me, save yourselves." said Rainbow Dash "Oh come on Rainbow Dash, don't be ridiculous." said Rainbow Dash Just at that moment, they heard a very distinct whooping sound. one that sounded very familiar. "I'd recognize that sound, and it's not good." said Twilight "HYENAS!" shouted Spike Spike was right, they were hyenas, but not Spotted Hyenas, these hyenas were about the same size, but they had pointed ears, black stripes, and yellow eyes. They sensed Rainbows weakness, and they wanted her for their next meal. They were outnumbered, as there were at least thirty hyenas around them. "Guys, save yourselves!" suggested Rainbow Dash "No Rainbow! we'll hold them off!" replied Twilight "But how? Rainbow is too weak to run, Fluttershy can't fight them. said Spike "Maybe not Spike, but maybe I can talk to them. suggested Fluttershy Fluttershy then walked straight up to the Matriarch to tell her what she needed to tell her. "Excuse me miss, but could your clan please not eat us and instead help us out in our predicament?" asked Fluttershy But the hyena had her own way of answering her question, which was by snapping her jaws at her and pinning her to the ground. But before she could kill Flutershy, Twilight used her magic to lift the hyena off of her. "Well it looks like the answer is no." answered Twilight Twilight used her magic to try to hold off the hyenas, but it didn't deter them at all, they were closing in, going in for the kill. But all of a sudden, a giant tiger came rushing onto the scene, and it killed the Matriarch with one swipe from its paw, which was wider than a man's chest. The tiger killed several of the hyenas, chasing them off, and at the same time, to the girls suprise, it was speaking. "GO ON! BEAT IT! GET OUTTA HERE! FIND OTHER FOOD!" shouted the tiger And so the hyenas ran off, in search of a meal that didn't have such a formidable opponent defending it. The tiger went towards the girls, as if he was concerned about them. "Put her on my back, I'll take you back to my cave. Come on Tuka!" ordered the tiger "Coming master!" said the tigers companion Out of the nearby bushes came a dog that looked just like the one that was with the boy from yesterday, but that wasn't important, but what was important what that they were rescued, and were now under this tigers protection from predators. At the cave, Rainbow Dash was put down on the cave floor. But she was still weak, and needed food. "You stay here, Tuka and I will get food for her." said the tiger The tiger and dog left the cave, leaving the girls and Spike alone for about an hour until the tiger and dog came back with prey, which in this case was a Hipparion horse. The tiger put the horse on the cave floor, and then he tore out a chunk of meat from the horse then Twilight made a fire to cook the meat over, as they weren't used to eating raw meat like the tiger was. "How much longer will it take?" asked the tiger "Actually, it's almost done." answered Twilight "Really!?" said Rainbow Dash "Yep, you'll get your strength back in no time!" said Twilight Twilight did not lie, as soon, Rainbow ate the meat like a desperate coyote, not caring about manners. same with the other two, they ate like crazy. Eventually they had their fill. "Uh, look, I just want to thank you for saving our lives. said Rainbow Dash "Your welcome, and I have something to say myself." replied the tiger The tiger began to transform, and it transformed into the boy who chased them off yesterday. This, they really did not see coming at all. "You!?" said Rainbow Dash "Yes, it's me, I just want to say that I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday." said the boy who could turn into a tiger "Well you should be mister, that was awfully rude. I know someone who would be REALLY not like you for it." said Fluttershy "I know it was rude of me to do that, but in my defense, pirates have tried to take my kills away from me in the past, so I did that mostly by instinct. I felt terrible about it and I decided to look for you and protect you to make up for it since I knew for a fact that you wouldn't last much longer out here." said the boy "Plus I told him it was rude to do that and when he said he was going to look for you, I decided to come along." Tuka the white dog "Did you just talk?" asked Twilight "Yes, I got that ability when I drank from an odd stream. Apparently it makes animals able to speak to humans after they drink the water from that particular dream." replied Tuka "So tell us, why do you two live together?" asked Rainbow Dash "It's quite simple really, we have this partnership, I help him find prey, and he catches the prey, and we both eat it, and he protects me from predators in return. In fact that's what my entire species does, makes partnerships with the most dominant hunter in the land and helps them with tracking." answered Tuka "That's right, and we make a great team. But I have to ask, how did you all get here?" responded the boy "We were on a cruise,but then we were kidnapped by pirates who were then killed by these weird cats, and we escaped from the camp yesterday." explained Twilight "Cats, which ones? Sabertooths or the ones with stripes and pointed ears?" asked the boy "Wait, there are sabertooths here too?" asked Twilight "Yep, two kinds, a large one with spots and huge fangs, and a smaller one that can climb trees very well." said the boy "Gees, could this place get any more dangerous?" asked Spike "Well to answer your question, they were the ones with stripes and pointed ears." Twilight answered "Those animals are called Tougarions. They have no tolerance for man, and they will kill a person on sight. It has been said that every human hunter that has entered this place, has never come out alive. The cause of death is always due to a predator, all the large predators out here, the Tougarions, the sabertooths, hyenas, and even wild dogs will kill any human they find on their hunting grounds,they won't even hesitate to kill an infant, hence why this place is known as the Hunters Death trap." said the boy "Dang, now I'm REALLY glad you saved us, but how come you've survived this long?" Rainbow Dash responded "Well, I transform into a giant tiger in order to fight predators, so I can defend myself pretty well. But I only transform to fight, not to hunt, with the exception of today because normally I don't need to transform in order to hunt." said the boy On that night, another fire was made, and this time, the girls along with Spike could now sleep with full stomachs, and at the same time feel safe with their new bodyguard around. But there was one last thing on Rainbows mind. "I can't believe we didn't ask you this but, what's your name? asked Rainbow Dash "My name is Amba." the boy answered After that, Raindow Dash finally went to sleep, while Amba looked up into the sky, now keeping in mind that he is now their protector. Chapter 3: Expect The UnexpectedBack in Canterlot, the rest of the mane 7 are terribly worried about their friends, wondering if they will even ever see them again. They were at the local park, similar to Central Park in New York City, but it has more woods. "I really hope they're okay. I can't bear the thought the never seeing them again." said Sunset Shimmer "Neither can I, I couldn't even finish sewing a dress without feeling worried about them." said Rarity "Me, I always feel not so happy when i think about them now." said Pinkie Pie "I'm worried too, all we can do is to pray that nothing bad happens to them, that's all we can do." said Applejack "Wait, what is that?" asked Rarity In the bushes, there was a stone with some writing on it, Rarity went over and picked it up, then brought it back to everyone else. "Well, what does it say?" asked Applejack "It says, go to the land ruled by mighty beasts, In that place, you must have your wits about you, for many beasts will try to catch you, and if they catch you, they'll kill you. But to escape, you must answer the questions about the land's mighty felines." said Rarity After Rarity read that, a blue aura appeared around them, and then they were gone from the park, and the next thing they knew, they were in a completely different place. "What the?" said Sunset Shimmer "What.just.happened?" asked Rarity "That thing obviously teleported us to this place." said Applejack "Yeah silly." said Pinkie Pie "And judging from the surroundings, I reckon we're in the African savanna." suggested Applejack "How are we supposed to get back exactly?" asked Rarity "We'll try to find the nearest town and tell them our situation, and we can go back home." suggested Sunset Shimmer "OOOOOORRRRR, you could get that stone to get us home." said Pinkie Pie "Yes, but it says we have to answer questions about some felines to get home it says, so I'll go with Sunsets plan." said Rarity "I'll take that over having to look for any cats any day, let's go." agreed Applejack They headed east, they traveled for hours, bumped into many familiar animals like buffalo and giraffe, but yet there was no sign of any people. Eventually they found a pond. They were all thirsty, so they decided to take a quick drink. "Not my style of drinking, but it will have to do." said Rarity From thick cover of trees nearby, they heard rumbles, loud rumbles. To the girls, this was all to familiar with them. "Oh boy, we'd better get outta here now." said Applejack "GAAAAAASSSSSPP! ELEPHANTS!" Pinkie Pie shouted "Pinkie quiet down, they'll hear you, and they might..." said Sunset Shimmer A group of elephants came charging at them, with their tails high, a sign of aggression. "RUN!" shouted Sunset Shimmer They quickly ran to the closest tree, climbed it, and waited for the elephants to leave, then they got a good look at the elephants, and they quickly realized that these weren't the African elephants they were familiar with. These elephants were taller than the biggest African elephants, and their tusks were placed on front of their lower jaws and pointed downwards. These animals were a herd of Deinotherium. Among the adults were calves, making it clear that this was a matriarchal herd. "OOOOOOHHHH! INTERESTING!" said Pinkie Pie "I gotta say, those are the weirdest looking elephants I've ever seen." said Applejack "Yeah, I'm probably dreaming." said Sunset Shimmer "Nope, your're still awake." said Pinkie Pie After a little while, the Deinotherium took their drinks from the pond, and then went on their way. "Okay then, now that's over, shall we continue?" asked Rarity "No, we'd better stay here, it's getting dark, and it's never a good idea to wander around in the savanna at night." said Applejack "Okay, I'll go try to find some food before it gets dark." said Sunset Shimmer Sunset then went down the tree, but she was unaware, that she was being watched. In the nearby grass, a Machairifelis, a sabertooth cat the size of a leopard with a long tail, round ears, rosettes like a clouded leopard, same color as a leopard, and with long fangs that don't protrude further than the lower jaw, was in ambush. This animal had been watching the girls for a long time, and this was the moment it was waiting for. Once Sunset was on her own, the big cat charged and lunged at her throat and pinned her to the ground, but Sunset quickly grabbed the cat by the throat to prevent it from killing her. The rest of the girls came in time, Applejack using her immense strength, grabbed the big cat by the tail and threw it off off her friend. The big cat knew not to try to attack Applejack, but it charged at Pinkie Pie, but Pinkie being Pinkie managed to all of a sudden dodge the big cat. After that it lunged at Rarity, but Rarity used her magic to make a shield to block the attack. The Machairifelis did not give up, as it was determined to kill one of the girls. But before it could make another attempt to attack, a giant gray tiger came to the rescue, and roared at the smaller feline and the the Machairifelis backed off and ran away. The tiger had four big scars across it's left shoulder, had blue eyes, and a white underbelly along with black stripes. "Are you all okay?" asked the tiger "Yes, thankfully. Thank you so much." said Sunset Shimmer "Your Welcome, I was just patrolling my territory when I saw what was going on, figured I should help you out." said the tiger "How thoughtful of you, what's your name." asked Rarity "The name's Baagh." said the tiger "Well I'm Rarity." "I'm Applejack." "I'm Pinkie Pie" "And I'm Sunset Shimmer" "Nice names, I'll take you all back to my cave if you want." suggested Baagh "Why of course darling!" said Rarity "Alright then, follow me." said Baagh They follow him to his cave, the cave entrance itself was big, big enough to fit an elephant in it. "After you." said Baagh "Why thank you! Quite the gentlemen you are." said Rarity They all went in, took a seat on the cave floor, and then Baagh transformed into a teenage boy with black hair and gray skin wearing the hide of a kudu antelope for clothing. "OOOOOHH! said Pinkie Pie "Didn't see that one coming did you?" asked Baagh "Nope" replied Applejack "Do you mind if I ask you how you got those scars?" asked Sunset Shimmer "Not at all, I" said Baagh until he was interuppted "You got into a fight with a guy named Amba over territory and he gave you those scars but you gave him scars across his face but you were defeated and now you live here and you've never been to Amba's territory since." said Pinkie Pie "What....you weren't even there!" said Baagh "Darling, it's Pinkie Pie, don't question it, we know better." said Rarity "I'll gladly keep that in mind. I'll get some prey, I know for a fact that you're hungry." said Baagh Baagh left the cave and went hunting, later he returned dragging the carcass of a buffalo he killed, they all ate their fill, and then went to sleep. Chapter 4: ReunionOn the next day, Baagh yawned after a good nights sleep, he went ahead and left the cave to get a drink of water, then went ahead to get some breakfast. Meanwhile, when the girls woke up, Rarity noticed something off about the stone that brought them to this place. "The writing on the stone, it's changed!" said Rarity "Changed?" asked Applejack "Yes, now it's telling us to go to the place where the tiger and his dog do rest for the night." said Rarity "Well that rock clearly isn't talking about this cave because Baagh doesn't have a dog and" said Pinkie Pie "We know Pinkie." replied Applejack "Well at least we know to go to a cave or something in another tiger boy's territory." said Sunset Shimmer "True, but it we don't know which territory to go to." Applejack responded Baagh had come back from hunting, only this time he was unsuccessful. "Where did you wander off too?" "I was trying to get some breakfast, decided to hunt some buffalo, but that didn't go so well. The herd charged at me when I caught one and it cried for help." answered Baagh "Chased by buffaloes? That must be terrifying." said Pinkie Pie "Baagh darling, we have a bit of a pickle." said Rarity "Well what is it?" asked Baagh "You see, this stone here is what brought us here in the first place, and now the message on it has changed. " said Rarity "Lucky for you, I'll believe anything after I saw your weird powers when you were dealing with that sabertooth yesterday, so what does it say?" asked Baagh "It's telling us to go to the place where the tiger and his dog rest for the night." said Rarity "Ugh, I know exactly where that is, in Amba's territory." responded Baagh "Oh, are you sure there aren't any other tiger people around?" asked Sunset Shimmer "Yep, I'm sure, and I don't feel comfortable about going back to his hunting grounds." replied Baagh "I know you two have had your differences, but maybe if we explained to him about our situation, maybe he will understand." responded Sunset Shimmer "Okay, if you say so." With Baagh as their guide, they headed for Amba's hunting ground. But Baagh was still nervous, he didn't want Amba to see him, but he didn't leave them. Once they reached Amba's territory, they bumped into a group of sabertooths, but these sabertooths canines were longer, going past the lower jaws, had long tails, spots like a cheetah, and they were the same color as a cheetah. These animals are what are known as Petriasmilus. "Get down, if they see you, you'll try to kill you." ordered Baagh "How come?" asked Pinkie Pie "Just get down !" ordered Baagh They hid in the long grass, watching the Petriasmilus pack move, hoping to not be caught. But to their luck, the predators walked on, with their minds clearly on something else. "Phew" said Applejack "You can say that again." responded Sunset Shimmer They kept on making their way towards Amba's cave, and when they did eventually reach the cave, they saw a sight they had been wishing to see for ages. Rainbow Dash had come out of the cave, and when she came out of the cave, she laid eyes on her friends, and couldn't believe her eyes. "Rainbow Dash?" asked Applejack "Applejack, Sunset, Pinkie, Rarity, is that you?" asked Rainbow Dash "You'd better believe it darling!" said Rarity "Hey guys, come out here! You'll never guess who's here!" said Rainbow Dash Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike came out of the cave and saw what Rainbow Dash meant, tears went down their faces as they laid eyes on their friends, they ran to each other and hugged. While that was happening, Baagh had a smile on his face, knowing that he had done a good deed, but he let his guard down which ended up being a big mistake as Amba tackled him to the ground, Baagh fought back and managed to get Amba off, both rose on their hind legs and clawed and bit each other as tigers do, Amba was stronger, so he was able to push Baagh down each time he went to attack. The girls looked on as the fight continued. "Get him Amba! Teach him a lesson!" cheered Tuka. Amba managed to pin Baagh on his back, ready to end the fight. "Now Baagh, time to end this shall we?" asked Amba "STOP!" shouted Sunset Shimmer "DON'T KILL HIM YOU BRUTE!" shouted Rarity "Okay first of all, I wasn't going to kill him, I was going to claw up his face, and second, I told him to stay off my hunting grounds the first time we fought, and this is what happens to those who ignore my warnings." said Amba "If you would listen to what we have to say, then you'll see that he came here for a noble cause." said Sunset Shimmer "Yeah, how did you guys get here anyway?" asked Twilight "Well you see darling, this stone here teleported us here when I read the message that told us to come here, then we eventually bumped into Baagh here who let us stay with him and then the message on the stone changed ad it told us to come here which I'm glad it did. explained Rarity After hearing what she said, Amba got off of Baagh. "I'm sorry for my behavior Baagh, I couldn't help myself, instinct just took over and I..." said Amba "I know Amba, I forgive you." said Baagh Then the everyone noticed that the stone was glowing, and the message was once again changing. "What does it say now Rarity?" asked Applejack "It says that we have completed the first task, and that there is a magical artifact up in the far north that will take us back home, but it's in a room with a door with several locks on it, and the only way we can unlock the door is by answering questions about the big cats of Bakula." said Rarity "So....basically we have to go all over the place to answer questions about the big cats that live here?" asked Fluttershy "Yep, pretty much." said Rarity "Aw man! I thought we were done learning for the year!" complained Rainbow Dash "Well Rainbow, at least at Canterlot High you don't have to worry about being mauled by a big cat, I mean seriously, why does it always have to be with something dangerous? why can't it be with rabbits or something that isn't dangerous?" complained Sunset Shimmer " I don't know, but I'm coming with you. I'd like to live around other people." said Amba "So will I, we'll help if anything bad happens." said Baagh "I'll come along too. I've been partners with Amba for years, so I'm not letting him go without me now." said Tuka "Then it's settled, we'll go whenever the message on the stone changes." said Twilight However, the bellies of Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie growled as loud as a lion roars. "But first, it sounds like someone needs to eat." said Spike "You idiot, you seriously didn't try to get food on your way here!?" said Amba "Well, I uhhh" said Baagh "Nevermind, there is still some meat left that I brought back from a hunt this morning, now eat some of it before you attract a pride of Tougarions here with your growling stomachs." ordered Amba The four girls went into Amba's cave and ate the meat from his kill which this time was a Waterbuck antelope. The message didn't change for a while, so the gang didn't really do much but catch up on things that happened while Baagh, Tuka, and Amba went hunting together, and they managed to bring down a giraffe and bring it back to the cave where it's meat was devoured and the meat lasted longer due to coming from a very big animal and so the giraffe meat was what was for dinner that night. Author's Note So their you have it, they'll start uncovering the secrets of the Big Cats of Bakula, so stay tuned everyone! Chapter 5: Why the Big Cats of the Hunters Death Trap hunt manAfter a breakfast of more giraffe meat, the stone was once again glowing, meaning that the message on the stone was changing, everyone was watching, anxious to see what question they were going to have to answer. Once the message changed, Rarity was the one to read it to everyone. "Why do the big cats of the Hunters Death Trap hunt man?" said Rarity. "Well, big cats become man-eaters when they are sick, injured, or at least something happens to them that makes them unable to hunt their natural prey." answered Twilight "Yeah, but the Tougarions that killed the pirates looked to be pretty healthy. So that can't be the reason." said Spike "Well I say that these monsters do this for the thrill of the kill, they do it for fun, just like all pesky predators." answered Applejack "You know I can hear you right?" asked Tuka "Yeah Applejack, how the heck can you say that after we've been helping you? we're predators aren't we?" asked Amba "Well that's different, you guys don't kill for fun." "Oh for the love the love of, NO PREDATOR KILLS FOR FUN!" shouted Amba "Well I agree with Applejack, these animals are nothing but big brutes- gets shocked by the stone- OWWWW!!!" said Rarity "Ooooh, that's gotta hurt." said Baagh "You okay Rarity?" asked Fluttershy "I would hope so, that looks like it hurt." said Pinkie Pie "Yes, but that really hurt!" complained Rarity "Seems to be what happens when we get a question wrong." said Sunset Shimmer "Well I disagree with that stone. All predators are bloodthirsty and are the biggest nuisance on this earth. responded Applejack However, the message on the stone changed once again, but it wasn't asking a question as Applejack was about to learn the hard way. "What does it say now Rarity?" asked Tuka "It says, that the last time it checked, the biggest nuisance on this earth is Applejack's mother." said Rarity "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ROASTED!!!!" shouted Amba "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I can't believe you just got roasted by a rock! HAHAHAHA!" said Baagh "It's not funny! My mother died years ago!" said Applejack "Oh, I...I'm sorry Applejack, I had no idea." said Amba "Same here." said Baagh "I didn't know at all." said Tuka "I forgive you, don't worry." responded Applejack "All that aside, how are we going to figure this whole thing out?" asked Twilight "Well I could try to talk to some of them." answered Fluttershy "Talk to them? You won't be doing that, these animals will kill a person first and ask questions later." said Tuka "Well, I have the ability to see into someone's mind, so maybe I can see their thoughts?" asked Sunset Shimmer "No way! they'll kill you if you do that!" said Baagh "Well then how are we supposed to answer this question?" asked Rainbow Dash "Hold on, I think I have an idea." said Tuka "Really?" asked Spike "Yes, there is a big hole in the ground in this area, if we can get a predator in there, then Fluttershy can talk to it without getting harmed." said Tuka "Tuka, that brilliant! I completely forgot about that hole." responded Amba "Now we just need someone to be bait." said Tuka "Well, Rainbow Dash is fast, but the moment she fled from them they'd lose interest. Spike would be mauled for sure, Applejack while strong, I doubt she would be able to hold all of them off, Rarity would block them with her magic so she might take a long time, Sunset Shimmer's powers won't do crap against a pride of Tougarions or even a clan of hyenas, Twilight has powerful magic, but she did struggle to keep that hyena clan at bay, now Pinkie Pie can do stuff that I won't even question, but I don't know if she could escape a group of something chasing her, so I guess that leaves Fluttershy to be the bait." said Baagh "What! you want me to be the bait? Why me?" asked Fluttershy "It's simple, you can fly so can stay out of reach of the claws and fangs, and you're not too fast, so they won't lose interest in chasing you." replied Baagh "Or how about this, we split up into two groups to cover more ground while searching for a predator, and I just remembered that Twilight can also fly, so she can be the bait in the other group." suggested Amba "Oh boy." said Twilight "Good idea, we'll split up, Amba, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Rarity and I will go towards the Batima river in the local Petriasmilus pack's territory, while Baagh, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, and Fluttershy will go to the Maroli plains in the local Tougarion prides territory. " said Tuka They left Amba'a cave and went to the big hole Tuka was talking about so both teams knew where it was, then they went in their directions, once Amba's group got to the Batima river and no cats were seen. "Well, I don't see any cats here." said Rainbow Dash "Yes but you must keep your guard up, big cats aren't the only things you have to worry about. This river is full of hippos and crocodiles." said Amba Amba was right when they saw an Impala antelope come down to the rivers edge to get a drink, only to be caught in the jaws of a crocodile and then drug underwater so the crocodile could drown it's victim. After the Impala was dead, the crocodile then shook the Impala in order to rip it into big bite size pieces. Then a bull hippo came charging out of the river at Spike who got close to the rivers edge and Tuka had to grad Spike in his jaws to help him escape. "You're right, we do need to be on guard." said Spike "Which is exactly why when we say to keep your guard up, or actually from here on out, you will keep your guard up." said Tuka But hippos and crocs weren't the only things that were at the river, a bull Deinotherium came down to the rivers edge without fear, as it had nothing that was hunting it. Amba and Tuka were not very comfortable with him around, but Twilight was thrilled. "We'd better get outta here before something bad happens. So don't shout or anything." whispered Amba "GASP! A DEINOTHERIUM!!!! shouted Twilight But that was the worst thing she could have done, as the Deinotherium heard her shouting and without warning, charged straight at them, the gang ran for their lives. They ran for the trees and Spike and the girls managed to get up the tree, Amba followed them up the tree, but then he saw Tuka on the ground, still being chased by the Deinotherium and tried to get it away from the others, Amba remembered that Tuka couldn't climb trees, so Amba took action by jumping out of the tree, tranformed into his tiger form, and distracted the Deinotherium while Tuka could find a spot to hide in. "HEY! OVER HERE BIG GUY!" shouted Amba The Deinotherium chased Amba around, those in the tree never came down due to being too scared. "Why on earth is that beast acting like this?" asked Rarity "Twilight, why on earth did you have to shout like that!?" asked Spike "Spike, I couldn't help myself, it's not everyday you get to see an elephant that's been said to be extinct. Plus I forgot that bull elephants go through a stage called musth, they get into that stage during the mating season and their bodies are full of testosterone, making them very aggressive and unpredictable." explained Twilight "Well I know for a fact that if Amba gets out of this predicament, he will be VERY angry with you, and rightfully so." said Rarity "Wow, look at Amba go, he.is.AWESOME! He's so brave, even I don't think I'd have the guts to do that, AMBA'S AWESOME!" said Rainbow Dash "Let's just hope that he doesn't get trampled or gored." said Rarity Amba was still having the Deinotherium chase him around, but then he managed to lose the Deinotherium by tricking it into getting stuck between two very tall trees and finding cover before it got free. When it did get itself free, Amba thought it would go on its merry way, but then he heard the sound of people talking, the Deinotherium charged into the direction of the voices, Amba ran to try to get it's attention, but the Deinotherium got there before he did, and it trampled most of the people, and it killed the rest with sings blows from it's trunk. The Deinotherium then finally moved on, Amba went to where all the corpses were. "No, no, no, this....this can't be happening, when I get my hands on Twilight, I'm gonna kill that girl." said Amba Amba heard crying in the bushes, telling him that at least one person survived the attack. He went over to those bushes and he found a little girl sitting there crying. She had white skin, red hair, gemsbok skins for clothing including footwear, and she had blue eyes. "You poor thing, are there any other people in your tribe?" asked Amba "Sniff, no, there aren't. My mommy and daddy were trampled." said the girl "How old are you?" asked Amba "Eight" the little girl replied "You can come with me, and I'll take you to a new home. Does that sound good?" asked Amba "Yes" replied the little girl "Well then, come along, and by the way, what's your name?" asked Amba "My name is Talia." said the little girl Before they left, Talia went over to two of the corpses, and said something that made Amba'a heart sink. "Goodbye mommy, goodbye daddy. Sniff" said Talia Then they made their way back to the tree where the girls were waiting, while Talia was sobbing along the way, and Amba, since he was still in his tiger form, decided to let her ride his back. Meanwhile, Baaghs team had much better luck, as they managed to find a pride of Tougarions at their den. "Wow, I'll admit, they are pretty." admitted Applejack "Yep, but just look over there." said Baagh They did, and they saw the heads of people and hyenas at the den, and they also saw one of the Tougarions which had a big black mane, coming up to the den with the head of a woman in it jaws and placed it next to the other severed heads. "Wow, that's just, brutal." said Sunset Shimmer "I know, I've never understood why they do that." said Baagh "Really Baagh, you've never understood that? This is obviously the way they tell other predators to stay away from the dens." said Applejack "Of course! predators that share the same food source don't like each other at all, so larger predators kill small predators to eliminate the competition." said Fluttershy "So they kill people not for sport, but they see humans as competition." said Sunset Shimmer "Well that was quick." said Pinkie Pie "Welp, looks like we don't need to lure one to the big hole in the ground after all." said Baagh They left the Tougarions den, then Fluttershy ponied up and flew to look for the others, but she was not expecting them to be in a tree. She went and got the others and both groups reunited. "Wait, where's Amba and Tuka?" asked Baagh "I'm here, Amba distracted the bull Deinotherium that was chasing us because Twilight here SHOUTED, which got it's attention and charged at us." said Tuka who came out of his hiding place. "That's not all that happened." said Amba "Amba, good to see you're not trampled. But why is a little girl on your back?" asked Baagh "TWILIGHT! YOU IMBECILE!!! I TOLD YOU NOT TO SHOUT! BUT YOU DID!!!! AND BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS, I HAD TO DISTRACT THAT BEAST AND GOT IT STUCK BETWEEN TWO TREES, THEN IT BROKE OUT, IT HEARD THIS GIRLS TRIBE TALKING AND THEN IT WENT OVER AND KILLED ALL OF THEM!!!!!! AND NOW THIS KID IS AN ORPHAN, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FREAKING FAULT!!!!!" shouted Amba "Oh my, poor child." said Rarity "I.....I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen." said Twilight with tears coming out of her eyes. "Well sorry isn't going to bring her parents back. Now is it?" asked Rainbow Dash "No" replied Twilight "Are there any other tribes around here?" asked Pinkie Pie "No, but if there were I wouldn't leave her here, I don't want her to live in a place where she would live in fear of large felines." said Amba "Oh speaking of which, we figured out that the reason all the large predators around here kill people is to rid themselves of competitors for prey." said Sunset Shimmer "How did you figure that out?" asked Tuka "We saw the decapitated heads the Tougarions collected." said Sunset Shimmer At that moment, the same blue aura that brought Applejack, Rarity, Sunset, and Pinkie here covered them all, and then they were transported, leaving the Hunters Death Trap behind them. They landed in an entirely different place, for this place was not a savanna, but a thick tropical rainforest similar to the Amazon or the Congo. "Well............looks like we can say the Hunters Death Trap bye bye for good." said Baagh "Look everyone, the stone is saying that by answering that question right, we removed a lock on the door to the room that holds the artifact that will get us back home!" said Rarity "Awesome!" cheered Rainbow Dash "That's great! but it's getting late, we'd better find a place to sleep for the night." said Amba So they all went to find somewhere to sleep, they found a big cave, Baagh and Amba got dinner for everybody, which ended up being a crocodile they killed, and then they fell asleep. Author's Note So, they're finally out of the Hunters Death Trap, I should say that where they are now is a seperate landmass from the Hunters Death Trap, which is it's own landmass, and most of the other regions will be in the same landmass as this jungle. Cheers! Chapter 6: How the Mega Jaguar hunts the BuffaloThe next morning after breakfast which was a meal of antelope meat, the stone glowed once again, and the message changed. Rarity picked up the stone and read it. "It wants us to figure out how a Mega Jaguar kills a buffalo." said Rarity "Seriously? that's our question?" asked Spike "Yes Spike, it is." answered Rarity "Well we'd better get a move on, let's go!" ordered Amba The gang traveled through the jungle, searching for a jaguar or at least a herd of buffalo, but of course, both species proved to be elusive. However, they did encounter other animals like Spider Monkeys, Swamp Deer, Bongo, Sitatunga antelope, a leopard, and some Forest Elephants, which Talia hid behind Amba at the first sight of them. "It's okay Talia, we'll just keep our distance and we should be fine." said Amba "Are you sure?" asked Talia "I'm sure." answered Amba Twilight overheard their little conversation and couldn't help but feel worse about yesterdays events, that was truly the worst thing she had done. But there was nothing she could do about it now, and as the group kept walking through the jungle, they bumped into a river. They decided that some would pony up and fly over it while the rest would stick together to try to avoid a crocodile attack. As they were swimming, sure enough a crocodile was following them, only to leap out of the water and try to grab Rainbow Dash by the leg when they got on the other side, but luckily Amba scared the crocodile off in his tiger form. "Amba, you truly are amazing." thought Rainbow Dash On the other side of the river, thry finally found a herd of Jungle Buffalo, but these buffalo were massive, weighing a little over a ton at least, and they were dark brown with black horns, some of the buffalo had a more prominent "boss" in between the horns, meaning that those buffalo were males. "Oh my, they're simply HUGE!" said Rarity "Imagine all the beef you could get off of one of those things.' said Applejack "CRAZY to think a jaguar can hunt those things." said Pinkie Pie "Well would you look at that, look over there!" ordered Baagh Nearby, a huge male jaguar was stalking the herd, it definately deserved to have the word "Mega" in it's name as it was much larger than a jaguar in Central or South America, being four feet tall at the shoulder and weighing in at five hundred and thirty pounds. The jaguar snuck up to the buffalo as close as it could, it was targeting an old bull in the herd, when it was close enough, it rushed from cover, the herd scattered, and the jaguar leaped onto the buffalo, using it's body weight and strength to get the buffalo down on the ground, the jaguar then managed to clamp it's powerful jaws around the buffaloes throat, and literally crushed the windpipe. "Well, there's the answer, it uses it's strength and body weight to get the buffalo on the ground and then it crushes the windpipe." said Sunset Shimmer The stone shined brightly, meaning yet another lock was removed from the door they needed to unlock. Then it asked another question for them. "AW YEAH! TWO DOWN!" cheered Rainbow Dash "What does it say now?" asked Tuka "It asks us why sabertooths had those big teeth of theirs." answered Rarity "Oh great, more sabertooths." complained Baagh Once again, they trekked through the jungle, but in search for a sabertooth, which they did, and the species they found was a Megantereon. A sabertooth cat with a heavy build, canines going down farther than the jaws, and a short tail, the animal was stalking a Sitatunga antelope, the Megantereon charged, pounced, and then pinned the antelope on the ground, and then it pierced the throat with those huge teeth, killing the antelope rather quickly. "Okay, so it can kill prey quickly, but why kill quickly?" asked Fluttershy "Well there's your answer, a crocodile!" said Amba Turns out the kill was made next to a river, the crocodile came lumbering out of the water, the Megantereon growled, but the crocodile with that thick armor was not worried about being seriously injured by the cat, and proved to be too much of an adversary and the Megantereon was forced to back down. "Okay, THAT was pretty awesome." said Rainbow Dash "So it seems that cats like that one have big teeth like that so they can kill big animals quickly and in a more safer manner, and being able to kill quickly means being able to eat as much as they can quickly, before a larger more powerful predator comes along and takes the kill away from them." said Spike After that, they were once again covered in the blue aura, and taken to another region. The new region was more open plains, but they were different, they were not as hot as the previous grassland they were in before, the animals were also very different. They saw horses, bison, aurochs, elk, pronghorns, mule deer, and leopards. But then they saw a herd of Columbian Mammoths, mammoths that were larger than the Woolly Mammoth, and also not as hairy. Talia once again hid behind Amba to keep herself from being seen. "Lets get outta here before we possibly get charged at by those beasts." They did, and they found another cave to settle down in, then they decided to talk about the future and about Talia "Seems she's scared of elephants now." said Baagh "Well can you blame her? Her whole family was killed by one, so of course she would be scared of them." replied Amba "I don't blame her either, but what will we do when we complete our quest and go with them?" asked Tuka "When we get home, you boys could come work on my family's apple farm." said Applejack "I know of a couple that have been trying to have kids but they can't. So I'm sure they would take Talia in." said Pinkie Pie "Of course you would know Pinkie" said Sunset Shimmer "Well we'd better go hunting, see you girls later." said Amba as he, Tuka, and Baagh walked out the cave entrance. "Okay, see you later handsome!" said Rainbow Dash "Wait what?" asked Amba "Uh, I mean, bye!" replied Rainbow Dash "Uhhhhh, okay then, bye." replied Amba "Sounds like someones getting a little fond of Amba." said Rarity "I have no idea what you're talking about." said Rainbow Dash "Come on Rainbow, you TOTALLY have a crush on Amba." said Sunset Shimmer "Yeah, you can't deny it." said Fluttershy "Okay, you win, I'll admit, I have a crush on Amba. He's cute, nice, but most of all, he's brave. Brave enough to distract a Deinotherium to save us, to save me from a crocodile, and brave enough to save us from a clan of hyenas. That takes a lot of guts, he's not afraid to put himself in danger to save others." said Rainbow Dash "Yep, he wouldn't be a bad boyfriend." said Applejack "Please don't tell the others." said Rainbow Dash "Our lips are sealed." said Applejack
Chapter 1: Dawn of a New AdventureIt was the last of school, everyone was excited, even Twilight Sparkle now that she knew she could read anything she wanted. As they were walking down the hallway of Canterlot High, they started talking about their plans for summer vacation. "So, what is everyone's plan for summer?" Sunset Shimmer asked "I'm gonna be working on the farm." Applejack replied "I will be working at the boutique I work at, and hopefully we'll bring in a new fashion line." Rarity answered "Well having fun of course!" Pinkie Pie happily answered "Well my family and I are going on a cruise after school." Rainbow Dash said "So is my family." Relpied Twilight Sparkle "And so is mine." Fluttershy said "Really? when are you going?" Asked Sunset Shimmer "We'll head out sometime after school." Answered Rainbow Dash "Well I hope you all have fun." Replied Sunset Shimmer After school like Rainbow Dash said, they all went on board the cruise and then they went off to sea. On that night, there was a big buffet in the dining room. This was some good eating as Rainbow was just crazy over the shrimp. While Fluttershy ate a salad as she was a vegetarian. "Man this shrimp is tasty, best seafood I've tasted!" Said Rainbow Dash "I can see that." Giggled Twilight "Me too Rainbow." Said Spike "Wanna try some Spike?" Asked Rainbow Dash "Nah, I'm good, though I do wish I could eat stuff like horse and elk meat, just like my ancestors did." Spike replied "Huh?" Wondered Rainbow Dash "He watched a documentary about the Dire Wolf." Twilight responded "Wait, those actually existed?" Asked Rainbow Dash "Yeah, and they were awesome!" shouted Spike "And now he wants to eat like one." Replied Twilight But before they could say anything else, more than a dozen men came on board the ship, armed with swords, axes, bows, and arrows, they caused all the passengers to panic. But it turns out that they were only there for their belongings. But Twilight, Rainbow, Spike, and Fluttershy were all captured before anyone could notice. Later, they were put in jail cells on the enemy ship, and then the pirates set sail for land. When they did reach land, the pirates unloaded the ship, tied the girls hands behind their backs, and Spike to a rope, they went outside, and the captain with a white shirt, black beard, brown eyes, and an eye patch was just not too thrilled. "Why on earth did you bring back these people and their mutt?" Asked the captain "Well captain, we figured we could use some ladies to do chores for us." Answered a crew mate "Excuse me?' Rainbow Dash grolwed "Plus a dog would come in handy for picking up the scents of any wild beasts." Said another pirate "I see your point, there are monsters in these parts that will kill a man without a second thought." Answered the captain "Just you wait, search parties will find us and rescue us, and you will all be punished!" Shouted Twilight "He he he, that won't happen for you see, this place is not even on the map, none of your people have ever come onto this land. So you can kiss your old lives goodbye." The captain answered But before he could say anything else, they heard menacing growls, these sounded a bit like a mix of lion and tiger growls. This caused the hairs on the back of everyone's necks to rise, everyone was sweating, hearts were racing. The men got their weapons out, ready to fight whatever was out there. "Put the prisoners in those cages." Ordered the captain Which one of the men did, and he locked the cage doors in the process. Then, out of the darkness of the night, a big cat pounced and grabbed one man by the throat and ripped it out, before the men could kill the cat, more of these felines attacked, killing the men with their powerful jaws and single swipes from their paws. These cats had no mercy on the men, not a single man was to survive. The last man was killed right in front of the girls with a bite to the back of the skull. They didn't recognize these cats because they were unlike any cat they ever saw. They were as big as tigers, had black stripes like tigers, but in body shape, they looked like cougars, they were the same color as a lion, they had a tuft of fur at the ends of their tails, and at least seven of them had manes like male lions. The feline that killed the man in front of the girls was one of the maned animals, and it roared at them, and then growled. "Such language!" Fluttershy said After that, the cats did something no other predator would do after killing a human, they literally chewed the heads off the corpses, ad carried them off into the night. "Did we just see what I think we just saw?" Asked Spike "Gotta get the key." Said Fluttershy "No Fluttershy! wait for the morning, I don't want those things hunting us, even if I could totally outrun them." Said Rainbow Dash "She's right, this is clearly a place where humans are the ones who are hunted." Replied Twilight And so they went to sleep for the night, but at the same time, worrying about what else lives in this place that they have found themselves in. In the morning, they wake up, and Fluttershy was thankfully in reach of the key, and unlocked the cage doors. While they were walking in search of breakfast, they came across a water hole. "This could be what we need, we might be able to find some eggs in a nest we could eat." Suggested Twilight "Eggs!" Fluttershy whimpered "I hate to break it to you Fluttershy, but if you want to survive, you'll have to eat some meat" Said Rainbow Dash But before they could get close to the water hole, a huge herd of Wildebeest came to the waterhole to drink. This herd numbered in the thousands, making it harder to sneak up on for any predators. "Aw come on!" Complained Rainbow Dash "Why is this such a bother Rainbow?" Asked Fluttershy "How are we supposed to get to the waterhole without scaring those things?" Asked Rainbow Dash "They're Wildebeests Rainbow. But you do have a point, I mean I would like to not get trampled by this many animals." Replied Twilight However, luck was in their favor, as the herd suddenly ran. They were very fast, but it was clear that it wasn't the girls that scared them. When the most of the herd had gone by, they saw a teenage boy chasing after a Wildebeest, he had orange skin, black hair, a buffalo hide for clothing, and he was running on all fours. He was accompanied by a type of wild dog with pointed ears, a bushy tail, and a white pelt. The boy leaped onto the Wildebeest, used his arms, and his claws that came out of his fingers, and his retractable canines to get the Wildebeest down on the ground, once he got the Wildebeest into a position where he could kill it, he clamped his jaws around it's throat, and he didn't let go until the Wildebeest was dead. He then roared in victory, and the girls noticed he had a scar going down between his eyes and across his nose, an another scar above his left eye. "That. was. AWESOME!" Said Rainbow Dash "Let's go ask him if we can have some of his kill." Suggested Spike They approached his kill while he and the dog were eating it. But they approached with caution. When they got really close to the kill, the boy growled like a tiger, warning them to stay away. "Um, hi, um, we just wondering if we could share some of that kill with us?" Said Fluttershy But instead of sharing, he roared at the top of his lungs, and he charged at them to get them away from the kill that was rightfully his. "Okay okay, we get it, you don't have to be so mean about it! Sheesh!" Complained Rainbow Dash After that, they were forced to look for food the whole day, but they were unsuccessful, but they did manage to drink enough water. But they didn't manage to get a single meal, leaving them with empty stomachs for the night. They took this as a lesson that their lives here will not be easy. Author's Note Hey guys! hope you like the first chapter to my story, and let me know what you thought about the cats in the chapter.
Chapter 2: Hunters Death trapThe next morning, the group wakes up for another day in the wild. Hungrier now more than ever since they haven't eaten in forever. "Ugh, I haven't been this hungry in forever. Complained Rainbow Dash "Well we just have to keep trying until we get our bellies full." Said Fluttershy "Yeah, if starvation doesn't kill us first." Replied Rainbow Dash "Well we have to try regardless, I'm just hoping we don't bump into that boy from yesterday again. Said Twilight "I know right? I can't believe he's that rude." said Rainbow Dash "Oh come on guys, maybe he just has a good reason for doing that." Suggested Spike "Out of greed maybe, but I wish I ate some of that Wildebeest." Replied Rainbow Dash They go ahead and get a drink of water, then go out in search of a suitable meal, they try everything from catching hares, to trying to trap Hipparion horses, but nothing worked. They even tried to catch buffalo, but you better believe that didn't work out. This carried on for hours, and they didn't eat any of the fruits because they had no knowledge if they could eat the fruits without getting sick. After many hours of this, they became exhausted, and weak. This got to the point where Rainbow Dash collasped. "I can't go on, I'm too weak, I need food." Said Rainbow Dash "Well we can't just leave you here, we'll carry you." Twilight replied "No Twilight, go on without me, save yourselves." said Rainbow Dash "Oh come on Rainbow Dash, don't be ridiculous." said Rainbow Dash Just at that moment, they heard a very distinct whooping sound. one that sounded very familiar. "I'd recognize that sound, and it's not good." said Twilight "HYENAS!" shouted Spike Spike was right, they were hyenas, but not Spotted Hyenas, these hyenas were about the same size, but they had pointed ears, black stripes, and yellow eyes. They sensed Rainbows weakness, and they wanted her for their next meal. They were outnumbered, as there were at least thirty hyenas around them. "Guys, save yourselves!" suggested Rainbow Dash "No Rainbow! we'll hold them off!" replied Twilight "But how? Rainbow is too weak to run, Fluttershy can't fight them. said Spike "Maybe not Spike, but maybe I can talk to them. suggested Fluttershy Fluttershy then walked straight up to the Matriarch to tell her what she needed to tell her. "Excuse me miss, but could your clan please not eat us and instead help us out in our predicament?" asked Fluttershy But the hyena had her own way of answering her question, which was by snapping her jaws at her and pinning her to the ground. But before she could kill Flutershy, Twilight used her magic to lift the hyena off of her. "Well it looks like the answer is no." answered Twilight Twilight used her magic to try to hold off the hyenas, but it didn't deter them at all, they were closing in, going in for the kill. But all of a sudden, a giant tiger came rushing onto the scene, and it killed the Matriarch with one swipe from its paw, which was wider than a man's chest. The tiger killed several of the hyenas, chasing them off, and at the same time, to the girls suprise, it was speaking. "GO ON! BEAT IT! GET OUTTA HERE! FIND OTHER FOOD!" shouted the tiger And so the hyenas ran off, in search of a meal that didn't have such a formidable opponent defending it. The tiger went towards the girls, as if he was concerned about them. "Put her on my back, I'll take you back to my cave. Come on Tuka!" ordered the tiger "Coming master!" said the tigers companion Out of the nearby bushes came a dog that looked just like the one that was with the boy from yesterday, but that wasn't important, but what was important what that they were rescued, and were now under this tigers protection from predators. At the cave, Rainbow Dash was put down on the cave floor. But she was still weak, and needed food. "You stay here, Tuka and I will get food for her." said the tiger The tiger and dog left the cave, leaving the girls and Spike alone for about an hour until the tiger and dog came back with prey, which in this case was a Hipparion horse. The tiger put the horse on the cave floor, and then he tore out a chunk of meat from the horse then Twilight made a fire to cook the meat over, as they weren't used to eating raw meat like the tiger was. "How much longer will it take?" asked the tiger "Actually, it's almost done." answered Twilight "Really!?" said Rainbow Dash "Yep, you'll get your strength back in no time!" said Twilight Twilight did not lie, as soon, Rainbow ate the meat like a desperate coyote, not caring about manners. same with the other two, they ate like crazy. Eventually they had their fill. "Uh, look, I just want to thank you for saving our lives. said Rainbow Dash "Your welcome, and I have something to say myself." replied the tiger The tiger began to transform, and it transformed into the boy who chased them off yesterday. This, they really did not see coming at all. "You!?" said Rainbow Dash "Yes, it's me, I just want to say that I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday." said the boy who could turn into a tiger "Well you should be mister, that was awfully rude. I know someone who would be REALLY not like you for it." said Fluttershy "I know it was rude of me to do that, but in my defense, pirates have tried to take my kills away from me in the past, so I did that mostly by instinct. I felt terrible about it and I decided to look for you and protect you to make up for it since I knew for a fact that you wouldn't last much longer out here." said the boy "Plus I told him it was rude to do that and when he said he was going to look for you, I decided to come along." Tuka the white dog "Did you just talk?" asked Twilight "Yes, I got that ability when I drank from an odd stream. Apparently it makes animals able to speak to humans after they drink the water from that particular dream." replied Tuka "So tell us, why do you two live together?" asked Rainbow Dash "It's quite simple really, we have this partnership, I help him find prey, and he catches the prey, and we both eat it, and he protects me from predators in return. In fact that's what my entire species does, makes partnerships with the most dominant hunter in the land and helps them with tracking." answered Tuka "That's right, and we make a great team. But I have to ask, how did you all get here?" responded the boy "We were on a cruise,but then we were kidnapped by pirates who were then killed by these weird cats, and we escaped from the camp yesterday." explained Twilight "Cats, which ones? Sabertooths or the ones with stripes and pointed ears?" asked the boy "Wait, there are sabertooths here too?" asked Twilight "Yep, two kinds, a large one with spots and huge fangs, and a smaller one that can climb trees very well." said the boy "Gees, could this place get any more dangerous?" asked Spike "Well to answer your question, they were the ones with stripes and pointed ears." Twilight answered "Those animals are called Tougarions. They have no tolerance for man, and they will kill a person on sight. It has been said that every human hunter that has entered this place, has never come out alive. The cause of death is always due to a predator, all the large predators out here, the Tougarions, the sabertooths, hyenas, and even wild dogs will kill any human they find on their hunting grounds,they won't even hesitate to kill an infant, hence why this place is known as the Hunters Death trap." said the boy "Dang, now I'm REALLY glad you saved us, but how come you've survived this long?" Rainbow Dash responded "Well, I transform into a giant tiger in order to fight predators, so I can defend myself pretty well. But I only transform to fight, not to hunt, with the exception of today because normally I don't need to transform in order to hunt." said the boy On that night, another fire was made, and this time, the girls along with Spike could now sleep with full stomachs, and at the same time feel safe with their new bodyguard around. But there was one last thing on Rainbows mind. "I can't believe we didn't ask you this but, what's your name? asked Rainbow Dash "My name is Amba." the boy answered After that, Raindow Dash finally went to sleep, while Amba looked up into the sky, now keeping in mind that he is now their protector.
Chapter 3: Expect The UnexpectedBack in Canterlot, the rest of the mane 7 are terribly worried about their friends, wondering if they will even ever see them again. They were at the local park, similar to Central Park in New York City, but it has more woods. "I really hope they're okay. I can't bear the thought the never seeing them again." said Sunset Shimmer "Neither can I, I couldn't even finish sewing a dress without feeling worried about them." said Rarity "Me, I always feel not so happy when i think about them now." said Pinkie Pie "I'm worried too, all we can do is to pray that nothing bad happens to them, that's all we can do." said Applejack "Wait, what is that?" asked Rarity In the bushes, there was a stone with some writing on it, Rarity went over and picked it up, then brought it back to everyone else. "Well, what does it say?" asked Applejack "It says, go to the land ruled by mighty beasts, In that place, you must have your wits about you, for many beasts will try to catch you, and if they catch you, they'll kill you. But to escape, you must answer the questions about the land's mighty felines." said Rarity After Rarity read that, a blue aura appeared around them, and then they were gone from the park, and the next thing they knew, they were in a completely different place. "What the?" said Sunset Shimmer "What.just.happened?" asked Rarity "That thing obviously teleported us to this place." said Applejack "Yeah silly." said Pinkie Pie "And judging from the surroundings, I reckon we're in the African savanna." suggested Applejack "How are we supposed to get back exactly?" asked Rarity "We'll try to find the nearest town and tell them our situation, and we can go back home." suggested Sunset Shimmer "OOOOOORRRRR, you could get that stone to get us home." said Pinkie Pie "Yes, but it says we have to answer questions about some felines to get home it says, so I'll go with Sunsets plan." said Rarity "I'll take that over having to look for any cats any day, let's go." agreed Applejack They headed east, they traveled for hours, bumped into many familiar animals like buffalo and giraffe, but yet there was no sign of any people. Eventually they found a pond. They were all thirsty, so they decided to take a quick drink. "Not my style of drinking, but it will have to do." said Rarity From thick cover of trees nearby, they heard rumbles, loud rumbles. To the girls, this was all to familiar with them. "Oh boy, we'd better get outta here now." said Applejack "GAAAAAASSSSSPP! ELEPHANTS!" Pinkie Pie shouted "Pinkie quiet down, they'll hear you, and they might..." said Sunset Shimmer A group of elephants came charging at them, with their tails high, a sign of aggression. "RUN!" shouted Sunset Shimmer They quickly ran to the closest tree, climbed it, and waited for the elephants to leave, then they got a good look at the elephants, and they quickly realized that these weren't the African elephants they were familiar with. These elephants were taller than the biggest African elephants, and their tusks were placed on front of their lower jaws and pointed downwards. These animals were a herd of Deinotherium. Among the adults were calves, making it clear that this was a matriarchal herd. "OOOOOOHHHH! INTERESTING!" said Pinkie Pie "I gotta say, those are the weirdest looking elephants I've ever seen." said Applejack "Yeah, I'm probably dreaming." said Sunset Shimmer "Nope, your're still awake." said Pinkie Pie After a little while, the Deinotherium took their drinks from the pond, and then went on their way. "Okay then, now that's over, shall we continue?" asked Rarity "No, we'd better stay here, it's getting dark, and it's never a good idea to wander around in the savanna at night." said Applejack "Okay, I'll go try to find some food before it gets dark." said Sunset Shimmer Sunset then went down the tree, but she was unaware, that she was being watched. In the nearby grass, a Machairifelis, a sabertooth cat the size of a leopard with a long tail, round ears, rosettes like a clouded leopard, same color as a leopard, and with long fangs that don't protrude further than the lower jaw, was in ambush. This animal had been watching the girls for a long time, and this was the moment it was waiting for. Once Sunset was on her own, the big cat charged and lunged at her throat and pinned her to the ground, but Sunset quickly grabbed the cat by the throat to prevent it from killing her. The rest of the girls came in time, Applejack using her immense strength, grabbed the big cat by the tail and threw it off off her friend. The big cat knew not to try to attack Applejack, but it charged at Pinkie Pie, but Pinkie being Pinkie managed to all of a sudden dodge the big cat. After that it lunged at Rarity, but Rarity used her magic to make a shield to block the attack. The Machairifelis did not give up, as it was determined to kill one of the girls. But before it could make another attempt to attack, a giant gray tiger came to the rescue, and roared at the smaller feline and the the Machairifelis backed off and ran away. The tiger had four big scars across it's left shoulder, had blue eyes, and a white underbelly along with black stripes. "Are you all okay?" asked the tiger "Yes, thankfully. Thank you so much." said Sunset Shimmer "Your Welcome, I was just patrolling my territory when I saw what was going on, figured I should help you out." said the tiger "How thoughtful of you, what's your name." asked Rarity "The name's Baagh." said the tiger "Well I'm Rarity." "I'm Applejack." "I'm Pinkie Pie" "And I'm Sunset Shimmer" "Nice names, I'll take you all back to my cave if you want." suggested Baagh "Why of course darling!" said Rarity "Alright then, follow me." said Baagh They follow him to his cave, the cave entrance itself was big, big enough to fit an elephant in it. "After you." said Baagh "Why thank you! Quite the gentlemen you are." said Rarity They all went in, took a seat on the cave floor, and then Baagh transformed into a teenage boy with black hair and gray skin wearing the hide of a kudu antelope for clothing. "OOOOOHH! said Pinkie Pie "Didn't see that one coming did you?" asked Baagh "Nope" replied Applejack "Do you mind if I ask you how you got those scars?" asked Sunset Shimmer "Not at all, I" said Baagh until he was interuppted "You got into a fight with a guy named Amba over territory and he gave you those scars but you gave him scars across his face but you were defeated and now you live here and you've never been to Amba's territory since." said Pinkie Pie "What....you weren't even there!" said Baagh "Darling, it's Pinkie Pie, don't question it, we know better." said Rarity "I'll gladly keep that in mind. I'll get some prey, I know for a fact that you're hungry." said Baagh Baagh left the cave and went hunting, later he returned dragging the carcass of a buffalo he killed, they all ate their fill, and then went to sleep.
Chapter 4: ReunionOn the next day, Baagh yawned after a good nights sleep, he went ahead and left the cave to get a drink of water, then went ahead to get some breakfast. Meanwhile, when the girls woke up, Rarity noticed something off about the stone that brought them to this place. "The writing on the stone, it's changed!" said Rarity "Changed?" asked Applejack "Yes, now it's telling us to go to the place where the tiger and his dog do rest for the night." said Rarity "Well that rock clearly isn't talking about this cave because Baagh doesn't have a dog and" said Pinkie Pie "We know Pinkie." replied Applejack "Well at least we know to go to a cave or something in another tiger boy's territory." said Sunset Shimmer "True, but it we don't know which territory to go to." Applejack responded Baagh had come back from hunting, only this time he was unsuccessful. "Where did you wander off too?" "I was trying to get some breakfast, decided to hunt some buffalo, but that didn't go so well. The herd charged at me when I caught one and it cried for help." answered Baagh "Chased by buffaloes? That must be terrifying." said Pinkie Pie "Baagh darling, we have a bit of a pickle." said Rarity "Well what is it?" asked Baagh "You see, this stone here is what brought us here in the first place, and now the message on it has changed. " said Rarity "Lucky for you, I'll believe anything after I saw your weird powers when you were dealing with that sabertooth yesterday, so what does it say?" asked Baagh "It's telling us to go to the place where the tiger and his dog rest for the night." said Rarity "Ugh, I know exactly where that is, in Amba's territory." responded Baagh "Oh, are you sure there aren't any other tiger people around?" asked Sunset Shimmer "Yep, I'm sure, and I don't feel comfortable about going back to his hunting grounds." replied Baagh "I know you two have had your differences, but maybe if we explained to him about our situation, maybe he will understand." responded Sunset Shimmer "Okay, if you say so." With Baagh as their guide, they headed for Amba's hunting ground. But Baagh was still nervous, he didn't want Amba to see him, but he didn't leave them. Once they reached Amba's territory, they bumped into a group of sabertooths, but these sabertooths canines were longer, going past the lower jaws, had long tails, spots like a cheetah, and they were the same color as a cheetah. These animals are what are known as Petriasmilus. "Get down, if they see you, you'll try to kill you." ordered Baagh "How come?" asked Pinkie Pie "Just get down !" ordered Baagh They hid in the long grass, watching the Petriasmilus pack move, hoping to not be caught. But to their luck, the predators walked on, with their minds clearly on something else. "Phew" said Applejack "You can say that again." responded Sunset Shimmer They kept on making their way towards Amba's cave, and when they did eventually reach the cave, they saw a sight they had been wishing to see for ages. Rainbow Dash had come out of the cave, and when she came out of the cave, she laid eyes on her friends, and couldn't believe her eyes. "Rainbow Dash?" asked Applejack "Applejack, Sunset, Pinkie, Rarity, is that you?" asked Rainbow Dash "You'd better believe it darling!" said Rarity "Hey guys, come out here! You'll never guess who's here!" said Rainbow Dash Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike came out of the cave and saw what Rainbow Dash meant, tears went down their faces as they laid eyes on their friends, they ran to each other and hugged. While that was happening, Baagh had a smile on his face, knowing that he had done a good deed, but he let his guard down which ended up being a big mistake as Amba tackled him to the ground, Baagh fought back and managed to get Amba off, both rose on their hind legs and clawed and bit each other as tigers do, Amba was stronger, so he was able to push Baagh down each time he went to attack. The girls looked on as the fight continued. "Get him Amba! Teach him a lesson!" cheered Tuka. Amba managed to pin Baagh on his back, ready to end the fight. "Now Baagh, time to end this shall we?" asked Amba "STOP!" shouted Sunset Shimmer "DON'T KILL HIM YOU BRUTE!" shouted Rarity "Okay first of all, I wasn't going to kill him, I was going to claw up his face, and second, I told him to stay off my hunting grounds the first time we fought, and this is what happens to those who ignore my warnings." said Amba "If you would listen to what we have to say, then you'll see that he came here for a noble cause." said Sunset Shimmer "Yeah, how did you guys get here anyway?" asked Twilight "Well you see darling, this stone here teleported us here when I read the message that told us to come here, then we eventually bumped into Baagh here who let us stay with him and then the message on the stone changed ad it told us to come here which I'm glad it did. explained Rarity After hearing what she said, Amba got off of Baagh. "I'm sorry for my behavior Baagh, I couldn't help myself, instinct just took over and I..." said Amba "I know Amba, I forgive you." said Baagh Then the everyone noticed that the stone was glowing, and the message was once again changing. "What does it say now Rarity?" asked Applejack "It says that we have completed the first task, and that there is a magical artifact up in the far north that will take us back home, but it's in a room with a door with several locks on it, and the only way we can unlock the door is by answering questions about the big cats of Bakula." said Rarity "So....basically we have to go all over the place to answer questions about the big cats that live here?" asked Fluttershy "Yep, pretty much." said Rarity "Aw man! I thought we were done learning for the year!" complained Rainbow Dash "Well Rainbow, at least at Canterlot High you don't have to worry about being mauled by a big cat, I mean seriously, why does it always have to be with something dangerous? why can't it be with rabbits or something that isn't dangerous?" complained Sunset Shimmer " I don't know, but I'm coming with you. I'd like to live around other people." said Amba "So will I, we'll help if anything bad happens." said Baagh "I'll come along too. I've been partners with Amba for years, so I'm not letting him go without me now." said Tuka "Then it's settled, we'll go whenever the message on the stone changes." said Twilight However, the bellies of Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie growled as loud as a lion roars. "But first, it sounds like someone needs to eat." said Spike "You idiot, you seriously didn't try to get food on your way here!?" said Amba "Well, I uhhh" said Baagh "Nevermind, there is still some meat left that I brought back from a hunt this morning, now eat some of it before you attract a pride of Tougarions here with your growling stomachs." ordered Amba The four girls went into Amba's cave and ate the meat from his kill which this time was a Waterbuck antelope. The message didn't change for a while, so the gang didn't really do much but catch up on things that happened while Baagh, Tuka, and Amba went hunting together, and they managed to bring down a giraffe and bring it back to the cave where it's meat was devoured and the meat lasted longer due to coming from a very big animal and so the giraffe meat was what was for dinner that night. Author's Note So their you have it, they'll start uncovering the secrets of the Big Cats of Bakula, so stay tuned everyone!
Chapter 5: Why the Big Cats of the Hunters Death Trap hunt manAfter a breakfast of more giraffe meat, the stone was once again glowing, meaning that the message on the stone was changing, everyone was watching, anxious to see what question they were going to have to answer. Once the message changed, Rarity was the one to read it to everyone. "Why do the big cats of the Hunters Death Trap hunt man?" said Rarity. "Well, big cats become man-eaters when they are sick, injured, or at least something happens to them that makes them unable to hunt their natural prey." answered Twilight "Yeah, but the Tougarions that killed the pirates looked to be pretty healthy. So that can't be the reason." said Spike "Well I say that these monsters do this for the thrill of the kill, they do it for fun, just like all pesky predators." answered Applejack "You know I can hear you right?" asked Tuka "Yeah Applejack, how the heck can you say that after we've been helping you? we're predators aren't we?" asked Amba "Well that's different, you guys don't kill for fun." "Oh for the love the love of, NO PREDATOR KILLS FOR FUN!" shouted Amba "Well I agree with Applejack, these animals are nothing but big brutes- gets shocked by the stone- OWWWW!!!" said Rarity "Ooooh, that's gotta hurt." said Baagh "You okay Rarity?" asked Fluttershy "I would hope so, that looks like it hurt." said Pinkie Pie "Yes, but that really hurt!" complained Rarity "Seems to be what happens when we get a question wrong." said Sunset Shimmer "Well I disagree with that stone. All predators are bloodthirsty and are the biggest nuisance on this earth. responded Applejack However, the message on the stone changed once again, but it wasn't asking a question as Applejack was about to learn the hard way. "What does it say now Rarity?" asked Tuka "It says, that the last time it checked, the biggest nuisance on this earth is Applejack's mother." said Rarity "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ROASTED!!!!" shouted Amba "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I can't believe you just got roasted by a rock! HAHAHAHA!" said Baagh "It's not funny! My mother died years ago!" said Applejack "Oh, I...I'm sorry Applejack, I had no idea." said Amba "Same here." said Baagh "I didn't know at all." said Tuka "I forgive you, don't worry." responded Applejack "All that aside, how are we going to figure this whole thing out?" asked Twilight "Well I could try to talk to some of them." answered Fluttershy "Talk to them? You won't be doing that, these animals will kill a person first and ask questions later." said Tuka "Well, I have the ability to see into someone's mind, so maybe I can see their thoughts?" asked Sunset Shimmer "No way! they'll kill you if you do that!" said Baagh "Well then how are we supposed to answer this question?" asked Rainbow Dash "Hold on, I think I have an idea." said Tuka "Really?" asked Spike "Yes, there is a big hole in the ground in this area, if we can get a predator in there, then Fluttershy can talk to it without getting harmed." said Tuka "Tuka, that brilliant! I completely forgot about that hole." responded Amba "Now we just need someone to be bait." said Tuka "Well, Rainbow Dash is fast, but the moment she fled from them they'd lose interest. Spike would be mauled for sure, Applejack while strong, I doubt she would be able to hold all of them off, Rarity would block them with her magic so she might take a long time, Sunset Shimmer's powers won't do crap against a pride of Tougarions or even a clan of hyenas, Twilight has powerful magic, but she did struggle to keep that hyena clan at bay, now Pinkie Pie can do stuff that I won't even question, but I don't know if she could escape a group of something chasing her, so I guess that leaves Fluttershy to be the bait." said Baagh "What! you want me to be the bait? Why me?" asked Fluttershy "It's simple, you can fly so can stay out of reach of the claws and fangs, and you're not too fast, so they won't lose interest in chasing you." replied Baagh "Or how about this, we split up into two groups to cover more ground while searching for a predator, and I just remembered that Twilight can also fly, so she can be the bait in the other group." suggested Amba "Oh boy." said Twilight "Good idea, we'll split up, Amba, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Rarity and I will go towards the Batima river in the local Petriasmilus pack's territory, while Baagh, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, and Fluttershy will go to the Maroli plains in the local Tougarion prides territory. " said Tuka They left Amba'a cave and went to the big hole Tuka was talking about so both teams knew where it was, then they went in their directions, once Amba's group got to the Batima river and no cats were seen. "Well, I don't see any cats here." said Rainbow Dash "Yes but you must keep your guard up, big cats aren't the only things you have to worry about. This river is full of hippos and crocodiles." said Amba Amba was right when they saw an Impala antelope come down to the rivers edge to get a drink, only to be caught in the jaws of a crocodile and then drug underwater so the crocodile could drown it's victim. After the Impala was dead, the crocodile then shook the Impala in order to rip it into big bite size pieces. Then a bull hippo came charging out of the river at Spike who got close to the rivers edge and Tuka had to grad Spike in his jaws to help him escape. "You're right, we do need to be on guard." said Spike "Which is exactly why when we say to keep your guard up, or actually from here on out, you will keep your guard up." said Tuka But hippos and crocs weren't the only things that were at the river, a bull Deinotherium came down to the rivers edge without fear, as it had nothing that was hunting it. Amba and Tuka were not very comfortable with him around, but Twilight was thrilled. "We'd better get outta here before something bad happens. So don't shout or anything." whispered Amba "GASP! A DEINOTHERIUM!!!! shouted Twilight But that was the worst thing she could have done, as the Deinotherium heard her shouting and without warning, charged straight at them, the gang ran for their lives. They ran for the trees and Spike and the girls managed to get up the tree, Amba followed them up the tree, but then he saw Tuka on the ground, still being chased by the Deinotherium and tried to get it away from the others, Amba remembered that Tuka couldn't climb trees, so Amba took action by jumping out of the tree, tranformed into his tiger form, and distracted the Deinotherium while Tuka could find a spot to hide in. "HEY! OVER HERE BIG GUY!" shouted Amba The Deinotherium chased Amba around, those in the tree never came down due to being too scared. "Why on earth is that beast acting like this?" asked Rarity "Twilight, why on earth did you have to shout like that!?" asked Spike "Spike, I couldn't help myself, it's not everyday you get to see an elephant that's been said to be extinct. Plus I forgot that bull elephants go through a stage called musth, they get into that stage during the mating season and their bodies are full of testosterone, making them very aggressive and unpredictable." explained Twilight "Well I know for a fact that if Amba gets out of this predicament, he will be VERY angry with you, and rightfully so." said Rarity "Wow, look at Amba go, he.is.AWESOME! He's so brave, even I don't think I'd have the guts to do that, AMBA'S AWESOME!" said Rainbow Dash "Let's just hope that he doesn't get trampled or gored." said Rarity Amba was still having the Deinotherium chase him around, but then he managed to lose the Deinotherium by tricking it into getting stuck between two very tall trees and finding cover before it got free. When it did get itself free, Amba thought it would go on its merry way, but then he heard the sound of people talking, the Deinotherium charged into the direction of the voices, Amba ran to try to get it's attention, but the Deinotherium got there before he did, and it trampled most of the people, and it killed the rest with sings blows from it's trunk. The Deinotherium then finally moved on, Amba went to where all the corpses were. "No, no, no, this....this can't be happening, when I get my hands on Twilight, I'm gonna kill that girl." said Amba Amba heard crying in the bushes, telling him that at least one person survived the attack. He went over to those bushes and he found a little girl sitting there crying. She had white skin, red hair, gemsbok skins for clothing including footwear, and she had blue eyes. "You poor thing, are there any other people in your tribe?" asked Amba "Sniff, no, there aren't. My mommy and daddy were trampled." said the girl "How old are you?" asked Amba "Eight" the little girl replied "You can come with me, and I'll take you to a new home. Does that sound good?" asked Amba "Yes" replied the little girl "Well then, come along, and by the way, what's your name?" asked Amba "My name is Talia." said the little girl Before they left, Talia went over to two of the corpses, and said something that made Amba'a heart sink. "Goodbye mommy, goodbye daddy. Sniff" said Talia Then they made their way back to the tree where the girls were waiting, while Talia was sobbing along the way, and Amba, since he was still in his tiger form, decided to let her ride his back. Meanwhile, Baaghs team had much better luck, as they managed to find a pride of Tougarions at their den. "Wow, I'll admit, they are pretty." admitted Applejack "Yep, but just look over there." said Baagh They did, and they saw the heads of people and hyenas at the den, and they also saw one of the Tougarions which had a big black mane, coming up to the den with the head of a woman in it jaws and placed it next to the other severed heads. "Wow, that's just, brutal." said Sunset Shimmer "I know, I've never understood why they do that." said Baagh "Really Baagh, you've never understood that? This is obviously the way they tell other predators to stay away from the dens." said Applejack "Of course! predators that share the same food source don't like each other at all, so larger predators kill small predators to eliminate the competition." said Fluttershy "So they kill people not for sport, but they see humans as competition." said Sunset Shimmer "Well that was quick." said Pinkie Pie "Welp, looks like we don't need to lure one to the big hole in the ground after all." said Baagh They left the Tougarions den, then Fluttershy ponied up and flew to look for the others, but she was not expecting them to be in a tree. She went and got the others and both groups reunited. "Wait, where's Amba and Tuka?" asked Baagh "I'm here, Amba distracted the bull Deinotherium that was chasing us because Twilight here SHOUTED, which got it's attention and charged at us." said Tuka who came out of his hiding place. "That's not all that happened." said Amba "Amba, good to see you're not trampled. But why is a little girl on your back?" asked Baagh "TWILIGHT! YOU IMBECILE!!! I TOLD YOU NOT TO SHOUT! BUT YOU DID!!!! AND BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS, I HAD TO DISTRACT THAT BEAST AND GOT IT STUCK BETWEEN TWO TREES, THEN IT BROKE OUT, IT HEARD THIS GIRLS TRIBE TALKING AND THEN IT WENT OVER AND KILLED ALL OF THEM!!!!!! AND NOW THIS KID IS AN ORPHAN, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FREAKING FAULT!!!!!" shouted Amba "Oh my, poor child." said Rarity "I.....I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen." said Twilight with tears coming out of her eyes. "Well sorry isn't going to bring her parents back. Now is it?" asked Rainbow Dash "No" replied Twilight "Are there any other tribes around here?" asked Pinkie Pie "No, but if there were I wouldn't leave her here, I don't want her to live in a place where she would live in fear of large felines." said Amba "Oh speaking of which, we figured out that the reason all the large predators around here kill people is to rid themselves of competitors for prey." said Sunset Shimmer "How did you figure that out?" asked Tuka "We saw the decapitated heads the Tougarions collected." said Sunset Shimmer At that moment, the same blue aura that brought Applejack, Rarity, Sunset, and Pinkie here covered them all, and then they were transported, leaving the Hunters Death Trap behind them. They landed in an entirely different place, for this place was not a savanna, but a thick tropical rainforest similar to the Amazon or the Congo. "Well............looks like we can say the Hunters Death Trap bye bye for good." said Baagh "Look everyone, the stone is saying that by answering that question right, we removed a lock on the door to the room that holds the artifact that will get us back home!" said Rarity "Awesome!" cheered Rainbow Dash "That's great! but it's getting late, we'd better find a place to sleep for the night." said Amba So they all went to find somewhere to sleep, they found a big cave, Baagh and Amba got dinner for everybody, which ended up being a crocodile they killed, and then they fell asleep. Author's Note So, they're finally out of the Hunters Death Trap, I should say that where they are now is a seperate landmass from the Hunters Death Trap, which is it's own landmass, and most of the other regions will be in the same landmass as this jungle. Cheers!
Chapter 6: How the Mega Jaguar hunts the BuffaloThe next morning after breakfast which was a meal of antelope meat, the stone glowed once again, and the message changed. Rarity picked up the stone and read it. "It wants us to figure out how a Mega Jaguar kills a buffalo." said Rarity "Seriously? that's our question?" asked Spike "Yes Spike, it is." answered Rarity "Well we'd better get a move on, let's go!" ordered Amba The gang traveled through the jungle, searching for a jaguar or at least a herd of buffalo, but of course, both species proved to be elusive. However, they did encounter other animals like Spider Monkeys, Swamp Deer, Bongo, Sitatunga antelope, a leopard, and some Forest Elephants, which Talia hid behind Amba at the first sight of them. "It's okay Talia, we'll just keep our distance and we should be fine." said Amba "Are you sure?" asked Talia "I'm sure." answered Amba Twilight overheard their little conversation and couldn't help but feel worse about yesterdays events, that was truly the worst thing she had done. But there was nothing she could do about it now, and as the group kept walking through the jungle, they bumped into a river. They decided that some would pony up and fly over it while the rest would stick together to try to avoid a crocodile attack. As they were swimming, sure enough a crocodile was following them, only to leap out of the water and try to grab Rainbow Dash by the leg when they got on the other side, but luckily Amba scared the crocodile off in his tiger form. "Amba, you truly are amazing." thought Rainbow Dash On the other side of the river, thry finally found a herd of Jungle Buffalo, but these buffalo were massive, weighing a little over a ton at least, and they were dark brown with black horns, some of the buffalo had a more prominent "boss" in between the horns, meaning that those buffalo were males. "Oh my, they're simply HUGE!" said Rarity "Imagine all the beef you could get off of one of those things.' said Applejack "CRAZY to think a jaguar can hunt those things." said Pinkie Pie "Well would you look at that, look over there!" ordered Baagh Nearby, a huge male jaguar was stalking the herd, it definately deserved to have the word "Mega" in it's name as it was much larger than a jaguar in Central or South America, being four feet tall at the shoulder and weighing in at five hundred and thirty pounds. The jaguar snuck up to the buffalo as close as it could, it was targeting an old bull in the herd, when it was close enough, it rushed from cover, the herd scattered, and the jaguar leaped onto the buffalo, using it's body weight and strength to get the buffalo down on the ground, the jaguar then managed to clamp it's powerful jaws around the buffaloes throat, and literally crushed the windpipe. "Well, there's the answer, it uses it's strength and body weight to get the buffalo on the ground and then it crushes the windpipe." said Sunset Shimmer The stone shined brightly, meaning yet another lock was removed from the door they needed to unlock. Then it asked another question for them. "AW YEAH! TWO DOWN!" cheered Rainbow Dash "What does it say now?" asked Tuka "It asks us why sabertooths had those big teeth of theirs." answered Rarity "Oh great, more sabertooths." complained Baagh Once again, they trekked through the jungle, but in search for a sabertooth, which they did, and the species they found was a Megantereon. A sabertooth cat with a heavy build, canines going down farther than the jaws, and a short tail, the animal was stalking a Sitatunga antelope, the Megantereon charged, pounced, and then pinned the antelope on the ground, and then it pierced the throat with those huge teeth, killing the antelope rather quickly. "Okay, so it can kill prey quickly, but why kill quickly?" asked Fluttershy "Well there's your answer, a crocodile!" said Amba Turns out the kill was made next to a river, the crocodile came lumbering out of the water, the Megantereon growled, but the crocodile with that thick armor was not worried about being seriously injured by the cat, and proved to be too much of an adversary and the Megantereon was forced to back down. "Okay, THAT was pretty awesome." said Rainbow Dash "So it seems that cats like that one have big teeth like that so they can kill big animals quickly and in a more safer manner, and being able to kill quickly means being able to eat as much as they can quickly, before a larger more powerful predator comes along and takes the kill away from them." said Spike After that, they were once again covered in the blue aura, and taken to another region. The new region was more open plains, but they were different, they were not as hot as the previous grassland they were in before, the animals were also very different. They saw horses, bison, aurochs, elk, pronghorns, mule deer, and leopards. But then they saw a herd of Columbian Mammoths, mammoths that were larger than the Woolly Mammoth, and also not as hairy. Talia once again hid behind Amba to keep herself from being seen. "Lets get outta here before we possibly get charged at by those beasts." They did, and they found another cave to settle down in, then they decided to talk about the future and about Talia "Seems she's scared of elephants now." said Baagh "Well can you blame her? Her whole family was killed by one, so of course she would be scared of them." replied Amba "I don't blame her either, but what will we do when we complete our quest and go with them?" asked Tuka "When we get home, you boys could come work on my family's apple farm." said Applejack "I know of a couple that have been trying to have kids but they can't. So I'm sure they would take Talia in." said Pinkie Pie "Of course you would know Pinkie" said Sunset Shimmer "Well we'd better go hunting, see you girls later." said Amba as he, Tuka, and Baagh walked out the cave entrance. "Okay, see you later handsome!" said Rainbow Dash "Wait what?" asked Amba "Uh, I mean, bye!" replied Rainbow Dash "Uhhhhh, okay then, bye." replied Amba "Sounds like someones getting a little fond of Amba." said Rarity "I have no idea what you're talking about." said Rainbow Dash "Come on Rainbow, you TOTALLY have a crush on Amba." said Sunset Shimmer "Yeah, you can't deny it." said Fluttershy "Okay, you win, I'll admit, I have a crush on Amba. He's cute, nice, but most of all, he's brave. Brave enough to distract a Deinotherium to save us, to save me from a crocodile, and brave enough to save us from a clan of hyenas. That takes a lot of guts, he's not afraid to put himself in danger to save others." said Rainbow Dash "Yep, he wouldn't be a bad boyfriend." said Applejack "Please don't tell the others." said Rainbow Dash "Our lips are sealed." said Applejack
