Author's Note

This chapter was inspired by the Jurassic World official short film: Battle at Big Rock.

None of the artwork featured here was made by me.

Battle at the Barn

Luna's Moon was raised up into the sky. The darkness of the night completely enveloped the small town of Ponyville. Everypony and animal were sound asleep. Except for one animal in particular.

Make that two, actually. A mother and child. The father was nearby rummaging through knocked over compost bins and trash cans. But these creatures weren't your usual Equestrian animals.

No. These were living, breathing dinosaurs! A lot of them had been able to survive the mass extinction event that had supposedly ended the Age of the Dinosaurs. Unbeknownst to the modern residents of the Equus, the dinosaurs had been living right under their hooves. Until now.

These dinosaurs in particular were called, Styracosaurus.

Styracosaurus, meaning "spiked lizard", was a ceratopsian dinosaur that lived 75 million years ago in Alberta, Canada and Montana, U.S. Styracosaurus was 5.5 meters long, 2.3 meters tall and weighed 1.8-2.7 metric tons. It fed on plants such as palms, ferns, and cycads since, at the time, grass wasn't around. Styracosaurus had a massive frill, similar to other ceratopsians. This frill had several spiky horns at the top and protected Styracosaurus' vulnerable neck from predators. It also had a long, sharp, curved horn on its snout which added to its defense.

The mother Styracosaurus peacefully stomped through the streets of Ponyville, looking curiously at her surroundings. Her baby quickly ran up to her squealing, trying to get her attention. If there's one thing all mothers know best, it's when their baby is hungry. The mother sniffed the ground and air for the scent of food until her nose finally caught the scent of something: apples.

Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, home of the Apple family and the element of honesty herself, Applejack.

Right now the family was cooking up some supper but they weren't the only ponies eating tonight. Applebloom's friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had come over to work on their schoolwork together.

These were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a trio of fillies focused on helping other fillies get their cutie marks and find their special talent.

"I can't believe Miss Cheerilee assigned us so much homework tonight." Scootaloo complained.

"Come on, Scootaloo, it's not that bad." Sweetie Belle replied.

"Besides, we're almost done," Applebloom joined in. "Now, what is 12 x 6?"

Suddenly, from the kitchen, Applejack called for the CMCs.

"Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, it's time for supper!" Applejack hollered.

"Finally, I'm starving!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Really? Or are ya just trying to get out of doing your work?" Applebloom asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Can't it be both." Scootaloo said, before galloping away. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom just smiled and shook their head before coming down to join their friend.

In the kitchen, Applejack was busy grilling some pancakes on the stove while her brother, Big Mac, and her grandma, Granny Smith, were busy setting up the table.

"I hope ya'll are hungry! I made breakfast for dinner!" Applejack said, holding a pan in her mouth. She carefully slid the pancakes into everypony's plate before sitting down herself to enjoy some food with her family.

"So, where were you really the whole day, big sis?" Applebloom asked.

"I keep telling ya'll. I really did see living dinosaurs!" Applejack exclaimed. The other Apples just rolled their eyes at her.

"What're you and your sister talking about?" Scootaloo whispered to Applebloom.

"Oh, she's just spouting some nonsense about some underground world filled with dinosaurs." Applebloom explained. "Ironic, that she's supposed to be the Element of Honesty."

As the fillies and the Apple family continued to eat, they could hear Winona, the Apple family's dog, was barking outside.

"What's that dog up to?" Granny Smith exclaimed.

"Big Mac, can you go check on her?" Applejack asked.

"Eeyup," Big Mac responded, getting up from his chair.

The stallion opened the door and walked outside to check on Winona. As he approached her doghouse, she saw the dog barking at something in the distance.

"What's the matter, girl?" Big Mac asked, patting Winona's head to calm her down.

As Big Mac looked to what Winona was barking at, he saw a massive animal slowly walking towards the farm. Big Mac quickly got back up and got Winona to follow him back into the house. When Big Mac burst through the door with Winona in toe, the other ponies gave him some odd looks.

"What's wrong, Big Mac?" Applejack asked.

"You look like ya saw a ghost!" Granny Smith exclaimed.

Big Mac didn't respond and started to turn off all the lights before putting a hoof on his face and making a 'shushing' sound.

"What the hay is going on?!" Applebloom exclaimed.

Big Mac just shushed her and pointed to the window. The ponies looked through the window and finally saw what Big Mac was pointing at.

Outside, the massive creature Winona was barking at finally emerged from the darkness. It was the mother Styracosaurus from earlier, foraging for food. In her attempt to find food, she knocked over some baskets filled with apples.

"Ah, man! It took forever to buck those apples out of the trees," Applebloom exclaimed, annoyed.

"Quiet down, Applebloom," Granny Smith whispered to the filly.

"Wait, that's-that's a dinosaur!" Scootaloo exclaimed in shock.

"I told ya'll I wasn't lying," Applejack said.

As the mother Styracosaurus started to eat some of the apples, her baby walked into view, pushing the fruit basket around in a playful manner.

"Awww! It's a baby!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Everybody just stay quiet and maybe they'll move along." Applejack said.

As the group continued to look out the window, the baby Styracosaurus continued to play with the basket before the mother Styracosaurus let out a massive below at something approaching in the darkness. The mother immediately called for her baby to get close to her.

"What's wrong with her?" Scootaloo asked.

"Maybe it's the dad," Applebloom said.

They soon got their answer when another dinosaur stepped out of the darkness. But it wasn't the father Styracosaurus, nor was it herbivorous.

It was a Baryonyx. A medium-sized, fish-eating dinosaur that lived in England during the Early Cretaceous Period.

The dinosaur's name means "heavy claw", and for good reason. Baryonx had three sharp claws, with one being much larger than the rest. But unlike most other carnivorous dinosaurs, Baryonyx mostly used these claws for catching fish. This was because Baryonyx's diet was primarily centered around fish. It was also the first theropod dinosaur to be confirmed to be piscivorous. While Baryonyx primarily ate fish, it would sometimes eat other dinosaurs it lived alongside such as Iguanodon. This dinosaur belonged to a group of specialized fish-eaters called Spinosauridae which included Spinosaurus, Suchomimus, and other spinosaurids. Baryonyx was 25-33 feet long, 2.4 meters tall and weighed 1.2 to 2 tons.

The Baryonyx slowly walked towards the mother Styracosaurus and her baby, growling at them. While Baryonyx preferred to eat fish, this one hadn't found any lakes or ponds nearby and was getting hungry.

And hunger will make you do some risky things.

As the Baryonyx got closer to the Styracosauruses, it quickly snatched the Styracosaurus baby with its jaws.

"It got the baby!" Applebloom exclaimed in terror.

"Oh no!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

The baby shrieked as the hungry Baryonyx shook it around in the air. Luckily though, the Baryonyx lost its grip and the baby got away. Before the Baryonyx could snatch up the baby again, the mother quickly intervened.

The mother Styracosaurus shoved the Baryonyx aside and roared at it. The baby quickly hid underneath its mother to avoid the danger.

The Baryonyx stood back up and roared back at the ceratopsian. Despite the intimidation tactic, the mother stood her ground.

"Kids, I think you should get under the table," Applejack said. "Things are about ta' go south real quickly."

"Ah, man. I really wanted to see the fight." Scootaloo said.

Both dinosaurs charged towards each other, both trying to push each other in the opposite direction. The Baryonyx was able to avoid the Styracosaurus' long horn and used its claws to slash the mother's face. It then slashed across the mother's eyes, permanently blinding her sight on the right side.

The mother Styracosaurus roared in pain and shoved it out of the way. The mother tried to charge at the piscivore but with her wounded right eye, her direction was off. She accidentally collided with an apple tree and her horn stabbed right through it. Despite her efforts, the mother Styracosaurus was stuck, leaving her baby vulnerable.

The baby Styracosaurus cowered in fear as the Baryonyx slowly approached it, snarling. Big Mac, Applejack, and Granny Smith looked away as they knew what was about to happen. The CMCs quickly peeked out from under the table to see what was happening, only to be terrified as they saw the Baryonyx slowly approaching the vulnerable baby Styracosaurus.

"We have to do something, AJ!" Applebloom exclaimed.

Before anypony could do anything, something rammed right into the Baryonyx, causing it to lose its grip on the baby. The animal who shoved it out of the way was the male Styracosaurus, the father of the baby.

The father Styracosaurus bellowed at the Baryonyx as his baby hid beneath him. The mother Styracosaurus finally got unstuck and joined her mate in roaring at the Baryonyx.

Finally, the Baryonyx backed off. It was now two against one. Both creatures knew it. The Styracosaurus family began to leave, the parents still keeping an eye on the Baryonyx in case it tried anything. The Baryonyx just looked at them, growling angrily after losing a possible meal.

"See, youngins, it's fine. They're fine." Granny Smith assured the CMCs. "It can't take on both of them."

"Just stay quiet for now, everypony. Let's wait until it leaves." Applejack said.

The Baryonyx looked around some more for any scraps of food lying around. Suddenly, it heard barking.

The Apple family and the CMCs quickly looked back and saw Winona barking furiously at the window.

"Now, girl, settle down." Granny Smith said, trying to soothe the family's dog.

Unfortunately, Winona's barking was drawing the attention of the Baryonyx. The dinosaur slowly approached the house, getting closer and closer with each step.

"Granny, calm her down faster!" Applejack exclaimed.

"Calm down, Winona, please." Granny Smith pleaded with the dog.

"Please, Winona, listen to Grann-" Applejack started to say. When she turned back to look at the window...

All of the family slowly turned to look at the window, staring in horror at the Baryonyx staring right back at them. Applejack looked directly into the dinosaur's eyes, seeing only hunger and predatory instinct flowing through them.

For a few minutes, they just stared at the window until the Baryonyx started to step away from window. Finally, Applebloom spoke up.

"Maybe it decided to leave us alone."

Suddenly, the Baryonyx came charging right towards the house, bursting through the weak wooden walls of the Apple family's house. Everypony was flung back towards the opposite side of the room. The Baryonyx snapped its jaws, trying to grab one of the ponies. While the exterior of the house kept the Baryonyx at bay, it finally passed through the wooden barrier and grabbed Sweetie Belle's tail, just as the young filly began to awaken.

"M-Mom, I don't want to wake up; it's too early!" Sweetie Belle murmured. When Sweetie Belle finally awoke, she screamed for help. Applebloom and Scootaloo quickly woke up and grabbed Sweetie Belle's hoof.

"Just hold on tight, Sweetie!" Applebloom yelled.

"Obviously!" Sweetie Belle yelled back.

The rest of the Apple family and Winona woke up and quickly got up to help the fillies rescue their friend.

This had now turned into a deadly game of tug of war, where if Scootaloo and Applebloom didn't pull hard enough, then, let's just say, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have an opening.

The Baryonyx pulled Sweetie Belle forcefully, not going to lose another meal. "It's pulling hard on my tail!" Sweetie Belle yelled in pain.

Granny Smith suddenly had an idea. She let go of Applebloom and galloped over to the remains of the Apple Family's kitchen.

"Granny! What're you doin?!" Applejack exclaimed at the elderly mare.

Without saying a word, Granny rushed over, a rusty frying pan in her mouth, and proceeded to smack the Tartarus out of the Baryonyx, right on its snout.

"Let her go, you scaly varmint!" Granny Smith yelled, repeatedly hitting the dinosaur with her frying pan. While this didn't seriously harm the animal, it did annoy it. Finally, the Baryonyx let go of Sweetie Belle and focused its attention on Granny Smith.

"Applebloom, I need you and your friends to get out of the house right now!" Applejack told her younger sister.

"B-But..." Applebloom started to say.

"No buts. We'll be fine, just go!" Applejack exclaimed. Reluctantly, Applebloom led her friends out of the house through the back door.

Meanwhile, Granny was fending off the Baryonyx the best she could. Luckily though, she wouldn't have to do it alone. Big Mac rushed in and stabbed the Baryonyx's eye with a broomstick.

"Get away from my Granny!"

The Baryonyx roared in pain as blood poured from its eye socket. The dinosaur was getting angry and began to stand up, causing the ceiling above it to collapse. Big Mac quickly pushed Granny out of the way and shielded her with his body from the falling debris.

The Baryonyx seized its chance and dove right for the stallion...only to be sprayed in the face by the stream of white substance coming from a fire extinguisher, wielded by Applejack.

The mighty mare let out a war cry as she continued to spray the substance at the Baryonyx. The Baryonyx roared as it tried to avoid the substance blasting in its face and, unfortunately for the theropod, some of it got in its mouth. The dinosaur gagged and heaved, trying to get the taste out of its mouth.

It appeared AJ's plan was working. Unfortunately, the canister ran out.

"Ah, shoot!" Applejack exclaimed, tossing the fire extinguisher aside. The Baryonyx wiped off some of the residue off its snout and slowly began to approach the Apple Family. Granny, Big Mac, and Applejack huddled together and embraced each other tightly, preparing for the end.

The Baryonyx growled and lunged at them. Applejack prepared for the pain, but it never came. She heard the Baryonyx, but it sounded like it was in agony. As the three separated from each other, they stared as the Cutie Mark Crusaders pointed a stream of scalding hot water at the Baryonyx. The dinosaur writhed in pain and finally had enough of this.

With one last roar, it retreated into the orchard, hopefully returning to where it came from.

"That's right, ya better run!" Applebloom exclaimed.

"Okay, let's calm down, Applebloom, that thing could come back." Sweetie Belle pleaded with her friend.

"Applebloom?" Applejack said in astonishment. Applebloom turned around, finally acknowledging her sister, and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, thank Celestia you guys are alright!" Applebloom exclaimed, hugging Applejack tightly.

Applejack hugged her sister back. "I'm glad you're okay too."

"Of course I am! I'm not a little filly anymore y'know." Applebloom replied, smirking. Applejack ruffled her mane before she, Applebloom, and the rest of the family stared at what remained of their house.

"I-It's ruined," Applebloom said, defeated. "What're we going to do, Applejack?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I'm just glad that we're all okay." Applejack said, pulling her family into a hug.

The family and the rest of the CMCs stared at the ruins of the house, unaware of how their world was about to change. Forever.