Author's Note

Part of this story is inspired by the story of Vladimir Markov. If you know, you know.

2) Hunting

Merko's Airship Fleet

Merko was really happy going down into the cargo hold of his flagship and witnessing the different dinosaurs he and his new business partner managed to capture. Nothing that was too big to fit down there, it was still filled with dinosaurs of all kinds of species. From large Parasaurolophuses to small Velociraptors, there were plenty of specimens ready for him to sell back at Kluegtown. And the Rangers weren't able to stop them thanks to Skinner's tactics.

The merciless business-rat walked down into the cargo hold to look at his precious cargo. He got glares and snarls from each animal he passed, including one particularly vicious Allosaurus. A wailing cry from Merko's left led him to Trap Skinner. He was in the process of ripping one of the teeth out of a young Baryonyx with pair of pliers. The animal licked his bleeding mouth and moved to the back of his cage making an equivalent of a whimper. Merko smiled at seeing the hunter.

"Collecting another trophy for yourself, I see," Merko said. "Though I wish you wouldn't damage the merchandise before we bring them to market."

"I simply love reminders of my hunts. This Baryonyx was quite a good prey to go after. Even killed two of our hunters when he was cornered," Skinner said, displaying a necklace of theropod teeth with each belonging to different species. "And this is how I honor them."

"Speaking of hunting, I think my men have found our best quarry yet," Merko said handing a paper to Skinner. "One of my spies in Ponyville reported that one of the Princess's friends had an encounter with... an unusually big predator."

Trap took the paper and read it. His eyes lit up more and more as he continued to read. He dropped the paper and his lips curled into a smile that even Merko found creepy.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" he asked excitedly. "Let's make our way towards Ponyville!"

• + +

Ponyville

Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer were having a pretty good time forming their Dinosaur Rangers Team. They managed to develop branches of the team in every town and city in Equestria and even beyond to respond to reports of dinosaurs. And now they were mulling over different sighting reports and operations results.

"Can you believe this, Starlight? A Quetzalcoatlus nesting in Griffonstone and a herd of Maiasaura in Dodge Junction?" Twilight asked.

"There are apparently Titanosaurs in the Dragonlands, Pteranodons making a nesting colony in the Hippogriff Kingdom, and even a Megalosaurus in Manehattan," Starlight said. "Our teams have been doing pretty great at getting these animals safely secured and relocated to Sauria."

Twilight's smile dropped when she looked over some of the other reports they've been getting for the past few months. It was more than infuriating to be hearing what some of the team had to say.

"Yeah, but we've also been taking some hits from Merko and his goons. When we started, we used to beat them to the punch every time, but now they've been getting a lot better," Twilight said. "We've lost an Allosaurus, a few young members of a Pachycephalosaurus herd, and a whole pack of Velociraptors."

"Where do you suppose they're getting these new skills from so fast?" Starlight asked.

"It has to be either they're naturally getting better or someone's teaching them. Either way, we need to up our game if we're going to help these animals."

"Right. It makes me wonder what other new dinosaur we'll find next."

The doors to the castle library burst open startling Twilight and Starlight. Starlight's back hunched with the fur on her back standing up like a cat. The pair looked over to see a very anxious Applejack speed into the room with a limp. Her left foreleg was swollen at one joint and every shade of black and blue. Her eyes were wide with worry and her mane was a rat's nest. The rest of her family joined her including a confused-looking Apple Bloom.

"Twilight! We need some help! There was a dinosaur attack on our farm last night!" Applejack cried.

"What? A dinosaur attacked your farm last night?" Twilight asked before looking down at her friend's leg. "Is that why your leg's sprained?"

"Yeah. Showed up and started eating some of our sheep. We tried to drive it away but then the big varmint threw Big Mac at me like a doll!" Applejack replied. "If Granny here hadn't squirted hot sauce in the beast's eye, we'd be dead and digested by now!"

"What happened next?" Starlight asked joining in. Granny was the one to answer.

"The critter ran off to the Everfree Forest," Granny Smith replied. "After tending my grandkids I found tracks leading back to the treehouse where Apple Bloom and her friends were sleeping!"

Everything about that was scary to think about. A large predatory dinosaur hanging around where three fillies were sleeping was something out of a nightmare. Twilight gave Applejack a serious look before pulling out the dinosaur encyclopedia Sunset gave her.

"Applejack, can you describe the dinosaur you saw?" she asked.

"The varmint was real big, like around 12 feet in height and 40 feet long. It had a big head and two tiny 2-fingered arms and a coating of feathers on the back of the head, neck, back, and tail," Applejack replied.

Twilight turned the book around to show a picture of an animal matching that description. The Apple Family was shocked to be seeing the image.

"That's the one! That's the dino we saw!" Applejack said. Twilight looked at the picture and back to the others with a smile.

"It looks like you guys had an encounter with the King of the Dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus rex! The most powerful predator that ever lived!" Twilight cried out.

Applejack and her family were even more shocked. They fought and actually survived an encounter with an apex predator even amongst dinosaurs. Starlight held a hoof to her chin in thought.

"If the T-rex was eating your sheep, then this guy must be hungry. We need to get him quickly before someone gets hurt or Merko's hunters come after him," Starlight said. "Unfortunately the rest of our friends and team have their own dinosaurs to deal with."

"Looks like it's just us. We need to get our gear and go after the rex before Merko does," Twilight said. "Let's go!"

Twilight, Starlight, and the Apple Family left to gear up to go after a full-grown T-rex. However, Applejack put a hoof in front of Apple Bloom.

"Hey, I'm helping, too!" Apple Bloom said. Applejack looked down at her sternly.

"No you ain't, missy! That dino was hanging around your treehouse last night. I can't risk you getting hurt if something goes wrong," Applejack said. "I need you and your friends to stay here in town where it's safe."

"We can help, too! The more Rangers you have, the better!" Apple Bloom retorted.

"I won't watch you get gobbled up like a mouse!" Applejack said loudly, stomping her hoof on the ground. Apple Bloom glared daggers at Applejack but didn't speak. "You and your friends just don't have the experience catching dinosaurs, much less one like this. You didn't see this critter or how strong he is. I need you here where I know, you'll be safe."

Apple Bloom took off out of the castle. Applejack sighed and turned around to grab her gear. She would do her job as a big sister and keep her family safe, no matter what.

• + +

With Tex

Tex woke up angry with one thing on his mind: payback. He'd never been so humiliated by any creature, dinosaur or mammal. The thought that such small and weak mammals could actually hurt him and drive him away from food or territory filled him with boiling rage. Tex looked at his reflection in the river and saw that while the pain in his eye was gone it was red and bloodshot and his vision was slightly blurry in that eye now. An angry growl rumbled from his chest as he snarled in fury.

"Those little rainbow rats! I'm gonna make them pay!" Tex vowed.

He stomped his way through the forest at a decent pace. Smaller animals scurried out of the way as he trekked through. He paid them no mind as he had a goal firmly set in his mind. Tex followed his own tracks from last night all the way back to the mammals' nest. The white fluffy things he was eating last night were still there, thankfully.

"Heeeeeeeere's Texy!" Tex called. He roared to get them to come out and face him.

Nothing happened. The mammals didn't come out to face him like they did last night. Tex was confused. He walked through the front of their wooden nest and waited. What was wrong? Were they nocturnal and only came out at night? Did he thrash them so bad that he scared them off? He didn't come all the way back for no reason. He knew he could track them easily with his sense of smell. Tex would send these weak mammals a message.

"You can run, but you can't hide from me!" Tex called. After filling himself up on some more of the fluffy things, he set about his work.

Tex ran and rammed his huge head and body right through the thin wall of one of the mammals' nests. It was filled with hay and red fruit, which Tex took note of.

"So these mammals eat this red fruit. And this must be where they store it. Well, I better help them with it," Tex said.

He started to stomp right on the fruit until none of it was usable. He destroyed the rest of the storage nest and watched it crumble to the ground in satisfaction. Tex then turned his attention to the main nest. He rammed his head through it again and started to destroy it one step at a time. A bite through a beam there, a tail swipe here, and a few stomps and head-rams over there, and it was barely recognizable. Tex was panting with satisfaction.

"I would've preferred fighting the mammals and eating them, but this is a good start," Tex said. "Now time to track them down."

Tex sniffed the air until he caught their scents. They were relatively fresh, no more than a few hours old. Tex followed the scents all the way down a dirt path until he saw what looked to him like a colony of these mammals. Each of them were walking about amongst a collection of nests of varying sizes and colors. Tex snorted in frustration.

"So these suckers think they can hide from me! We'll see about that!" Tex raged.

Now a huge and powerful angry T-rex was barreling towards the town eager for a fight.