"Are you hearing this?" Sweetie Belle whispered to the other ponies. All around them, the sounds of escaped dinosaurs emanated from the thick forests. The Crusaders' eyes were wide and watery with fear. Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack were equally scared. One false step and they all could end up dinner for a dinosaur. The three of them huddled in a consultation.
"Girls, What are we going to do?" Rainbow whispered. "We're stuck out here and nopony knows where we are."
"Not to mention there are animals who shouldn't be alive running around these woods." Rarity added.
"We gotta get back to the Visitor's Center." said Applejack. "That's our only chance. If any of the others are alive, that's where they'll be."
"We can't hike back there in the dark." said Rainbow. "It's too dangerous."
"Quite." said Rarity. "And I for one don't want to be unicorn made rare with sides of earth pony and pegasi, plus three mini appetizers."
"We'll have to spend the night somewhere, but it ain't gonna be here on the ground."
"What if we lit a fire?" Rainbow asked.
"We can't. It could attract something."
"Well then where prytell are we going to sleep?" asked Rarity.
Rainbow looked around the forest and saw a big tree.
"That tree. We'll sleep there."
Rarity scowled at the thought of sleeping in a tree.
"A tree? We're really going to sleep in a tree?"
"We don't have a choice Rarity. Rainbow, how we gonna climb up? We don't know how to climb trees."
"I'll show you. It's not that hard."
The ponies turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and herded the group to the tree.
"Come on girls, we gotta sleep in the tree tonight."
"Oh man," Scootaloo moaned. "I hate trees."
"They're not so bad." said Applebloom.
"You didn't come down the last one."
"Come on ya'll, it'll be just like camping."
The utterance of that word made Rarity roll her eyes with a snort.
Rainbow Dash climbed up first.
"Everypony follow me. Put your hooves where I go. Keep one hoof in front of the other."
Rainbow climbed her way up with Applejack, Rarity, and the crusaders climbing behind her. Applebloom slipped a little but Rarity nudged her up with her muzzle.
"Careful there darling."
Rainbow climbed up to a small trunk outcrop then helped the others up.
"Phew, this climbing stuff isn't easy." Applejack huffed.
Rarity, Applebloom, and Scootaloo climbed in. Sweetie Belle was almost there, but was getting very tired. Rarity levitated her up with her magic. The ponies settled into the outcrop. From their viewpoint they could see the tops of the trees, and another little surprise.
"Hey look," said Applebloom. "The Brachiosauruses!"
Four brachs had their heads above the trees and were calling to one another.
"They're singing." said Rarity.
The ponies were entranced by the beauty of the sauropods' singing above the trees.
"Wow." said Applejack. "I knew birds and whales sang, but never thought a dinosaur could sing."
"It's beautiful." said Rarity.
Rainbow Dash had an idea, and climbed up onto a higher branch.
"Rainbow, what are you doing?" whispered Applejack.
"I wanna try something. Watch."
Rainbow cupped her hooves and made moans and groans like the brachs. The dinosaurs looked over at the tree, curious about the calls of a newcomer. Two more brachs raised their long necks above the trees to investigate.
"Shhh! Don't let the monsters know we're over here."
"They ain't monsters Sweetie Belle, dey're just animals. Besides they're vegetarians. They's gentle dinos."
"Or maybe their having a light salad before the main course." Rainbow joked.
"Perhaps a salad is main course." Applejack laughed.
The ponies huddled together for the night. Rarity sighed, disappointed she wouldn't be enjoying the silky smooth beds in the hotel.
"Never imagined I be sleeping in a tree."
"Well how bout sleepin under the stars." said Applejack.
Rarity's frown turned upside down. It was a beautiful night.
"And serenaded by sauropods." Rainbow added.
"Hey Rainbow Dash." said Scootaloo. "What do you call a blind dinosaur?"
"I don't know Scootaloo, what do you call a blind dinosaur."
"A do-you-think-he-saur-us."
Rainbow laughed.
"What do you call a blind dinosaur's dog Scoots?" Rainbow replied.
"What?"
"Do-you-think-he-saur-us Rex?"
The all laughed.
"Applejack?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"What if the dinosaurs come back while were all sleeping?"
Rainbow rubbed Sweetie Belle's mane with her hoof.
"Don't you worry. I'm gonna stay awake."
"All night?"
"All night." Rainbow nodded
The sounds of the brachiosaurus's singing sent the ponies off to sleep. Rainbow laid her head back on the tree and sighed, watching the moon and stars.
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The visitor's center cafeteria was quiet and dark. Low lights lit up the room in a soft glow and the ceiling fans twirled slowly. In a side room toy dinosaurs, Jurassic Park t-shirts, mugs, and watercups sat on the shelves clean and unused. Fluttershy sat at one of the large tables quietly eating a dish of ice cream. Twilight, looking glum slowly clopped over and sat next to her.
"It was melting. I didn't want it to go to waste. How's Pinkie?"
"She's okay. I casted her leg up and she's sleeping in the bedroom."
Twilight crossed her hooves on the table resting her head on top.
"You think they're all okay?"
"I'm sure they are." Fluttershy put her hoof around Twilight. "We've all made it through tough places before."
"I know we have." Twilight sighed.
Twilight looked over at the ghostly lit dinosaur display at the cafeteria entrance.
"I was just thinking of the first time I saw dinosaur bones when I was a filly. My parents took Shining Armor and me to the natural history museum in Fillydelphia. It was the first time I had ever seen dinosaur bones. They were so big, it was amazing to think creatures that size could ever have existed. Then we saw the Tyrannosaurus skeleton. I was so scared I covered my eyes and hid behind my mother. When I finally opened my eyes and looked at the bones, I wasn't scared anymore. After that I couldn't get enough of dinosaurs. The best part of looking at those bones was bringing them too life in my imagination. Imagining how they lived, sounded, hunted, and ate. And to think how amazing would it be to see one alive."
"That's why I did it."
Uncle Orange walked slowly from out of the darkness to join the mares at the table.
"I had that same feeling when I was a colt. I'd look at the bones and think, what would it be like to really see them, and to touch them. I wanted to show everypony in Equestria that imagination could become reality."
Twilight looked at Uncle Orange from across the table with a glossy stare in her eyes.
"But there's one thing about when a dream becomes a reality Orange. It loses what made it magical."
Uncle Orange signed.
"True."
Then he perked up.
"But maybe it could be magical again. Everypony learns from their mistakes right? Hiring Derpy was the mistake, it's water under the bridge. Next time it'll be different."
Twilight shook her head.
"Orange you're not getting it. Derpy wasn't the mistake, she was just the prick that popped the balloon."
"Yes, but Derpy showed what the problems were. We're over-dependent on automation. Next time everything will be correctible."
"There's nothing correctible about this."
"Once we have control of..."
"You never had control of it!!" Twilight snapped. "And you never will!! I tried to point that out to you and everypony else, you can't control something of which you know nothing about. But we all made a mistake here, were so taken in by what had been done with this place we ignored how fundamentally wrong it was! I made that mistake too!"
Uncle Orange backed up at the force of Twilight's angry outburst. Twilight's eyes filled with tears and her lips quivered as she tried to talk.
"All that matters now are the ponies we love. Rainbow, AJ, Rarity, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I mean they're out there where ponies are dying."
Uncle Orange stared as Fluttershy rubbed a comforting hoof on Twlight's back.
"I need some of this."
Wiping the tears from her eyes she levitated a spoonful of ice cream to her muzzle and took a few licks.
"It's really good."
Uncle Orange silently nodded.
"Spared no expense."
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The early morning sun rose across the island. Golden rays shined through the jungle's thick foliage. All the ponies were asleep except for Rainbow who had stayed up all night. The large shadow of a brachiosaurus came over the tree as the sauropod opened its mouth to snatch up a large clump of leaves for breakfast. Rainbow smiled as she watched the dinosaur chow down on its food. The sound of the groaning and chewing woke up Applejack and Rarity, who both grinned at the surprise morning guest.
"Oh my gosh." Rarity whispered.
Sweetie Belle woke up and jumped at the site of the dinosaur, waking up the other crusaders. She clambered up on a higher branch as the brach came in for another bite.
"Go Away!!!"
"It's okay." said Applejack. "It's just having breakfast."
Applebloom and Scootaloo were excited by the surprise guest.
"It's a vegesaurus Sweetie Belle!" said Applebloom "Vegesaurus!"
The fillies tried to bring the dinosaur closer to the tree, waving bundles of leaves to entice it.
"Come on girl. Come on. We've got food for you."
Rarity broke off a branch of leaves with her horn magic holding it in front of the brach. The dinosaur eyed the floating bundle of leaves.
"Come on you long necked sweetie poo. A growing dinosaur must eat its vegetables."
The brach burst out a low growl and snatched onto the branch of leaves, engaging in playful tug of war with the ponies.
"I'm not letting go!" Rarity laughed.
The ponies all smiled at the gentle nature of the brachiosaurus. Sweetie Belle wasn't scared anymore. Instead she was smiling.The brach snapped the branch and chewed up the leaves, winning the tug of war.
"I guess you win."
Curious of the strange creatures in the trees, the dinosaur leaned in for a closer look.
"Looks like somepony wants to make friends." Said Rainbow.
They gave the brach rubs on its face and snout while it chewed on the leaves. The friendly sauropod loved the strokes over its face, groaning with enjoyment.
"What a sweet thing you are." said Rarity. "I never imagined a dinosaur being as gentle as you."
"Probably never felt hooves on its face." said Applejack. "Look how much she loves it."
Applebloom noticed some snot dripping down from the brach's nose.
"She looks sniffly, like she's got a cold."
"Looks like it. From the storm."
Rarity levitated a large leaf to wipe the dinosaur's nose.
"Here you go darling."
"Could I touch it?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Course you can, Sweetie Belle. She's like a big cow. Like Daisy Jo back in Ponyville."
Sweetie Belle reached out a hoof the touch the brach, but the dinosaur backed away from the tree. It's eyes winced up.
"Come on girl. I won't hurt you. Come on, I just want too..."
Suddenly, the brachiosaurus sneezed right on the filly, covering her head to toe in snot. The other ponies laughed thinking how cute it was. Sweetie Belle was frozen in place, almost in tears. Dinosaur snot dripped down her face and mane.
"Guzendheit!" Scootaloo laughed.