The sun shined bright on Cloudsdaile as the cloudiseum roared with the sounds of wing beats and cheers of many excited Pegasi just waiting for this new Iron Wing tournament to start. Rainbow Dash was nervous about doing this as soon as she learned where they will have to fly in and over as part of this new race.
“Hey big sis what’s wrong?” A young Pegasus mare asked walking up to her.
“Oh, hey Scootaloo; I’ am just nervous about this new race that we will be attending.”
“Why what’s wrong with it?”
“We have to fly over and in the Everfree forest that’s what!”
“That’s a problem how?”
“Did you forget who lives in that forest and who flies in the forest?”
“Free Fall?”
“Yes! Free Fall defends that air space violently no Pegasi has ever flown over that forest when he started to fly!”
“Aren’t the wonder bolts going to attend this? I’m sure he won’t go near them.”
“Yeah but even they are afraid of him!”
“Aren’t we close to Free Fall though? I’m sure he won’t attack his own family.”
“Yeah that maybe true he is a sweetheart to us so he might let us go but it’s the other racers I’m worried about and when it
comes to duty he follows.”
The two mares then walked out of the locker room out into the large coliseum made out of clouds to find other Pegasi including several armed royal guards and the wonder bolts, even Star Shadow and Aero had joined in the race.
“Hey Star, I didn’t know you two were in this race?”
Star Shadow said nothing but a grumpy huff.
“C’mon dear say something to your friends.” Aero said to his boyfriend.” He is just as stressed out from looking for Free fall to see where exactly he is at before the race.”
“And?” Scootaloo commented.
“He couldn’t find him or his brothers.”
“Oh that can’t be good.”
They were interrupted by the sounds of horns playing as Celestia walked in with an entourage of guards.
“Mares and gentle colts!” She announced loudly. ”Today my sister and I are proud to announce that the Iron Wing tournament! The course is this; you fly through the Everfree forest and over it in a series of laps. There are also check marks, with flags the winner is determined by how many flags they had collected along the way. “She finished announcement.
All the racers got into a sprinting position waiting, sweating, eating the tense seconds for the trumpets to blare so they could take off. Star Shadow looked up to see Techie, Paleo Soar and limestone all sitting either on a cloud or in a hot air balloon. The seconds seemed like hours then finally the trumpets sounded as the racers flew off towards the Everfree forest unaware about what is in it. As the racers snaked their way into forest they saw the first checkmark. Rainbow Dash quickly flew passed and snatched the first flag with her mouth and put it in a sack while Scootaloo wasn’t too far behind leaving Aero and Star Shadow in third and fourth place.
“Catch me if you can slowpokes!” Rainbow Dash shouted to the others as she sped off deeper into the forest.
During this time Free fall was happily bathing in a lake, his and his brothers’ favorite watering hole that were soaking up the spring sun’s rays. As Free fall drank water from the lake he could sense something was different about the air, the others felt this to. Fang opened one of his reptilian eyes at his flier brother as if telling him he could sense it to. Smasher opened one of his eyes then nodded to Free fall to go and check to see if it’s just their imagination. The pteranodon shook off the little bit of water on his ghostly greyish white body and took to the skies with a hawk-like scream. Free fall climbed silently as if he was nothing more but a ghost, a phantom, and a specter. He silently scanned through the clouds considering his vision is the best amongst the three, three times better than the average hawk or falcon. He then found what made around the forest seem so out of place, Pegasi racers! He knew that he had family that were Pegasi however despite him wanting to ignore them knowing they probably on a race or something of that matter but something in him was calling to him, commanding him to go and chase the intruders away from his airspace and territory. He gracefully and quietly flapped his mighty wings as glided over to the racers keeping an even pace with the stragglers. He then saw the opportunity to strike, two guards, a racer and a wonder bolt who tagged along to make sure that nopony gets left behind. Free fall locked his eyes onto the racer and started to climb down silently letting his body blend into the clouds like a
ghost. He was dropping faster and faster as he slightly closed his long wingspan.
“It’s kind of scary out here.” Said the racer to a guard who paid no real attention to him. “I hope we don’t have to run into those monsters! Are all those stories true about them? Does one of them really have wings that are larger than any known dragon?”
Free fall started to deploy his talons as he was ready to swoop in. as he was silently approaching the party he quickly saw the majority of the racers and changed his direction without letting his original targets notice anything. He glided up to the main group of the racers who all had one or two flags in a sack all trying to catch up to dash and the other three Pegasi. He noticed something that he wasn’t expecting in the race’s forecast. A clearing in the sky he didn’t have the coverage of the clouds to mask his approach! The sun shined through his thin wing membrane exposing the elongated pinkie fingers and his veins crimson red and filled with rich pterosaur blood. The sun also casted a shadow on the forest floor for all the racers to see. It was now or never for him! This was his flawless hunting tactic! He had used this very same move countless of times to take down fish and to have it ruined was something he couldn’t accept. He quickly dive-bombed for the crowd of Pegasi racers who saw the great flying reptile zooming on his target but acted too late to do anything about this! Free fall landed his talons on a racer and dragged him to the ground. The racer screamed for help as Free fall plummeted to the forest floor with his catch. Free fall landed gracefully despite having a kicking and screaming Pegasus in his talons. He and the racer were the same height and the Pegasus was now looking at the flying reptile dead in the eye. Tears started to form from the Pegasus’s eyes in plead to let him go. Free fall then noticed that he was young and harmless so he let him go but he silently tailed him to attack the others to. Free fall slingshot himself passed the racer back up high above a guard. He was like the very image the ponies feared, grey, white, powerful, angry, and most of all fast, very, very fast. He glided over the armored guard like an evil winged demon of greyish white and grabbed him by his neck and pulled him to the ground. Star Shadow finally saw a glimpse of the rainbow colored Pegasus and quickly picked up speed. Both are tied neck and neck for the lead, both have the same amount of flags, and both have the fire of victory in their eyes. They just needed one more flag. It was on top of the tallest spire on the old castle.
“Glad you caught up Star Shadow.” Rainbow dash said with a cocky attitude assuring she will win this.
“I’ am to Dash because I need someone to witness my victory!” Star Shadow shouted as he zoom passed Rainbow Dash.
They saw a series of puddles in the shape of three toed feet heading down the path to the castle. Rainbow Dash didn't really pay much attention to this and kept flying but Star Shadow saw these tracks before and knew exactly who they belonged to. In a thicket of trees Fang and Smasher saw the two fliers recognizing them as members of his family and didn’t want to bother them in fact both dinosaurs wanted to cheer victory for them but like Free fall they felt this urge they couldn’t explain that compelled them to scare off these Pegasi with brute force. Fang let out a low pitch growl that made both Pegasi stop in their tracks.
“What was that?” Rainbow Dash asked to the dark blue Pegasus.
“It sounded like a growl.” He commented back trying to keep his composer.
“Hydra? Manticore? Dragon?” Rainbow Dash throwing out names to figure out who or what made that noise.
“No that sounded nothing like a hydra or a Manticore.”
Fang let out another low pitch roar that echoed through the trees making both even more scared. Seeing that the warning didn’t work Fang ordered Smasher to explode from the flora and scare them away with a gaze and nod. Smasher as if he was under a trance did exactly as his brother suggested and busted out from the trees roaring and snorting like a vicious animal.
“Oh good it’s just Smasher. Where’s Free fall and Fang?” Rainbow Dash asked unaware of what state his mind is in right now.
The triceratops said nothing but kicked the dirt ready for a charge like a bull in a rodeo. His eyes reflected not the normal happy loving dinosaur the ponies knew, they reflected something much worse. They showed malice, anger, and a primal need to chase them away from this certain area. In the back of the dinosaur’s mind he didn’t want to do this to his aunt but this urge was almost instinct to follow.
“What’s wrong Smasher its Auntie Dash you know me and its Star Shadow you know him to.”
Smasher said nothing but snorted and let out a roar that was so indescribable it shook the mare to her core knowing that he is going to charge them. His massive size compared to the two ponies would easily crush their bones into nothing but powder.
“Dash it looks like he isn’t in the mood how about we just fly back slowly and…”
Smasher picked up pace with his horns ready to gore the mare and stallion. Star shouted “Fly!” and they both took off as fast their wings could carry them with the triceratops chasing them. Fang followed the three of them under this very same trance ready to ambush them; he wasn’t going to let the two ponies escape with their lives. Smasher saw his brother readying himself to jump out at them and stopped and turned the other way.
“What’s up with him? I have never seen him act like that before!” Dash said in terror and astonishment.
“I think I know but I have to check with Paleo Soar once we get back.” Star shadow said with a calm voice.
Just then they saw a huge scaly face appear out of the trees, it was Fang! He roared as loud as possible while opening his jaws wide ready to make a meal out of his family.
“Whoa, whoa pull up, pull up now!” Star Shadow ordered as the two pulled away from the toothed maw that smelled like old rotten meat and blood.
Fang roared and started pursue the two ponies with the same kind of eyes Smasher. They snaked in between trees and stumps trying to out fly the t-rex who was keeping a spot on pace with the two fliers despite them being in a heavily wooded area. Every time Fang would get near one he would snap at them, trying to catch one of them by their back legs or tails. Every snap sounded like a steel cage closing or boulders smashing into each other. They could feel his hot breathe warming their backsides as they panted trying to fly faster than the dinosaur. They finally saw their only escape route, a clearing in the trees! They shot upward for the clearing but their wings had other plans, they wanted to stop and rest but they ignored their aching wings and flew as fast they could. Sadly their escape plan was foiled by a large shadow, it was Free fall! His wings spread out wide preventing their escape. Rainbow Dash now thought this was a really bad nightmare and she was going to wake up in her room and these three still love her as they did the day before. But this was real, this wasn’t a dream they were here to kill them. Star Shadow and RD shot down to the ground and hoofed it, letting their wings rest. Fang chased them on foot, roaring and growling as chased his meal. The two ran for what seemed like hours until Fang lost interest and walked off into the thicket of the trees.
“I-think-we-lost-him.” Star Shadow panted heavily as he felt his pulse race and felt extremely hot in his own coat.
Rainbow Dash said nothing as she tried to catch her breath. The forest grew silent, a little bit too silent. Star Shadow’s senses as a hardened Night Guard kicked him and gave him a sense of paranoia and the feeling of being watched.
“Let’s get to Paleo Soar and see what the matter with them is.” The Pegasus mare suggested. ”Something’s just not right with them. They’re usually very loving and wouldn’t do this but now.”
Suddenly they heard a loud cracking and snapping of trees and branches as Smasher and Fang broke through the trees as if they were nothing more than tooth picks! Smasher charged for Rainbow Dash!
“Get out of the way now!” Star Shadow shouted as he pushed the mare out of the way.
He then felt extreme pain as Smasher’s front horn pierced his leg. Smasher then trashed about trying to shake the Pegasi off his horn while howling and roaring. Star Shadow felt an emotion that hadn’t felt in a while which was the fear of death. He felt like Smasher was really about to kill him, a member of his family! Finally he was free but he felt something hard cracking his back, he just landed back first into a tree.
“Rainbow Dash, run!” He shouted at the frightened mare.
“But what about you?!”
“I’m alright if I could handle some Griffons then I can handle him. Now go!”
Rainbow Dash felt tears growing from her eyes knowing that he might very well die since he is losing a lot of blood from the trauma, she then saw his red blood stain Smasher’s horn as Fang slowly walked up to him with jaws oozing with saliva ready to eat one of his adoptive kin. Just as he was ready to close his jaws around the Pegasus, the look in his eyes changed. Instead of a look of primal malice and the thirst for blood it was his usual gentle gaze. He nudged Star Shadow to see if was alright. He didn’t know what exactly to make of this moment.
“What the?” He thought to himself in confusion. And he passed out from the blood loss.
Just then they heard familiar sounds, they were voices of Aero, Paleo Soar, and Fluttershy with Rainbow Dash leading them to where Star was pinned down at. The three then looked at each other and noticed the blood on Free fall’s four talons and the blood on Smasher’s front horn and started to panic. Fang scooped up the injured Pegasus in his mouth and proceeded to walk out of the Everfree forest to bring him to a proper medic. While inside his mouth Fang tasted the iron flavored blood as the passed out Pegasus sloshed around on his tongue. Aero noticed three large masses move about the forest and flew down as quick as he could. He finally met up with the prehistoric band of brothers at were the forest met the road that lead for Ponyville.
“What did you do to Star Shadow?!” Aero demanded the tyrannosaurus.
The three looked at each other, and then Fang lowered his massive head and spat out Star Shadow, alive, passed out, and covered with slimy bloodstained drool.
“Star Shadow! I’m here, Star! Look at me! Open your eyes!” Aero shouted with tears in his eyes.
Smasher nudged Star Shadow with his beak unknowing that his blood has stained his horn. Star Shadow opened his eyes slowly to find the pearl white mare-like stallion looking at him with teary eyes.
“What’s all the yelling about? Cant a night guard gets some sleep around here?” He said with a groan.
“You idiot, I was so worried about you!” Aero said trying to look strong but crying at the same time.
Star Shadow pushed him away and staggered to Paleo Soar who was just as worried about losing his closet friend.
“You alright old friend?”
“He, he, yeah your dinosaurs can’t kill me!” He said as he passed out a second time.
When Star Shadow woke up he was in a hospital room. He groaned in pain while trying to move his injured leg, but all he got was a very sharp pain. He opened his eyes more to see his friends sitting next to him and Aero right by his side. He shot up with a sharp pain from his leg that followed with a sudden realization on his face.
“Paleo! Your dinosaurs, they went berserk!” He said with a shocked voice.
“Yes I was informed this by Rainbow Dash while you slept. And I was very afraid that this would happened.” He finished with a deep frown.
“Why? Why would you fear this would happen and how do you know this was going to happen?!”
Paleo Soar fell silent and walked over to a window and sat in a red and white chair that was next to it.
“Well as we all know that they were born several million years late.”
“Y-Yes but what does that have to do with anything?” Aero asked.
“Well this is important because even though they are tamed and domesticated by our terms inside each of them are still wild animal instincts, the urge to hunt, the urge to defend what is there territory by any means necessary, and most important of all the urge to find a mate.”
“You’re still leaving us in the dark Paleo.” Star Shadow commented. “It doesn’t explain why one almost killed me, one killed a guard, and why Fang tried to eat me and Dash.”
“Actually my friend it does. You see when an animal gets older hormones build inside and when that time of year comes they meld into their minds to search for a mate and eliminate any threats, prey, or competitors that come into their territory. And this important switch is starting fully turn on.”
“So you mean its.” Aero pointed out.
“Yes that’s exactly it Aero.” Techie interrupted him and continued the story. “It’s mating season for them and they filled with those rich primal hormones. But however in their state of mind they have no idea that they really are the last of their kind. And this also means they will also use this lust rage to take out their own anger and rage for their loneliness and for being misplaced in a world that is so much different from the one they were supposed to be born in.”
“That’s terrible!” Aero gasped. “We should try to put up barriers to protect Ponyville and Canterlot!”
“Sadly that’s a no-can-do.” Limestone replied back pushing her glasses back into place. “We really have nothing that they can’t break through or fly over.”
“How long does this mating season last for them?” Aero asked the grim question.
“Varies.” Limestone sadly answered. “They all are different species of dinosaur and pterosaur. We can’t really say when this will stop. Maybe a few weeks, a month, a month and a half. We don’t really know considering that they are the only living specimens of their kinds.”
“Well this sucks! So nothing to stop them?!” Aero shouted out of fear of how many lives will take for this to end.
“Yes that’s what we are saying. We have to let them sort this one out themselves.”
They all left the hospital room with grim looks on their faces. As night fell on the forest, the band of dinosaurs walked close to each other afraid of losing each other in the darkness of the forest. In their minds they were trying to figure out what exactly happened that day. Free fall having the best eyesight out of the rest sat on top of Fang’s head and helped guide his brothers back to the castle. Fang having the second best eye sight acted like a personal guard for Free fall and Smasher who had the poorest eyesight when it comes to the night. As they were on their way back they felt that urge come back to them but stronger than before. They first resisted whatever the feeling was and tried to walk further but to no use. The feeling just grew more powerful until finally they stopped resisting it and accepted it. Their eyes now filled with the same primal gaze from before burned into their jade green eyes that now seemed to glow in the dark. They now became the things Paleo, Limestone, and Techie feared they would be they now no longer acted like the sweet child-like animals that the ponies knew and love. They became guardians of this primal ancient lust filled rage. They looked at each other still as close brothers despite the hormones and testosterone now pumping into their veins and blood with. They let out an unworldly primal choir of howls, screeches, growls, and roars that echoed through the forest and Ponyville that sent chills down every creature’s spine and sent chills to the very core. They got to the castle ready to start their new reign of terror on the unsuspecting ponies that called their family when the sun rises again.
As the sun rose onto the land it felt different than most days this time of year. After what everypony heard last night the majority were terrified to go outside of their homes. Except for a gang of young mares and colts delinquents off to go to the old castle and tease Fang and his brothers for a test of bravery. Some had a great smile on their faces while some were still very scared to be out from those awful noises that rang through last night’s air.
“Maybe we should just turn back maybe there is another way to prove how tough you two are.” One mare said.
“Ha! Are you afraid of some big, scary, smelly, and stupid lizards?” A colt shouted feeling a since of proudness in his chest.
The colt teasingly mocked the mare all the way up to the old castle. The group stared at the bridge that led up to the decrepit castle. The bridge was made by Paleo Soar to be wide enough for the three to walk across and sturdy enough to support their weight. The atmosphere was still and seemed to fit the castle, ancient. They could hear the moans and howls of the wind sweeping through the old building. They all nodded to each other as they walked onto the large bridge. One colt had a flashlight and he was ready to shine it at the dinosaurs’ eyes. When they entered the castle it was how the main six left it after their fight with Nightmare Moon, old, cob web infested, dark, and in poor condition. Some of the mares stuck close to the colts for protection.
“Come out; come out where ever you are!” A mare teased the three brothers but only got an echo in response inside the dark creepy castle.
“Hey freaks I command to get your big scaly flanks out here!” A colt shouted trying to get their attention but nothing responded back.
Meanwhile some of the more scarred mares waited for their friends outside the castle. As minutes turned into an hour the mares heard something, footsteps, they sounded near, and they didn’t belonged to their friends and they sounded very large, gigantic for an accurate size. They dashed behind some bushes in fear that it could be the dinosaurs coming back from eating misbehaved fillies and colts like the stories they grew up on said. They then saw Fang with Free Fall resting on his hip cleaning his wings with Smasher in front of them. They also noticed something dangling from Fang’s massive jaws; it was the bloodied corpse of a Manticore still twitching as if it was still trying to escape from Fang’s mouth. The trio stopped so Fang could finish what he started. He loosened his massive toothed maw to let the Manticore wiggled itself just a little bit more then like a massive steel bear trap Fang quickly closed his mouth snapping the spine of the cat hybrid in two, which caused its ribs to break and pierce its vital organs with a horrendous snapping sound as it drew its last roar of unimaginable agony. The mares quickly silenced each other afraid that Fang might do the same thing to them as he did to that Manticore. Fang then smelled something different in the air, it was a new scent that he didn’t recognize before, and he smelled the air, drinking the scent like some giant scaly bloodhound. It was the smell of fear, the mares’ fear. He then ignored it and walked with his kill and his brothers back inside the castle. Meanwhile inside the castle the colts and the mares began to trash the place by knocking over statues, busts, armor, and paintings.
“Who’s scared of some big stupid lizards now?!” A colt shouted.
His friends cheered him on as they desecrated the dinosaurs’ home unaware that the castle’s residents had in fact returned. Free Fall took off from Fang’s back and hovered to Smasher’s frill and carefully landed trying to not pierce his sturdy yet very delicate frill and trying not to stab his feet on the hard boney stubs that decorated the sides of it letting Fang eat his meal in peace. Free Fall and Smasher then walked into the main chamber to find the group of mares and colts destroying their home. Smasher nodded to Free Fall to do something about this while he gets Fang. Free Fall glided from his brother’s frill and silently glided over to a chandelier and gently blew out the only light in the room. The room was then consumed by the jaws of darkness, the only light or lights were coming from small slits from in-between the cracks of the old stone and light that bled through the beautiful stained glass mosaics. The group’s courage and bravery vanished as fast the darkness swallowed the room. They clustered together for protection and comfort.
They then heard a low growl that made their very souls quiver in terror! One colt hears loud footsteps coming from the darkness. The footsteps got louder as they got closer, closer, and closer to the group. It sounded like it was coming from all around them! They grew paranoid with every step, some were saying that this was a horrible idea and now they are paying the price. One colt kept getting more paranoid and frightened with every sound. His teeth were grinding against each other, sweat flowed like a river, his eyes were like that of trapped game, filled with terror wondering what the hunter will do to it.
“Screw this everypony I’m leaving this dump!” He said in a frightened voice and galloped into the darkness.
There was silence, long, eerie silence as they heard his hooves grow evermore faint. They then heard noises that shook them to their very souls! They heard growls, the sounds of loud terrifying roars, stomping, tearing sounds, and most of all; the sound of their friend being devoured as he cried for help then a loud crunch sound. Then a spike bracelet was spat back at the group, covered in his blood along with a bloodied up flashlight. This caused the mares to scream in horror as they saw six jade green disembodied eyes looking at them. Fang let out a roar that seemed to rattle the whole room signaling his brothers to commence the attack. Free Fall swooped down grabbing a mare and dragged her into the darkness seconds later they heard her blood-curdling scream as the Pterosaur pecked her to death. Three members were taken in a flash of four seconds flat as Fang’s massive mouth crunched them leaving one’s hind legs kicking. He spat them out then crushed two under his mighty clawed feet leaving the other to crawl away in pain. Free Fall abducted another pony, a colt this time and did the same thing as he did to the mare. His beak can be heard pecking not only the doomed colt’s body but going through his body and hitting the stone flooring.
While outside the castle the frightened mares heard the screams from their doomed friends being butchered in the most unimaginable ways and took off as quickly as their legs could carry them. Smasher impaled a colt then proceeded to toss his lifeless body through a window as he slapped a mare with his tail causing her to hit a wall killing her instantly. When Fang was finished with his fun and ate the bodies he looked for the leader of the group who he spat and was able to crawl away from his primal butchers. He stood in front of him with the blood from his friends staining his teeth and mouth. It was hard for the injured colt to look at the massive scaly behemoth but he did in total fear. He saw what the brutality they could do and what unspeakable horrors they are very well capable of. He cried and pleaded with them to let him go and promised to respect them from now on. Fang walked around the injured colt like a vulture circling a carcass. To this new Fang he very much enjoyed seeing this pony crying for his life. Fang then stopped lifted up his giant head and opened his blood covered mouth and quickly ate the colt. After his meal he looked to his brothers. They nodded to him as if telling him they were ready. Fang let out a roar to tell everything they were ready to expand their territory and look for mates to breed with.