//------------------------------// // The Truth // Story: Jurassic Pony III // by mistercokehold8 //------------------------------// The moment the group of ponies were able to stop and take a breather, Twilight promptly struck Mr. Cake across the face, sending the stallion stumbling backwards into a thicket of vines. "Nononono! Please stop! Please!" Mrs. Cake said, putting herself in front of her husband. "I think it’s time you do some explaining Mr. Cake." Twilight said as Rainbow and Soaring held her back. Carrot sighed as he rubs his face. "...Remember our son Pound Cake? For his birthday we agreed to let him go paragliding, and we didn't hear back from him for weeks. When we tracked the company who took him out we found out they took him here... We called everyone, even the government. The Equestrian embassy, that's our Equestrian embassy, told us we should 'accept the inevitable!' Can you believe that?!" Rainbow frowned. "You mean you let your child go paragliding on his own?" "No!" Mr. Cake barked. "He wasn't alone, he was with a family friend named Rock Steady." Mrs. Cake explained. Rainbow looks off to the side at the oddly quiet Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie...?" Pinkie stiffened and let out a yelp. "YES?!" "Pinkie did you know about this?!" Pinkie takes a step back, and then looks down as her hair deflates. "...Yeah...When they told me I just remembered how I used to foalsit for them, and when I agreed to help they made me Pinkie Promise not to tell you..." She sounds so heartbroken as she gives her friends the best sad pair of puppy eyes she can muster while she whimpers on the ground. Twilight didnt have it in her to be angry at Pinkie. Instead she turned back to the Cakes. "Ok so why bring us?" "He said we needed an expert." Mr. Cake said, motioning to Tango. "Yes." Tango agreed. "But I did not tell you to ponynap anyone!" "Mr. Cake, we've have never been have this island." Twilight said, motioning to herself, Rainbow and Pinkie. "Sure you have," Mister Cake insists. "We’ve seen all the reports and heard the stories Pinkie had to say! "That was Isla Zebra, Smarty Pants." Rainbow corrects. "This is Isla Pegasus, Site B." Tango looks perplexed. "You mean there are two islands with dinosaurs on them?" "Would you stay out of this?!" Mr. Cake said to the mercenary. Twilight was trying to piece together a plan. "Ok so how long have they been missing?" "About 8 weeks now." Mr. Cake said. Twilight sighed, before turning to her friend. "Soarin, Pinkie, Rainbow, we head back to the plan and try to salvage what we can. Then we head for the coast." "Your majesty, we aren't leaving this island without our son." Mr. Cake said firmly. "Then by all means look for him!" Twilight said, clearly not in a good mood. "Or you can stay with us as long as you can keep up." She paused and looked the group in the eyes. "Either way......none of us are probably getting off this island alive." She said grimly, helping Pinkie back onto her hooves before she began to march in the direction of the plane. The two Wonderbolts shared a look before following after her, the party pony in tow. Mr. Cake turned to Tango. “So….what do we do?” “We search for your son.” The merc answered, before looking at the departing ponies. “In the direction they're going.” The Cakes share a look, and soon follow after with Tango bringing up the rear. After quick walk through the hot jungles, and the large dinosaur from earlier nowhere to be found, the group of survivors came across the wreckage of the plane, and began the progress of salvaging what the can. "Think anything made it?" Rainbow asked seriously, looking at what remained. "Hope so." Twilight said, beginning to dig through the wreckage. “Soarin, you know a thing or two about dinosaurs, what would you classify it?” The princess asked, digging through the wreckage. “Well…..it’s a super predator.” The Wonderbolt admitted. “Suchimimus, that snout." Twilight thought about it. “Too small.” “Baryonyx?” “Not with that sail.” To their surprise, Pinkie would have the answer. "Spinosaurus Egyptigus," Pinkie says as she bounces up with a tooth in the forward curl of her mane. "Late Cretaceous period! Said to be the largest meat eater to ever walk on land! Although it's supposed to feed on fish, poor thing must be starving since I don't remember Scorch ever making prehistoric fishies." "Yeah, I'm really broken up," Rainbow said sarcastically. "But how do you know that anyways Pinkie?" "Twilight isn't the only one that likes to read Dashie," Pinkie said with a pout. Tango groaned "Great... Something that big probably needs lots of food daily to get by. But with no big fish it'll probably go after anything it can get on land. I bet as soon as it's done with that T Rex it'll start hunting us again." "Probably gives us a day or two," Twilight says. "I mean conical teeth were meant for holding prey, not shredding it. That's probably why it has such large claws, to carve into the prey to make chunks it can swallow. That'll take time, especially if it has to fight off other predators." "Was Spinosaurus on the list of dinosaurs InGen made?" Soarin asked Twilight. "No it wasnt, and that just makes me think what else was that stallion up to." The princess muttered, thinking back to her coltfriend at home. She turned an noticed Mr. Cake struggling to put his saddlebag on. She then turned skeptically to the Wonderbolt members. "Went on adventures eh?" She asked them quietly, not buying the bakers story one bit. “Mr. Cake what’s the highest mountain you climbed?” Soarin asked. “K-2.” “Did you set basecamp at twenty five or thirty thousand feet?” Mr. Cake had to think about it. “Thirty thousand, we were pretty close to the top.” “No you were about a thousand feet above it.” Soarin revealed. Carrot knew he was caught. “There is no Cake Enterprise is there?” Twilight asked. “……no. It’s still the same bakery in Ponyville.” The baker revealed. “So I doubt you got permission to be here to?” “…..no I didn’t get permission.” “Great, just great.” Twilight said, putting her sattlebag on. “Here we are in the worst place in the world, and we aren’t being paid, and nopony knows we’re here.” “Twilight let’s say Pound Cake is really out here. Dashie did say nothing short of a rescue mission would get her here." Soarin said. Pinkie pops up beside Twilight. "Yeah! Plus the Cakes really do have a nice company that is really kicking off with some of the best sweets anypiony could ask for! It's not a beneficiary from the Princesses, but it's still a generous donation to the Wonderbolts, and Library. Plus think of all the good press..." She leans towards Twilight, and blinks a few times. "Site B was a research facility right? They bred the dinos here before shipping them to Jurassic park. A facility means buildings, buildings means ponies, ponies means ponies need to know their way around the island..." "Yeah, maybe there's a map," Soarin chipped in. "Hold on a sec..." he flies up over the trees to get a look around. When he returns he nods, "I saw a building, it's a ways off, but it looks important enough i bet there's a map of the island. I also saw this big fence further out so once we get past that we shouldn't have to worry about the big dinosaurs anymore." "Oh they don't gotta be big to be trouble," Rainbow says with a shudder. "Hopefully its still there." Twilight said. "Grab anything important and let's get hoofing it." The Wonderbolts snap a salute before zipping around the crash site to look for anything of use. "Anything else you need to tell us?" Twilight asked Mr. Cake. The baker shook his head. “That’s it! I swear.” "Better be." Twilight said as Soarin and Rainbow put everything salvageable in a pile. "Everything we could find." Rainbow said, not impressed with the pile. "We'll make it work." Pinkie pulls a safari hat from nowhere, and puts it on. "Okay, let's get moving before Toothy finds us again." The supplies were split among the survivors before they began their trek through the jungle. "Everypony try to keep quiet, this is dangerous territory." Twilight said. "Pound!" Mrs. Cake shouted. "What did the princess just say?" Mr. Cake said annoyed. "Maybe we should split up; we could cover twice as more ground." "And maybe we'll just get eaten faster that way," Mister Cake snaps. "Ask the princess then." Mrs. Cake muttered. "Why hire an expert if we're not gonna use their advice!" "The princess isn't looking for Pound, she's looking for the coast" Mrs. Cake argued. "Fine! Scream! Then when whatever that was attacks you, dont come crying to me!" "...You're pathetic" Mrs Cake mutters through her teeth. "What was that?" Mr. Cake barked. "Nothing!" "What did you say?!" Tango rolled his eyes. "If we split up, I’m going with you guys." He said to Soarin. For what had to be an hour the group walked until something stood out in front of them: a para sail tangled in the trees. The Cakes rushed forward, making sure it was real. "Pound!" "Pound!" "Guys!" Twilight said, getting them to quiet down. "Look, the chances are remote of them being in the area." Searching through the weeds for any clues, Mr. Cake pulled up a small life jacket. "Colt size." He said. "Hey guys?" Tango called out, lifting a camera out of the grass. Pinkie bounces over to mess with it. “Awwww, dead battery..." "I got an idea," Soarin says a he fishes through his bag, and pulls out a flashlight, and unscrewing the top. Putting the batteries into the camera, the group was able to watch the last video inside the camera. "See anything yet?" One voice asked. "Noooooooo, not yet!" The other responded. The video jumped forward showing the two ponies crashing through the treetop. "Ok I'm gonna unclip you. One......two......three...." A colt fell to the ground below. "You alright?" "The camera's still on." Pound said before the video ended. Mr. Cake had to hold his wife close. "He's alive you hear me?" Twilight meanwhile looked at the sail. "Could either of you fly that?" "Maybe....long as it isn’t torn." Soarin said. "Well let’s take it with us. Could be useful to signal somepony over head." Pinkie gives the sail a hearty tug, and a branch cracks, sending a mostly rotted earth pony skeleton in the harness swinging right into Mrs. Cake. The mare began screaming bloody murder, thrashing around wildly and getting tangled with the skeleton as they others tried to pull her free. "GET HIM OFF ME!!!!!" After struggling to pull her free, the others finally separated the two. Now free, Mrs. Cake galloped off in the direction off to the left. "Get her back Mr. Cake." Twilight said, pointing after her. "Cup! Wait!" Carrot said, galloping off after his wife. Twilight and Rainbow pulled the skeleton down, the mares covering their noses from the stench. Mister Cake catches his wife after a few seconds. "Cup, Cup! Look... Look I'm sorry about Rock Solid..." "It's not that....it's Pound!" Mrs. Cake sobbed. "He's out there all alone!" "I know, I know." "Our baby is out here all by himself." "Listen to me." Mr. Cake said firmly. "We're gonna find him. I promise." He said holding his wife close. Mrs. Cake continued to sob, that is until she noticed something behind her husband. "Carrot.... Twilight and the others were in the process of rolling up the sail when Mr. Cake called out. "Princess Twilight? You might wanna come look at this!" Twilight, and Rainbow Dash head over to see what has them so worked up... A nest of eggs. Looking off to the side Twilight sees another, and another. This many nests together could only be the work of one creature. "Raptor." she says in a voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes go to another nest, and then up to Soarin who i hovering nearby as he rolls the sail into its backpack. He looks down at the nest, and then up at Twilight with wide eyes. Pinkie kneels down by one nest, "Awwww, Twilight remember when we saw a baby raptor in the park? I was so tiny, and squeaky, and-" "And you had a broken leg in a jeep while we had a pack of them after our flanks," Rainbow says. "We better make like eggs, and beat it before mamas show up." "This way." Twilight said, hurrying off to the east, the others following close behind. "Pound's alright you hear me?" Mr. Cake said to his wife. "He's a smart kid, remember what it was like to ground him?" Twilight made a quick head count to make sure they were all here. Somepony was missing from the group. "Where's Soarin?" She asked. Hurry back in the direction they came from, twilight and Rainbow bumped into the stallion. "What are you doing?!" Rainbow asked her colt friend. "I was taking photos of the nest." "Well don't do that." Twilight said, relieved he was alright. "If we lose you its just us and the tourist." Soarin rolls his eyes, and nuzzles Rainbow before trotting after the tourists in question. The group once more kept walking until they reached the edge of a hill overlooking a valley. "There's your building." Twilight said. "Anypony think Pound's in there? I bet my bottom bit!" Mr. Cake said hurry downhill. Twilight shared a look with her friends, before shrugging. "As far as I'm concerned, it's the four seasons." Tango said as they all carefully climbed downhill. Rainbow looks over their shoulder. "I got a bad feeling about this... Raptors didn't have a problem following us indoors back on Isla Zebra, and they got the home advantage here..." "What's your Pinkie sense saying?" Twilight asked, actually resorting to the Pinkie Sense as they approached the compound. Pinkie shuts her eyes with a frown. "…My scars are burning a little, but they have been since we landed. I'll let you know if it gets worse, clear skies as far as I can see for the moment." The compound had seen better day, now in absolute ruins. Rusted vehicles scattered about the grounds, broken glass lay everywhere, and clear signs of dinosaurs had been here were a plenty. Leading the group, Twilight quietly walked into the main building, right through the shattered doors. "Pound!" Mr. Cake called, his voice echoing the halls, spooking the ponies. "Carrot!" Mrs. Cake hissed. Rainbow too gets up in his face with an annoyed look before fluttering around the room with Soarin. "Hey....." Mr. Cake's eyes fell upon a phone sitting on the reception desk. Mrs. Cake trotted over, figuring the group had nothing to lose, lifted the phone to her ear. To the surprise of nopony, it didnt work. "Worth a shot." She said, placing the phone down. They trot further into the building, nopony noticing a darting shadow in the far side of the room. At a turn in the hallway they come across a pair of vending machines. Mr. Cake stopped by one, and fishes around in a pocket. "Anypony got any Bits? I swear I had some before-" He's interrupted abruptly when Soarin bucks the glass of the other machine apart. Then he gathers bags of chips from it before headed to the others. Mr. Cake grins as he turns, bucks, and promptly falls on his face since the screen on his machine had been plastic instead of glass. The group trotted down the hall, putting food in their bellies for the first time in hours and down a pair of stairs, coming to an abandoned lab. "This is inviting." Rainbow muttered as the group check out the room, looking at all the broken incubator with the broken eggs inside. Mrs. Cake was a little disturbed at the sight. "So this is how you make dinosaurs?" "No." Twilight answered simply. "This is how you play God." Soarin takes some photos of tanks with half-formed dead creatures floating in the tanks, wires attached to them. Mrs. Cake walks down the row looking into one by one. She stops when she finds one full of fluid, and instead of the half born creature she sees the head of an adult Velociraptor. Curious she steps closer to get a better look... wait... did its eye just twitch to focus on her? Before she could react the Raptor head lunged out from behind the tank, snapping and hissing at the mare. Mrs. Cake began screaming as the ponies looked to see what was up. Her husband pulled her away from the tank as the group made a dash for it down the tunnel hallway, with the Raptor breaking out from its spot, and beginning to chase after them. They gallop deeper into the facility to some holding pen cages, and turn a corner... into a dead end. "This way! This way! This way!" Mr. Cake yelled, running down another hall as the Raptor's roar echoed the halls. The group galloped until they came to a gate that the baker tried forcing open. "It's lock!" Turning to go back in the direction they came from, the Raptor came skidding to a halt at the end of the hall. "This way!" The group unknowingly split up, with Rainbow, Twilight, Tango and Mr. Cake running down one hall, Soarin, Pinkie and Mrs. Cake running down the other. the Raptor chose to chase after the later. The three ran into a holding cage getting the door shut as the Raptor rammed into it. Despite the combined strength of the three, the Raptor easily pushed the gate open, trapping the three in the corner with only the gate between them and the Raptor. "Hey over here!!!!!" Tango yelled trying to get the Raptors attention. Rainbow and Twilight joined in as he Raptor snapped and hissed at the ponies in front of it, before stopping and to the horror of the three, calmly looked up. At the top of the gate there was enough room for it to simply climb over. The raptor then puts both its legs onto the chain link of the cage, and unwittingly sacrifices its sure footing. Mrs. Cake is the first to notice this. "Puuuuush!" Their sudden retaliation catches the raptor by surprise, and they quickly turn the tables, trapping the raptor in a corner outside the cage, and locking the door in place by sliding the deadbolt through more of the wire mesh. Twilight opens the cage she had locked herself in with her friends, and as one they bolt down the way they came. Twilight stops when the raptor starts shaking the door frantically, making a noise she never heard from a raptor before. A deep chirping noise that echoes in the building. But a primal part of Twilight's brain can pick out the desperation in that sound. "Sweet Celestia," she whispered. "He's calling for help..." "Come on," Pinkie urged as she yanks Twilight by the tail. That cry for help continues as the raptor carefully climbs its way to freedom, but by then the ponies have escaped into the trees. Their pursuer jumps out of the building, and starts spitting out a loud hooting call that echoes through the forest. Not that far away the call is heard by the pack, and another brilliantly colored male chirps to a plain brown female questioningly. She replies with a growl in her nose, looking thoughtful, and bares her teeth.