//------------------------------// // Reunions and Bird Cage // Story: Jurassic Pony III // by mistercokehold8 //------------------------------// Night was slowly beginning to fall on the island. While the mare and the colt took safety in the water truck, up the in tree tops the others were getting highly concerned when Twilight never appeared after being chased into the trees by the Raptors, especially Twilight's friends. "Twilight!!!" Rainbow called loudly, throwing the be quiet rule out the window. "Twilight!!!!" Pinkie bounces nimbly between treetops with a pout. "Dashie are you loco in to coco? You wanna let Toothy know we're here?" "Do you not even care Twilight might be dead right now?!" Rainbow snapped at her friend. "Oh course I care, but this is Twilight we're talking about RD, she can handle herself. Right now we gotta worry about us, and surviving the night. Stick to the plan!” Rainbow took a glance at the sky. "Nightfall....we'll camp here for the night." She told the others, knowing it would be downright suicide to go off into the park at night. "Never thought I would relive all of this again." The cyan mare muttered as she found a spot to lie back on. "Except I don't think any of us are gonna find a Brontosaurus stopping by for breakfast." Soarin said from a branch above, smiling as he recalls the story Rainbow told him once. Pinkie bounces off to make a hammock out of some vines, curling into it with a goofy grin. Rainbow casually looked down from her branch. "No, but they'll do." She said, pointing to a small group of Ankylosaurs walking by, unaware of the ponies above them. Pinkie looked over. "Ooo, stay away from those. Terrible eyesight with hair-trigger tempers. Those clubs on their tails would one-shot an elephant!" "Duly noted." Soarin said, before drifting off to sleep. The only two who didnt feel like sleeping would be the Mr. and Mrs. Cake. "No matter how this turns out, it wasnt your fault alright?" Mr. Cake said to his wife quietly. The mare was laying back, staring at the night sky. "Pound's always been a strong willed pony. Always." Mr. Cake then set up one of their remaining lanterns on a bright enough setting so as not to disturb the creatures below. "Then you throw someone like Rock Steady into the mix...well...." "Well what?" "Well I’m saying it’s not your fault." Mrs. Cake sighed softly. "You know... If you had been with him he'd be totally safe. You drive five miles under the speed limit Carrot... I totaled three wagons in three years..." 'Well, not three. the last one wasnt totaled." Mr. Cake corrected. "I just said that so we could get a bigger wagon." The mare looked fondly at her husband. "I'm so sorry you have to be here." The two sat in silence for several moments, taking in their surroundings. "I'm not." Mr. Cake said quietly, before finding a cozy spot, and drifting off to sleep. The night passed peacefully, the Ankylosaurs below rising with the morning sun. Their presence had dissuaded any predators from coming. Pinkie led the way through the trees, scouting ahead in typical Pinkie Pie fashion by popping up in places she shouldn't by all laws of physics. Deeming the way ahead is clear she waves for the other ponies to follow her with a wave of her hoof. The Cake felt safer climbing down and following the mare from the ground. Rainbow glided next to them in order to keep them safe. "We follow the plan; make our way to the coast." The mare said. "Not gonna look for Twilight?" Soarin asked from above. "It was her plan. So if she's alive, that’s where she’s going." Rainbow reasoned. “I agree.” Mr. Cake said. “What about Pound?” “Pound’s a smart pony. He must figure all the big dinosaurs are at the center of the island. Right?” The baker asked. Soarin and Rainbow shared a brief look. “Sure.” At the water truck the hatch opened wide enough for a pair of eyes to peek out into the wilderness. At first glance, nothing seemed to be moving out in the thick jungle. Giving the all clear, Pound opened the hatch all the way, before climbing onto the crate he moved. Twilight packed a few items into her saddlebag before climbing out as well. They hopped across a few crates, and over the creek. Twilight raises an eyebrow to Pound. "Can you fly yet?" "For a short distance. Nothing too far or high.” "So much for looking for the others by air then.” Twilight sighed. Carefully making their way through the jungle, the two ponies came to a cliff overlooking a large canyon. At the bottom of the canyon ran a river all the way out to the ocean. The princess pulled out the bincoulars she got earlier and viewed down. “Well, we’re in luck. There’s a boat down by the shore.” “Rescue boats?” Pound asked curiously, taking a look for himself. “No, just something they left behind.” Twilight said as the two ventured back out into the brush. “So how much of the island have you explored?” “I tend to stay close to the compound. Figured if anypony came looking for me, they start there. “We need to make our way to the coast. That was the plan.” Twilight revealed “You sure? Closer you get to water, the bigger things get.” Pound warned. “What do we do when we get there anyway?” “……one step at a time.” Twilight said, not thinking that far yet. Pound looked disappointed, before he perked his ears. "Listen..."Twilight froze in fear, but there wasn’t anything to fear.”That's my dad's satellite phone!" Pound made a mad dash into the jungle, Twilight following close behind. "How do you know that?!" Twilight said running after the colt. "Cake's Bakery in Ponyville!” Pound panted as he ran. “Mom! Dad!" The colt shouted, his voice echoing off into the wilderness. Deeper inside the jungle the group was making ground towards the coast, just having crossed the creek. There had been no sign of Twilight, or the Raptors for that matter. "Hope she's ok. Don’t wanna explain to Celestia why Equestria is short one princess." Rainbow said. Mr. Cake opened his mouth to respond when he heard something. Stopping his and his wife's tracks, they listened intently until they heard the faintest call. "Mom! Dad!" "Pound!" “Pound!” Mr. Cake called. "Guys this way!" He shouted, changing the course of the group, him and his wife charging off full speed in the direction of their son. “Mom! Dad!” They heard their son shout. The group ran, calling to each other at the top of their lungs as they went through the morning fog as they arrived into a large clearing. “Pound!” “Mom! Dad!” Seeing each other made the ponies put more speed into their running, not even caring that a large fence separated the two groups. Arrive at the fence; Pound threw his hooves through it, being hugged lovingly by his two parents. Pinkie would do the same thing for Twilight, relieved her friend was safe and sound. Rainbow was grinning ear to ear. “I knew it!” I knew it!” Mr. Cake said happily. "Boy are we glad to see you." Rainbow said, getting a turn to hug Twilight. Soarin noticed the bag hanging around the Princess's neck. "Hey you got my bag!" "Yeah, lucky strap." Twilight joked. "Want me to carry it?" The Wonderbolt asked. "Gotta find a way over first." Looking at the top of the fence, the rusted giant spikes didn’t look too welcoming. She could probably levitate Pound over it before flying over herself. Or maybe teleport them to the other side. While she thinks Mr. Cake asked, "How did you find us?" "That phone," Pound says with a wide smile. "That stupid jingle from the bakery, I heard it!" "My phone?" Mr. Cake asked confused. "Yeah the satellite phone!" "Where is it?" "Last time I had it was on the plane when I....." “What?” Mrs. Cake asked concerned. It was slowly dawning on the group something was seriously. "I gave it to Bravo. He must've had it.....when......" At that moment the jingle from the phone began playing, but nopony had it on them. There was only one creature on the whole island that had it now. Slowly turning, Twilight found the Spinosaurus standing calmly on the edge of the jungle, staring down at the group, growling loudly. The jingle of the phone was coming from its stomach. The princess let out a nervous laugh before looking at Pound. "Run." The monster roars as it bears down on them, forcing Twilight and Pound to run as fast as their hooves can carry them On the other side the other are charging around the outside of the fence to follow the chase a the Spinosaurus just barely avoids chomping Twilight. Then by luck they find a hole in the fence large enough to dive into the arms of the other group, the spinosaurus just missing them by sear inches. Panting heavily Twilight watched as the Spinosaurus back off, roaring in frustration. The Cake family group hugs while Pinkie hugs Twilight and Rainbow at once. Soarin touch down smirking and eyeing his bag on Twilight's shoulder. The moment of peace is quickly shattered, as a large portion of the fence as the Spinosaurus slams right through it, snarling at them. Quickly regrouping, the ponies broke into a mad dash in the direction of the only building in the area. Making through the door with only seconds to spare, Soaring and Mr. Cake slammed it shut before quickly using all the heavy duty locks in hopes that it’ll keep the door shut. From the outside the ponies could hear the large dinosaur repeatedly slam into the door, but somehow the building was more stable than the fence. Roaring, the Spinosaurus finally gave up, stomping back off into the jungle. "So much for your fence eh?" Twilight panted to Soarin as the Cakes happily reunited. "Twilight, you wanna give me the bag?" Soarin asked casually. "It’s ok Soarin I got it." The mare said, having no issue holding the bag. Twilight trotted over to the broken window and looked out into the lake "Please give me the bag Twilight." The mare turned to answer Soarin, but found a dark serious look at the stallion's face. It wasn’t a request he gave her, it was an order. "It's not safe." Rainbow was confused by her coltfriendss sudden mood change. Twilight glanced down at the bag, before she began to slowly undo the zipper. Soarin made no attempt to stop her. The contents inside the bag made Twilight's blood run cold. "Raptor eggs......." The princess stared at the Wonderbolt in disbelief. "Did you steal Raptor eggs?" Even Rainbow Dash was looking at her colt friend in shock and disbelief. "Now it all makes sense." Everything was falling into place. The Raptors didn’t attack them for food....they wanted what was rightfully theirs. "I figured they be worth a fortune." Soarin said, actually trying to justify his actions. "Be able to fund everything we came here for. It was a stupid decision but you gotta believe me I did it with the best intentions!" The stallion pleaded. Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, until she got the look from Twilight. The mare trotted forward, standing muzzle to muzzle with Soarin. "The best....intentions?" Twilight was beyond furious. "Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions!" Twilight looked at Rainbow, who couldn’t bring herself to look at the two. "You know what? As far as I’m concerned.....you're no better than the pony that built this place." "Your coltfriend!?" The question had slipped out before he could stop himself, but Soarin instantly regretted those words. If Twilight could strip the stallion of his duties as a Wonderbolt she would've done it right there and then. Instead she only looked at Rainbow, then trotted over to the broken window to get rid of the dangerous items. Dangling the bag out the window and over the lake the building sat on, she paused. Then to the amazement of the others, she calmly zipped the bag and placed it within her saddle bag. "What are you doing? Those things are after use because of those!" Mr. Cake said. "Those things know we have the eggs. I get rid of them, they'll just keep coming. "Twilight reasoned. "What if they catch us with them?" Twilight looked at the baker. "What if they catch us WITHOUT them?" She asked. Not giving Soarin a look, the princess trotted over to the metal stairs. "There's a boat on the river. We just gotta climb down." Twilight said, trotting down the metal stairs. Soarin watched her remorsefully as she led the others down, bowing his head in shame. The stairs spiral downward to some suspended platforms hugging the side of the cliff face. Most of the area around them is invisible due to a heavy cloud of fog. "Spooky." Pinkie noted. The sounds of their hooves on metal echoed out. Twilight eyeballed the bridge going out, decided against it. The stairs leading down looked like the better idea. However the moment she pressed one hoof down on the steps, the whole stairway gave out. If Mr. Cake didn’t grab her when he did, Twilight might not be breathing. Listening, it was a good few seconds before they heard the crash. The baker let out a impressed whistle. "You alright?" He asked Twilight. "Yeah." Rainbow looked around. "…Best nopony tries to fly in this fog. It'd be too easy to get lost, and separated again." Soarin had finally trotted down the stairs and rejoined the group. Twilight glared at him as she trotted back to the bridge she passed up earlier. Taking a few steps onto it, she felt the rumble, nervous it might give way. "Let's take this one at a time shall we?" She asked, before taking careful steps into the dense fog. Calmly keeping close to the rail, the mare was happy to reach the other end. "Ok come on over! One at a time!" The others heard her voice echo. Mrs. Cake turned to Pound. "Ok Pound, I'm gonna leave you for just a minute ok? Then you're gonna be right behind me." "Mom, I spent eight weeks in a water truck alone. I can go the next two minutes without you." Pound said with a smirk. Mrs. Cake had to hold it in on how much her little boy has grown. Turning, the mare ventured off over the bridge. On the other side Twilight was taking a quick peek around. Something felt.....off about their surroundings. Trotting quietly, Mrs. Cake finally made it to the other side as well. "Okay Pound, come on!" "It's ok we're right behind you." Mr. Cake said, seeing his son venture out onto the bridge. On the other side Twilight was still examining the scene, finding a weird flaky material on the rails. Crumbling it off, she took a curious sniff and froze. "Where have I smelled this before?" She asked herself quietly. Pound was carefully crossing when the rail began to shake, as if somepony was walking across. "Mom?" He asked curiously, seeing the shape of a figure in the fog. Twilight finally returned to Mrs. Cake, taking a good long look through the fog. She finally saw it, her eyes going wide in shock. "Dear Celestia...." "What? What is it?" Mrs. Cake asked confused. "It's a bird cage..." "…For what?" The baker asked nervously Out on the bridge Pound sees something walking towards him on all fours... something big... and something certainly not his mom… "Dad!!!" Pound said, running for his life in the direction he came from. On both sides of the bridge the ponies heard the terrified screams and came running. But before anypony could reach the colt a large creature with a massive wingspan came flying in, snatching the young pegasus up. "Pound!!!" Mrs. Cake screamed as the two groups came together, quickly running off in the direction of the dinosaur that took Pound. "I can’t see him! I can’t see him!" Mrs. Cake shouted. The creature flew with the struggling colt before hovering over a nest of sorts. "No!! Nooooo!" Pound was dropped off onto a spot where the chicks of the nest began hopping around and squeaking at the sight of food. Pound threw a skull he found at the chicks, before jumping from the ledges in an attempt to get away. On the walk way Soarin found himself as a set of stairs going up to a broken railing. The wonderbolt stopped with a thoughtful look before turning to look at Twilight over his shoulder. His expression turned to one of determination as he clicks the harness of the parachute closed over his chest, and then bolts up some stairs with his wings flared. Twilight realized what the Wonderbolt was gonna attempt. "Soarin….dont!" She shouted, running after him. "Soarin stop! Don't Soarin!" Giving her one last apologetic look, the stallion jumped onto the ledge, leaping off as Twilight made a grab for him. "SOARIN!!!" The Wonderbolt flared his wings, catching an updraft that lifted him into the air, and off into the direction of Pound. "Somepony tell me what is that thing?!" Rainbow asked as she ran after the Cakes, trying to find some route to Pound. “Pteranodon!” Pinkie answered. "Again, was NOT on Scorch's list!" On the platforms Pound ran until he tripped over his hooves in panic. Seizing their chance, the Pteranodon chicks leaped all over the colt, biting and pecking him. Soarin found the nest out in the distance. "Pound! Hold on!" He called, zooming by. Pound cried out as he starts hopping pillars of stone, the chicks jumping after him, and tackling him. They rip into his clothes, Pound managing to gain some distance by shedding his coat. Soarin had turned his direction, quickly zooming off towards the colt. "Jump!!!" The Wonderbolt called. Pound was able to shake the chicks loose, jumping back towards the nest until he leaped off the last pillar and into the passing hooves of Soarin. "Hold on tight!!!” The Wonderbolt said over the wind. Mr. Cake was desperately trying to make his way up towards Cake, until the walkway he was running on came to a dead end. Mrs. Cake and the three other mares were able to catch up. Before they could figure out their next step an adult Pteranodon squawked loudly as it dropped in front of them, unable to make it onto the walk way due to its size. Flailing the group backed away, trying to head back the way they came. The airborne monster flies past them to an opening in the canopy, and then lands on top of it. A pipe gives way under one of its massive wings, falling right in front of its prey. Getting back to its claws it stalks slowly towards them. With a gulp Pinkie whips out her Party Canon from off-screen. "Don't make me use this!" She really hopes it doesn't, she's only got one shot for it on her. The flying dinosaur squawked at the ponies. Rainbow quickly ran forward and gave it a good kick, only making it angrier. Backing slowly to the edge the ponies had absolutely nowhere to run, but with the combine weight of the Pteranodon the section of walkway they were standing on gave way, sending the five screaming ponies splashing down to the water below. As they bobbed in the water the dinosaur splashed down next to them, but before it could strike the walkway came crashing down on top of the creature, sending it to a watery grave. Not believing their luck, Twilight had to group start swimming to shore. Up in the air Pound clung to Soarin as the Wonderbolt looked for the others. The colt made the mistake of turning back. "Soarin!!!!" Flying faster than the stallion could go came three adult Pteranodon, one landing a swipe at Soarin's wings. The wonderbolt yelled out, the colt slipping from his grip, but thankfully landing in the water below. Luckily Soarin had come prepared, pulling open the chute. However he hadn't taken in how narrow the canyon got, and ends up tatting caught on a rock face. As the adults flew around their caught prey, Soarin tried to yank himself free from the cliff face, but was firmly stuck. Pound was able to swim to shore as his parents called out for him. "Pound!" The soggy Mrs. Cake called. "There he is! He's across the river!" The colt shouted, pointing to the dangling stallion. "Get him out of here!" Mr. Cake to his wife as she and Pinkie ran for the colt. Twilight, Rainbow and Mr. Cake started running back for Soarin. "Come on Pound we gotta go!" "What about Soarin?!" The Wonderbolt in question decided to unbuckle himself from the sail, plummeting to the water below. Seeing Twilight and company running towards him, he attempted to make a break for it, only to get picked up by an adult Pteranodon. The dinosaur was unable to keep its grip, letting the stallion fall back into the water. "Hold on Soarin!!!" Twilight shouted as the three ponies finally hit water. Soarin gets to his hooves as another Pteranodon swooping in to attack him from the front. Rainbow Dash tried racing as fast as she could to him, but Twilight and Mr. Cake had no choice but to hold her back as Soarin began screaming. “GET AWAY!” He yelled at the three, tears forming in the cyan mares eyes as her friends held her back. Another adult pecked hard at the stallion, forcing him back into the water. “GET AWAY!" Soarin began screaming as two adults began pecking hard in attempts to drown the pony, all the while with Soarin being swept away by the river. The water had begun to run red. It was too little too late to do anything, but before any of the ponies could grieve, the last of the adults Pteranodon, perched on a rock, calmly turned its head and stared directly at the three. "Uh-oh..." The princess muttered. The three ponies slowly began to retreat before making a break for it. Pound, Pinkie and Mrs. Cake had finally came to the large gate, using all their might to lift up the rusted lock holding it shut. The three forced their way through the second door, Mrs. Cake looking back to see where the others were. "Shut it!!!" Twilight called as the Pterodactyl loomed directly behind the three ponies. Pinkie and Cup forced the door closed, sealing the latch as the three ponies dove from their spot on land into the water below, swimming under the cage. As the three broke the surface the dinosaur fought against the cage wildly, angry its prey got away. "Come on!" Mrs. Cake called as she and Pinkie helped Pound into the boat. The soggy ponies quickly rejoined the three, however not a single one of them would notice the latch coming undone. Twilight cast one look behind them as the fog lifts off the dome shaped cage that stretches from the bank to the cliff top. Each of the ponies who can still stand take up a pole, and start pushing the boat down the river.