//------------------------------// // Tirek and the Earthquake // Story: My Little Pony: The Land Before Time // by Jongoji245 //------------------------------// The night time was dead silent, save for the snoring of the larger dinosaurs. With no threat around despite the roar heard earlier, the lookouts slowly went to sleep on the fringes of the herd, with Big Mac and Night Dancer resting on a standing rock. As they swept their tails around, flying insects were disturbed and buzzed away quickly. But with insects comes frogs. A few hours into the night, a few frogs leave a nearby bog to go on a nightly bounty caused by the dinosaurs. One froglet, still having his baby tail, was waiting on the back of Cheerilee when he awoke to the sound of a buzzing dragonfly. The insect flew away too late as the amphibian leaped, stuck out its sticky tongue and caught it. It landed in front of Scootaloo with a loud plop, startling her. The frog took a few hops before landing on Sweetie Belle, also waking her up. With one massive leap from her armored body, the frog landed on Apple Bloom's snout. With a large chomp, the frog ended the insect's life in front of her. After showing the chow, the frog leaped great distances away from the herd. Apple Bloom noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chasing the frog and went after them. Cosgrove, still enticed by the story, occasionally whipped his tail around as if he would hit his dreamscape foe. Hearing the small steps, he awoke to find the Crusaders chasing the frog. "Hey!" Cosgrove spoke quietly as he stepped away from his herd. At one point he almost tripped over Scorpan's snout. When the large Duckbill turned his head, Cosgrove continued. The frog stopped for a moment at the mouth of a cave. Scootaloo slowly crept up to the jumper. "Scootaloo," - Apple Bloom called out, startling the frog again - "we're not supposed to go far from the herd!" Scootaloo turned around to find her three herd mates following her, "Oh what, afraid of the dark!" As she went deeper into the cave, Sweetie Belle shook her armored head, "We're not scared!" "Then what are you waiting for?" Sliding down a ramp, Scootaloo entered the bog underneath a dead tree, much to the frog's dismay. Just after she picked it up, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Cosgrove bumped her, disturbing even more adult frogs. While Scootaloo gave them a glare, the frogs submerged and began making bubbles. Some of the bubbles became as large as they are, the frogs inside them. Scootaloo was the first to pounce on a bubble before pouncing on another. "Over here!" Said Sweetie Belle as she stamped on a bubble. Enticed by this, Apple Bloom began chasing the next bubble, "Hey this is fun!" The kids began play in the bog, popping the bubbles and chasing a few stray frogs. But in their fun, they became completely unaware of the danger walking by them. It was only when they saw darkness envelope them. The frogs submerged under the bog. The children kept looking around as the footsteps became louder and louder. Cosgrove turned to find a red and black Tyrannosaurus Rex stomping towards them. "Sharptooth!!!" Cosgrove screamed. With a quick burst of speed, Tirek rammed the dead tree, arching back to hit it again. Distracted, the four children dashed to the general direction of their herd. "Help!!" Sweetie Belle screamed. Apple Bloom and Cosgrove tripped over each other in the slippery mud. "Applejack!" Skidding to a stop, Apple Bloom and Cosgrove looked up to notice Tirek. "Help!!!!" They screamed before just barely avoiding being stepped on. The two young dinosaurs ran under the tree and leaped on the splintered interior to avoid Tirek's snapping jaws. Climbing a little higher, they were out of reach from the Sharptooth. Apple Bloom and Cosgrove slowly breathed in and out as the loud growls died down. Apple Bloom and Cosgrove looked at each other, giving each other a slightly scared chuckle. That died when a shadow loomed over them again. Higher on the tree, Tirek spied them through a hole. Immediately he began ripping through the tree. As he dug deeper, the rotted wood split open, shaking the young dinosaurs off and into the bog below. Quickly they ran up the rock ramp towards home. Hearing the loud footsteps behind, they took their chances with a thorny brush. Just as they ran inside, Tirek lunged at them, skidding to a halt by the sharp vines. Cosgrove himself got caught in some branches. Apple Bloom stopped and watched as the branches dragged the young Longneck towards the beast's gaping maw. Using her small brow horns as a fulcrum, the small Threehorn yanked him out of the vine, whacking Tirek straight in the eye. The beast erupted out of the brush, roaring in pain as one of his beady eyes became engorged in blood. Apple Bloom and Cosgrove ran deeper into the brush. Again a shadow loomed over them. Thanks to being blinded in one eye, Tirek couldn't see them easily as before. But he could smell them. Using a break in the canopy, Tirek clawed his way down. He was just there, with only a bramble keeping him away from smelling his breakfast and took his scent game elsewhere. "Go!" Cosgrove nudged Apple Bloom to a tunnel, with him motioning the direction. Apple Bloom ran first as fast she could, with Cosgrove close by. However, before she could reach the other side, Tirek busted through the brush and roared at her. The young Chasmosaurus just missed being eaten, running in the other direction. Cosgrove ducked as Apple Bloom leaped over him. "Wait, you're going the wrong-!" Cosgrove looked forward and quickly ran back just before Tirek snapped his jaws. They tried to run back the way they came, but Tirek now used the opening he sniffed through, just missing them again. Turning around, the Rex dove in, the vines snaking around his neck. Erupting through the brambles, Tirek slowly looked around before hearing the pitter patter of feet. He crouched down and leaped a great distance. Landing on top of them, he dug his snout to the ground before cutting their escape back with a slam of his great tail. Now there was a hard choice: get eaten or wait to be eaten. Tirek raised his upper body. "Wait for it..." Apple Bloom warned. When the great beast finished raising himself "Now!!" With a quick burst of speed, the two children just missed Tirek's lunge, barely missing his tail as he rolled forward. The children quickly ran up a rock ramp as Celestia rose over the sky. Tirek recovered sooner than they thought and leaped at them again, the shockwave bouncing the children onto their backs. Just as Tirek prepared to feast, a great mass rammed him from the side. The carnivore collided with nearby rock formation, a piece pinning him down on his neck. Apple Bloom and Cosgrove continued to run underneath the adult, joining with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The young Longneck looked up and saw it was Night Dancer who intervened. "Mother?" As Tirek broke out of the formation, Night Dancer moved her head and nudged the children. "Run, run!" Freed from his prison, Tirek charged at the Duckbill and almost took a bite out of her. With a quick turn, Night Dancer dodged the attack and whacked him with her head. Scootaloo stepped forward as the larger animal brayed. Apple Bloom, noticing that the Fast Runner was just below her front legs grabbed Scootaloo by the tail and dragged her just before the Edmontosaurus stamped on her forelimbs. Tirek and Night Dancer circled each other, planning their next move. Just when the Sharptooth lunged at her, Night Dancer parried and tripped him with her stiff tail. She, her adopted son, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo began to run back to the herd. But with their back turned, Tirek recovered faster than anticipated, ran up to his large foe and grabbed her by the top of her tail. Near the edge of a stagnant lake on the cliff side, Cosgrove watched in horror as Night Dancer was pulled away from the children. In her struggled, the jaws of the T. rex took a large chunk out of her tail. Night Dancer looked at the oozing wound before snorting in anger. Tirek ran towards her, this time dodging her tail strike. He bit down on her midsection, and with one great arc flung her at the shallow water over the children. The wave from the water collected Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, bringing them straight to Tirek's massive legs. The two children tried to get away as fast as they could in the shallows, but Tirek managed to grab Scootaloo's tail feathers, lifting her up high above the ground. Before he could end her life, Big Mac rammed Tirek on the thigh. Releasing her, Scootaloo "flew" a few feet before scampering back to the others. Joining Big Mac was Applejack, Big Hooves, and Braeburn. "You four help Night Dancer back to the herd!" Applejack ordered before joining the fight. Night Dancer, now also having deep tooth marks on her back, slowly got up and hobbled with the children away from the battle. When they got to an empty spot, the adult Duckbill lied on the ground, panting heavily from the blood loss. "Mother," - Cosgrove stepped forward - "are you okay?" "I'll be fine..." - She answered - "I just need some rest." Suddenly the ground began to shake, becoming more intense as a crack began to form. As it reached between Apple Bloom's legs, she looked down with curiosity. The other children not so much as they began to run away. The young Threehorn almost feel in before joining the others. Back to the fight, the violent tremors brought the others off balance, causing Tirek to fall off the cliffside. The children, assisting the wounded Night Dancer were cut off when the ground they were on buckled, separating them from their guardian. Tirek recovered quickly before spotting the children and running towards them. Seeing the giant charging at them, the Crusaders and Cosgrove ran as fast as they could towards the herd. Being a grown up, Tirek was faster and soon corralled them under his legs. Suddenly a massive fissure shot out under them, buckling the earth and causing them to slide down. Tirek tried to hold on, but the curse of his forefather's arms prevented so. "Help!!!" They screamed, holding onto Tirek's tail. "MOTHER!!!!" Cosgrove's call reinvigorated the near exhausted Night Dancer. Quickly the children climbed up Tirek's back and made a break for the top. The tremors caused pebbles to fall under their feet, bringing them back down the hill. Wanting to have one last meal, Tirek opened his mouth wide when Night Dancer grabbed them by their tails and lifted them up. Tirek screamed as he fell into the deep crevice. Putting them down, they began their hasty journey to their herd. But the earthquake only got worse from there. Aftershock after another divided herds knocked out or even killed unfortunate land dwellers. The Fliers fared better. Babs seed, noticing the five straggling herd members ran towards them. "Cos!" Babs called out before the crack split the path she was running on. If not for her sister to catch her, she too would be one of the victims. In this time of the clash of continents, a great earthquake split the land. Herds were divided, families were cut in two, children being separated from their parents. The earthquake ended on a sour note. When the dust cleared, Celestia revealed a ravaged land; one side was elevated much higher than the other. The Apple Family walked towards the edge. "Apple Bloom!!!" Applejack called out. Apple Bloom was on one side of the divide, her family was on the other.