• Published 5th May 2023
  • 5,065 Views, 665 Comments

Cinematic Adventures: Jurassic Park - extremeenigma02



The Mane Six and Spike, along with Daring Do and Time Turner, venture with Alan Grant, Ellie Sadler, and Ian Malcom to Isla Nublar for an adventure 65 million years in the making.

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Creation Process

Back on Isla Nublar, near the East Dock, a strong wind picked up as a swirling vortex opened. Emerging through the portal were none other than Curtain Call and Quill Cast. The two stallions looked over their surroundings as the swirling portal sealed behind them. They noticed a dense foliage of jungle off in the distance and when they turned around, they spotted a large cargo ship docked along the port.

“This is Isla Nublar?” Curtain Call remarked. “I thought it’d be bigger.”

“Normally I’d reply with a witty comeback over what you said,” Quill Cast replied. “But right now, we’ve got business to attend to.”

“Thought we agreed to leave that kind of humor out of these stories,” Curtain argued.

“As authors that’s true,” Quill responded. “As ponies… it’s a whole different story.”

To which Curtain Call merely shook his head in frustration, trying to focus on the task at hand… or in this case, ‘hoof’.

“Where exactly did you leave the shears again?” He asked.

“I left it with them of course,” Quill answered.

“… Okay, maybe that wasn’t a bad idea.”

“Who better to watch after them than our raptors?” Quill asked. “We raised them since they hatched; they love and respect us.”

Quill reached into his saddlebag and procured a map layout of the entire island, of which his associate had given him. Unfolding it, the two stallions studied the wide range indicated on the map.

“Hammond told me that he keeps the raptors in the paddock,” Quill pointed out. “Which, according to the map, is situated on the west side of the island.”

“And how are we supposed to get there?” Curtain asked. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not human anymore. We haven’t the arm or leg power to drive a car. What? Are we supposed to ‘walk’ all the way there?”

“No, I was thinking we’d start with a light gallop,” Quill replied sarcastically. “Then we pick it up with a nice trot… and then we run like we’re in a race for our lives… literally! But please, if you have a better plan, we’d love to hear it.”

“Urgh… why couldn’t I have imagined my form as a Pegasus?!” Curtain groaned in frustration.

“You’re scared of flying.”

“No… I’m not afraid of ‘flying’, I’m terrified of crashing! Big difference!”

Before Curtain’s blood pressure can go any higher, he takes a deep breath and channels all that frustration out of him.

“Okay… fine. Been meaning to get my steps in anyway. Let’s get this over with--”

“I heard something over here.”

The sound of a new voice at close range made the two stallions snap their heads in one direction. Sure enough, the silhouette of a figure was heading their way. Quickly, the stallions leapt behind a large crate near the ship just as a man emerged to inspect the area. He wore khaki pants, an InGen jacket, and glasses over his eyes. This man was known as Miles Chadwick.

“What is it?” Another voice asked.

It was in that moment when a woman with dark red hair tied back in a bun appeared. She wore gray cargo pants with a knife strapped to her side, a dark-red tank top, black fingerless gloves, and matching boots. Her name was Nima Cruz.

“Must’ve been a bird or something,” Miles responded. “Don’t know what the hell’s on this island.”

“When exactly can we leave?” Nima asked impatiently. “I hate the tropics.”

“We’ll leave as soon as Nedry arrives with the embryos,” Miles responded. “Then we deliver them to Dodgson personally and get the biggest payday of our lives.”

They proceeded to walk away, just as Curtain Call and Quill Cast emerged from their hiding spots. Soon as the two humans were out of sight, both ponies faced each other and instantly they knew what each other was thinking.

“Who in Equestria are those two?” Quill asked curiously.

“Hopefully, no pony important,” Curtain spoke urgently. “We need to hurry!”

“No kidding!” Quill nodded. “If I know this place as well as I think I do, we’re rapidly approaching something we don’t want any part of. Come on!”

With that in mind, the two stallions raced off as fast as their legs could carry them. Onward they pressed forth toward the deepest, darkest jungle. In their minds, the sooner they arrive toward their destination, the sooner they could leave this place. Hopefully for them, this trip only gets better from here on out.

<>

The main compound of Jurassic Park was a large area with three main structures connected by walkways and surrounded by two impressive fences, the outer fence almost twenty feet high. Outside the fences, the jungle has been encouraged to grow naturally.

The largest building was the visitor’s center, the nerve center of the park. It stood several stories tall, its walls still skeletal, unfinished… in other words, a work in progress. There’s a huge glass rotunda in the very center. The second building resembled a private residence, a compound unto itself, with smoked windows and its own perimeter fence. The third structure isn’t really a building at all, but rather an impressive cage seen earlier, overgrown inside with thick jungle foliage. But the visitor’s center was where the jeeps would pull up front.

Two jeeps containing the Equestrians, Hammond, Grant, Sattler, Malcolm, and Gennaro pulled to a stop in front of the Jurassic Park Visitor’s center. As they jumped out of the vehicles, they noticed a big hole in the wall covered by a tarp. Everyone in the group, Hammond aside, gazed at the building with wonder.

“My oh my, what a lovely building!” Rarity admired. “I absolutely love the tropical style cheque.”

“Why thank you my dear,” Hammond smiled.

“Reminds me of Equestria,” Spike added.

“You’re right Spike,” Twilight agreed. “It actually does feel that way.”

As Hammond led the group up the stairs, talking as he went, two workers opened the large front doors with a smile and Hammond greeted them as they entered the center.

“G’day, g’day, g’day!” He greeted.

The lobby of the still-unfinished visitor’s center is a high-ceilinged place, and had to be to house its central feature, a large skeleton of a tyrannosaur attacking the bellowing sauropod. Hanging above the skeletons was a large banner that read:

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

As everyone and every pony entered the visitors center, they were surprised to see it looked bigger than it appeared on the outside. From where they stood, it had to have at least three different floors. They took note of the workmen in the basket of a Condor crane still assembling skeletons. A staircase climbed the far wall, to another wing.

“--Now, the most advanced amusement park in the world, incorporating all the latest technologies,” Hammond continued. “And I’m not talking just about rides, you know, everybody has rides. But we’ve made living biological attractions so astounding, that they’ll capture the imagination of the entire planet.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard this much egghead talk in all our previous adventures combined,” Rainbow whispered to Daring.

The two mares chuckled a bit, which earned Rainbow a nudge in the side courtesy of Applejack. Grant, meanwhile, stared at the dinosaur skeletons and just shook his head. Ellie caught his reaction.

“So, what are you thinking?” Ellie asked Alan.

“That we’re out of a job,” Alan replied.

“Don’t you mean ‘extinct’?” Malcolm said jokingly.

Several Equestrians groaned and shook their heads over the corny joke as they moved on ahead.

<>

Soon enough, Hammond had led them into a room that resembled a movie theater. Several seats with protective bars, like roller coaster chairs, sat in front of a screen.

“Why don’t you all sit down?” Hammond suggested. “Uh, Donald, sit down, sit down.”

Grant, Ellie, and Malcolm took their seats in the front row of the fifty-seat auditorium. Gennaro sat behind them, and the Equestrians pretty much sat wherever they felt like. Hammond walked toward the giant screen in front of them. Behind him, a huge image of himself beamed down at him from the giant television screen, ‘walking up’ to meet him.

“Here, here he comes,” Hammond spoke giddily. “Well, here I come, yes.”

“Hello, hello!” Screen Hammond greeted.

“Say hello, say hello!” Hammond said excitedly.

The others weakly replied with ‘Hellos’, while Malcolm waved half-heartedly. The only one who showed ‘any’ enthusiasm was Pinkie Pie waving her hoof rapidly toward Screen Hammond.

“Hiya Mr. Hammond!” Pinkie Pie greeted cheerily. “Dig those fancy threads!”

“Oh brother…” Rainbow shook her head.

“Hello, John!” Screen Hammond called out.

“Oh, yes, I’ve got lines,” Hammond fumbled.

Pulling out his three-by-five cards, Hammond scanned them to find his place. Screen Hammond continued without him.

“Well, fine, fine, I guess!” Screen Hammond continued. “But, uh, how did I get here?!”

“Uh, well, let me show you,” Hammond answered, finding his place. “First, I’ll need a drop of blood. Your blood!”

“Right.”

The screen-Hammond extended his fingers and the stage-Hammond reached out and miming poking it with a needle.

“Ooh! John, that hurt!” Screen Hammond spoke.

“Relax, John,” Stage Hammond assured. “It’s all part of the miracle of cloning!”

While the two Hammonds rattled on, the screen image split into two Hammonds, followed by four then eight, and so on, like a shampoo commercial. As they watched the Hammonds greeting each other, the Equestrians, along with Grant, Ellie, and Malcolm huddled together excitedly in the audience.

“Cloned from what?” Alan pondered. “Loy extraction has never recreated an intact DNA strand!”

“Not without massive sequence gaps!” Malcolm added.

“It does sound impossible to gather enough Paleo-DNA just to clone at least one species,” Twilight admitted.

“Paleo-DNA? From what source?” Ellie questioned. Where do you get 100-million-year-old dinosaur blood?”

“Shhh!” Gennaro shushed.

You shush!” Rainbow remarked, frowning.

“Uh girls… what’s that?” Fluttershy pointed out.

The Equestrians and the other guests turned back toward the screen, as Screen-Hammond would soon be joined by another figure… a rather ‘animated’ figure. This animated swirl appearing from S. Hammond’s finger was a cartoon DNA strand, Mr. DNA by name. A happy-go-lucky double-helix strand of recombinant DNA jumping down onto the screen, popped over the shoulder opposite of Hammond’s direction, and tapped his shoulder before zipping to the other side.

“What? What?” Screen Hammond looked, seeing the strand. “Oh! Well! Mr. DNA! Where’d you come from?”

“From your blood!” Mr. DNA answered. “Just one drop of your blood contains billions of strands of DNA, the building blocks of life!”

By now, Mr. DNA has completely taken over the show, more so than a certain ‘klutzy draconequus’. This cartoon character was soon speaking to the audience from the screen.

“A DNA strand, like me, is a blueprint for building a living thing!” Mr. DNA continued. “And sometimes animals that went extinct millions of years ago, like dinosaurs, left their blueprints behind for us to find! We just had to know where to look!”

The screen image changed from animated to a nature-photography look. It’s an extreme close-up of a mosquito, its fangs sucked deep into some animal’s flesh, its body pulsing and engorging with blood it’s drinking.

“A hundred million years ago, there were mosquitos, just like today -- and just like today, they fed on the blood of animals. Even dinosaurs!”

The camera raced back to show the mosquito perched on top of a giant animated brachiosaur. Eventually, the image changed to another close-up, this one of a tree branch, its bark glistening with golden sap. Mr. DNA leapt onto the sap.

“Sometimes, after biting a dinosaur, the mosquito would land on a branch of a tree and get stuck in the sap!”

The engorged mosquito landed in the tree sap and got stuck. So did Mr. DNA, who tugged his legs yet remained stuck.

“WHOA!” Mr. DNA yelped.

Now the tree sap flowed over them, covering up Mr. DNA and the mosquito completely. Mr. DNA shouted from inside the tree sap.

“After a long time, the tree sap would get hard and become fossilized, just like a dinosaur bone, preserving the mosquito inside!” Mr. DNA continued.

A science laboratory came into view; the place buzzed with activity. Everywhere, there are piles of amber, tagged and labeled with scientists in white coats examining it under microscopes.

One scientist moved a complicated drill apparatus next to the chuck of amber with a fossilized mosquito inside and bore into the side of it. Mr. DNA escaped through the drill hole as the scientist moved the amber onto a microscope and peered through the eyepiece.

“This fossilized tree sap -- which we call amber waited millions of years, with the mosquito inside until Jurassic Park’s scientists came along!” Mr. DNA explained.

Through the microscope, the audience could see the greatly enlarged image of a mosquito through the lens.

“Using sophisticated techniques, they extract the preserved blood from the mosquito, and --”

A long needle was inserted through the amber, into the thorax of the mosquito, and makes an extraction.

“--Bingo! Dino DNA!”

This piece of information drew the whole group’s attention, some of them intrigued while others were a slight skeptical. Still, they watched as Mr. DNA leapt in front of DNA data raced by at headache speed. He held his head, dizzied by it, as data flew everywhere.

“A full DNA strand contains three billion genetic codes!” Mr. DNA explained. “If we looked at screens like these, once a second for eight hours a day, it’d take two years to look at the entire strand! It’s that long! And since it’s so old--”

Mr. DNA was suddenly dragged offscreen when he was caught by one of the flying data chunks. But soon he reappeared back on screen and kept talking.

“--it’s full of holes. Now, that’s where our geneticists take over!”

Scientists toiled in the genetics lab with two huge white towers at either side.

“Thinking machine supercomputers and gene sequencers break down the strand in minutes--” Mr. DNA began.

One scientist, in the back, had his arms encased in two long rubber tubes. He’s strapped into a bizarre apparatus, staring into a complex headpiece, and moving his arms gently, like Tai Chi movements.

“--and Virtual Reality displays show our geneticists the gaps in the DNA sequence! Since most animal DNA is ninety percent identical, we use the complete DNA of a frog--”

On the V.R. display was an actual DNA strand, except it had a big hole in the center, where the vital information was missing. Mr. DNA bounded into the frame, carrying a bunch of letters in one hand. He proceeded to place it in the gap and turned back against it, grunting as he shoved it into place.

“--to fill in the--holes and--complete--the--code!” Mr. DNA strained, finally getting it. “Phew! And now we can make a baby dinosaur!”

The scientists and the Equestrians looked at each other, not sure what to think.

“Yep… we’re definitely in the 90s,” Pinkie declared. “They just don’t make educational program like this nowadays.”

“This score is only temporary,” Hammond reassured. “It all has very dramatic music, of course--‘rum, pum, pum!’--a little march or something that hasn’t been written yet and then, of course, the tour moves on…”

Hammond clicked a button on a remote and the safety bars appeared out of nowhere and dropped over their seats, clicking into place.

“Fun, adventure… and solid steel restraints, Mr. Hammond?” Spike raised his brow.

“For your own safety!” Hammond replied.

The rows of seats moved out of the auditorium. Slowly they moved past a row of double-panned glass windows beneath a large sign that read, ‘GENETICS/FERTILIZATION/HATCHERY’. Inside, technicians worked through the microscopes like there was no tomorrow. In the back was a section entirely lit by blue ultraviolet light. Mr. DNA’s voice continued over a speaker in each seat.

“Well, looky-here!” Mr. DNA spoke, over PA. “Those hard-working cowpokes you see behind the glass--”

“Boy howdy, this place is busier than Sweet Apple Acres on Cider Season!” Applejack gawked.

“That must be the fertilization department where they place the dinosaur DNA,” Time Turner pointed out. “Which means, that must be the nursery where the scientists are planning to welcome the dinosaurs back to this world.”

“You mean… those eggs over there… will hatch tiny, baby dinosaurs?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened.

“If based on what we saw so far suggests anything else… I’d say yes.”

Meanwhile, Gennaro had a wonderous grin plastered on his face. There was no mistake that the lawyer was loving everything now.

“This is overwhelming, John,” Gennaro admired. “Are these characters auto-erotica?”

“Dude! Keep it in your pants, will ya?” Rainbow remarked.

“No, we have no animatronics here,” Hammond reassured. “These people are the real miracle workers of Jurassic Park.”

“--in unfertilized emu or ostrich eggs,” Mr. DNA continued. “And it’s no--”

By now, the scientists were growing frustrated, leaning forward, straining against the safety bars for a better look. But the cars kept going.

“Wait a minute!” Grant called out. “How do you interrupt the cellular mitosis?!?”

“Can’t we see the unfertilized eggs?” Sattler asked.

“Shortly, shortly,” Hammond reassured.

The cars, however, are already moving on to another set of windows, which give a glimpse into what resembles a control room.

“Now a whole team of genetic engineers goes to work on--” Mr. DNA continued.

Grant and Twilight strained to look back into the labs, but the cars moved past again, with no intent of slowing down.

“Mr. Hammond, can’t you stop these things?” Twilight asked anxiously.

“I’m sorry! It’s kind of a ride,” Hammond responded.

Malcolm looked over at Grant and placed his hands on the bars, soon the Equestrians and Sattler joined in one-by-one.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not keen on being restrained any longer,” Daring Do remarked.

“Right! Let’s get outta here!” Rainbow agreed.

“One, two, three!” Grant counted.

Together they teamed up on the safety bars. Applejack shoved her bars all the way back with one hoof and Rainbow did the same. Soon as their safety bars were up, they proceeded to get out of their seats and walked off toward the doors to the hatchery.

“Hey! You can’t do that!” Gennaro called out.

But it was too late. Ellie and several girls slipped out from under their safety bars and stomped right across Gennaro’s seat. Hammond, scoffing at their behavior, lifted the bars and walked after them.

“Can they do that?” Gennaro asked Hammond.

Soon, they reached the door to the hatchery. Grant tried to shove it open, but just thuds into it. He rattled the handle, but the door won’t budge as it’s on a security key-card system. Hammond stepped up and removed his glasses.

“Relax, Donald, relax,” Hammond spoke calmly. “We have scientists and visitors from a far away land. They ought to be curious.”

“What magic will it take to open these doors?” Spike scratched his head.

“That’s a retinal scanner, Spike,” Hammond answered.

Hammond stepped toward the code box and pushed various code numbers, before a light scanned the retinal in his eyes. In seconds, the door opened, and he stepped aside as the group eagerly climbed the stairs.

“Huh!” Spike nodded, impressed. “We should get one of those.”

<>

The hatchery was a vast, open room, bathed in infrared light. Long tables ran the length of the place, all covered with eggs, their pale outlines obscured by hissing low mist that’s all through the room. As Hammond led the group down into this corner of the laboratory, a voice came over the loudspeaker.

A reminder; the boat for the mainland will be leaving at nineteen hundred hours. All personally be at the dock no later than eighteen forty-five. No exceptions.

“Should we be concerned about that?” Spike asked.

“It’s just a precaution,” Hammond shrugged off. “It doesn’t concern us; come on in.”

Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, was in her zone just looking at this place.

“EEEHH!! OH, MY FAUST!!! LOOK AT THIS PLACE!!!”

“Oh boy…” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “She’s doing it again…”

In an instant, the alicorn princess was zipping all over the lab. Even Pinkie Pie couldn’t keep up with her pace.

“THIS IS THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY I’VE EVER SEEN, YOU GUYS! IT’S LIKE ALL MY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE; IT’S SO AMAZING!!!”

“And you guys always call ‘me’ the crazy one!” Pinkie remarked.

“Once again, there’s chaos in all of us,” Ian added.

“Great wickering stallions!” Time Turner gasped. “I’m absolutely stunned by what I’m seeing!”

“You would, Doc,” Daring replied.

“I beg your pardon, young lady!” Hammond shouted. “I’d much appreciate it if you’d control yourself; this is very sensitive equipment!”

Twilight Sparkle soon froze in place, fluttering back to her hooves in embarrassment.

“Sorry, Mr. Hammond. I’m just… so excited to be here!”

“I appreciate that,” Hammond smiled. “But please… mind your energy for the tour itself. Shall we?”

Hammond took off his hat and handed it to one of the technicians as another scientist came into view. Henry Wu, late twenties, Asian-American, wearing a white lab coat and working at a nearby table, making notes.

“G’day, Henry!” Hammond greeted.

“Oh, good day, sir,” Dr. Henry Wu replied.

“Who are you?” Rainbow asked curiously.

“This is Dr. Henry Wu, everyone,” Hammond introduced. “He’s one of the most brilliant minds here at Jurassic Park!”

“It’s so great to meet some of the scientists behind the scenes!” Twilight smiled, conjuring a notepad and pencil. “I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS; I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START!!!”

Meanwhile, Daring Do and Time Turner followed the human visitors over to an incubator machine, where a robotic claw turned over the eggs underneath the heat and strong light source.

“It’s turning the eggs,” Ellie commented.

“Now that’s clever,” Time Turner added.

Fluttershy then came over at the mere sight, gasping with excitement.

“Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy smiled. “To think there are little baby dinosaurs inside those eggs!”

She soon noticed one of the eggs made strong movements - a robotic arm steadied the shell.

“Look! One’s about to hatch!”

Both the scientists and Equestrians joined her, as did Henry Wu.

“Ah, perfect timing!” Dr. Wu smiled, satisfied. “I’d hoped they’d hatch before I had to go to the boat.”

“Henry, Henry! Why didn’t you tell me?” Hammond chuckled, putting on a pair of plastic gloves. “You know I insist on being here when they’re born.”

“What’s going on every pony?” Rarity asked.

“A baby dinosaur is hatching! EEEH!” Fluttershy squealed.

“A baby dinosaur?!” Pinkie Pie gasped. “I must plan the birthday party fast!”

“Whoa now, Pinkie!” Applejack lassoed her eccentric friend. “Maybe it’d be best if ya save the party ‘till we leave the lab.”

“But I--”

“How ‘bout this: we’ll have the party the moment the tour’s over.”

“Okay! I can wait!”

Soon the egg began to crack, as the robot claw held it firmly in place. There was no mistaking it: a baby dinosaur was about to emerge.

“Come on,” Hammond encouraged. “Come on, little one.”

“Come on, you can do it,” Fluttershy added. “Just a little further.”

Soon, a bulging crack began to form as a little head became visible.

“Would you look at that, y’all!” Applejack stared.

“Incredible!” Twilight gasped.

“You’re doing very good,” Fluttershy continued. “You can do it, just push your way out, it’s just a shell.”

As the little baby became visible, so did the strands of blood that were covering it.

“Oh, God,” Ellie remarked.

“Push,” Hammond continued. “Come on. Come on. Come on then.”

Hammond reached down and carefully broke away the egg fragments that covered its head, helping the baby dinosaur out of its shell. The little dinosaur cooed at the sight of the two giant creatures staring down at it.

“There you are, there,” Hammond smiled. “They imprint on the first creature they come in contact with. That helps them to trust me. I’ve been present for the birth of every animal on this island. Just look at that.”

“What an adorable little creature,” Fluttershy cooed.

The little dinosaur settled its focus on the yellow Pegasus, cooing and clawing at the air in front of her. She moved her snout closer to its claws.

“Hello, little guy. My name’s Fluttershy.”

To her surprise, and to the shock of everyone else present, especially the scientists, the baby dinosaur leaned down and purred, softly nuzzling her soft fur.

“I don’t believe it,” Hammond stared.

“Did… did I do something… wrong, Mr. Hammond?” Fluttershy asked meekly. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright, my dear. It’s just that… well…”

“This has never happened before,” Dr. Wu spoke up.

“Whaddya mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“This is the first time a dinosaur has seen Mr. Hammond first but not imprinted on him.”

“That’s our Fluttershy,” She boasted.

“I… I didn’t mean to…,” Fluttershy shyly bowed.

The baby dino could sense her unease and all at once started to squirm and chirp, making such a big fuss.

“Oh, shh, shh, it’s alright,” Fluttershy spoke quietly.

Going to work, Fluttershy picked up the little dino from its egg. Softly and carefully, the yellow Pegasus proceeded to pet its head as it calmed. She soon quietly hummed a little lullaby. There was a calm silence, until Ian spoke up.

“Well, surely you haven’t imprinted on the ones that have bred in the wild?”

“Actually, they can’t breed in the wild,” Dr. Wu replied. “Population control is one of our security precautions here. There is no unauthorized breeding in Jurassic Park.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged a look, and somehow, they managed not to smile.

“Uh-huh…” Daring Do nodded, unconvinced. “How do you know they can’t breed?

“Well, that’s because all the animals in Jurassic Park are females. We’ve engineered them that way.”

The Equestrians, along with Alan and Ellie walked toward Fluttershy, their attention trained on the new dinosaur.

“Oh my God,” Ellie smiled. “Look at that.”

“Any pony got a tissue?” Spike spoke up. “I think my allergies are starting to kick in.”

“Right away,” Wu replied certainly. “Coming right up.”

“May I?” Alan requested.

“Oh, why yes you can, Dr. Grant, just be very gentle with her,” Fluttershy replied. “It’ll be alright, little one. Dr. Grant is a very nice man.”

Fluttershy handed the mewling dino into the large palm of Alan’s hand, who measured its body temp under the incubator’s heat light.

“Blood temperature seems like about high eighties, maybe,” Alan assumed.

“Wu?” Hammond double-checked.

“Ninety-one,” The scientist clarified.

Rainbow Dash picked up the large, broken half-shell for a close inspection. But the robotic arm snatched it back from her hooves and put it down.

“Hey!”

“Homeothermic?” Ellie asked. “It holds that temperature?”

“Yep,” Dr. Wu replied.

“Incredible!” Applejack gasped.

“But aren’t dinosaurs supposed to be… lizards?” Daring asked. “Shouldn’t they be like, cold-blooded or something?”

“Well, modern-day chickens are more closely related to dinosaurs than actual lizards,” Grant pointed out.

“Interesting…” Twilight nodded, heavily scribbling notes.

Ian Malcolm, meanwhile, was still cynically skeptical.

“But, uh, again, how do you know they’re all female? Does someone go out into the park and, uh -- lift up the dinosaur’s skirts?”

“Dr. Malcolm, please!” Rarity huffed.

“We control their chromosomes,” Dr. Wu explained. “It’s really not that difficult. All vertebrate embryos are inherently female anyway. They just require an extra hormone given at the right developmental stage to create a male, and we simply deny them that.”

“Deny them that?” Ellie echoed.

“Tha’… sounds mighty scary,” Applejack added.

“John, the kind of control you’re attempting here is, uh, it’s not possible,” Malcolm continued. “If there’s one thing that the history of evolution has taught us, it’s that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. It expands to new territories and crashes through barriers. Painfully, maybe even… dangerously, but… uh well, there it is.”

The Equestrians listened to Malcolm, impressed with his statement. Grant, ignoring the others, spread the tiny animal out on the back of his hand and delicately ran his finger over its tail, counting the vertebrae. A look of puzzled recognition crossed his face.

“You’re implying that a group composed entirely of females will… breed?” Dr. Wu pressed.

“No, I’m simply saying that life -- finds a way,” Ian clarified.

“Could it still be possible?” Daring asked.

“Perhaps, if the circumstances were aligned correctly,” Time Turner replied.

“’You can’t control anything’,” Rainbow Dash pondered. “You know… I agree with that.”

Rainbow Dash walked toward Applejack, smiling at her, too warmly.

“You know A.J., I find it so exciting… a little terrifying, but exciting. That you can’t control life, but life always finds a way.”

“It will break through,” Applejack nodded.

“I get ah--”

“I know… it’s mighty excitin’.”

“And scary.”

“And scary.”

“When people try to control things it’s out of their power--”

“It ain’t natural.”

“Yeah… anti-natural.”

“Uh girls, if you’re going to get busy, could you save it for when we get to our rooms?” Daring Do interrupted.

“Oh! Sorry about that!” Rainbow Dash blushed sheepishly. “Didn’t mean for you to see that.”

To which, Applejack frowned at Daring Do with a huff toward the air. There was just something about Daring Do that rubbed the cowpony the wrong way, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it.

Grant, on the other hand, was still obsessed with the infant dinosaur, the whole time spent measuring and weighing it on a nearby lab bench. He stopped; a strange look spread across his face. He knew what this animal was -- but it just couldn’t be.

“What species is this?” Grant asked, dreading the answer.

“Uh -- it’s a Velociraptor,” Dr. Wu answered.

Grant, Ellie, and the Equestrians slowly turned. They looked at each other, then toward Hammond, astonished.

“You bred Raptors?” Grant emphasized, deathly still.

Dr. Wu nodded silently, and the whole group went silent. Alan carefully handed the little baby killer of nature back to the kind, sweet Fluttershy. He watched as she rocked the Raptor gently back and forth in her hooves, as if nothing they said was trouble. Apart from the mewing, there was a long silence as all eyes focused on the baby Velociraptor.

“Great wickering stallions,” Time Turner gaped.

And in all that time, Twilight Sparkle quickly wrote down what he said, thus completing her manuscript.

<>

A terrible shriek erupted as Grant and Twilight Sparkle charged across the compound, the fire burning in the man’s eyes. The Equestrians and the guests, especially Hammond, struggled to keep up.

“Dr. Grant! Twilight Sparkle!” Hammond called out. “Uh—we planned to show you the raptors later, after lunch.”

But Grant stopped abruptly next to the Velociraptor pen, the heavily fortified cage from earlier, with the San Quentin towers at one end. Twilight Sparkle skid to a halt beside Dr. Grant, who stood right up against the fence, eyes wide, dying for a glimpse. The others followed them toward the staff viewing area, a long walkway wrapped around the concrete structure. Hammond finally caught up, slightly out of breath.

“Dr. Grant… Twilight Sparkle… as I was saying, we’ve laid out lunch for you before you set out into the park. Our gourmet chef Alejandro—"

“What’re they doing?” Grant asked.

“And what are they going to do with that cow?” Twilight pointed out.

As they watched, a giant crane lowered something large down into the middle of the jungle foliage inside the pen. A cow, a very large one at best. But not just ‘any’ cow, a steer. The poor thing looked disconcerted as hell, helpless in its harness, flailing its legs in the air.

“Oh, feeding them,” Hammond replied casually.

“D-D-D-Did you say… feeding?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Alejandro is preparing a delightful menu for us: A Chilean sea bass, I believe. Shall we?”

But rather than moving along, Grant and Twilight climbed up toward the viewing deck. The others followed, staring as the steer disappeared into the shroud of foliage. The line from the crane hung for a moment as the steer gave a loud ‘moo’ of fright. The jungle seemed to grow very quiet. All eyes stared toward the motionless crane line. It jerked suddenly, like a fishing pole getting a nibble. There’s a pause…

… and then a frenzy. Snarling noises took over, followed by horrible noises and the cow squealing in pain and terror. The line jerked every which way, the jungle plants and trees swayed and snapped from the frantic activity within. There was a cacophony of growling, of snapping, of wet crunches that meant the steer was literally being torn to pieces and it almost made it worse that the group couldn’t see anything of what’s going on. The scientists watched with interest, or, in the Equestrians’ case, disgust, but, in Fluttershy’s case, fear as she hugged Ellie who comforted her.

And then… all was quiet again. The line jerked a few times, then stopped. Slowly, the sound of the jungle started up again.

“Fascinating animals, fascinating,” Hammond broke the silence.

“Oh… my… Faust!” Rarity cringed.

“Give time, they’ll out draw the T-rex. Guarantee it.”

“I’d like to see them,” Daring Do offered. “Can we get closer?

Ellie placed a hand on her arm, just like calming an overexcited child.

“Ms. Daring, these aren’t bones anymore,” Ellie pointed out.

“We’re – still perfecting a viewing system,” Hammond added. “The raptors seem to be a bit resistant to integration into a park setting.”

“They should all be destroyed.”

They turned and looked toward the man who spoke from behind them. Robert Muldoon, the grim-faced man who was present at the accident in the beginning. A man in his forties, British. He joined them and removed his hat. For whenever Muldoon speaks, everyone listens to what he has to say.

“Robert!” Hammond laughed. “Robert Muldoon, my game warden from Kenya. A bit of an alarmist, I’m afraid, but he’s dealt with the raptors more than anyone.”

“Alan Grant,” Grant introduced himself. “What kind of metabolism do they have? What’s their growth rate?”

“They’re lethal at eight months,” Muldoon explained. “And I do mean lethal. I’ve hunted most things that can hunt you, but the way these things move—”

“You’re saying they’re faster?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Fast for a biped?” Grant emphasized.

“Cheetah speed,” Muldoon answered. “Fifty, sixty miles per hour if they ever got out in the open – and they’re astonishing jumpers.”

“Whooey… that’ll be a long-time to lasso them doggies,” Applejack shook her head.

“Yes, yes, yes, that’s why we’re taking extremeprecautions,” Hammond assured, facing Ellie. “The ah, viewing area below us will have eight-inch tempered glass set in reinforced steel frames to—”

“Do they show intelligence?” Grant asked.

“And are they smart?” Twilight added. “With the brain cavity like theirs, we assumed—”

“They show extreme intelligence, even problem-solving intelligence,” Muldoon emphasized. “Especially the Big One.”

“How big are we talking about?” Pinkie asked curiously. “Metaphorically? Or ‘literally’?”

“Lemme put it to you this way little one,” Muldoon informed grimly. “We bred eight originally, but when ‘she’ came in, she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others… if not more. That one – when she looks at you, you can see she’s working things out. She’s the reason we have to feed ‘em like this. She had them all attacking the fences when the feeders came.”

“But the fences are electrified though, right?” Ellie asked curiously.

“That’s right, but they never attack the same place twice,” Muldoon corrected. “They were testing the fences for weaknesses. Systematically. They remembered.”

“I know I’m probably going a bit off-topic here, but…” Spike spoke up. “You do seem to handle explaining these matters to talking creatures very well, Mr. Muldoon.”

“Compared to what I’ve seen… nothing surprises me anymore.”

Behind them, the crane whirred back to life, raising the cable back up out of the raptor pen. The guests turned and stared as the end portion of the cable became visible. The steer had been dragged completely away, the harness was destroyed, covered with blood, and nothing remained of the steer. Not even a tattered, bloody harness to find. The horrific sight caused Fluttershy to faint, as her friends rushed over to fan her.

“Yes, well… who’s hungry?” Hammond clapped his hands together.”

“After you, my dear,” Time Turner gestured to Daring Do.

“What a gentlecolt,” Daring Do nodded, walking ahead. “Coming Rainbow Dash?

“Be right there, Double D!” Dash called out, charging forward.

While her friends tried to bring Fluttershy back to life, Applejack turned toward the two Pegasi. Her eyes crossed with suspicion as she stared at the way those two were talking amongst themselves. Spike took notice of Applejack and approached her.

“Everything okay, A.J.?” Spike asked, concerned.

“I dunno Spike,” Applejack responded. “Somethin’ mighty fishy’s goin’ on round here. But I can’t put mah hoof on it.”

<>

By now, everyone and every pony ate lunch together at a long table in the visitor’s center restaurant. There was a large buffet table and two waiters to serve them. The room was darkened as Hammond showed slides of various scenes all around them. Hammond’s own recorded voice described the current and future features of the park while the slides flash artists’ renderings of all of them.

While the Chilean Sea Bass they were served looked remarkably delicious, most of the group couldn’t stomach a meal after the terrifying display of the raptors (Despite the fact they never saw the actual carnage). Most of the ponies, since they couldn’t eat meat, were given a tossed salad with some dressing of their choosing on the side.

As awkward as the meal was, Spike curiously poked and prodded the sea bass with a fork then carefully took a piece. He sniffed the fish for a moment then slowly drew the forkful into his mouth, chewing slowly to savor the flavor. Suddenly, Spike’s eyes lit up as the flavor of the spices and protein sparked a sensation in his tastebuds and he proceeded to eat his dish quickly. All the while, the real Hammond spoke with them.

“None of these attractions have been finished yet, of course,” Hammond explained, over the narration. “But the park will open with the basic tour that you’re about to take, and then other rides will come online after six to twelve months after that. Absolutely spectacular designs. Spared no expense.”

“I swear if I hear him mention, ‘Spared no expense’ one more time…” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Take it easy hon… he’s just excited,” Applejack reassured.

“I mean these ideas do sound like they’d be fun attractions,” Pinkie Pie admitted. “Like something out of an amusement park like, uh… ‘Universal Studios’!”

To which Pinkie Pie pulled out a pamphlet from her mane, which showed the ‘Universal Studios’ logo, then did a double take.

“Whoops, wrong park!”

Quickly tossing it aside, Pinkie dug deeper into her mane until she found the one that said ‘Islands of Adventure’ on it.

“Got it!” Pinkie Pie smiled.

But most of the ponies, except a preoccupied Spike, were busy studying all the passing slides. A few of them were a series of graphs dealing with profits, attendance, and other fiscal projections. Donald Gennaro, who had become increasingly friendly with Hammond, as giddy as a schoolboy, grinned from ear to ear.

“And we can charge anything we want!” Gennaro spoke up. “Two thousand a day, ten thousand a day – people will pay it! And then there’s the merchandising, which I personally—”

Ten thousand dollars for a theme park?” Daring Do raised her brow.

“No offense Mr. Gennaro, but business and statistics-wise I could understand,” Time Turner jumped in. “But motive-wise… I don’t know if there’d be a ton of folk who could afford it.”

“Not to worry little ponies,” Hammond reassured. “This park was not built to cater only for the super-rich. Everyone in the world has the right to enjoy these animals.”

“Sure, they will, they will,” Gennaro nodded, kissing up. “I mean, we’ll have a – coupon day or something.”

“As long as there’s an all-you-can-eat coupon included, you can expect me in line first!” Pinkie Pie grinned.

Grant looked down toward the plate he was eating from. Sure enough, it was in the shape of the island itself. He looked at his drinking cup. It had a T-rex on it, with a splashy Jurassic Park logo. The other Equestrians could see a whole stack of folded amusement park-style maps on the table before them. Boldly, across the top it said, ‘Fly United to Jurassic Park!’.

“Certainly not very subtle on the promotional campaigns,” Rarity observed.

“—From combined revenue streams for all three parks should reach eight to nine billion dollars a year—” Hammond’s voice spoke over tape.

“They’re definitely speculating wildly on some of these figures,” Daring Do reviewed the stats.

“I for one have never been a rich pony myself,” Time Turner shrugged. “I hear it’s nice though. Miss Sparkle, you used to live in Canterlot, would you say it’s nice?”

“Well… I don’t like to brag about finances,” Twilight Sparkle admitted. “True, I live in a castle which mostly pays for itself. But I still prefer to work and earn whatever funds I need to support the housing and business with the school of friendship. I just try to conserve whatever I make and save it for only important matters.”

Ian Malcolm, who had been watching the screens with outright contempt, snorted, as if he’s finally had enough.

“Gee, the lack of humility before nature that’s being displayed here, uh, staggers me.”

All eyes turned and looked toward him. Even Spike’s eyes watched while he still scrapped the meat off his plate with a fork.

“Thank you, Dr. Malcolm,” Gennaro answered. “But I think things are a little bit different than both you and I have feared.”

“Yeah, I know. They’re uh, a lot worse.”

“With all due respect Mr. Gennaro, we were invited to evaluate the safety conditions of the park,” Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “This system that seems simple may be more complex than we ever imagined. Not to mention we have no idea how these animals in a zoo environment can adapt without behaving in an unpredictable fashion. I’m just saying there’s more to this going on than some on-site inspection and hardly any evaluation in the world can cover—”

“Now, wait a second now,” Gennaro interrupted. “We haven’t even seen the park yet. There’s no reason—”

“Donald, Donald, let them talk,” Hammond brushed off. “There’s no reason – I want to hear every viewpoint. I truly do.”

“Yeah, uh, don’t you see the danger, John, uh, inherent in what you’re doing here?” Malcolm questioned. “Genetic power’s the most awesome force this planet’s ever seen, but you wield it like a kid who’s found his dad’s gun.”

“And every McGruff the Crime Dog commercial will insist that’s a bad idea,” Pinkie added.

“It’s hardly appropriate to start hurling accusations—” Gennaro defended.

“Actually… I might have to agree with Mr. Malcolm,” Tim Turner interrupted. “The problem with scientific power, and I speak from experience, it’s whether you have the discipline to attain it or not. It’s one thing to read what others have done and take the next step. It’s another to realize you didn’t earn the knowledge yourself, ergo you don’t take responsibility for it. I’m sorry to say Mr. Hammond, that’s what we’re looking at.”

“You stood on the shoulders of geniuses, uh, to accomplish something as fast as you could,” Malcolm added. “And before you even knew it, you had, you’ve patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic box, and now *BANG* you’re selling it, you wanna sell it, well.”

“I don’t think you’re giving us our due credit,” Hammond responded. “Our scientists have done things which nobody has ever done before.”

“Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied over whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” Malcolm argued.

“One time, I tried to use science to create a pesticide in case the parasprites ever returned to Equestria, or even for twitter-mites,” Time Turner added. “Then I realized, it’s one thing to create the perfect pesticide, but that doesn’t tell me not to use it without considering the environmental effects. Magic and science can come together to make a reactor for the Weather Factory, but it can’t tell us not to build it.”

“You made a pesticide… to hurt living creatures?” Fluttershy spoke worriedly.

“It wasn’t going to ‘hurt’ the critters, just stun them,” Time Turner reassured. “But there’s no point to it, as I’ve ditched the project altogether.”

“But this is nature!” Hammond spoke up. “Why not give an extinct species a second chance?! I mean, ‘Condors’. Condors are on the verge of extinction—”

“No—” Malcolm groaned.

“No, no! If I was to create a flock of condors on this island, you wouldn’t have anything to say.”

“You want to bring back the dodo population too?” Rainbow asked sarcastically.

“No, hold on – listen, this isn’t some species that was obliterated by deforestation or, uh, the building of a dam,” Malcolm criticized. “Dinosaurs, uh, had their shot, and nature selected them for extinction.”

“I simply don’t understand this kind of Luddite attitude, especially from a scientist!” Hammond pointed out. “I mean, how can we stand in the light of discovery and not act?”

“Oh, what’s so great about discovery? It’s a violent, penetrative act that scars what it explores. What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world!”

“… I don’t know how to respond to that comment,” Rarity shuddered.

“Well, the question is—” Ellie spoke up. “How can you know anything about an extinct ecosystem? And therefore, how could you ever assume that you can control it? You have plants right here in this building, for example, that are poisonous. You picked them because they look pretty, but these are aggressive living things that have no idea what century they’re in and they will defend themselves. Violently, if necessary.”

Exasperated, Hammond turned to Twilight and Grant, the latter appearing shell-shocked.

“Miss Sparkle… Dr. Grant, if there’s one person here, or pony, who can appreciate what I’m trying to do…” Hammond spoke hopefully.

“Listen Mr. Hammond, I don’t want to have to speak for all of us, but I think we know what we’re thinking,” Twilight began, sighing heavily. “We appreciate what you’re trying to do; for kids to see living, breathing dinosaurs is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We ‘can’ make that a reality for your guests and everyone around the world… but ‘should’ we? I hate to say it but… personally I feel elated… and frightened at the same time.”

“The world has just changed so radically, and we’re all running to catch up,” Grant spoke quietly. “I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but look—”

Grant leaned forward, showing sincere concern over his face over the reality thrown toward him.

“Dinosaurs and man – two species separated by sixty-five million years of evolution,” Grant emphasized. “Have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we have the faintest idea of what to expect?”

“I don’t believe it!” Hammond chuckled. “I don’t believe it! You’re meant to come down here and defend me against these characters, and the only one I’ve got on my side is the blood-sucking lawyer!?”

“Sorry Mr. Hammond…” Fluttershy apologized meekly.

“Don’t take it too personally, Mr. Gennaro,” Daring Do assured. “Not even the lawyers in Equestria get any respect for their work.

“… Thank you,” Gennaro responded deadpanned.

Just then, there was a licking sound that drew their attention. By now, Spike had just finished up his plate and proceeded to lick the plate clean with his slithery tongue. He carefully set the plate on the table with a sigh before brushing his mouth with a napkin.

“Are you going to eat that?” Spike asked the humans.

The three scientists merely just looked at Spike, and slowly slid their plates toward the dragon. Just then, one of the waiters whispered to Hammond.

“Well!” Hammond smiled. “They’re here.”

“Ah – they’re here,” Twilight nodded, with curiosity. “Who’s here?”