Friendship is Magic: Jurassic Park

by Triple B Studios

Chapter 1: The Fossils

The museum's heart is steeped in history and holds a special place in the hearts of all its visitors. It is a place that connects them to the world they were born into, where they can marvel at artifacts that speak of the past and its stories. The museum itself is a landmark, having stood here since before its construction. With over three dozen exhibits, some of which contain more than a decade's worth of information, the building that houses these artifacts also accommodates over six thousand people, including students from various schools across the country who come to witness this magnificent collection.

Numerous visitors strolled around the premises, observing the exhibits. Their minds were brimming with inquiries as they endeavored to absorb everything at once. Some posed inquiries that were coherent to the individual asking them, while others inquired about what was genuinely unique or peculiar. There was an abundance of things to see and learn about. However, as impressive as each display was, none of those musings could compare to the museum's ancient history exhibit. The one that seized everyone's attention: the dinosaur bones.

Ancient fossils have always been a source of fascination for young children, and the fossilized remains from extinct prehistoric creatures that had been preserved with great care by the Museum was the most precious treasure the local town could offer their visitors. Numerous individuals in the chamber had journeyed a great distance to witness some of these fossils, even accompanying acquaintances for the event. Other children were left agape at the towering skeletons above them. The chamber was not excessively congested, and all of the children were well-mannered, gazing up at the display of the skeletons in amazement.

Alan Grant stood with his back against the wall, his arms crossed, and a smile on his face as he observed the children. If one were to inquire as to whether he enjoyed the company of children, he would respond affirmatively without hesitation. It is impossible not to appreciate any group that is so openly enthusiastic about dinosaurs. Alan was amazed when a three-year-old child shrieked, "Stegosaurus!" and rushed towards the giant animal that dominated the center of the room. Alan's smile widened, and he chuckled to himself. Children are so full of excitement, and he never fails to enjoy watching them become excited about anything.

He turned towards his left and noticed two young teenagers gazing down at well-preserved dinosaur eggs. Grant shook his head as his lips slightly curved upwards, reminiscing an old memory. In 1979, Grant discovered the first clutch of dinosaur eggs in Montana, and many more in the following two years. However, he did not publish his findings until 1983. He recollected how he became an overnight celebrity after the report detailing his discovery was published.

A herd of ten thousand duck-billed dinosaurs lived along the shore of a vast inland sea, building communal nests of eggs in the mud, and raising their infant dinosaurs in the herd. Grant was inundated with requests for interviews, lectures, and books, but he characteristically turned them all down, wanting only to continue his excavations.

Grant inclined his head and massaged his nape. He prefers to maintain a certain distance from social conventions, as such matters tend to make him uneasy. He is one of the leading researchers in his field, and holds the esteemed position of professor of paleontology at the University of Denver. Grant is well aware that all significant work in paleontology is conducted in the great outdoors, with one's own hands, of course. He personally considers himself an outdoorsman, through and through.

Grant occupied his mind with reminiscences of his early years. His father, a sagacious and astute man, was of Caucasian descent, as was his mother. Grant inherited his father's complexion and eyes, but he inherited his mother's benevolent heart.

Both of his parents were also professors of paleontology, much like him. His mother, who was amiable and affectionate, was driven by her passion for teaching, and her love for children was boundless. She treated every child, regardless of age, as if they were her own. Grant was fortunate enough to have her as a role model during his adolescent years. Her constant encouragement of his intellectual curiosity and love for the natural world inspired Grant to pursue a career as a professional researcher in the field.

For a fleeting moment, Grant's countenance contorted into a frown. Both of his progenitors perished in a plane crash caused by an engine malfunction while en route to visit an acquaintance. The calamity remained vivid in his memory. Grant experienced a sense of melancholy as he recollected the incident, and he comprehended that death is an inevitable occurrence. Nevertheless, Grant held his parents in high esteem, for they molded him into the esteemed paleontologist he is today. He acknowledges that he would not have been able to complete his studies without their support. Alas, he continues to yearn for their presence.

Grant blinked as he was struck by a sudden fragrance, causing his nose to scrunch up. He then proceeded to glance around the room, but no one else seemed to react to the scent. His eyes then darted to the other side of the room where, about thirteen feet away, he saw the heads of two small creatures. Both of them looked around the room, their large rounded eyes gazing at the dinosaur bones with amazement.

The creature situated to the right was adorned in a coat of lavender fur, complemented by a navy blue-colored mane and tail, which were stylized with rim cuts. Two lighter-purple and pink stripes ran down both sides of its body. Additionally, it possessed purple irises, prominent eyelashes, and thicker eyebrows. A moderately-sized horn protruded from the top of its head, and Grant had to squint his eyes when he observed that it had a peculiar tattoo of a star affixed on both sides of its buttocks.

The creature situated to the left was embellished with a light yellow fur. Grant was astonished to observe that it had wings that were firmly folded against its body. The wings seemed to be attached to the animal from its waist upwards. Its bright aqua eyes exuded nothing but kindness, and its eyelashes were long and curved upward. The creature's long pink mane curled at the tips, and its tail was similarly curled. Similar to the other creature, it also bore a tattoo, but with three pink butterflies arranged in an upside-down triangular formation.

Grant's forehead furrowed as he scrutinized the two creatures before him. He experienced a sense of déjà vu, but couldn't quite place it. Were the creatures familiar because he had seen pictures of them or read a description? No, he was certain he had seen them before. But where? Grant wracked his brain, attempting to recall. He remembered reading his newspaper, and the headline displayed an image of six fur-coated creatures standing among a group of suited men. The caption underneath read: “Earth's six ambassadors: The Elements of Harmony.”

It dawned on him suddenly - the creatures. It is quite apparent that they are ambassadors, and not just any creatures. They are equestrians from another world, exploits of the Elements of Harmony. Grant pondered this thoughtfully, cupping his chin. However, he couldn't help but wonder what had brought them here as he gazed at the two equestrians. He observed them as they avoided a group of people while staring at the display of skeletons on the other side.

The countenances of the individuals were that of amazement and captivation. The equestrian with lavender hue elevated her hoof and gestured towards an Edmontosaurus skeleton, which caught Grant's attention. He observed the manner in which they ambulated, resembling that of equines. Each foot was placed cautiously on the ground, one after the other. The equestrian's gait was almost elegant as she pranced across the museum's floor, with her tail swishing behind her. Her eyes gleamed in the light, reflecting the radiance of the dinosaur skeleton.

Grant came to the conclusion that the equestrians in question are miniature horses. The sole disparity between these two beings is that one possesses a moderated horn while the other has wings. A Unicorn and a Pegasus, Grant thought.

A zoologist named Danish, back in 1638, challenged these claims and provided evidence that the so-called "unicorn horn" was actually the tusk (tooth) of the narwhal from the Arctic seas. However, for the next 100 years his findings remained unheeded.

It was explained in paper how the myth of the unicorn and the purported powers contained within the substance of its magical horn evolved from the ages-old spoils of the Arctic fishing trade, where the narwhal was primarily speared for food and secondarily, for the export value of its ivory tusk. This unusually pointed, long and protruding single tooth, which breaks through the upper lip and the left jaw of each male narwhal, became a highly valuable commodity over the following centuries, due to its believed supernatural origins and curative qualities.

As for Pegasus they were based off of Greek mythology as far as Grant could remember, as they resembled the flying horses depicted in the sculptures. These mythical creatures were just myths, of course; nothing more than stories to entertain children. But after seeing those two equestrians Grant now realized that both the unicorn and pegasus were very real.

“Take a look at this one.” Grant heard the lavender equestrian say to her friend beside her. “It’s amazing that something this big can stand on its two feet.”

“Oh, yes.” The yellow mare pegasus replied with a smile. “Um, how do you pronounce its name? Para…para, parah…para.”

“It’s called a Parasaurolophus mrs,” said Grant. The two equestrians turned toward him. “And it means "near crested lizard." Almost every child’s favorite animal.” He chuckled.

Grant turned just in time to stare down at the lavender unicorn, her mouth agape in surprise. The yellow pegasus noticed her reaction, turning her gaze away from Grant, and looking curiously at her companion.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Asked the yellow pegasus.

“I know him.” Replied the lavender unicorn with surprise in her voice. “This is Dr. Alan Grant.” The unicorn turned back toward Grant and smiled brightly. “One of the principal advocates of the theory that dinosaurs were warm-blooded.”

Grant grinned in amusement at the unicorn’s comment. Although he knew many scientific theories regarding the evolution and development of animals. Yet he hadn’t expected the unicorn to be able to recognize him from his articles. He nodded in approval at the unicorn’s remark. “I see you know my work, Ms.…?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” The unicorn said happily. “This is my friend, Fluttershy. Me, along with my friends, have been conducting study in numerous fields since first visiting Earth.”

Grant laughed lightly. “I’m aware of your mission Ms. Sparkle. The goings-on of the Equestrian Elements is fairly well-documented. It’s an interesting field and I am extremely intrigued to meet you two young ladies.”

Twilight stepped forward and extended a hoof toward Grant. “It’s really nice to meet you, Dr. Grant.” She said politely.

Grant shook her hoof and returned the friendly gesture. “Likewise. I see you two are fascinated with dinosaurs?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Yes we are.”

“I see.” Said Grant, nodding knowingly as he turned his attention once again to the hadrosaur skeleton. He turned his gaze back to the two. “May I join you two?”

Both Twilight and Fluttershy nodded. “Of course,” said Twilight. “Please do! I actually wanted to ask you a few questions revolving around dinosaurs.”

Grant walked beside the two. “Alright, shoot.” He responded. “Anything you would like to know, just ask.”

Alan Grant walked with Twilight and Fluttershy toward the exhibit’s entrance. He took notice of the curious stares some of the visitors gave them in passing, but he paid them no mind. His eyes wandered from a mounted deer to a porcupine with one horn. Entering in another exhibit the trio approached a giant skeleton. Bearing a large bony frill, three horns on the skull, and a large four-legged body.

“It’s so big,” Fluttershy breathed in awe.

“Indeed it is, Ms. Fluttershy.” Grant replied as he walked closer to the skeleton to admire the great creature.

“What kind is it?” Twilight asked curiously.

“It’s a Triceratops,” Grant answered, still mesmerized by the great beast. “Its name means 'three-horned face' you can tell just by looking at it. They’re a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that first appeared during the late maastrichtian stage of the late cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago. It is one of the last-known non-avian dinosaur genera, and became extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy breathed, gazing at the fossil. “Do you know anything else about these Triceratops? I heard that they come in groups.”

“Well,” Grant said, turning to look at her. “Triceratops was thought to be unusual among its ceratopsid relatives. While many ceratopsids, a common group of herbivorous dinosaurs that lived toward the end of the Cretaceous period, have been found in enormous bonebed deposits of multiple individuals, all known Triceratops fossils have been solitary individuals. But a new discovery of a jumble of at least three juveniles in the badlands of the North-Central United States suggests that the three-horned dinosaurs were not only social animals, but may have exhibited unique gregarious groupings of juveniles.”

Twilight nodded as she hummed in understanding. Twilight glanced at the other skeletons of various herbivores and carnivores. One particular skeleton caught her eye. “That’s a Carnotaurus right?” Asked Twilight.

Grant nodded while continuing to observe the predator’s skeleton closely. “Yes.” He observed its size. “What do you know about the Carnotaurus, Twilight?”

“It’s a large carnivorous, or meat-eating, dinosaur that inhabited South America during the middle of the Cretaceous period, which lasted from approximately 144 to 65 million years ago. From what I learned Carnotaurus is classified as a member of the family Abelisauridae, which belongs to the order Saurischia,” Twilight explained.

“That’s right,” confirmed Grant. “And according to separate studies, they rivaled individuals that may have combated each other with quick head blows. By slow pushes with the upper sides of their skulls, or by ramming each other head-on, using their horns as shock absorbers. As for their feeding habits it still remains unclear: some studies suggested the animal was able to hunt down very large prey such as sauropods, while other studies found it preyed mainly on relatively small animals. Its brain cavity suggests an acute sense of smell, while hearing and sight were less well developed. The Carnotaurus was probably well adapted for running and was possibly one of the fastest large theropods.”

“How fast?” Fluttershy inquired.

Grant shrugged. “According to some studies Scientists calculate that it had a top speed of up to 48–56 kilometers. 30–35 miles per hour,” Grant answered. “It’s to be expected that it could outrun a man if you gave it half a chance. Or any prey it sets its sights on.”

Fluttershy looked up at the Carnotaur skeleton. Her eyes landing on the skeleton’s jaws lined with teeth, her ears drooping slightly as she looked at the teeth. She couldn’t imagine a worse fate than being chased by such a beast. Deep down she knew no salvation would ever come from such an animal attack.

They left the area behind, and soon entered yet another room filled with ancient skeletons of sauropods, hadrosaurs, and theropods. One by one Grant explained to them. The two ponies nodded to the stream of information Grant poured forth, occasionally pointing to certain bones with their hooves. They stopped when they reached the largest skeleton of all. And Grant pointed to the skull of a large bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to its large and powerful hind limbs, the forelimbs of the behemoth were short but unusually powerful for their size, and they had two clawed digits.

Grant then turned toward the pair with a broad grin. “This,” He began to say before pausing slightly. “Tyrannosaurus Rex. Or T rex, to be more accurate.” He explained with humor laced in his voice as he glanced over the two equestrians. “Shall I continue or do you have more questions?”

The pair glanced briefly at Grant. “Oh, no. Please continue.” Replied Twilight quickly.

Grant continued to explain that like other tyrannosaurids, Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to its large and powerful hind limbs, the forelimbs of Tyrannosaurus were short but unusually powerful for their size, and they had two clawed digits. Unbeknownst to Grant, Twilight was scribbling down notes furiously in her notebook, while absorbing every detail of everything Grant told her about the dinosaur.

Fluttershy stared up at the mighty behemoth’s jaws. A chill went through her entire body. How terrifying must it have been for any plant eating animal to be chased by this powerful behemoth. Just imagining the size of those teeth crushing down on her made Fluttershy’s heart flutter uncontrollably. Even now just looking at it Fluttershy found the skeleton scary in its own right – not so much for what it was, but what it had been: a living, breathing, giant predatory beast. A Beast that happened to look a lot like an Equestrian dragon...

Fluttershy’s eyes blinked, realizing that she had spaced out. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t even noticed something off with the Tyrannosaur skeleton.

“Um, why does it look incomplete?” Fluttershy wondered, right hoof pointing at the incomplete belly.

“Hmm?” Replied Grant with a puzzled frown. “Ah yes, well not every bone of every dinosaur is complete; It’s extremely rare to find a complete skeleton of a dinosaur, and It’s rarer still that such a skeleton needs to be found. Besides this one here, less then ten Tyrannosaurus skeletons had been discoverd in total and none of them were complete.” He informed the two ponies.

Most organisms decomposed or were eaten by scavengers after death. Many species lacked hard parts, which are much more likely to fossilize. Some rocks and the fossils they contained have eroded and disappeared. Moreover, much of evolution happens in the small populations that survive changes in environmental conditions, so the chance that intermediates will fossilize is low.

“So despite the many Tyrannosaurus skeletons that were found in total, no pony has ever completed one dinosaur skeleton, besides this one?” Twilight questioned.

“Yes,” Grant answered with a nod, “In fact, most have simply seen a partial skeletal,” he added, gesturing toward the unfinished lower jawbone. “I guess you could call it a ‘shredding’ if that makes any sense…” He muttered the last part quietly.

“Well, you seem to be having fun.”

The trio turned around at the sound of the voice. There they saw a woman approaching them slowly. Her eyes were shining brightly with joy as she stared at Grant. As she approached closer Twilight and Fluttershy saw that the woman’s clothing consisted of cut-off jeans and a work-shirt tied at her midriff. She was darkly tanned and her blond hair was pulled back.

She stopped in front of them. Both hands placed firmly onto her hips as she eyed them carefully. Her smile didn’t waver.

“Mind if I join in the fun?”

Comments

[redmar]

Given the time it's placed in Twilight's statement of many other skeletons is false. In 1989 less then 10 Tyrannosaurus skeletons had been discoverd in total and none of them were complete.