> Equestria Girls: Prehistoric Park
>  by zooloverryan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1. T-Rex Returns {Part 1}
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is something missing from our world; the amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we could bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever? 

We're going back in time on a safari with a difference as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven and animal enthusiast Fluttershy plunge into prehistory to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. Their plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance.

On their very first mission, they hope to rescue one of the last of the dinosaurs from the most dramatic extinction ever.

Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park.

The South African sun was high in the sky as dozens of workers toiled and labored, erecting stockades and laying the foundations for wooden, stone, and metal fences.

It's a big day at Prehistoric Park. Throughout this huge reserve, everyone is busy preparing for the first arrivals.

"Come on, lads, quick as you like. Can you get those wires through that pole at the bottom of the paddock?" boomed a deep voice with a Scottish accent. One man stood out from the rest; the headkeeper who oversaw the progress made. He gave specific orders as the construction crew carefully ran wires through rows of large, 15-foot-tall metal poles sticking out of the ground. Thick layers of concrete and metal supports already connect the poles, but these wires will add reinforcement and channel an electric grid to ensure that whatever will live behind this fence cannot get out.

They're almost finished building the enclosures for everything from giant insects to dinosaurs.

"Remember, check everything, 'cause it's home to a dangerous creature." The head honcho was careful that no detail was overlooked. The park sat nestled within the confines of a beautiful valley of rolling hills and high cliffs, stretching as far as the eye can see.

If Nigel can make extinct animals feel at home anywhere it's here.

"The natural geography will help us contain the animals," said Nigel, pointing out various features and landmarks on his map. "There's the ocean to the south, and to the north, there's a mountain range. Everything I need in terms of habitats: there's savannah and lakes, there's forests and deserts, there's rivers, there's even a waterfall as well as artificial snow fields. Perfect environments for keeping prehistoric animals."

All they need now are the prehistoric creatures themselves.

The zoologist strolled through the halls of the Natural History Museum, its exhibits full of various fossils celebrating the prehistoric past, especially those of dinosaurs.

One day, Nigel plans to breed extinct animals in captivity. But at first, he’ll only bring a few of each species back, to see how they adapt to life in the 21st Century, before establishing breeding pairs.

Amidst the fossil bones and skeletons, one in particular catches his eye. Looming over him was the towering skeleton of a massive dinosaur, jaws lined with rows of sharp teeth.

And Nigel knows exactly what he wants to start with. The one they call “the king of dinosaurs”: Tyrannosaurus rex!

Back in Prehistoric Park, Nigel arrived at his bungalow, wasting no time in getting his expedition underway.

He's already figured out when and where he'll have to go to track one down.

"The most widely accepted theory about why dinosaurs became extinct is that a meteorite smashed into the Earth. This is a map of the Earth 66 million years ago. This is where the impact was, somewhere here in Mexico. You can still see the crater today. Around that time there were masses of T-rex here, somewhere in Montana, and we need to go back there to find them."

But Nigel’s not going alone. Joining him is animal enthusiast Fluttershy, a young student from Canterlot High. To travel back in time is something too good for her to pass up.

"I’m actually really excited to travel back to prehistoric times!" said Fluttershy looking at the camera as she was interacting with a rescued family of thylacines, otherwise known as the Tasmanian tiger. These and a herd of quaggas are the first extinct creatures to be brought into the 21st century. "There are so many possibilities. Who knows what creatures we might encounter? I met up with Nigel not long ago, and he had this idea of bringing extinct animals to the safety of the 21st century. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How could I say no?"

To rescue the last of the T-rex, Nigel and Fluttershy are going back to the very end of the age of dinosaurs, as close to the meteorite impact as they possibly dare.

Once the coordinates were placed, it was time to hit the road. Riding in the Land Rover, the duo drove through the transparent wall of the time portal, ready for the adventure that lay ahead.

"Cretaceous period, here we come!" Fluttershy exclaimed cheerfully as they disappeared through the veil of time.

Montana, 66 million years ago...

"Whoa..."

Nothing could prepare Fluttershy for the sudden change of scenery. 

66 million years ago, Montana looked very different from the semiarid Great Plains state of today. In the Late Cretaceous, it was one of 4 states containing the famous Hell Creek Formation. This is a world where grass is rare, where swamps and floodplains dominate the landscape. Here T-rex is king. Now all Nigel and Fluttershy need to do is to find one. In a place with so many potential dangers, Nigel and his team know the sooner they accomplish their mission, the better.

"I just hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, we've got so little time," said Nigel, addressing the cameraman. “There's some wonderful forest over there, perfect habitat, and I think that's where we'll begin our search for T-rex." To a nearby crewman, he asked, "How's it going here?

While the team began to pitch tents and set up camp, Nigel and Fluttershy took the opportunity to explore the nearby conifer forest for any trace of their quarry. Cycads and ferns grew in abundance, and some of the conifers and monkey puzzles grew more than a hundred feet in the air. For the longest time, the explorers traveled in silence.

T-rex is a monster. At a staggering 41 feet and nearly 9 tons, it shouldn’t be too hard to track down one of the largest predators to ever walk North America.

As they continued trekking in the forest, distant cries of various animals could be heard.

What they’ll do when they do find one isn’t exactly clear.

As they ventured, more animal sounds could be heard, and soon sounds would not be the sole proof of their existence.

T-rex are not the only creatures around.

As Fluttershy nervously looked around, she spied something on the forest floor.

"Hey, Nigel. Check this out," she said, summoning the attention of her companion. "This must be a trackway of some sort."

The English naturalist looked around for more clues, his eyes handing on a small bush. "And look - you can see here these leaves have been nibbled, these twigs have been snapped off, there's been a vegetarian browsing here." Analyzing the trackway further, Nigel beamed. "And look at this, the first evidence of dinosaurs. It's hard to see, but you can see this footprint here. Three toes. This is the classic theropod dinosaur–"

"That's the same family the T-rex is in," Fluttershy interjected.

"Stand on two legs, they're bipedal. It looks like there's a whole group of them here, not as big as T-rex of course, and vegetarians, you can tell by the leaves that they've eaten. And they've gone this way." Nigel deduced.

"This is a big trackway, there has to be quite a lot of them.” the pink-haired girl observed. "And they've gone down this way. C'mon!" Fluttershy eagerly followed the trackway, her initial fear gone, replaced with excitement.

It was all Nigel could do to catch up. "Fluttershy, wait up!"

Their hunch is right.

The time-traveling duo trekked further, coming to a stop in a wide clearing.

"Shhh. Nigel. That bush is rustling." the pink-haired girl whispered, pointing to said bush.

"And this is what normally happens when you're searching for reptiles: you hear them before you see them, hidden scurrying away through the bushes," said Nigel. "They're still moving around there."

Fluttershy was ecstatic to say the very least. "These could be our very first dinosaurs."

The foliage continued to rustle until it gave up a tall, ostrich-like creature, eying the duo of strange creatures with curious beady eyes.

"Are you seeing the same thing I am?" said Fluttershy, utterly amazed.

"Struthiomimus." Nigel quickly identified the animal as it slowly came out of hiding. "I've seen the fossils of its cousin, Ornithomimus, in museums."

"If I remember my Latin correctly, Struthiomimus means 'ostrich mimic'," stated Fluttershy.

"You can see why. Just exactly like an ostrich." Nigel noted as the Struthiomimus lightly bobbed its head. "Let's see how close we can get."

The duo had barely approached five paces when the Struthiomimus sounded a piercing shriek and charged them, startling the strange mammals and forcing them back. As it did this though, it revealed its entire body. It was covered in emu-like feathers, except on its neck, head, hands, and feet, which were covered in blueish-grey and leathery-grey scales respectively.

"That went right through me!" Nigel shook.

"That was both a warning and a mock charge," Fluttershy replied, heart hammering. "And check it out!" As Nigel looked to where Fluttershy pointed, they were in for a surprise: out of the underbrush, dozens upon dozens of heads shot up in response to the dinosaur's call. Soon the entire herd had appeared from the forest.

"All the others are all looking up. He must have been the sentry," noted Nigel. "The others are looking at us now, heads popping up all over the place."

"Like daisies!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed, drawing a blank look from her peer.

"They're vegetarians," the English naturalist informed the camera crew.

"But I don't think they'd turn their beaks up at the odd insect or bit of meat," Fluttershy replied, as in that moment, one of the ostrich dinosaurs plucked a scorpion in its beak and devoured it. 

“And they're completely the opposite of what you'd imagine a dinosaur to be like." she continued, who was like a kid on Christmas morning. She was more than thrilled to come face to face with creatures that she had only previously known from books and fossil bones, now in the flesh. Living, breathing animals.

“For starters, they’re covered in feathers,” Fluttershy said, pointing at a few individuals. “Some of them have blue feathers on their arms and head, while the others are completely grey. This is likely a case of sexual dimorphism. The males have these brighter colors to attract females and to compete during breeding season. And I can confirm that these guys are warm-blooded."

"This is terrific," the naturalist remarked. "Our first dinosaurs."

Satisfied that these strange creatures were not a threat, the flock of birdlike Struthiomimus returned to the business of foraging for food.

Sadly, these Struthiomimus will soon be extinct, too, unless, of course, Nigel and Fluttershy can save one.

"I'd love a breeding herd of Struthiomimus," said Nigel, addressing the camera crew, "but we need a technique for catching them." Then it occurred to him. "And I think this will work. I've done it with ostriches. Hey, Fluttershy. Do you have any socks on you?"

Fluttershy dug through her backpack until she found what she was looking for. "Way ahead of you, Nigel."

"Thanks. And what you do is you slip a sock over their head. As soon as you cover their eyes, they calm down."

"But if Struthiomimus are anything like ostriches, they can run at 50 miles per hour." said Fluttershy skeptically, before letting out a nervous gulp. "and... they could have a powerful kick, and the claws on their feet could likely disembowel someone like me or Nigel. Ostriches have been known to kill lions, and cassowaries are considered the most dangerous birds in modern times because of how powerful their kicks and sharp claws are."

"However, unlike ratites, these things have claws on their wings." Nigel countered. "There's so many in this herd, if we can get in their midst there will be a commotion and hopefully, I can grab hold of one of them."

The flock of Struthiomimus foraged along the clearing, some browsing the foliage while others were pecking the ground, unaware of the two humans slowly creeping towards them.

"On my call." Nigel cautioned, getting closer by the second. "Wait for it. Wait for it..."

Some of the birdlike dinosaurs were starting to get nervous.

"Now!"

The duo sprang into action, racing into the midst of the startled flock which took off in fright. Amidst the confusion, Nigel had managed to wrangle a single individual while Fluttershy cut off any possible escape routes. It took the strength of both of them to hold the struggling dinosaur still enough for Nigel to attempt placing the sock over its head.

The Struthiomimus was nearly subdued and blinded when they heard a noise, loud and ominous like the rolling thunder.

But now there's something else to contend with, something much, much bigger.

Just as suddenly as they fled, the flock of Struthiomimus dashed back the way they came, stampeding straight towards them. Amidst the pandemonium, the duo released their catch to rejoin the group, scurrying as fast as their long legs could carry.

"Something's chasing them," Fluttershy observed, watching the fast-moving dinosaurs fleeing in panic. Then the earth began to tremble. A great crashing in the undergrowth could be heard and the trees shook, before three gigantic shapes emerged from the foliage, thundering straight towards the two!

It looks like some T-rexes have found Nigel and Fluttershy before they could find them.

Blaring roars filled the air as the three Tyrannosaurus came to investigate the strange creatures in their midst, their formidable jaws towering over twelve feet above them.

"No sudden moves," Nigel whispered to the animal enthusiast... until he realized that the space she had once occupied was now empty. He turned in time to see Fluttershy running the hell out of Dodge. 

“CAPITAL ‘F’ THAT, NIGEL!! RUN!!!”

Suddenly, the English naturalist bolted after her, with the tyrannosaurs hot on his tail!

Now on the run, Nigel took a glance behind, then wished he hadn't; all three of the massive theropod dinosaurs were now giving chase with open jaws! He quickened his pace. Ahead of him, Fluttershy raced deeper into the forest, weaving around the trees.

"This way!" he heard Fluttershy urging.

Nigel and Fluttershy do have one advantage. T-rex is so top-heavy, that if they trip, the fall can injure or even kill them.

The duo duck under a fallen tree, narrowly escaping the snapping jaws of one of the voracious carnivores.

And a bite of the two isn't worth the risk.

"Down, mate! Get down!" Nigel urged Fluttershy, pulling her out of the tyrannosaurs' line of sight. The T-rex trio meanwhile, roared their frustration over their snacks slipping away.

"That was a close one. Too close." panted Fluttershy, her heart still hammering.

"Predators don't like confined spaces like this. And that's why the T-rex are staying back there, I'm sure," said Nigel.

"And I don't think they chased after us because they saw us as food or a threat, but it was because we ran. That likely triggered their chasing instinct; all predators have it. They also likely did it out of curiosity. They could have eaten us had they caught us, but I doubt that was their goal when they first saw us."

"In that case, I think I speak for us both when I say what we ought to do now is head back to camp." said the pink-haired girl once they've both caught their breath. Nigel agreed without objections. The two explorers retraced their steps back to camp; they had enough excitement for one day.

Day One is over and there's no T-rex to take home. At least there's no sign of the meteorite, either, but it can't be far away.

The next morning...

The following morning, the camp has some visitors.

When Nigel straightened up from washing his face in the lake adjacent to the camp, the sight that greeted his astonished eyes was a huge herd of horned dinosaurs, many as large as elephants and covered in bright lime green scales, with red stripes on their backs and blue stripes on their frills, drawn to the water's edge by food and drink. And in a nearby clearing was an incredibly large sauropod, browsing from the tallest trees. It had reddish-brown skin, with black patches, and vaguely resembled a Brachiosaurus – however, its head lacked the distinctive bump, and it had armor plates running along its back.

More creatures are in the last throes of their existence.

"Fluttershy! Come look at this!" The young teen came running at Nigel's call.

"What is it, Nigel?" asked Fluttershy before she spotted the herd. Her eyes flew wide open. "Whoa... Now that's an amazing sight to wake up to: A big herd of Triceratops.”

Nigel nodded. "This is a tremendous sight. When the fossils were found, they named these Triceratops horridus. It means 'horrid three-horned face'. But how could they? They are gorgeous! And they look more like the prorsus species than horridus.”

“And big, too! Eight tons." Fluttershy then pointed to a very large individual that stood out among the others. "And one over there, it's a big male, is at least nearly 28 feet, eight and a half meters long.”

Nigel soon turned his attention to the titanic browser.

“And as for the sauropod, it looks like it's an Alamosaurus. That seems impossible since no fossils of its kind have been found here in Montana. I guess this fella must’ve been separated from his herd during a migration.“

“The good thing for us is there are a lot of Triceratops, they're prey animals for T-rex," Fluttershy replied, before pointing along the edge of the lake. "Speaking of which, I've seen some tracks over there. Prey and predator attracted to waterholes."

"Let's go follow the tracks and see if we can find a T-rex lair." Nigel decided, at last, to leave the lakeside behind.

With Fluttershy leading the way, the duo boldly went where few creatures would tread, following the trackway that led uphill and over rocks.

The footprints are fresh, and it looks like a well-used track. While not a sprinter like in the movies, T-rex could still reach nearly 16 miles an hour when they needed to. The average human? Barely 13.

The duo continued to follow the massive three-toed footprints.

Nigel and Fluttershy are hoping these ones aren't too far away.

Before long, the single trackway was followed by several more. Their quarry was not alone.

"Check this out," said Fluttershy as she stooped down to analyze the soil on this part of an alluvial plain. "The tracks are really beginning to tell a story: There’s a depression in the soil. That was from a big tail sweep."

Nigel was quick to catch on. "There was a kerfuffle here. Another tail drag over there."

"The tracks are going on. Maybe we're getting towards the center of the territory." Fluttershy deduced, picking up her pace. Nigel quickly followed.

What they don't realize is they're actually already in the center of their territory!

The duo heard the T-rexes long before they saw them, and approaching the next ridge, Nigel froze in his tracks. "Crouch down! Get over here!" he urged quietly.

At least five of the monstrous predators were congregated in the crater, its floor littered with white bones bleached in the blazing sun. Fortunately, the tyrannosaurs were oblivious to the presence of the humans hidden nearby, staying downwind of the theropod's advanced olfactory senses.

"This is their home." Nigel deduced. "You can tell by the bones scattered all over the place."

"They obviously bring food back here," Fluttershy noted as she watched the tyrannosaurs engaging in their daily routine, most notably a younger pair wrestling one another with open jaws.

"That's terrific!" whispered Nigel. "That kerfuffle back there, that must have been the juveniles fighting over scraps of food."

It's a dangerous play. T-rex have huge jaw muscles, giving them a bite 20 times more powerful than a lion’s and a thousand times more than that of a saltwater crocodile!

"And there's males and females here."

The animal enthusiast nodded. "In the fossil record, tyrannosaurs have been found together. That's a clue that they were sociable animals. And they're almost like a gang looking for trouble." 

The young rexes continued sparring, only halting when one of the older animals roared their displeasure.

"They really interact," said the English naturalist thoughtfully. "I wonder if they hunt in packs."

Fluttershy shuddered at the thought. "Just when one T-rex was bad enough."

Over the ridge, all activities in the crater were called to a halt upon the bellow of the largest Tyrannosaurus, a robust female who promptly lumbered away. The others fell into line.

"They're leaving," whispered Fluttershy as she and Nigel crouched lower to avoid detection as the predators were only a few yards away, the earth shaking with each footfall.

It's one thing to find a T-Rex, but it's another thing to take one home. Fortunately, dinosaurs lay eggs and they're a lot easier to carry.

With the gang out of the picture, the threesome entered the crater. "We can go and have a look now," said Nigel. "See if you can find any eggs or a nesting site." Fluttershy nodded, and the duo split up to cover more area, leaving no stone or bone unturned in their search for dinosaur eggs.

Amongst the remains of the T-rex victims littered across the den, Nigel finds what he's looking for.

Unfortunately, he's too late.

Before Nigel's feet was a broken eggshell the size of a football. Fluttershy soon joined in, her search also fruitless. "They've either been broken into by a predator, or more likely, they're last season's eggs." said the Englishman, inspecting the fragment.

Fluttershy heaved a sigh and turned to the cameraman. "This is so disappointing. If we could’ve found a fresh nest, got the eggs, and taken them back to Prehistoric Park, that would’ve been the easiest option."

But just as they’re about to leave, there’s rustling in the nearby bushes. Coming out of one are two mammals that looked like a cross between an otter and a Tasmanian devil. The creatures were largely grey, with white on the belly and snout and black on the back, limbs, and tail.

“Didelphodon. It's a marsupial found in the area." Fluttershy said before the nearest snapped at her, causing her to yelp.

"Mean little buggers, aren't they?" Nigel snorted, "Best be careful; if I recall correctly, it was big enough to eat baby dinosaurs." 

Fluttershy smirked, "I've got an idea."

The plan was to leave a trail of insects, leading up to a large pile – the two mammals followed the trail and, once they reached the end of it, Fluttershy had set a pet carrier with some grubs inside.

They have never seen anything like it before. For them, they seem like a den of some sort. And inside, there is a juicy loot.

So the animals venture inside the trap. Suddenly, once the Didelphodon are inside, the cage closes shut, trapping the animals.

"We have to go," warned Nigel, picking up the cage. "The T-rex gang could be back any minute." Fluttershy nodded her agreement; they could easily be added to the boneyard if the predatory dinosaurs found them in their lair.

"At least we know where they live." chimed Fluttershy optimistically. The duo reluctantly retraced their steps back to the way they had come with their mammalian catch.

Another day and they're still no closer to saving a T-rex.

Twilight in Late Cretaceous Montana, and the duo were back at camp. Above them, shooting stars raced across the night sky. Unfazed by this phenomenon, the creatures of earth carried out their routine, business as usual. But for everyone present, it was a bad omen.

And up above are the first signs that the meteorite is closing in. Streaking across tonight's sky are shooting stars. Huge boulders are entering the Earth's atmosphere at 20,000 miles an hour. They’re the precursor of something much, much bigger.

"Look at this cosmological activity. Those are meteors," said Nigel, seated on his outdoor folding chair by the fire as he addressed the cameraman. "They burn up in the atmosphere, but they're in the bow wave of the meteorite."

Nearby, Fluttershy stood a bit away, observing the cosmic phenomenon from a tripod-mounted telescope. Presently, she looked up from her observations, and added, "And the meteorite, when that comes, it's gonna smack into the Earth. That's the problem. And we're running out of time." After disassembling the telescope, she walked over to the fire and joined her companion, taking a cup of cocoa offered to her by Nigel.

"I'm hoping tomorrow goes better and we can save a T-rex or two," said Nigel optimistically.

"Here's hoping," Fluttershy replied before the two clinked their cups together, ready for the challenges of tomorrow.

The next day...

The next day, the pack of T-rex turn up, looking for trouble and breakfast.

Five Tyrannosaurus appeared over the rise, surveying the lakeside from their vantage point. Their predatory advances had not gone unnoticed by the Triceratops herd gathered by the water.

It appears that Triceratops are on the menu today.

The once peaceful lakeside became a bedlam of bellowing, roaring confusion as the horned herbivores prepared to face their hereditary foes. The alamosaur, however, continued to browse on the high foliage.

Alerted by the commotion, the duo arrived on the scene, staying a distance away and out of sight.

Before long, the tyrannosaurs made their charge, advancing on their prey with open jaws!

"Here they come!" warned Fluttershy.

"Right in the midst of the herd there!" cried Nigel. All was complete and utter chaos as the panicked ceratopsians charged in all directions, some of them splashing along the shallows, with the giant theropods in their midst, peering over the stampeding pandemonium.

"They're trying to scatter the herd to find the weakest members," said Fluttershy grimly as the carnivores continued their melee, testing the herd for any weakness.

A fully-grown Triceratops is far from defenseless. 

Many of the horned dinosaurs stood their ground, facing their ancient enemies head-on, displaying their vibrant frills and keeping the tyrannosaurs at horn's length. 

Their frill is made of solid bone. Unfortunately, its' frill doesn't offer as much protection as one would think. It's the horns, however, that are the biggest threat. Triceratops' horns are also made of solid bone and covered in several layers of keratin, making them stronger. One strike from them can be devastating. 

"Head on, there's nothing more menacing than the frill and horns of an angry Triceratops," said Fluttershy, witnessing this ancient face-off between two mortal enemies that was destined to be forever immortalized in the countless centuries to come. "And the colorful frills on the Triceratops are like giant billboards that say: 'I'm bigger than you. I'm one meal that's not worth the trouble, so back off!'"

"A fight could lead to serious injury or even death," Nigel noted. "Both can hurt each other, and both know it. So the rexes will steer clear of the adults."

But the younger Triceratops know better than to stand their ground.

In their blind panic, some of the horned dinosaurs ran straight towards the spectating humans!

"Run!"

The duo ran like never before, with half a dozen frightened ceratopsians bearing down on them. As Fluttershy quickly jumped into the Land Rover, Nigel had to jump and sidestep to avoid being trampled or gored. The Triceratops stampeded headlong into the center of camp, flattening tents and flipping over the Land Rover– "Ahhh!"– and Fluttershy along with it. The damaged vehicle was sent tumbling several yards before somehow landing back on its wheels.

Fluttershy groaned as she emerged from the wreckage, wobbling a little as she regained her feet. 

POP! went the airbag.

Fluttershy took a moment to inspect the damage. She did not like what she saw. "Oh, the girls are gonna kill me!"

But car insurance became the last thing on her mind when she saw a figure lying on the sunbaked earth. "Nigel!"

Fluttershy quickly rushed to aid the fallen adventurer, who was battered and bruised but none the worse for wear. "Nigel, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked worriedly as she helped her friend to stand. The Englishman gratefully accepted.

"I feel like I've been hit by a train." Nigel groaned, miraculously standing on his feet as if nothing happened at all.

The lakeside was filled with the terrifying roars of the T-rexes and the bellows of the fleeing trikes. Amidst the confusion, a baby Triceratops was separated from his parents and was now running blindly. 

This baby Triceratops has run the wrong way.

Blinded by fear, the baby Triceratops blundered right into the path of the large female T-rex! The monstrous predator quickly seized the opportunity and grabbed the youngster by the left flank, causing it to squeal in pain and terror. The humans could only look on helplessly. This was the law of the wild, established from the beginning of time. They could not interfere.

The more it struggles, the more trouble it's in as the T-Rex's 12-inch, thick & conical, serrated teeth sink deeper and deeper. But luckily, help is here.

Alerted by the cries of the youngster, an adult female Triceratops, presumably the mother, came charging to her baby's rescue, charging straight for the T-rex!

Nigel was the first one to catch the action. "There's a Triceratops here fighting back the big female T-rex." The ceratopsian managed to gore the predator's left leg, forcing her to drop her prey who immediately bolted after the others. Maddened by the pain, the Tyrannosaurus howled with rage as she faced her new enemy.

"The horn's gone right into the upper thigh!"

The two giants clashed, fang and claw against horns and frill. The Tyrannosaurus tried to end the fight quickly with a bite to her enemy's neck. But several quick jabs from the trike’s horns kept her at bay. Another attempt, but the herbivore's bony frill deflected her aim as a sideways sweep forced her jaws back. The injured tyrannosaur roared her frustration as the Triceratops retreated a safe distance to rejoin her baby, badly hurt but alive.

As the Triceratops herd rallied against their enemies, the other tyrannosaurs quickly turned tail and abandoned the hunt.

Fluttershy was the first one to notice the predators falling back. "Where are the males going?"

"They've just left her! They've just skedaddled!" said Nigel as they watched the predators disappear over the horizon. It seemed that the greatest predators ever to walk the earth had met their match.

So much for the pack! 

The Triceratops herd too were fleeing from the scene of carnage, leaving the injured T-rex alone on the lakeside.

Now the injured female has to make her own kill, and it looks like she’s spotted her next victims: another youngster and the Alamosaurus.

The Tyrannosaurus approached a stand of conifer trees. Separated from the herd and hidden in the foliage was a stray youngster. Nearby, the Alamosaurus continued feeding, completely unaware of the attacking Rexes earlier.

Sensing danger, the young herbivore crouched behind one of the legs of the Alamosaurus in a futile attempt to hide from the approaching T-rex. But the ravenous T-rex lumbered closer and closer, jaws salivating, teeth glistening like daggers. The sauropod soon noticed the female and bellowed, rearing up on its hind legs to make itself bigger and swinging its long tail that could deliver a powerful whip. 

This is an extremely dangerous animal for even a T-rex to take down. But for the duo, it's the chance they've been waiting for. Nigel sets up the time portal.

Nigel inserted two small poles into the ground at least thirty feet apart. "So what's the plan?" inquired Fluttershy.

"Maybe we can get three dinosaur species for the price of one." he reasoned. "If we can lure the Triceratops and Alamosaurus through the time portal...come on...and then maybe the T-rex will follow."

Nigel waved his vest like a matador with a bull, trying to get the dinosaur’s attention. The stubborn herbivore did not know what to make of these strange and noisy creatures at first and refused to move. That was when the T-rex approached just a stone's throw away, poised to strike.

Seeing the incoming Tyrannosaurus, the herbivore and the longneck ran, charging straight into the time portal.

The Englishman just narrowly escaped being skewered by one of the panicked Triceratops's horns. "Aagh! Come on!"

"I think it's working!" cheered Fluttershy before a loud roar brought them back to their present situation. Soon, the duo followed the herbivores’ lead and ran back for the safety of the 21st century.

"Come on, T-rex." Nigel beckoned as he and Fluttershy soon followed her quarries, disappearing into the wall of light. But the carnivore simply stood and stared at the portal in confusion.

Back in the 21st century...

The time portal gave a rhythmic hum as it came to life at one end of the park's observation pens, a large stockade of towering wooden walls made to contain animals from a bygone era until a permanent home could be established in the park. From his place on the elevated walkway, the headkeeper had his eyes on the wall of light, awaiting whatever would emerge from the time portal. He wouldn't have long to wait as a four-legged horned dinosaur and a long-necked titan came barreling into the stockade.

"Well, those certainly aren’t T-rex!"

But, both weighing in at thirty-six tons, a young male Triceratops and an adult Alamosaurus are a great start. It's not long before news spreads that Prehistoric Park's first dinosaurs have arrived.

The ceratopsian and sauropod were then corralled in a wide holding pen where they would be contained for the time being.

The park's vet, Suzanne, heads over to take a look for herself. Joining her are the rest of Fluttershy’s friends.

The seven peered into the holding pen, hardly believing their eyes. A living, breathing Triceratops and Alamosaurus! Rainbow Dash was speechless. "Whoa... those—those are dinosaurs!"

Suzanne was ecstatic. "It's a Triceratops! It's a Triceratops and Alamosaurus! They’ve done it!" The veterinarian had seen and treated all creatures great and small, but caring for long-extinct animals would prove to be a rewarding challenge. The vet did a double take on the paddock's occupants. "Our first dinosaurs and look at them. They’re magnificent."

Park-keeper Bob is anxious to move the newcomers into a secure enclosure as soon as possible. 

Just outside the stockade, a transportation truck was slowly backing into position, ready to transport the prehistoric arrivals to their new home.

Although they were both unexpected arrivals, Nigel thinks they've got the perfect place to put them.

At Nigel's base, the zoologist was coaxing a boa constrictor lounging on the thatched wall. "Come on, I need to have a look at that. Up you go." With the snake out of the way, he now had a perfect view of the park map. "Triceratops and Alamosaurus - our first dinosaurs. We need a good place to keep them. I’m going to call them Alan and Theo. They’re great names. But they need vegetation to browse on." He gestured to the far right of the map. "Over here there's too much grass." His finger soon turned in the opposite direction. "So, Bob's found the perfect spot, down here by the river. That's where their enclosure will be."

Just then, Fluttershy darted into the room, excitement etched on her face. "Nigel, I just got word from Applejack and Twilight! They're about to unload them!"

"Just a moment," said Nigel, placing a piece of paper and pin on the map. "There!" Triceratops Creek, the paper said. The Englishman had barely finished when a hand practically dragged him out of the bungalow. "Wa-hey!"

Driving on the still damaged Land Rover, the pair drove to the newly established Triceratops Creek enclosure where park keeper Bob was expecting them, along with the rest of her friends. Close by, the crew was making all the necessary preparations for unloading the ceratopsian and longneck in their new habitat.

"How are you lads?" greeted Bob as the duo pulled up.

"Thrilled to bits," Nigel replied as he stepped out of the vehicle. This was the beginning of a dream coming true.

Fluttershy was next to step out, albeit less excitedly. "Sorry about the Land Rover, Applejack," said Fluttershy sheepishly.

“Wh-what in tarnation happened to it?!” Applejack yelled in shock.

"It sort of got wrecked during a Triceratops stampede," Fluttershy explained nervously, while Spike, Rainbow, and Pinkie dropped their jaws looking at the damage the Land Rover had taken. 

"Just drive it over to the workshop so we can fix it," said Sunset as she wrote down yet another item on the docket.

"Our very first dinosaurs." declared Nigel proudly, and the Equestria Girls quickly gathered to witness the moment of truth.

"It's short notice, but I forgive you as our new visitors are magnificent, to say the least." the keeper had to admit.

"How's the enclosure?" Nigel asked.

"It's a bit makeshift, but it'll do for the time being."

"I've given them a name as well. Theo the Triceratops and Alan the Alamosaurus"

Bob nodded. "Theo and Alan. Good name." To his crewman, he ordered, "All right! Let ‘em out!"

The holding gates had barely been opened when thirty-six tons of caged fury charged out of the truck, eager for the taste of freedom. Once settled, Theo began to fill his maw with the surrounding shrubbery while Alan browsed on the tall treetops.

“They seem really happy with this habitat," Fluttershy observed.

"How come Theo’s not eating the grass?" asked Rarity.

"Grass is no good for dinosaurs. It was still rare when they were around." Twilight answered.

"And Triceratops aren't like black rhinos," said Fluttershy. "They don't browse. They would’ve grazed like bison. They need low shrubs, bushes, and ferns. There's plenty of those for Theo here."

"And that beak can snap off branches as thick as my arm," added Nigel.

"Yeah," Pinkie remarked. "Theo’s chewing on twigs like they're chocolate-covered pretzels!"

The English naturalist smiled. "This is gonna be great for them to thrive." The pair re-embarked on the car to take it to the workshop for the necessary repairs.

For Theo to grow to eight tons, he'll have to spend most of his life eating. 

As the humans left to tend to work elsewhere, the Triceratops and alamosaur were content to browse the greenery of their new home, fully at peace. Whilst Alan seemed fine with being on his own, the park was making plans to bring back more at some point.

With the park's first dinosaurs settled, Nigel turns his attention once again to T-Rex. And the pressure's back on Bob to finish off the enclosure.

"I didn't have a clue how to build a compound for a Tyrannosaurus rex," Bob said to the film crew while overseeing progress with the paddock. "I've only seen one in a storybook, but Nigel thinks this will do. There's lots of area to run around, lots of shade to get out of the sun. And if it wants to, it can stand up on the hill and survey its domain."

The enclosure will have to be finished soon because Nigel and Fluttershy are on their way back to where they left off... 66 million years ago. And this time they've promised to return with a T-Rex.

To be continued...
> 2. T-Rex Returns {Part 2}
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Montana, 66 million years ago...

It's not just the dinosaurs that will be wiped out by the meteorite strike. The two know that everything they see around them will be devastated.

Nigel and Fluttershy stood at the base of a cascading waterfall while pterosaurs soared overhead. The English naturalist and his companion took in this beautiful sight of the prehistoric world, one they could only have dreamed of exploring before. And a world fated to disappear forever.

"What a magnificent place! Pterosaurs swooping overhead. You can hear them calling all the time."

The pink-haired girl stooped down to gather a handful of water gushing from the river before gulping it down. The purest water she had ever tasted. "Mmm! You'll never taste sweeter water! And it’s awful to think that this stream will be choked with ash and dust." said Fluttershy sadly. "The meteorite's gonna hit not too far away."

"Time is running out. This is our second rescue mission. And we're determined to save some T-rex for Prehistoric Park." With that declaration, Nigel took the lead to begin the search for the ruler of this dying land.

But Fluttershy has her eyes on something strange in the water.

While Nigel headed off, the animal enthusiast walked back towards the edge of the river and apparently spotted something under the water’s surface.

It was long before Nigel took notice. "Fluttershy? Fluttershy, what are you— Flippin’ heck!" Nigel had reason to be alarmed; for as Fluttershy jumped right into the water.

For a few seconds, she didn't come up, and Nigel hurried towards the edge worried. He was shocked to see the girl, emerging from the depths, wrestling with what looked like a gar. Before the zoologist can exclaim his surprise, Fluttershy comes to the shore and hands the beast to him.

“Here, can you keep this guy for me? I’ll be right back!” she said, as she handed the very angry gar to Nigel.

“You’ll be right back? What do you mean? Fluttershy?!” A concerned Nigel asked, before Fluttershy jumped back into the water. Soon after, she emerged with another gar in her hands.

“Sorry, I noticed these two while you were leaving.” She apologized. “But their descendants are still around in the present. They’re called Lepisosteus occidentalis, otherwise known as the Hell Creek gar.”

Nigel heaved a sigh, shaking his head; he couldn't stay mad at his friend for very long. 

“You know, you’re starting to act more like me! Reckless and daring.” He joked, getting a chuckle from Fluttershy.

“Sure am.” She smiled, before turning her gaze back to the gars, who were now with two crew members who were wrapping them in wet towels to keep them hydrated. “And these gars, they’re no different than the ones someone would fish in the Mississippi.” She explained to the cameraman. “Most of the time, you hear people wanting to bring back dinosaurs, sabertooth cats, or mammoths, the ones Hollywood showed on the big screen. But these two are just as fascinating, and deserve as much of a second chance as any T-rexes out here.”

“Speaking of which, we’ll continue to look for them and see if we can lure one through the time portal. Adam, you and the others bring these two to the park. Maybe we can put them in Triceratops Creek.” Nigel said, setting up the said portal.

“That sounds like a good plan.” one of the crew members, Adam, said.

In a hurry, the two crew members opened the portal knowing that they could not waste a moment with the gars. In the meantime, Nigel and Fluttershy pressed on.

Back in the 21st century…

Back in Prehistoric Park, the crew arrives in a hurry to place the Cretaceous gars in temporal pools. “Come on! Hurry! These two aren’t going to survive for long without water!” Adam yelled.

Bob and Applejack were quickly attracted by the noise and noticed the new arrivals.

“I see Nigel’s captured new guests for the park.” He commented to Applejack.

Montana, 66 million years ago...

There are lots of dinosaur tracks to follow, but Nigel and Fluttershy are interested in one set in particular. 

"There's something strange with these tracks. Look," said Nigel, inspecting a particular trackway, which looked for all the world like three grooves made by the world's biggest rake. "The toes have been dragged along." There was something familiar about this set of footprints.

"You think it's the female T-rex that was gored in the stampede?" asked Fluttershy.

Nigel nodded. "Possibly. We're close to where the Triceratops stampede was. She's dragged her toes."

"Poor old girl," said Fluttershy pitifully. "She's injured and she'll be moving pretty slowly." she determined as she analyzed the trackway. "If we head downstream and follow these tracks, we may catch up to her." The pair now had a lead.

Traveling further into the valley, following the flow of the river.

The trackway takes them downriver, where they're hoping to gain ground on the T-rex. With any luck, her injured leg will make her slower and a little easier to catch.

After another mile or two of trekking, Nigel ordered the party to a standstill. Before long, they heard it. Steady muffled thuds pounding on the earth with each step, sending several loosened rocks to tumble and roll.

"Listen. Her footfalls are reverberating around the valley. She's up there somewhere. And an animal that weighs six tons can't walk quietly."

"Nigel, look." whispered the pink-haired girl, something catching the corner of her eye.

"That's what she's after. There's a Triceratops corpse and she can smell that." The English naturalist pointed to the carcass of a juvenile trike that floated with the river's current.

"It must've panicked and drowned during the stampede," noted Fluttershy. "That explains why she's been moving along the river. Why hunt when you could get a free lunch?"

Nigel tensed upon hearing a disturbance not far away, the sound of pounding footfalls getting louder.

"Come on! Get on the bank." he urged, pulling his comrades just under a ridge. "She's there. I don't want her to see us."

None of them dared to make a sound or even move as a gigantic shadow loomed over them, jagged fangs glistening in the sunlight. Unaware of the humans' presence, the Tyrannosaurus rex surveyed the water from its vantage point until it spied what it was looking for. With a trumpeting roar, the huge theropod thundered downhill to intercept his prize.

"She's moving away," Fluttershy whispered, once the coast was clear as she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"I think you mean a “he”! It’s not the female we’re looking for, it’s a male and a pretty big one too." the English naturalist said. “And look at those scars. They’re everywhere! Probably from his prey and battling with rivals.”

The male T-rex was able to track down this free meal despite being on his own because T-rexes have an incredible sense of smell. He’s lucky. The Triceratops carcass has become stuck. 

A series of large rocks wedged the body in place, preventing the current from dragging the body away.

This is the pair’s chance to get really close to him.

The tyrannosaur stood on the riverbank, gazing hungrily at the floating carrion just beyond his reach. A fast-flowing current and a series of unstable rocks and boulders were all that stood between him and an easy meal.

Not far away, the duo stood at the bank, observing the T-rex from a safe distance.

"He must be so hungry. He’s desperate for an easy meal," said Nigel.

"Even though T-rex is everyone's ultimate monster, you can't help but feel sorry for him," added Fluttershy, her heart going out to the desperate animal.

The Englishman noted the predator's growing sense of caution. "He’s a top predator. They're so top-heavy. If he went into this fast-flowing water, he’d be flipped over."

"But he’s desperate for the meat," stated Fluttershy.

Slowly, tentatively, the dinosaur inched his way closer to the water's edge, as if willing himself to take the plunge and claim his prize.

The T-rex isn’t the only predator drawn by the temptation of a free meal.

On the ridge over their heads, a series of squawking and chittering could be heard. "Nigel, look!"

Nigel looked to where Fluttershy pointed, and there stood at least four or five smaller theropod dinosaurs overlooking the river from their vantage point. Compared to the gigantic T-rex, these minuscule predators were less than half the size and much more lightly built, with much smaller heads crowned with quills. Primitive feathers adorned their backs, giving them a more birdlike appearance. Each of the creatures' hands were tipped with three fingers ending with long claws. And on their long, powerful hind legs, the middle toes bristled with the trademark talons of their species.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in dread. "Dromaeosaurs! More commonly known as raptors." Luckily for them, the raptors took no notice of their presence, their eyes solely focused on the Triceratops carcass.

Nigel took a closer look at their features. "These must be Dakotaraptors. Among the largest of all the raptor species at over twenty feet long."

"They must've been attracted to the Triceratops carcass too," said Fluttershy as the pack rapidly closed the distance, darting past the T-rex who snapped his jaws at their approach, snarling his irritation. Unlike their tyrannosaur rival, the agile and nimble raptors had no problems in leaping over the river and navigating the rocks to reach the ceratopsian’s carcass. In almost no time at all, the entire band was perched on the corpse, gobbling down chunks of flesh with their serrated teeth and squabbling for the choicest cuts. The T-rex could only look on helplessly, his jaws salivating.

Taking notice of the gigantic intruder in their midst, the Dakotaraptors hissed and shrieked their displeasure, feathers raised in aggression.

"He’s backing down. It doesn't look like the raptors are in any mood to share," noted Fluttershy sadly. "You just feel so sorry for him."

"He’s desperate to get out there, but he’s got no chance," added Nigel.

In the end, caution won over the need to feed. Despite his gnawing hunger, the Tyrannosaurus at last conceded, his footfalls growing fainter as he moved further into the valley, leaving the raptors to feast at their leisure.

"He’s given up."

The T-rex stomps off, leaving Nigel and Fluttershy to figure out where the injured female is, and what to do next.

Back in the Park...

"Keep a camera on him." In the control room, dozens of cameras were up and running, monitoring various activities in the park from staff and creatures alike. Bob's attention, however, was solely focused on one screen in particular.

Back at Prehistoric Park, Theo the Triceratops is displaying some unusual behavior.

In Triceratops Creek, the young ceratopsian bellowed and groaned as he pushed and shoved a single tree in his enclosure, and he showed no signs of relenting. Alan, on the other hand, was peacefully browsing as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Bob has asked vet Suzanne to come and take a look.

"What is he doing?" asked Suzanne, shocked by this sudden change of behavior; just the day before, the normally placid herbivore was peacefully grazing on low-line shrubs. Now it seemed he was taking his aggression out on the inoffensive tree, its branches swaying as the horned dinosaur repeatedly head-butted the trunk.

"He's done it all morning," Bob answered. Both stood outside of the paddock as they observed the dinosaur's aggressive behavior.

"What do you think it is?"

"Haven't a clue. He just keeps charging at that tree."

Inside the enclosure, Theo charged at the offensive tree with renewed vigor. Suzanne was taken aback by the display of ferocity.

"Gosh! Oh, my goodness, look!"

Suddenly their attention was diverted by the sound of screeching tires coming to a halt. The headkeeper and the vet were greeted by the rest of the Equestria Girls who were riding the newly repaired Land Rover.

"We came as soon as Bob alerted us," said Twilight as she exited the vehicle. The next sound from her mouth came out as a frightened squeal when Theo rammed the tree head-on. 

"What's going on?" inquired a bewildered Applejack.

"Whoa! Talk about your anger management problems!" Rainbow remarked, inwardly glad to be on the opposite side of the enclosure.

The veterinarian couldn't help but be worried. "The poor thing!" Turning to the new arrivals, she asked, "Any ideas?"

As Theo turned his head, Rarity noticed something out of the blue.

"Look at his frill! It's changed colour!"

The others soon took notice. "It's red!" said Twilight.

"It wasn't like that before," Rainbow remarked.

"Maybe he's having a huge testosterone surge, and he thinks that's a mate, he's going into breeding season and he's charging him." the vet hypothesized.

"You think he needs a playmate?" Bob asked.

"I think he's beating up that tree because he thinks that's one of his friends!" Suzanne replied.

"Puberty. It gets to us all." Pinkie commented.

Suddenly the headkeeper chuckled, earning a puzzled look from Suzanne.

"What?"

"I've just had a very good idea," replied Bob, wearing a crafty smile.

The other girls looked at Twilight who wore a pensive look on her face.

"Umm... Twilight’s making that face again," said Pinkie nervously.

"I know that look," said Sunset with a knowing smirk. "What are you planning on this time?"

This instantly made the head vet curious. "Oh no, what? Tell me."

"Wait and see." was all Bob answered as he walked away. He then whispered something to the bookworm’s ear who beamed and nodded in agreement as she followed him. Applejack and Sunset decided to tag along with them.

"Oh. Okay." With that, Suzanne and the others left Bob and Twilight to their own devices while Theo continued with his assault on the tree.

A few minutes later found Bob and Twilight in the headkeeper's personal workshop, the former seated at his desk while the latter was leaning against the concrete wall.

"Thanks, fella," said Bob to a workman who came to drop off much-needed supplies. "Just round the side." He then promptly turned his focus back to his clipboard. Nearby Twilight was making her own calculations and blueprints, making adjustments here and there. Before long, Sunset and Applejack arrived with tools and supplies, the bacon-haired girl donned in gloves and a welding mask.

Bob and Twilight have a plan. They're convinced they can tame even Theo's teenage tantrums.

Montana, 66 million years ago…

Meanwhile, back in prehistoric times, Nigel and Fluttershy have at last come up with a plan of their own. 

Along one end of the riverbank, men were hard at work erecting a wall of large logs and pieces of wood to fill in the nooks and crannies. Overseeing the hustle and bustle were Nigel and Fluttershy.

"We're trying a technique used by game capture teams for things like antelope," Nigel explained to the film crew. "The T-rex is working her way downriver."

"We've got ahead of her. She won't go onto uneven ground, and we know that she won't go near the water. We've built this palisade of logs, and we'll funnel her towards the time portal and back to the safety of the 21st century." Fluttershy said before crossing her fingers. "We hope."

Nigel turned to Adam nearby. "Hi, Adam. Give us a hand."

After much hard work, the palisade was complete. Everyone was now in position, watching, waiting.

The meteorite's getting closer. So is the T-rex.

Before long, a loud trumpeting call was heard in the distance, soon followed by the cries and bellows of panicked dinosaurs that could be heard over the rim.

And a herd of dinosaurs are running scared.

Fluttershy instantly recognized the familiar ostrich dinosaurs in the lead as they poured into the palisade. "Struthiomimus!" And they weren't alone. Towering above the spindly ostrich dinosaurs were bulky duckbill plant eaters well over the length of a school bus. There were also three bipedal dinosaurs. Next to the gigantic beasts, they were rather small, about the size of a car, their most distinctive feature being their rounded domed skulls lined with rows of bony knobs and tiny spikes. And behind them were two enormous saurian tanks with large armor plates covering their bodies, except for the belly. Their heads were wide and heavily armored; even the eyelids were armored. Their armor was brown-orange, becoming darker on the flanks, legs, and head and lighter on the underbelly. The most recognizable feature was that the tails ended in large, rounded clubs.

Nigel was quick to identify the new dinosaurs. "There's also four Edmontosaurus! A kind of duckbill dinosaur." One of the duckbills bellowed the trumpet call heard earlier, a call so loud it resounded across the valley. "And a trio of Pachycephalosaurus! Dome-headed plant eaters."

“There’s even a pair of Ankylosaurus! The tanks of the Cretaceous!” Fluttershy added.

Looming behind them was the apex predator in all her salivating, carnivorous glory. By the riverside, there was nowhere that the herd could run or hide. They were trapped.

“And there she is: the main event herself! That’s why they’re panicking.”

"If we're lucky, she'll chase them through the time portal, and we can have a breeding colony of Struthiomimus at Prehistoric Park," said Nigel cheerfully as he activated the time portal which came alive with its transparent wall of time and space.

"As well as a herd of duckbills and domeheads, and even a pair of clubtails!" Fluttershy chimed in. They quickly got into position, hiding behind their wooded fortress.

The injured Tyrannosaurus made her deadly advance; with her prey cornered, she could afford to take her time.

Trapped between the T-rex and the 21st century, they opt for the portal.

As mystified as the animals were of the strange wall, they were far more terrified of the oncoming T-rex lumbering their way. It didn't take long for the first participants to cross the boundaries of time.

"Yeah, one, two– They are belting through!" Nigel exclaimed. "A whole phalanx of them!"

Next to him, Fluttershy chuckled. "Bob is gonna get a real surprise."

In their haste to escape the oncoming predator, dinosaurs large and small began pushing and shoving in their mad dash to safety. It was all that the smaller animals could do to scramble out of the way of the gigantic Edmontosaurs' stomping hooves. One Struthiomimus squawked in pain as the bony club of a frightened Ankylosaurus knocked him over on impact.

Back in the Park...

From his place on the elevated platform, Bob looked on incredulously as various dinosaur species that were not T-rexes ran rampant throughout the stockade. They were safe from the clutches of the T-rex, but now they were wild with fright as they found themselves in the wooded confines of this strange lair in the middle of a strange and foreign world.

"Oh, my giddy aunt! Nigel, Nigel, what have you done?" he muttered half to himself. "Suzanne, we've got a bit of a si'uation here!" He called over his walkie-talkie as he and his crew got to work rounding up their unexpected guests to their holding pens until permanent living arrangements could be made.

Late Cretaceous Montana...

One Struthiomimus is slower than the rest.

Frightened and injured, the Struthiomimus tried desperately to shake the Tyrannosaurus off of his tail, darting in zigzags. But in these narrow confines, there was nowhere to run. And the gigantic predator was now closing in with open jaws. It was out of sheer desperation that the running dinosaur attempted to breach the wooden palisade, narrowly missing the snapping jaws of the rex.

But his luck was about to run out.

"Get down!"

CRASH!

The ostrich dinosaur's struggles ended in a sickening CRUNCH! of the T-rex's mighty jaws. With her prey clenched in her maw, the mammoth predator retraced her steps back on the ashen wasteland, getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

"That was close. She took the Struthiomimus right there," said Nigel as he and Fluttershy slowly came out of hiding.

The pink-haired girl was puzzled. "It's just a light snack for her."

The Englishman nodded. "A juvenile. Time's running out. We must follow her."

If the T-rex was aware of the humans' presence, she did not acknowledge them as she continued limping away.

With its catch still uneaten, the hungry T-rex limps off back the way she came.

Nigel was puzzled by the turn of events. "I can't understand. Why doesn't she just devour the Struthiomimus?"

"Strange. Usually, predators would eat where they make a kill," stated Fluttershy. "Unless–" she immediately gasped in sudden realization as a small smile appeared on her face.

"We cannot afford to lose her," said Nigel, rather left in the dark. "I do not want to go back to Prehistoric Park empty-handed."

The two followed the injured T-rex, making sure to stay downwind and to keep a safe distance away.

Back in the Park...

After much arduous work, the keepers at Prehistoric Park were able to wrangle the frightened animals and get them accommodated to their new home.

Back at Prehistoric Park, Bob is trying to ease some highly-strung Struthiomimus into life in the 21st century.

Once every last Struthiomimus was accounted for and led into the enclosure, a sizable paddock surrounded by shade-giving trees and carpeted by green grass, the headkeeper was quick to latch the gate shut.

"They're still a bit stressed out from the capture," said Bob addressing the cameraman. "They're just walking round and round the perimeter fence. They're checking out their new home, but they'll be all right. I'm not gonna feed them till tomorrow though, just let them settle in a bit."

As the ostrich dinosaurs began to settle, Bob reached for his walkie-talkie. "Girls, how are things going with the duckbills, the clubtails, and the boneheads?"

"They're just dandy, Bob." came the staticky reply from the cowgirl. "They seem to be settling into their new home."

"I'm on my way back to the workshop!" Twilight announced.

"We'll catch up once things are one hundred percent shipshape over here." came Pinkie’s voice, every now and again broken up by the static crunching of potato chips on the other end.

With that job done, Bob's back to his workshop where his plan for the bad-tempered Triceratops is now in full swing.

The workshop was bustling with activity as workers scrambled to assemble the parts and pieces needed for their project. Bob oversaw progress while Twilight and Sunset lent their technical expertise to help in the construction and design efforts. Needless to say, with all hands on deck, it wasn't long before the plan began to take shape.

"Tie her up. We want that one up there," instructed Bob as some crewmen strained under the weight of some heavy-duty tires. "Up you go. You're doing a grand job, lads, but I need this finished this afternoon."

"We'll take things from here, Bob," said Twilight with a wink, power wrench in her hand. "You go take care of things around the park."

The headkeeper smiled his gratitude as he went on to do just that.

Back in the Cretaceous...

The trek had led Nigel and Fluttershy to the foothills of the high mountains. No trees grew on the dry ground, and the terrain was littered with rocks and boulders with which they were able to hide and duck for cover to stay out of sight. Ahead of them, the female Tyrannosaurus continued to lumber on, looking neither back nor to the sides.

The duo is still tracking the T-rex. She's almost on her last legs. Moving so slowly now, the pair have had a chance to catch up. But where she's going remains a mystery. Fluttershy has her suspicions. And Nigel is about to find out.

After what seemed like an eternity, the T-rex finally came to a stop in a wide space surrounded by small caverns and boulders. It was out of one of these caverns that the fearsome predator was greeted by two tiny scaly faces; two baby tyrannosaurs as big as a grown man. Upon the sight of their gargantuan mother with dinner, the pair came out of hiding to greet her.

Not far behind, the zoologist and animal enthusiast smiled at the tender sight.

"I knew it!" Fluttershy beamed in triumph.

"It's been a long climb, but worth it," said Nigel, addressing the film crew. "There are juveniles there. They almost look like they’re nearly old enough to look after themselves."

"She's badly injured, but they need food, so she's brought the Struthiomimus all the way up here," added Fluttershy. "This is a major find! Paleontologists long suspected that dinosaurs showed parental care." 

"This is fantastic! We can get a whole family of T-rex back to Prehistoric Park," said Nigel, already envisioning this happy family before them in the peaceful setting of the park.

Suddenly the peaceful scene was shattered by a thundering roar.

But Nigel's optimism is short-lived.

The mother T-rex dropped the kill to confront the intruder, the only other creature in this world she truly feared.

"Another Rex. And this one's a huge male," said Fluttershy, growing more worried by the second.

"He must've been attracted by the smell of the kill and followed us all the way up here."

It’s a fight to the death and all Nigel and Fluttershy can do is try to stay out of the way.

The two giant theropods sized each other up, filling the mountainside with their roars and bellows. The male attempted to snatch the Struthiomimus from under the female's nose, but the infuriated mother pushed his jaws away with a sideways swipe of her head.

"He really wants that carcass," Nigel observed as neither side seemed to be backing down.

The two younglings wisely scattered into the shadows, away from the male's line of sight. "The youngsters are hiding." whispered the pink-haired girl.

"This is bad. If he sees them, they could be in serious trouble."

The Englishman nodded. "I'm sure like all reptiles, T-rex can be cannibalistic."

A clash was now inevitable as the male approached the injured mother, making a lightning lunge for her. The mother rex skillfully dodged his strike before finding an opening to grab his exposed neck. The male tyrannosaur struggled wildly to break free from the female's grip. Hindered by the pain of her injury, she loosened her hold which allowed the male to escape, only to be quickly seized by his neck once again. It wasn't long before he broke free from that hold as well, turning to face his adversary.

The juveniles cowered in the shadows as the two giants clashed, roaring their challenge at one another before doing battle once more, shaking the earth with their titanic footfalls. The male Tyrannosaurus was able to avoid a jaw snap from the enraged mother who roared furiously. He returned the bellow before striking her unguarded flank. But this left him open for a full-frontal attack from the female who grabbed his neck once again.

And this time, she had no intention of letting go.

In a desperate struggle to break free from the female's crushing death grip, the invading male slammed his full weight against his foe, smashing her skull against the surrounding rocks. The mother T-rex slumped to the ground, barely moving. The male rex then placed his foot on his fallen opponent, roaring in victory, and was about to deliver the killing blow… that is until it was interrupted when the ground began to vibrate.

The rival male steps back as another thud was heard as it almost had a look of complete regret on its face. For the vibrations sounded just like… footsteps.

"What on Earth?" Nigel said to himself.

The footsteps grew louder and sounded closer.

If there’s one thing a T-rex is afraid of, it's another bigger T-rex.

Another male rex has arrived. And this one can see the babies. However, this rex looked very familiar to the hiding explorers.

“I don’t believe it! It’s the same male we saw from the river!” Fluttershy said to Nigel in utter shock.

"That male, he must be her mate, which means he must be the father of the babies.” Nigel deduced.

When Dad sees what has happened, the message is clear… 'Mess with my family, you mess with Hell!'

ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!

With one infuriated roar of rage, the adult male immediately shoved the male rex against a rock wall pinning his rival down. But what he did next would show absolutely no mercy for the rival: he grabbed his opponent by the lower jaw and, much to the shock and horror of the two humans, ripped it clean off. Wounded and permanently deformed, the rival male gets up and runs off as the father roars at him, sending him packing, its life ruined {if not ended}. The adult male soon turned to the female as he nuzzled her snout and tried to help her stand up using his bulky body, the female using what little strength slowly got back up on her two feet, although the male was large, the female was taller than him in height. The two juveniles came out of hiding and warbled to greet them. Nigel’s assumption was correct, what he and Fluttershy saw was not just the ultimate monster, but also a caring father.

“I can’t believe it Nigel; we had an encounter with the dad!” Fluttershy excitedly exclaimed.

“Never would've expected it, but let's let them finish eating. Once they're finished, we should be trying to get them through the portal," said Nigel, who was now in awe of this prehistoric family reunion.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, they both couldn't but smile at the surprising domesticity of this scene.

Wiping away a stray tear from this happy moment, Fluttershy squinted as a blinding light flashed from the corner of her eye. She looked up, then wished she hadn't. "Uh Nigel, we have a problem…"

Hundreds of miles away, the meteorite has finally entered the Earth's atmosphere at 45,000 miles an hour.

A distant rumbling was heard and the two looked up to the sky in awe and horror as the meteorite flashed brighter than the sun. The Mesozoic’s Judgement Day had arrived.

The sonic boom it creates is one of the loudest noises the world has ever known.

The duo had to cover their ears to block out the devastating crashing sound as the Mount Everest-sized space rock collided with the earth, followed by a flash of blinding light.

As it strikes the Gulf of Mexico, it causes an explosion seven billion times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. It releases a blast front moving at a hundred times the speed of sound.

This devastation is just the start.

The cloud of ash will soar into the sky and molten rock will start raining down, igniting worldwide wildfires. And as it mushrooms out, it will engulf the entire world in a blanket of darkness. Earthquakes and megatsunamis will devastate the world, killing billions of lives. Any of the lucky few that survive will face complete darkness, minimal food, poisoned water, and freezing temperatures for the next two to three years. All this is just minutes away.

Nigel and Fluttershy will have to think fast.

"Has anyone got any food, anything that smells?" Nigel quickly inquired. Time was now of the essence. "We need the odour to entice the T-rex babies through the time portal."

Fluttershy frantically dug through her backpack for something, anything that could remotely be of help.

"I don't have anything!" cried Fluttershy. "Maybe we can use the Struthiomimus carcass to lure them through the portal!"

"That's perfect! I just hope we can make it."

"This has to work. We've only got a few seconds left," said Fluttershy desperately, hands practically on her scalp as the pressure was setting in.

With the dead ornithomimid’s corpse in his hands, Nigel began to approach the tyrannosaurs who hissed, shrieked, and growled in alarm at the apocalypse going on around them. "The babies should be really interested about the dead Struthiomimus."

"Although they're more likely to see us as potential snacks and attack us." mumbled the animal lover less optimistically.

"Come on." urged Nigel, waving the carcass before the curious rexlings, having never seen these foreign creatures before. 

"You've got to come! We've got to get you back!"

Enticed by the smell of potential food, hunger won over caution as the T-rex juveniles hungrily snapped their teeth before following the strange two-legged creatures; their parents soon followed after them.

"Yes!" exclaimed Nigel in triumph, still holding the carcass.

"It's working!" said Fluttershy cheerfully. Now they began to run, the end of the world literally at their heels. The tyrannosaurs followed not too far behind.

"21st century, here we come!" yelled Fluttershy as they all ran through the transparent wall of time.

BOOM!

A moment of silence... before four figures emerged from the time portal. The two Tyrannosaurus youngsters and their parents had made it to the safety of the present. From outside the stockade, the entire Prehistoric Park crew was eagerly awaiting their arrival, cheering and hollering as they all celebrated the mission's success.

"Yeah! Whoo-hoo!"

"Alright!"

"Tyrannosaurus rex is back!"

"Our first T-rex!"

Nigel and Fluttershy have finally managed to rescue the T-rex family from extinction.

The reptilian quartet was then herded into the confines of the holding pen where much-needed food and nourishment was awaiting them.

The T-rex juveniles and their parents are now safely in the observation pen. Suzanne is making sure they're in good health before they're taken to their permanent enclosure.

The moment a large slab of beef was dropped into the observation pen, the two famished T-rexes flung themselves upon the meat almost instantly as their parents looked on.

"They look undernourished, but I'm pretty sure that Bob will be able to sort that out. And I’m hoping once we separate the parents, I can treat the mother with her wounds." Suzanne told the film crew. "But the juveniles are eating really well."

The larger of the two, the female, was quick to assert her dominance and stood over the meat. She would get the first bite.

The vet marveled at the two rexlings; to think that one day, these tiny creatures would become the greatest land predators the world had ever known, just like their mother and father. Even lions and tigers would pale in comparison. "They're not even halfway grown, but they're still so powerful, aren't they?" Inside the enclosure, the female youngster snarled a warning to her smaller brother, dragging the food a distance away to eat in peace.

"They're cool, aren't they?"

Prehistoric Park is now home to its first-ever prehistoric guests. From river-dwelling mammals to massive duck-billed dinosaurs. But vet Suzanne is concerned that one of them doesn't seem all that happy about being here.

Sometime later, Suzanne took Nigel and Fluttershy to Triceratops Creek to see one of the resident ceratopsians, Theo. Sunset and Applejack were also in attendance. As the humans stood safely outside of his enclosure, Theo glowered at them, snorting and pawing the ground in aggression.

"He really doesn't look very happy," said a concerned Suzanne.

"Not when he stares like that. He doesn't like us." Nigel replied.

Fluttershy’s eyes then widened. "Everyone get back, he's charging!"

With a challenging roar, the adolescent Triceratops charged headlong against the wooden/metal fence.

CRASH!

Fortunately for the shaken-up humans, the wooden stakes were carefully chosen to withstand even the force of the herbivore's unbridled rage. But even so, one of the stakes was nearly split in two.

The English naturalist chuckled. "You are trying to shake us up."

"Theo's got such an attitude now!" Fluttershy remarked.

"He's taken such a dislike to you guys." said Suzanne, and the proof was in the splintered fence.

"I don't think he likes you at all." Applejack remarked as the Triceratops stared at them menacingly, frill blazing red, horns held in readiness.

"I've seen this before." said the English naturalist. "I hand-reared a fox before and when it got mature— it was a male as well— it started biting and attacking me. He's mature and his hormones are buzzing through his body."

The vet rolled her eyes playfully. "Too much testosterone. Males are endlessly competitive. They always have to win, don't they?"

"You know it." said Sunset. At this, Nigel casts the pair with an incredulous stare.

Suddenly there was a mechanical purring hum coming from over the hill, gradually getting louder, until a tractor pulled up around the bend. But this was no ordinary tractor; the vehicle was heavily padded with truck tires on the front and sides, along with decorative horns to resemble a Triceratops. Riding behind the wheel of this roaring behemoth was none other than Bob and Twilight.

Fluttershy beamed a wide grin like a girl on Christmas Day. Sunset and Applejack shared knowing glances, having been involved in the project.

"Right on time." Sunset murmured half to herself.

Nigel chuckled. "Bob, what have you done now?"

At last, Bob and Twilight’s plan is unveiled.

The tractor came to a stop, allowing Twilight to disembark the vehicle. Nigel took a moment to admire the duo's handiwork. "Look at this contraption! Wa-hey, stop!"

"It looks like a mechanical bull," Applejack remarked.

"Say hello to the Tricera-tractor!" the inventor announced proudly while Nigel and Fluttershy were overcome with the temptation of going along for the ride.

Bob revved the engines. "Ladies, get the gates! This is man's work!"

Sunset, Applejack, and Suzanne obliged, and once they were certain that the irate Triceratops was out of the immediate vicinity, they opened the gate wide enough for the tractor to pass. Bob drove the war machine forward. "On we go!"

"Watch out, Theo, we're coming!" Nigel shouted in excitement.

"Good luck, boys," Suzanne called out. Under her breath, she added, "You'll need it."

The gates were shut.

The Tricera-tractor drove further and further along the dirt path, now in the center of Theo's turf. 

"Come on, Theo! Come on!" Nigel called out.

But the Triceratops was nowhere to be spotted.

"Where are you?"

They were answered by a bellowing roar as the young Triceratops charged full force, striking them from the left flank!

"Oh! He charged from over there. He charged from the bamboo!" shouted Nigel over Theo's incensed bellow.

Fluttershy laughed and let out a shout of one thing, “This means war, Theo!"

Engines revving, Bob directed the Tricera-tractor's wrath towards Theo's three-horned fury, incensed about a competitor in his territory. The dinosaur did not hold back and forcefully charged the Tricera-tractor as the Cretaceous powerhouse met the technological marvel in a head-on collision!

The ongoing jousting tournament was being watched from a safe vantage point by the rest of the team.

"It turned into a Mexican standoff there!" Applejack exclaimed.

"This is absolute madness." scoffed Suzanne with a chuckle.

Bob and Twilight’s contraption isn’t as crazy as it seems. The tire-padded tractor is a worthy opponent for Theo, giving him something to take his aggression out on. It’s a tactic gamekeepers use on rhinos. And it looks like it’s working, giving the boys and Fluttershy a chance to let off steam.

The vet playfully scoffed. "Men."

Beyond the safety of the fence, the battles raged on. The Tricera-tractor moved in reverse after sustaining yet another head-on collision with Theo.

"Look at him staring us out! We're getting at him! That's why he's got breeding colours. It's his first breeding season." Nigel informed Bob as he manned the tractor.

"He'd take on anything!" Fluttershy remarked as the young Triceratops shook his frill from side to side as if daring them to retaliate. "He's taking on us!"

"Yee-haw! Charge!"

On the last charge. Bob shifted into maximum overdrive, careening towards the inevitable collision as Theo stood in readiness.

CRASH!

The force of the impact caused Bob to lurch forward on the steering wheel. Try as they might, the vehicle gave way to the herbivore's brute strength as he pushed them back a couple of feet. It was at that moment that Fluttershy, Nigel, and Bob decided to cut their losses and reverse out of the enclosure.

"Congratulations, Theo!" Fluttershy shouted.

Theo bellowed his victory as his worthy adversary left the battleground. He was the dominant male of this creek, and they would do well to remember that.

*Three Hours Later...*

"That was great fun, exhausting work," said Nigel, addressing the cameraman. Sometime later found the zoologist sitting behind his desk in his bungalow. "Never thought I'd joust with a Triceratops! But that's what they did in the wild. Fossils, look at this," he presented some documents and papers depicting two trikes locked in combat. "You can see they've got injuries on the frill and on the neck. They obviously had jousting tournaments in nature. Certainly keeping our boy occupied.

"But what I've got to be careful about is he's got to win every time. We can't get too excited with him. I don't want him to injure himself 'cause he's such a magnificent specimen." That being said, he took a sip from his glass of water and looked out the window which overlooked the entire park.

"Oh, Nigel!"

The zoologist jumped at the sudden intrusion, dropping his drink out the window. He turned around to see none other than Fluttershy at the door. "You scared me out of my skin!" he said, clutching his chest rather dramatically.

"Oops. Sorry." Fluttershy replied sheepishly. "Guess I should’ve knocked?"

Nigel raised an eyebrow. "You think?" he retorted.

"Come with me! There's something you've gotta see!" said the animal enthusiast. This was enough to peak up the naturalist's curiosity and he eagerly tagged along with her.

Sometime Later...

Eaten up with uncontainable excitement, Futtershy practically dragged Nigel back to Triceratops Creek where the naturalist was in for a surprise. Awaiting their arrival was the rest of the team consisting of her friends, Bob and Suzanne, plus several park staff.

"What on earth have you done now?" Nigel wondered. It was a feeling of deja vu to the arrival of Prehistoric Park's very first dinosaur.

"Alright guys, I got Nigel," Fluttershy announced, earning a puzzled look from the Englishman. "You can unveil the surprise now!"

"Now Bob!" shouted Applejack.

"Alright! Let her out!" The headkeeper ordered those manning the loading truck once the ramp was in place.

A familiar bellow was heard. No sooner had the doors been open when a burly figure stampeded out of the truck, eager for the taste of freedom in this strange but welcoming enclave.

Nigel's wide eyes did not deceive him; standing in the light of the sun was a young female Triceratops.

"Wow! I just can't believe it! Where did you– when did you have time?"

"Well, I decided to take a short hike back to the Cretaceous, and along the way, I thought that Theo could use some extra company. So, I brought back a special guest." Fluttershy explained.

The English naturalist turned to head vet Suzanne. "Don't worry; we've already done some tests. Everything looks good. She's healthy." she assured him. Health checks were ever essential before introducing a new creature into the park.

Attracted by the smell and noise of the new arrival, Theo arrived on the scene to investigate. Compared to the resident male, the newcomer was slightly smaller, and her frill was not so vibrantly colored.

"Theo," Pinkie called out from behind the bars. "Meet Frillina!"

"Frillina?" wondered Nigel incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," replied Fluttershy with a chuckle.

Remarkably, despite his tantrums and fits of bestial rage earlier in the day, Theo showed no signs of aggression towards the female. On the contrary, the 3-ton Triceratops was gentle in his approach, taking great care not to startle her. Frillina was equally intrigued by the young male who seemed to rule this domain. The two herbivores began to sniff each other delicately.

Nigel shook his head in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me!" he chuckled.

"Well, boys will be boys," said Bob.

"Quite the gentleman, isn't he?" Suzanne remarked.

"Hey, what's he doing?" All eyes looked to where Rainbow Dash was pointing. Inside the paddock, Theo paced before Frillina and once he had her undivided attention, the male bellowed a low, baritone roar before he lowered his horns, swinging his massive head from side to side, clockwise and counterclockwise.

On the opposite side of the enclosure, the team watched these new activities unfold with deep interest and fascination; they were witnessing something that no human eyes had ever seen before.

"Would you look at that," said Bob.

"He's showing off his colorful frill!" said an elated Fluttershy. 

"It's been theorized with horned dinosaurs that horns and frills evolved to scare away predators and discourage rivals." the English naturalist explained, remembering how the horned dinosaurs back in the prehistoric past used their vibrant frills in fighting off tyrannosaurs. "Makes them look bigger than they are."

Rarity was puzzled. "Doesn't seem to be showing any aggression at all."

While Theo continued to strut his stuff, groaning and snorting billows of steam from his nostrils, Frillina watched with rapt attention. Sunset studied the activities of the pair more carefully. "Guys, I think we figured out what else the frill is for," she said after a while.

"We have?" asked Twilight, briefly looking away from the dinosaurs.

"The red coloring of the frill? The girl Triceratops like them."

"You're right!" Twilight exclaimed in excitement, doing a double take. "In nature, lots of animals have certain features that show off they're healthy and strong."

"Like male moose and deer. They have big antlers to show females that they're survivors," added Fluttershy.

"So for ceratopsians, horned dinosaurs like Triceratops," Nigel deduced, "the bigger and more brightly colored the frill, the more likely they will attract mates."

Suzanne playfully rolled her eyes. "They've got a flair for showing off it seems."

"And it looks like she's buying it," said Spike.

"So far so good." Rarity remarked.

With one final roar, Theo ceased his displays and waited for the female's final verdict. With bated breath, everyone waited for the answer, fingers crossed.

Won over by the strong and handsome young male, Frillina accepted her new overlord. She sealed the deal by nuzzling his snout with hers, rumbling her affection. Needless to say, these tender actions incited cheers and rounds of applause from their modern audience. Theo nuzzled back, before shepherding his new mate to a more private area of their domain, away from the eyes of the cheering, spectating humans.

"You go, Theo!" Rainbow cheered, pumping a fist.

"Awww love is in the air!" said Pinkke.

"Oh ho, this is great!" added Twilight with a beaming smile.

Nigel shared the bookworm's sense of optimism. "This could be our first-ever breeding pair in Prehistoric Park!"

Their work done, head-keeper Bob then decided that it was time to go, and he began to usher everyone from the paddock. "Come on you lot, let's give the lovebirds their space." He then turned to the camera crew. "That goes for you as well."

Time to give this Cretaceous Romeo some well-needed privacy with his Juliet.

The Next Day...

The new power couple will also have new neighbors as some of the park's latest arrivals have been moved to an area just across the river.

Divided by the river that flowed through the exhibit, the area opposite the Triceratops enclosure was now home to the four Edmontosaurus as well as the trio of dome-headed Pachycephalosaurus and the pair of armored Ankylosaurus.

"You sure moving these guys into the same habitat was a good idea?" asked Spike, as he, Pinkie; Nigel, and Fluttershy observed the three radically different species coexisting in the same environment just as they would in the wild. The group stood on a wooden pier that overlooked the exhibit.

"Considering that these two species lived in the same time and place as the Triceratops and vagrant Alamosaurs, and the fact they're herbivores, I don't see why not," Fluttershy replied.

"And they're on their side of the river, away from the Triceratops and Alamosaurus," added Nigel.

The dinosaurs, for their part, were content to graze and browse the abundance of vegetation that grew in their new haven, preferring frolicking over fighting.

Pinkie watched them. "I called the pachys Friar Tuck, Bonehead, and Crash," she said, addressing the trio of Pachycephalosaurus, one male and two females respectively. "The Ankylosaurus are called Andy and Bumpy. And two of the female Edmontosaurus are Emilia and Foghorn. Ooh! And the big male's Duckzilla."

Fluttershy chuckled. "Duckzilla?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Yeah. He's a duckbill, remember?"

"He does have the face of a really big duck," Spike commented.

The newly named Duckzilla reared up on his hind legs before raising his head to the sky and filled the park with a resounding bellow that had never been heard in over 66 million years. The other three hadrosaurs and even the ankylosaurs took up the call while the pachycephalosaurs squawked their protest at their gigantic neighbors.

"I think they're happy here."

Nigel's dream of having a park full of prehistoric creatures he's saved from extinction is beginning to take shape; the Struthiomimus are getting used to their new home. The Didelphodons are enjoying their brand-new pond. The Triceratops has calmed down and has a new fiancé. And the T-rex family has been put into their new enclosure.

A green park jeep drove across the wooden bridge that led to the newly dubbed 'T-rex Hill'. Once the vehicle came to a complete stop, the passengers, made up of Nigel, Bob, Suzanne, Fluttershy, and her friends, disembarked to take a look at the park's latest habitat.

"Fantastic. Well done, Bob." complimented Nigel.

"It wasn't just me; it was the lads." the headkeeper replied, giving credit where credit was due.

"Now that's what I call prime real estate." Rainbow Dash commented.

The Englishman chuckled. "It's overkill now when they're tiny, but when they're big, it's a perfect enclosure."

Rarity peered into the exhibit, squinting her eyes. "Um, darlings... I don't see the juveniles." The others did likewise.

Nigel turned to Bob. "Have you seen them at all?"

The headkeeper shook his head. "Not since I put them in there. The parents, they’re resting out there, but the little ones; they've disappeared off the face of the earth."

"There's plenty of places for them to hide," said Fluttershy. "That way, they're not gonna be too crowded or stressed." 

Just then, Nigel's eyes caught movement in the thick foliage. "Look, over there!"

All eyes looked to where the naturalist pointed. Two lithe figures erupted out of the undergrowth, running up to the clearing in full view of the spectating humans while their parents slept. As the two tyrannosaurs engaged in play, the team could immediately spot differences in personality as well as the youngsters' overall appearances.

"Give them some names to identify them." the vet suggested.

"I've done that," Nigel replied.

"Okay, what?" Suzanne inquired.

"Matilda for the big female," he replied, pointing to the female T-rex. "She's much bigger and stockier. Then, Terence, he's a bit puny, for the younger male. What do you guys think?"

Bob nodded his agreement. "Terence and Matilda. Very nice, Nigel."

Rarity shrugged. "Not so bad."

“And for the parents, the female will be called Sue, the male will be Stan.” Fluttershy chimed in.

“You mean you named the parents after two of the most famous T-rex fossils ever discovered…? That makes sense to me.” Twilight said.

"It's kinda cute really, I guess," said Suzanne.

The English naturalist chuckled. "Tell you what, for the juveniles, they're not going to stay cute for long."

Nigel’s right. The two T-rex juveniles are currently in the stage of their lives where they are transitioning from a fast and gracile build to a massive and robust one. In about ten years or so, they will reach full size at ten tons or more. Turning Terence and Matilda into the most ferocious killing machines for 66 million years, just like their parents. Let's hope Prehistoric Park knows what it's getting itself into.

Sunset over Prehistoric Park. Nigel sat at the edge of a cliffside overlooking the valley where the park sat in the very center. He breathed the fresh evening air, savoring the peace and tranquility, watching the South African sunset, perhaps some of the most beautiful in the world, and listening to the calls of various birds chirping and warbling their final songs of the day.

"Hey, Nigel!"

The naturalist turned to look over his shoulder and smiled as none other than Fluttershy came to join him, the teenager seating herself at Nigel's right side.

A moment of tranquil silence.

Fluttershy was the first to break the silent spell. "A penny for your thoughts?"

Nigel didn't answer immediately, but looked to the sunset, content to be in the company of some of the most remarkable people he had ever met. Luckily the pink-haired girl didn't press the matter.

"It never gets old, huh?" said Fluttershy, heaving a blissful sigh.

"Lovely sight." Nigel agreed. Looking back over the valley, his face took on a faraway expression. "Before all of this, Prehistoric Park was only possible in the realm of fantasy. To create the ultimate wildlife sanctuary filled to the brim with creatures from another time. There are just so many amazing animals time has left behind."

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "Over 99.9% of all creatures that have ever lived on this planet are now extinct." She heaved a heavy sigh, sadly looking off to the horizon. "And most of the time, we're left to wonder what it would've been like to see them in real life."

The passionate zoologist went on, "To bring them back, to defy extinction. That, I believe, is every zoologist's dream. And now here we are, doing the impossible!"

Just then, a distant trumpeting call resounded from the valley below. On the golden grasslands, a small herd of elephants was being led by their keepers to their nightly enclosure to retire as the day drew to a close.

The duo exchanged knowing glances, the same thing on both of their minds.

“So... when do we leave?"

Next time, Nigel and Fluttershy set their sights on a mammoth from the lce Age. But they're going to have to overcome the cold climate and a hostile reception. Managing the prehistoric creatures the duo bring back will definitely not be as easy as they first thought.


Creatures rescued:


Alamosaurus sanjuanensis (1; 1 adult male)

Ankylosaurus magniventris (2; both adults; 1 male, 1 female)

Didelphodon vorax (2; both adults; 1 male, 1 female)

Hell Creek gar (Lepisosteus occidentalis) (2; both adults; 1 male, 1 female)

Edmontosaurus annectens (4; all adults, 2 males, 2 females)

Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis (3; all adults; 1 male, 2 females)

Struthiomimus sedens (13; all adults; 6 males, 7 females)

Triceratops prorsus (2; both subadults; 1 young male, 1 young female)

Tyrannosaurus rex (4; 2 adults, 2 youngsters; 2 males, 2 females)

> 3. A Mammoth Undertaking {Part 1}
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is something missing from our world; the amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we could bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever?

We're going back in time on a safari with a difference as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven and animal enthusiast Fluttershy plunge into prehistory to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. Their plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance.

Their next adventure is into the Ice Age, where they'll come face to face with a woolly rhino, survive a showdown with a mighty bull, run for their lives from a colossal cave bear, and attempt to solve the mystery of what is killing the last mammoths on Earth.

Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park.

A new day begins at Prehistoric Park.  It has been over a month since the rescue mission to the late Cretaceous.  Things have been going well, and everyone couldn't be happier.

Prehistoric Park is starting to come to life. Amongst the hills and valleys of this huge reserve, dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures are getting used to their surroundings. One day, Nigel Marven plans to breed extinct animals in captivity. But for now, he's starting off by only bringing a few of each species back to see if they can adapt to the 21st century. Aiding him is animal enthusiast and Canterlot High student Fluttershy.

Feeding time at T-rex Hill, and the duo stopped by to see how things were getting along.

The Park's latest newcomers seem to be settling in well.

"Just a bit more... Stop right there! Right, keep the tension at the back." Park keeper Bob ordered as he and several other able-bodied men were busy operating a makeshift wooden crane, with a generous slab of meat hoisted by a rope. So preoccupied were they by their work, they hardly noticed Nigel and Fluttershy stepping out of the park jeep to investigate.

"What an ingenious contraption!" said Nigel. "How are they doing?"

"I'm guessing that this is Twilight’s handiwork?" asked Fluttershy thoughtfully, looking up at the mechanism.

"Not bad, but they're big beasts with big appetites." the head keeper replied. "Aye, Twilight actually designed this crane to help feed the T-rexes without losin' an arm or a leg."

Head Park Keeper Bob and his team are facing their first big challenge: keeping the Park's T-rex family happy.

Drawn in by the smell of fresh meat, the T-rexes, brother and sister Terence and Matilda, sprang out of the undergrowth before the edge of the fence, eagerly awaiting their lunch, while their parents slept in the shade, having eaten their full.

When Nigel and Fluttershy found them, Terence and his sister Matilda had nearly been orphaned after their mother, Sue, was injured in a fight, if not for the ferocious intervention by their father, Stan. The duo managed to save them from certain death just seconds before a massive meteorite hit.

The keepers hoisted the rope with all their combined strength, lifting the dainty morsel directly over the paddock.

"Take it away!" shouted Bob. "Yeah, all right, bring that 'round."

Feeding the T-rex juveniles means meat and plenty of it. When they arrived at the Park, the two were half-starved, but they've been making up for it ever since.

Seeing the meat coming their way, the two carnivores raced to the feeding station with open jaws.

"I'm not telling Bob everything about T-rex feeding habits, he'd be so depressed!" Nigel whispered to the film crew and Fluttershy, who snickered.

The crane moved in a counterclockwise motion, coming to a complete stop once it was directly overhead of the hungry T-rex siblings.

T-rex babies grow incredibly fast. Terence and Matilda will add hundreds of pounds to their weight every  year until they grow to the length of a double-decker bus and weigh ten tons.

The voracious young dinosaurs snapped at the hunk of meat, making leaps at the suspended morsel hanging just out of reach.

"They're voracious, aren't they?" Nigel remarked. "Look at that, leaping for that!"

"Yeah. They're hungry enough. They definitely want that meat." Fluttershy observed. It was time to let them have it.

The instant that the meat was dropped, the T-rexes were quickly upon it, ripping and tearing away mouthful after mouthful.

"You see those teeth?" said Nigel. "They've got serrated teeth like sharks and they're slicing off chunks of flesh. No wonder they eat so much! They're polishing that off!"

"And when they reach full size, their teeth will become broad railroad spikes designed for crushing and smashing bone." added the animal enthusiast, pulling out a fossilized tooth of a grown rex.

"I wouldn't wanna be in there, I'll tell you that!" Nigel remarked, earning laughs from everyone present. Inside of the enclosure, Matilda quickly asserted her dominance and staked her claim on the meat. Terence could only look on helplessly as his larger, more dominant sister dragged the meal to a shadier place to eat. He would have to wait his turn.

Now Nigel's planning his next adventure. He's decided to rescue one of the most famous of all extinct animals, the woolly mammoth, a long-lost relative of modern-day elephants.

Before their planned departure, the duo decided to pay a visit to the park's resident herd of African elephants. The dozen or so pachyderms spent much of their day eating and relaxing in the coolness of their favorite mud wallows under the care of their keepers.

"This is Jomo." said Fluttershy, introducing the adorable elephant calf to the audience. "He's the herd’s baby African elephant." Jomo gave a squeaky trumpet as if in response to the introductions.

"We adore elephants," said Nigel fondly. "And of course, they have a long history."

"There were many different species of elephant in the past, such as deinotheres, gomphotheres, stegodonts, and of course, the mastodons and mammoths." Fluttershy informed, standing beside a grown cow, Asali, the herd’s matriarch and the calf’s mother. She patted her on the shoulder, offering a treat which she happily accepted.

Nigel nodded as he added, "People think they had the same family life, the same social history, but I want to do is to travel back in time and find out whether that's true, and maybe even bring a woolly mammoth or two back to Prehistoric Park." he then turned to the matriarch, leaning against her wrinkled face. "Would you like to meet a woolly mammoth?" he cooed. "You would, would you?"

As in any conservation project, it's the most endangered animals Nigel wants to rescue, so he's got to travel back to the time that mammoths were on their last legs. That was at the end of the lce Age. Freezing plains were the home to huge herds of mammoths, but 11,000 years ago, it all changed. Their world was turned upside down because of global warming.

The ice was disappearing and so were the mammoths.

After spending the morning with the elephants, the duo gathered at headquarters to get their expedition under way.

"This is at the end of the last lce Age." said Nigel, gesturing to the map on the wall, the world looking vastly similar to its present state with the exception of glaciers fringing along the north. "And what was happening, it was still cold, but the ice sheets, they were receding northwards, and the mammoths were going there too."

"According to Twilight’s research, the last surviving mammoths on the mainland were found here, just east of the Urals in Siberia. And that's where we need to go!" Fluttershy said.

By going back to the brink of extinction, they'll see for themselves what killed off these magnificent beasts and get their chance to save the woolly mammoth. The time portal is set to take them back to the last lce Age, 11,000 years ago.

*Siberia, 11,000 years ago...

Two snowmobiles drifted over a vast frozen lake ringed by mighty mountains. On its shores was a seemingly endless ocean of green trees. Aside from the howling winds and the calls of various arctic birds, the land was eerily silent.

Here in the lce Age, the warming of the climate has already changed this world. What once was rich, open grassland covered in grazing mammoths has now been invaded by dense forest.

This is no place for a mammoth. Finding the last ones left alive is not going to be easy.

After what felt like an eternity, the snowmobiles stopped in the middle of a snow covered clearing, surrounded by various conifer trees like spruce, pines, and firs just to name a few.

"We've gone for miles in this forest, it just seems so limitless." said Fluttershy, taking in the scenery.

"The climate's warming, and weevil beetles can survive on pine needles, but a six-ton mammoth, no way, there's just not enough nutrition." added Nigel.

"We're seeing the beginnings of the taiga, or boreal forest, the largest land biome in the world." Fluttershy informed. "It stretches throughout the high northern latitudes."

It's this lack of good food that's brought the mammoth population to its knees. It looks like there’s nothing but trees here.

The two had fewer options but to move on, pushing deeper into the woods.

But at last, the duo finds something to break the monotony: A prehistoric cave they can’t resist exploring. 

After leaving their snowmobiles parked close by, the two approached the mouth of the cave. Just then, a low, rumbling snarl echoed throughout the cavern. The duo slowly backed out of the mouth of the cave.

"No sudden moves." cautioned Nigel. Another growl could be heard bouncing off the cave walls, before a huge, hairy figure emerged from the shadows. Soon, the beast let out a thundering roar.

The duo has chosen the wrong creature to disturb.

As the beast rose to his full height on his hind legs, Nigel and Fluttershy made a hasty retreat, tripping and tumbling over the snow. Knowing that the ill-tempered brute would overtake them in the time it would take to reach the snowmobiles, they bolted for the trees.

Cave bears stand 11 feet tall, and weighing up to 2,000 pounds, they’re an animal not to be messed with!

Moments later, the monstrous bear gave chase!

"Get moving!" Nigel urged. They could hear the huffing breath of the colossus, the snapping of twigs and branches as he crashed through the undergrowth, water splashing as he ran through a shallow puddle.

"Split up! He can't follow us both!" shouted Fluttershy, willing herself not to look back as the massive bruin was gaining on them!

Nigel quickened his pace as the bear was literally at his heels. "Run! Run! Drop the camera if you have to! Just move, move, move! MOVE!"

The cameraman was not so lucky; the cave bear succeeded in tripping over his prey, and there was nowhere to run. The hulking bruin rose upon his hind legs, easily towering over the unfortunate human. With a terrifying roar, he brought his paw down in one tremendous swipe.

Then everything faded to black.

Prehistoric cave bears may be huge, but luckily, they can't climb trees.

The screen was hazy at first as the cameraman regained consciousness, dazed and disoriented but very much alive.

"There you are, I'm up here!" came Nigel's voice from overhead. The camera was pointed upwards to reveal the zoologist perched among the branches of a spruce tree, too high for even the towering cave bear to reach. "I'm sorry about that." he said apologetically as he made his way down. "I was sure they were extinct...at this time." Cupping his hands to his mouth, the Englishman called out into the wilderness, "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Where are you?"

"Over here!" came the reply from Fluttershy as she clambered down from a nearby tree. "What an exciting find! A surviving cave bear!" She exclaimed. "We've got to go and see it."

Nigel agreed, albeit more cautiously. "I hear you, mate. But we definitely need to be more careful. And as long as we don't startle it, it won't charge again, and we can watch it foraging."

Having decided, the duo slowly retraced their steps back towards the cave. They were quiet and extremely careful in their approach, careful to keep downwind, lest they startle the bear upon the slightest sound or scent. The bear in question lingered for a while in the clearing, occasionally sniffing the air as if to make sure that the two interlopers did well to stay away.

"There he is." Nigel whispered. "I can tell he's a male cave bear. The female has much smaller proportions."

"He's a big one!" the animal enthusiast interjected quietly. "11 feet tall on his hind legs. And maybe around 2,000 pounds. As big as a cave bear gets."

"I'm certain he was hibernating in that cave and what he's doing is he's packing in berries and the early spring vegetation," said the English naturalist. "Cave bears are not very carnivorous. They feed on anything."

"But they're mostly vegetarians, so he wasn't hunting us." said Fluttershy.

"Because we disturbed him, that's why he chased us." Nigel replied.

"Guess somebody woke up on the wrong side of the cave." Fluttershy remarked before she heaved a heavy sigh. "Sad to think that he might be the last of his kind."

Nigel frowned in understanding. "Yeah. Cave bears won't be around for much longer. Best we move on."

Nigel can't save every endangered animal he finds, so this time he lets sleeping bears lie. But Mother Nature has other plans for the bear.

While Nigel and Fluttershy boarded their snowmobiles, they soon heard the sounds of panting and heaving as they turned to face it. The bear looked like it was about to collapse. There was a brief wobble in the cave bear's front legs, and with a weakened growl, Nigel and Fluttershy took note of a detail that they'd failed to notice; it was limping on its right hind leg and there were gashes on its back.

“Waking hibernating bears can be downright lethal.” Nigel informed. “It requires a lot of energy, depleting reserves that are key to surviving the winter. There’s a mortality rate in cave bears and dying during hibernation is a common end for them.”

Then things got worse, with one last growl and, the cave bear collapsed onto the snowy slope, at least an inch or so away from the cave entrance, groaning in defeat.

With no energy left and weakened from the disturbance, this cave bear is on the verge of death. That is if Fluttershy has anything to say about it.

Before Nigel could say anything, Fluttershy dismounted her snowmobile and calmly made her way over to the exhausted cave bear, immediately beginning to speak as she did so. 

"It's alright," she said, her voice soft and soothing. "Everything's alright now. I'm gonna have a look at you and then send you somewhere safe..." 

It was at this point she made it directly in front of the bear, and he lifted his head and snarled at her, opening his eyes in the process.

Fluttershy got down on her knees and carefully extended her hand towards the still cave bear's right shoulder. The bear growled, a wary look in his eyes, but was too tired and weak to do anything else, and eventually calmed down with a low grunt as she patted her hand upon his right shoulder. 

"There there," she said, not once changing her soft and soothing tone. "There we go. I'm not going to hurt you. It's alright. Nothing bad's going to happen. You'll be safe real soon, I promise." She looked over the bear and back to Nigel. "He’s too weak to move, especially with that leg of his. He'll freeze to death out here."

"I'm guessing that means he's going to the park?" Nigel said.

Fluttershy just nodded her head. 

A few minutes later, Suzanne was all bundled up and standing by the cave bear, with a similarly bundled up clad Sunset and Rainbow standing at either side of her, the former for veterinary assistance and the latter for defense just in case the bear tried to attack, with the portal glowing and reflecting behind them. Suzanne nodded her head as she continued examining the bear. 

"He needs treatment – urgently."

"Couldn't agree more," said Rainbow Dash. She shivered. "Sheesh," she hissed. "I'm freezing out here."

"Join the club," Sunset grumbled, her teeth gritted and visibly chattering.

Suzanne looked to Nigel and Fluttershy. "Think you two could help us get him loaded?" 

Nigel nodded. "Absolutely."

And so, Suzanne, Sunset, Rainbow, Nigel, and Fluttershy, plus two other Prehistoric Park veterinary personnel proceeded to load the exhausted cave bear onto a large heavy-duty stretcher and carried him the short distance between them and a veterinary truck waiting immediately at the entrance of the open portal. Once the bear had been loaded, the back door of the truck was closed, and Suzanne, Sunset, and Rainbow boarded the driver's section. Before they left, Suzanne peeked out the driver's side window and looked at Fluttershy and Nigel. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll make sure he gets all the care he needs." 

And at that, she got back into the truck and got the vehicle moving. Once the truck had disappeared through the fabric of time, Fluttershy closed the portal. 

"Let's get a move on, shall we?" Nigel said with finality as he packed up the portal rods. "If we're lucky, the cave bear won't be the only animal we bring back to Prehistoric Park."

With the cave bear safely transported back to the present, it's time to get back to business on finding a mammoth.

The two snowmobiles roared to life as the duo continued on their way. The further they went from the now deserted cave, the more and more trees they spied. The endless cycle continued on for what felt like hours.

Nigel decides the best way to spot a mammoth is to get up high and scout the terrain.

He and Fluttershy made the arduous climb up a rocky hill which overlooked the entire forest. Once they reached the top, the sight that greeted them, much to their irritation and disappointment, was an endless ocean of trees stretching for miles on end.

"It's so disappointing to come back 11,000 years to mammoth country and all I can see is trees, trees, thousands of them. As far as the eye can see." the English naturalist grumbled through his binoculars.

"Mammoths need plains and grasslands, and there's none of that anywhere here." The animal lover stated as she counted perhaps her millionth tree; she lost count partway.

"We could’ve gone to Wrangel Island.” Nigel said. "There were mammoths surviving there at the same time that the pyramids were being built. But there’s two problems with that. One: we're looking for giant mammoths. The ones in Wrangel Island were dwarfs compared to their mainland counterparts, and second: DNA analysis has shown that the population suffered severe defects due to generations of inbreeding. In short, the mammoths of Wrangel Island were already doomed from the start."

Fluttershy heaved a sigh before exchanging a worried glance to Nigel. “I just hope we're able to find a mammoth before... you know."

The changing habitat isn’t the only reason the duo is struggling to find a mammoth. They know there's another factor that has driven them to the brink of extinction. 

Mammoths were hunted by Ice Age men.

As the unofficial leader, it was Nigel who proposed a possible solution, spying an unexplored section of land. "I think our only chance is a break over there at the base of the mountains. There may be some grassland and maybe we can find them there."

Without a moment to lose, the two started their vehicles. They now had a direction to follow.

And then a clue that a mammoth may not be too far away.

Destination in mind, the pair descended down the hill when the animal enthusiast noticed a peculiar object half buried in the snow.

"Hey, Nigel! Check this out!" Fluttershy shouted, gaining the attention of Nigel who froze in his tracks. He came to investigate.

"What is it?" Nigel inquired.

"I just saw it gleaming in the snow, right out of the corner of my eye." Fluttershy responded, presenting the finding in her hands. "Looks like it's been carved from a mammoth tusk."

The teenager handed him the ivory piece. The Englishman then blew into the hole, producing a sharp, musical whistle.

Nigel chuckled. "Some kind of instrument."

"If this hasn't been here too long, the hunters could still be around." Fluttershy deduced.

"And if they're around, the mammoths could be too." added Nigel, following his trail of thought.

"Then we gotta hurry!" cried Fluttershy, racing back to her snowmobile. Nigel did the same.

But as they do, they’re about to encounter something from a bygone era.

Two fast moving shapes sped through the ice and snow of the taiga forest, strange and foreign sights to many a deer or hare passing by. As they continued to ride on the forest, they then noticed something. A herd of herbivores, digging through the snow, looking for what little food there was. The great majority could be easily recognized and, while some had become rare, they needed no second chances at Prehistoric Park.

In that spot, there was a red deer stag with a small harem of females, some muskoxen and some reindeer.

But one animal seemed to have gained their attention. It looked like an oversized version of a Spanish Fighting Bull.

It looked at the two, who were still at a decent distance, and while the other animals were somewhat nervous, the bull didn’t seem to care. 

This beast doesn’t know how special he is for the duo at this moment.

“We weren’t expecting to see this guy all the way up here. That’s a male Aurochs, the ancestor to all cattle today. Herds of these animals could still be found in the forests of Poland of the 500’s.” Nigel informed.

“Yeah, imagine this big guy chasing you in the streets of Pamplona!” Fluttershy said. “We’re looking for mammoths, but this is still an amazing animal.”

Unlike many other animals, it was said that the Aurochs didn’t fear humans. Rather, it attacked once someone got too close. A well-motivated fighting bull can destroy a car and launch a man several feet in the air. An Aurochs, a way bigger animal, could do even more than that.

After having set up the time portal, Fluttershy picked up a spare jacket she borrowed from Rarity out of her backpack and started waving it in front of the bull. The Aurochs seemed ticked off from the display.

“What most people got wrong about bulls is that old myth being that they hate the color red.” Fluttershy explained. “In reality, they’re partially colorblind. They lack the red retina receptor and can only see yellow, green, blue, and purple. It’s actually the movement that ticks them off. And I think it’s working.”

As Fluttershy continued waving the jacket at the animal, it began to show its growing fury. It lowered its head, showing its powerful horns as it snorted and pawed the ground several times.

It seems Fluttershy has caught this Ice Age bull's attention.

Then, without warning, the bull charged at Fluttershy at an alarming speed, catching her by surprise. Fortunately, the portal was right behind right. As she immediately dived out of the way, the bull, unable to change its trajectory, charged right through, into the 21st century.

Fluttershy turned to Nigel and smirked. “Olé.”

Suddenly, the deathly silence of the forest was broken by distant trumpeting calls.

"Shh. Shh!" Nigel quickly ushered everyone to silence. "I think I hear something."

The sound broke out again, allowing them to pinpoint exactly where it came from. "Over there, I think."

The duo wasted no time in boarding their snowmobiles to follow the harrowing calls to their source.

But the two are in for a shock.

The search led the pair to the edge of a shallow creek where there was a wide clearing almost completely devoid of trees on the other side. But that was not all. Standing on the opposite bank were two gigantic creatures that greatly resemble a modern-day elephant, save for the massive ivory tusks and a characteristic coat of course, shaggy hair, reddish brown in color. There was absolutely no mistaking the identity of these animals, forever immortalized within the memory of mankind.

"Mammoths!" cried Fluttershy as she pulled out her binoculars. "And there might be more than one!"

Nigel did, likewise, getting a closer look.

"There's three," he confirmed. "There's one down. It looks like there's a mammoth trap. The third one's not moving at all."

Fluttershy gasped in horror at the news.

"We'll try to get in closer, but there's something not right." Slowly as not to scare the mammoths, the twosome drove their vehicles as close as possible, stopping just short of the riverbank.

It looks like lce Age hunters have beaten them to it.

It was too late for one of the mammoths.

"I thought as much. This is a killing field." said Nigel grimly as he gestured at the prostrate form of the fallen mammoth. "The hunters, they've dug a pit, covered it with snow. The mammoth's fallen in, they've speared her to death."

"The other two are staying by their dead herd mate." murmured Fluttershy, despairingly, sadness welling up in her pink eyes. The mammoths refused to abandon their fallen comrade as they stood by, distressed and powerless.

"These could be one of the last mammoths remaining on mainland Siberia." 

She then froze. "Listen."

They could both hear two low, guttural rumbling sounds, not unlike the roar of a motor.

"Oh, that is heart-rending! They’re making this grumbling sound with their stomachs." Nigel informed whatever heartbroken audiences were watching the tragic scene. Blind and deaf to the rest of the world, the lone surviving mammoths continued their crooning rumbling call.

"They’re trying to communicate with their dead herd mate." whispered Fluttershy in sad realization.

"It's a stomach rumble which they do." the Englishman stated.

"Of course, they’re not gonna get a response." murmured Fluttershy sadly.

As though seeing the futility of her efforts, one of the beasts turned away, head hanging so low that her tusks nearly touched the ground. "And that one looks sick." Nigel observed. "Head held low, ears close against her head."

Nigel and Fluttershy crossed the frigid creek, slowly and cautiously making their way towards the mammoth who was now struggling to stand. It was then that the distraught creature saw the two humans, the same creatures that had so mercilessly slain her herd mate. She tried in vain to stand on the defensive, but the fire was gone from her eyes.

"You're okay, sweetheart." said Nigel reassuringly. "Keep calm."

Her strength was beginning to fail her. The beast gave a low, pitiful bellow as she finally succumbed to gravity, falling to her knees. Starvation and her lonely and fruitless vigil were taking their toll.

"Easy, girl." said Fluttershy in a soft and gentle tone. "We're not gonna hurt you."

They were now just feet away from the fallen giant. "We've got two females here- dainty, straight tusks." said the English naturalist, taking a closer look. "All male mammoths have much bigger tusks, corkscrew curves...at the end."

"She must've stayed behind to defend her herd mates," Fluttershy deduced sadly. "And they hurt her as well." 

"Hello, girl." Nigel said gently to the defenseless creature. The other mammoth soon noticed the two humans, let out a loud, trumpeting bellow, and charged right at them.

Barely getting out of the way in time, Nigel and Fluttershy stood, rigid, as the mammoth stamped her foot, bellowed and walked back to her injured herd mate.

"She's so weak, she can hardly lift her trunk." the pink-haired girl observed pitifully. “And the other mammoth might be her sister, that’s why she’s being so defensive.”

"And it's likely that the one that's been killed could be their mother." the English zoologist theorized sadly, looking at the prone figure of the dead mammoth, laying in a frozen pool of reddened snow and broken branches, her shaggy hide pelted with long spears.

Nigel and Fluttershy approached the body for closer analysis. The sight left them completely devastated.

"Mammoth populations got smaller because of climate change, but it was this that drove them to extinction - over-hunting by early peoples." said a distraught Nigel, turning to the camera crew.

"And not just mammoths, but many of the large mammals around the world are dying out at this time. Many of them, at the hands of humans." said Fluttershy bitterly, placing a hand on one of the fallen giant's tusks. She then looked to the living with newfound determination; she wouldn’t let them take two more if she could help it.

The Englishman was the one to drive the point home. "The most horrifying thing is they didn't know any better, but we're still doing this sort of thing to rare animals in the 21st century."

As they turned their attention towards the surviving mammoths, Fluttershy’s eyes spotted something half buried in the snow next to the injured pachyderm. She picked up her finding, which looked to be a straightened, polished stick made from unusually black wood, before backing off, not wanting to provoke another charge from the other sister. "Check this out."

"Maybe this is why she looks poorly." Nigel replied. It was all coming together.

"Looks like a broken spear." said Fluttershy.

"She and her sister were probably defending their mum in the pit, and she was attacked as well." the English naturalist theorized. He gestured to the mammoth's left shoulder. "There's a wound in the shoulder, and it looks like it's starting to swell. We've got to do something quickly or it could flare up to a serious infection."

It was Fluttershy who asked the question that was on both of their minds: "What are we gonna do?"

Nigel and Fluttershy are faced with a dilemma. Right now, one of the mammoths is too weak to walk through the time portal. But if they leave, the hunters could come back to finish her and her sister off. Somehow, they need to get her back on her feet.

The English naturalist pulled out a radio from his coat pocket.

They call in their team who are scouting nearby.

"We've got a mammoth down." he announced urgently over his radio. "A very sick mammoth who needs rescuing, so if you can get here as soon as you can please."

"Don't worry, girl." Fluttershy assured the ailing beast, wanting to stroke her good shoulder. "Help is on the way." The stricken mammoth only lowed miserably in response as her sister watched on.

*Back in the 21st century...

Back at the Park, Head Keeper Bob's busy with problems of his own. He's having trouble looking after some of the dinosaurs Nigel and Fluttershy had already brought back. He had decided to treat Struthiomimus like ostriches and put them in a paddock, but they aren't doing well here. They just won't eat the grass.

"I thought, 'well they look like an ostrich, they've got a mainly vegetarian diet', so I put them in an ostrich enclosure." the head keeper told the cameraman. "Now that was an easy mistake to make because although an Sturthiomimus might look like, and in many ways act like an ostrich's prehistoric cousin, they don't like ostrich feed."

But Bob’s noticed that these dinosaurs have more in common with Roadrunner than an Emu.

"The answer lies in their teeth or rather lack of them. A Struthiomimus hasn't got any teeth. It’s once thought that they fed like ducks and geese, looking for food in the water, but nowadays it’s believed that they were the Roadrunners of the Cretaceous, feeding on insects, lizards, leaves and small mammals. And I think I just have the perfect treat for them.

As he entered the Struthiomimus paddock, he came with a large wheelbarrow. Inside, it was filled to the brim with mealworms, crickets and some lettuce, which quickly got the dinosaurs’ attention. They lunged forward and started a feeding frenzy.

In less of a minute, the wheelbarrow’s completely empty.

Bob simply laughs. “Well, I’d say that worked well! The paddock seems fine for them, it was their diet that caused some problems. The important thing is keeping their diet variegated. I’ll have to work on a feeding schedule for them, deciding when they get to eat something rather than something else.”

Back in Ice Age Siberia...

Back in the Ice Age, it's not long before the team arrives with some antibiotics. It's the only way to fight the infection that is rapidly taking over the mammoth's body.

"We're here!" cried Twilight as she disembarked her personal snowmobile. Normally the bookworm utterly despised the bitter cold, but the chance to meet her favorite extinct animal was a once in a lifetime opportunity too good to pass up. She jumped at the opportunity to travel to the Pleistocene.

To Fluttershy and Nigel, her timing couldn't have been more perfect. "Twilight! Thank goodness you're here!" cried the animal enthusiast.

"Where's the mammoth?" she asked. Fluttershy frowned sadly as she gestured towards the gargantuan figure laying in the snow. Twilight gasped, immediately smitten by the magnificent appearance of the renowned Ice Age icon. Her fascination quickly turned into horror upon seeing the poor creature's miserable state. Fluttershy was quick to fill her in. The wounded mammoth was startled to see more humans arriving on the scene and tried desperately to move away, but her infirmity prevented her from either fleeing or fighting back.

"It's a really desperate situation. We're gonna lose her if we don't do anything." Nigel told the cameraman gravely. "One in four elephants, once they go down, they never get up again."

"We just gotta hope she's back on her feet by morning, and we can get her back to Prehistoric Park and look after her properly," said Fluttershy.

"Don't worry, sweetie. This will only hurt a bit." Nigel and Fluttershy looked on sadly as Twilight fired an anesthetic dart into the behemoth's shaggy hide. The mammoth seemed to calm, becoming drowsy as the drugs began to take effect, her breaths becoming gentle gusts as she slowly drifted into unconsciousness. Her suffering, for the time being, was eased. The burning pain on her shoulder was soon forgotten, becoming as chilled as the surrounding winter cold.

The inventor kneeled before the sleeping giant, gently stroking the base of her trunk.

*Several hours later...**

That evening, the team had set up camp in the clearing. They were close enough to monitor the mammoth's health and progress, yet far enough as not to make her or her sister uneasy.

"Nigel! Fluttershy!"

It's evening, and the hunters are back to claim their prize.

Tensions were high as one of the crew members spotted three figures standing over the rise, looking intently in their general direction. It became frighteningly clear that they were not alone.

Nigel quickly went to check on the mammoth, he found that Twilight was already there. In fact, she hardly ever left the beast's side, monitoring her health every now and again. "What's going on?" she asked, noticing the commotion around camp.

"Everyone's a little bit nervous." Nigel replied. Fluttershy soon joined them.

"We think the hunters are coming in closer." added Fluttershy seriously.

Twilight gasped. "Oh no! We can't let them get to her!"

"Don't worry." the English naturalist reassured. "We were gonna take it in shifts to watch her through the night,"

"I’ll take the first watch." stated Fluttershy. She then walked off to watch the perimeter.

The inventor smiled gratefully. That quickly faded as the infirm pachyderm gave a pitiful moan. "Poor thing. She's so sick, you just feel she needs some companionship."

The sleeping mammoth was blissfully unaware of the rising stakes, still under the influence of the painkillers and antibiotics. Nigel reached out to stroke the prostate trunk, the fingers barely twitching in response.

The other mammoth had been quietly observing him and his companions this whole time – unsure of what to make of this strange behavior. 

Fluttershy turned to her and said, "You see? We mean no harm." There was a brief moment of quiet as the two regarded each other…

As night falls, the prospect of easy meat attracts some more unwanted visitors.

As darkness fell over the taiga, the primordial night was filled with the eerie howls and cackling of the Ice Age predators, drawn by the smell of blood, prowling in the shadows. Needless to say, the haunting nocturnal orchestra was enough to put everyone on edge. Three beams of light moved across the edge of the black forest, scanning for any potential threats.

"There's cave hyenas prowling," Fluttershy told the camera crew, wearing a headlamp, while Nigel was using his flashlight to scan the blackness. They presently fell upon the glowing eyes of a spotted figure skulking in the shadows. "You can tell by their yellow eyeshine."

The whooping of the hyenas was joined by a series of spine chilling howls, the voices of gregarious and tenacious predators that will persist long after the era of the mammoth would end.

"There's wolves farther away," said Nigel. "If they come closer, their eyes will shine green."

Adding to the uncanny, monotonous choruses of the wolves were low, haunting baritone roars. The duo quickly recognized those ominous sounds; they would be heard in a much later age, rumbling like thunder over savannas far to the south of the ice.

"Hear that?" asked Fluttershy. "Sounds like lions."

Twilight was puzzled. "Lions? In Siberia?"

Fluttershy nodded. "During the Ice Age, lions were very widespread. They inhabited every continent except Australia and Antarctica."

"Cave lions." added Nigel. "They're much bigger than modern day lions." As scary and otherworldly as the calls of the mighty Pleistocene carnivora were, they were unsurprisingly the least of their worries. "And the worst predator of all, the human hunters know that the kill is there."

And humans have no eye shine at all, so they're the hardest to spot. It’s going to be a long night.

Suddenly, several gray figures erupted out of the shadows, barking and snarling. Eyes glowing, jaws salivating, the pack of wolves charged straight towards the defenseless mammoth! Alerted by the scent and noise of the wolves, the fallen beast bellowed in alarm, swinging her massive tusks from side to side to ward off her attackers.

Nigel and Fluttershy were quick to rush to the mammoth's defense. "No! No! Get away, get away! Leave her!" Nigel shouted, waving his arms and his flashlight at the predators. "Leave her!"

But the scent of blood seemed to make them bolder as they growled and snapped their teeth. Soon the team found themselves completely surrounded!

"They're getting in!" cried Fluttershy.

"Oh my lord," muttered the boom operator, holding out his boom mic defensively in front of him as a wolf locked its jaws on the 'dead wombat', shaking it like a rag doll.

Armed with only a flip flop, Twilight wung it from side to side in an attempt to scare away the voracious canines. To one wolf that came too close for comfort, she gave it a sound smack on the nose, causing it to whimper away. 

Fluttershy was laying down on her back, trying desperately to hold back the snapping jaws from her neck. But the canine was shortly driven off by a shouting Nigel, who waved his flashlight while another one made off with the microphone covers.

"Get back here with the mic you crazy mutt!"

"There's too many of them!" shouted the English naturalist.

Suddenly, a loud bellow echoed through the night, followed by a loud thwack, as a wolf was flung from out of nowhere over Nigel’s head. Stunned with surprise and confusion, Nigel turned to see the large female mammoth standing beside him.

Now the tables have turned; the very earth seemed to tremble as the mammoth stampeded in the midst of the clearing, scattering the wolves in all directions, stomping with her heavy feet and swinging her fearsome tusked head side to side. 

The alpha wolf reconsidered his options and ran away, whimpering with his tail tucked between his legs. Soon the rest of the pack followed his example and retreated back into the dense forest.

"That's it. They've had enough." said Fluttershy, watching the fleeing wolves.

Nigel heaved a sigh. "They're backing off!"

Once they were certain the wolves were gone, the three quickly went to check on the ailing mammoth. To their relief, she appeared to be alright.

The duo have managed to ward off the wolves, but they know their job is far from done. The mammoth is only safe if they can keep the rest of the predators at bay.

"That was way too close!" panted Nigel, walking towards the slain mammoth carcass in the pit where he began to gather bundles of twigs and branches. Once he had assembled a fair sized pile, the English naturalist set them alight. "I think we ought to build a ring of fire around the mammoths. That should keep the wolves from coming back–"

"Behind you, Nigel!" Fluttershy cried out and the standing mammoth trumpeted a warning, the latter’s senses detecting an unseen threat lurking in the shadows. Nigel whirled around just in time to come face to face with the golden eyes and glistening fangs of a massive cat!

"Agh! Cave lion!" he shouted, waving his flaming torch before the huge tawny feline which stood over two feet at the shoulder, meaning it was a young juvenile. The gigantic lion swiped at the torch, growling his displeasure as his tail was flicking in agitation, canine teeth shining like daggers in the firelight. The zoologist jumped back to avoid the paw swipe, but in doing so, he had unwittingly dropped his only defense sizzling in the snow.

Directly in front of him, the massive feline snarled, its eyes narrowing further as it glanced ferociously at him, yet also perhaps seemingly in...

...pain?

Then Fluttershy noticed a rather important detail, and her eyes widened. "Nigel," she whispered, "Look at his left side." 

Nigel did so, and his eyes widened as he saw a vicious looking gash. "Poor thing. From the looks of it, it was probably an aurochs, maybe the same one we rescued." 

He then looked at Fluttershy and Twilight. "He'll definitely need medical attention once he gets back to the park. Twilight, you stay there for now while Fluttershy, see if you can calm him down." 

Twilight raised her eyebrow, half irked that Nigel was giving her orders and half nervous about how Fluttershy was going to walk up to a big cat – even an injured one. But eventually, she nodded her head to indicate that she understood and that Fluttershy was free to get to work.

With a deep breath, Fluttershy cautiously started moving towards the lion, her right hand slowly extending out towards the beast as she made her way over. "Easy now," she said, her voice as soft and soothing as she could manage. "I'm not going to hurt you." The lion snarled, his yellow eyes remaining narrowed and his head briefly leaning forward as if to try to startle Fluttershy into backing away, but then slightly winced as if the movement had aggravated his wound. "Now, now, it's alright, it's alright," Fluttershy said, just barely managing to avoid losing her soft and soothing tone. "Like I said," she continued while also slowly making her way towards the lion. "I'm not going to hurt you."

For what felt like an eternity, Fluttershy continued slowly making her way towards the lion, speaking calmly and soothingly the entire time to ensure that the lion was hopefully calmed down as well and would have little reason to feel the need to attack. The lion snarled a couple more times, but finally calmed down enough to let Fluttershy place her hand gently upon its brow. As Fluttershy stood absolutely still with her right hand firmly upon the lion's furry forehead, the lion panted heavily in a mixture of caution, curiosity, and exhaustion. "There, there," Fluttershy said soothingly, her voice miraculously hiding her nervousness, "Everything's ok. You'll be safe now. I promise. Just relax and stay calm. You'll be taken very good care of real soon. I can assure you of that." The lion snarled one more time, his yellow eyes narrowed once more, before he relaxed.

Nigel nodded his head. "Good job there," he whispered. "Didn't think you could do it."

A few minutes later, Sunset had once again come to Ice Age Siberia. 

"Suzanne would’ve joined me, but she was busy with the cave bear you rescued.” Sunset said, a reassuring smile on her face as she pointed towards the lion. "We'll take good care of him."

"I certainly hope so," Fluttershy said, a warm smile of relief on her face directed towards Sunset before she nodded her head and regained focus on the current task at hand. "I'll see if I can help get him in."

In the end, it took almost a few minutes to get the lion in, but, eventually, they succeeded; at which point he collapsed exhaustedly onto the truck floor and passed out from the burning pain in his side, growling weakly from pain and exhaustion.

Sunset looked back to the trio and flashed them a thumbs up. 

"We'll take good care of that lion," said Sunset as she departed back through the portal. "Make sure you guys come back safe and sound."

"Will do," said Nigel, a confident smile on his face as he flashed a thumbs up to Sunset.

Once Sunset had departed through the portal with the rescued lion, Nigel closed the portal.

The standing mammoth and her injured companion, meanwhile, observed this whole scene and were rather confused and a little curious as to what they saw; How did those humans manage to make the lion and another member of their tribe seemingly vanish in a burst of light?

Soon, the trio were not taking any further chances; taking a single flaming branch from the newly made campfire, they set up numerous torches in the snow, effectively creating a ring of fire around the fallen beast. But while the fire kept the wolves and other lions at bay, it would do little to dissuade other, more daunting predators. Twilight was busy making her rounds around the perimeter when a rustling from the trees got her attention.

"Guys, we have company!"

As Twilight went to get her flashlight, the other two ran over to investigate the sudden commotion. They did not like what they saw.

"The hunters," said Nigel. "They've been skirting at the edge of the forest. I knew they'd return for the kill."

The hunters were covered in animal fur as clothes, and their faces resembled a combination of Ainu and Tlingit people. They readied their weapons, glowering at these strangers standing deep within their territory, staking claim to the quarry that was rightfully theirs; they were not about to give up their hard-won prize without a fight.

Fluttershy, Nigel and the mammoth quickly positioned themselves in front of her fallen sister, getting between the hunters and their intended prey.

Soon, Twilight arrives with her flashlight, but as she ran towards her friends, she stumbled and dropped the light, causing it to shine at the group of hunters.

The Proto-Siberians screamed in terror at the “foul magic” of Twilight, scrambling and running away.

“Looks like these people obviously never saw a flashlight, it must’ve been magic to them.” Fluttershy said in relief.

Perhaps it was just the sight of Twilight and her “devilish instrument”, but fortunately they don't come any closer.

For a brief moment, the forest was silent. A long pause, before a faint rumbling sound was heard, and the trio turned their attention back to their charge, who was slowly beginning to stir. Like all beasts, the mammoth had a deathly fear of fire, but she was powerless to take flight. Her sister was the same, but she didn’t want to leave her sibling behind, so she stayed with her to comfort her in her time of need.

"You're all right, girl." Nigel reassured the great beast, softly stroking her trunk. "You're all right."

Twilight did the same, leaning into the mammoth's right side, listening to her slow breaths and slow, steady heartbeat.

The mammoth groggily opened her eyes, seeing one of the benevolent humans that had protected her from the many teeth prowling in the dark. She rumbled lowly, accepting their affections, as well as her sister. For the first time since before their mother died, they felt safe. They were no longer alone.

*****

Morning light revealed the riverside clearing devoid of tents as the crew prepared for departure.

It was time to go.

While Fluttershy was busy kicking snow into the fire to extinguish the flames, Nigel and Twilight went to check on the mammoths who were beginning to stir from their slumber.

Dawn.

She's still alive, but will she be strong enough to get back on her feet?

"You can tell a dog's healthy by a wet nose." said the zoologist, softly touching the tip of her trunk.

To the reviving mammoth, the bookworm cooed, "You look like you've got a wet trunk, sweetie." The signs started to look good. Slowly, the hairy pachyderm raised her sinuous trunk, bringing the fingertips to gently touch Twilight’s nose, who giggled on contact.

The Englishman chuckled. "I think she likes you."

"I’m back!" came a voice from behind. The pair looked to see none other than Fluttershy.

"How's she doing?" Fluttershy inquired.

"I think we're about to find out." Twilight replied.

In that moment, the mammoth found the strength to slowly rise to her feet, as her sister did the same, though a little stronger and quicker than her sister. Nigel and company were quick to back away. "Okay keep calm." he warned his peers, wisely giving the rising mammoths a wide berth. He knew that if mammoths were anything like their modern elephant cousins, they could be extremely unpredictable. "The ears are coming forward."

"Back off, back off." cautioned Fluttershy, motioning the film crew back. "Even though she's woozy, she can still charge. Stay calm."

At her full height, she and her sister stood more than 10 feet tall, towering over them. Amazingly, the mammoths were completely at ease around the humans that had been kind to them. "They’re not showing any aggression at all towards us." said Nigel, completely transfixed by the beasts’ gentleness. Instead, they slowly lumbered back to the fallen mammoth in the pit.

"They’re going back with their dead mother," said Fluttershy with a sad smile.

The living stood before the deceased as if to pay their respects. With a swat of her trunk, the eldest dislodged a spear embedded in her mother’s neck, sending the foul instrument of death flying. That job done, she and her younger sister then gently touched the shaggy body with their trunks, before draping it over one of her cold tusks, crooning and rumbling mournfully, almost as if they had accepted their parent’s death.

"Like modern elephants, these are intelligent and emotional animals." Twilight told the film crew. "Elephants really think about their dead. The same can be said for mammoths.”

"It's so exciting she's up, but we've got to get her and her sister away from their mum to get them back to the park, and that's going to be difficult." said Nigel, addressing the hairy elephant in the room.

The big question is will the mammoths leave their lce Age world and follow Nigel and Fluttershy back to the 21st century? There's only one way to find out.

Time was of the essence as the English naturalist quickly set up the time portal. The moment they bid their comrade their final farewell, the surviving mammoths turned their attention to their unlikely rescuers, rumbling and trumpeting before making their way towards Nigel, Fluttershy and Twilight.

"Walk on. That's it." said Nigel gently, coaxing the Ice Age denizens to follow. "Walk further." They knew what they had to do and that it had to be done fast. There was no telling how long the younger sister’s strength would hold out. As if they understood, the mammoths slowly lumbered closer, with Fluttershy walking just a few steps ahead. 

"Come on. That's it. Come on."

At the touch of a button, the transparent wall of time appeared out of thin air behind Nigel, Twilight, and Fluttershy. One by one, they gave gentle words of encouragement before fading away into the fabric of time and space.

"Right this way."

"Come on, you can do it, sweetie."

"Come on. Follow us." said Fluttershy, the last one standing, beckoning them to come before disappearing within the portal.

The mammoths followed them without trepidation.

Thousands of years flashed by in seconds, until the party found themselves within the familiar walls of the stockade.

They’ve made it back to Prehistoric Park, but one’s in urgent need of help.

"Suzanne, we've got two mammoths. One’s injured! Get here fast!"

No time was wasted as the injured mammoth and her sister were led to the observation pen to await medical attention.

Prehistoric Park's head vet Suzanne hasn't looked after a mammoth before, but she's hoping that what she knows about elephants will help.

"We've just given her a light sedative, so she'll lie here and let me do this." she explained to the film crew. The mammoth laid motionless on her right side, breathing steadily as her sister looked on.

"She's got a really deep, horrible, infected wound, and she's got something stuck in it." informed Twilight.

Suzanne never took her eyes off her work as she replied, "I'm seeing if I can get it out. It's– a lot tougher than it looks."

An important difference between mammoths and elephants is the layer of fat beneath the skin. In mammoths, it’s an incredible three inches. 

"She’s got this really thick layer of fat. I guess it's because she's an Ice Age creature, just to keep her warm, but it's making it really hard to get out." The sedated mammoth moaned in slight pain. It took a great deal of effort and care before she was able to remove the source of the pachyderm's injury, an obsidian blade with a coating of red. "It's like a spearhead or something." She handed the Paleolithic weapon to her assistant, a young woman with blond hair. The more experienced vet quickly got to work cleaning the wound with a swab of cotton.

"We'll treat it like an elephant wound, just leave it open, not stitch it." she explained. "Elephants, best not to stitch them, they just heal up. It takes a long time, but she'll form a scar there. Okay... I'll need to give her another shot of antibiotics in a couple of days."

*In the Control Room...**

"The camera's working." Nigel, Applejack, and Fluttershy watched everything unfold from the control room. They watched with joy as the mammoth regained consciousness, slowly rising back on her feet as her sister headed over to reunite with her.

With the spear tip removed and the mammoth back on her feet, it looks like she and her sister are on the road to recovery. Nigel and company hope that now they’ll be ready to start their new life at the park. Later that day, they’ve moved to their new enclosure.

Sometime later, the entire team was gathered at a grassy area in the more upland regions of the park where the mammoths’ designated paddock was to be. The enclosure's terrain was dry, made up mostly of Serengeti-like open grassland with a few trees and shrubs dotting the landscape. Mammoth Mount, the sign said.

Within the confines of the small wooden barriers, the park's latest residents took the time to explore their new home while just on the opposite end of the enclosure, the humans gawked at the magnificence of the Ice Age denizens.

"What should we name them?" Suzanne asked. Opinions were divided. While everyone else talked and debated among themselves, Twilight peered closely at the hairy creatures that had captured her heart. For such an imposing figure, the mammoths’ small brown eyes spoke of gentle souls. "They look like a ‘Martha’ and ‘Mary’ to me." she decided.

Nigel smiled. "Martha and Mary, it is."

The team decides to call them Martha and Mary.

It's feeding time at Prehistoric Park. The T-rex siblings are putting on weight. And the Struthiomimus love their brand-new feeding schedule. Everyone is enjoying their food. Everyone that is, except for the Aurochs and the mammoth sisters. 

If there was one thing both animals had in common, was the fact that they looked unhappy. The Aurochs bull barely ate any grass and was becoming somewhat malnourished.

But the situation wasn’t nearly as bad as Martha and Mary.

There's a big problem - Martha and Mary haven't eaten since they got here.

"Keep piling it in." Instead of stuffing her maw with endless bales of hay as expected, the mammoths simply stood idly in the corner of their enclosure, showing no interest whatsoever in the food.

Vet Suzanne and bookworm Twilight are very concerned. 

A green park jeep had dropped off Suzanne and Twilight at Mammoth Mount to evaluate the situation.

"How are they?" the inventor inquired.

"They’re just not eating anything at all. We're trying new hay every day." said a veterinary intern, a blond-haired young woman named Sarah.

"And they’re not interested." The head vet noted. To the intern, she asked, "Can you get Bob to get fresh grass? We'll try that."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, I'll go and see him."

"Okay, thanks."

Turning to Twilight, Suzanne explained, "I'm not sure what the problem is at all. We thought this would be a suitable enclosure for them."

Leaning on the fence, the inventor studied Martha and Mary intently. They seemed very withdrawn and uninterested in the activity going on around them. "The elephants like it up here, but they don't seem very happy. Are they sick?"

The vet shook her head. "Their clinical exam's normal, their blood tests have been fine, their temperature's normal, Martha’s wound is fine; it's not infected. I just don't know what the problem is. And if Martha doesn't start eating soon, she's not gonna be okay."

Twilight could only look on with concern, the gravity of Suzanne's words sinking in.

Martha needs to eat well to regain her strength. If she doesn't, the infection might take hold again and that could kill her.

*In the Veterinary Clinic...**

Back at the clinic, Suzanne does some more research. 

The veterinarian was seated at her study, surrounded by all the latest articles and research papers regarding mammoths, their biology, their feeding patterns, whatever she could get her hands on. Martha's life was on the line, and any piece of information could prove vital.

"This is a fossilised mammoth's tooth," she explained to the film crew while holding up an ancient molar the size of a brick, "and this is a real elephant's tooth." Next to the fossil was the molar of a modern African elephant. "And you can see they've got really similar grinding and wear patterns. So, I don't think it's her teeth that are the problem."

"And it says here, according to paleontological research, that the woolly mammoths were predominantly grazers." said Sunset from her place by the computer.

"You think it still might be the grass?" the vet asked.

Sunset shrugged. "Or it might be that mammoths have a different digestive system to elephants. I'm just not sure. On an unrelated note, the cave bear and cave lion are doing just fine, but the big guy needs to make up all those calories he lost from hibernation.”

Back on Mammoth Mount, Martha and Mary stood in the middle of their paddock, unmoving and unwilling to take in much needed nourishment. Just outside the paddock, Twilight and Fluttershy could only look on sadly.

Martha's getting weaker, and something needs to be done.

The next morning...

There was an air of great urgency as Nigel and Fluttershy stormed out of the office. "Martha's seriously sick. We've got to move quickly." said Nigel hurriedly to the camera crew as he and Fluttershy made their way through the bungalow.

"Our plan is to go back 150,000 years." informed Fluttershy, as determined as ever. "At that time, mammoth populations were flourishing. There will be lots of healthy animals. We can collect data, find out what they're feeding on, what makes them healthy, even learn more about mammoth behavior in the wild."

"And maybe we can save Martha." Nigel added hopefully.

150,000 years ago, the world was in the full grip of the lce Age. Woolly mammoths were everywhere from the west of Europe to the east of Asia.

They were traveling back in time, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

*To be continued...
> 4. A Mammoth Undertaking {Part 2}
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Siberia, 150,000 years ago...

Compared to their last trip, it's even colder and, because it's dry, lots of different kinds of grass grow here. Nigel and Fluttershy should have no problem finding out what mammoths like to eat.

Fluttershy was ecstatic. "This is the Mammoth Steppe, the dominant terrestrial biome of the Northern Hemisphere during the late Pleistocene, spanning east to west from Spain to Canada."

The world that the pair had arrived in was a far cry from the taiga forests of 10,000 years ago; a dry plain nestled within the mountains and glaciers, stretching as far as the eye can see, not a tree to be seen. And the most crucial difference between the two different time periods was the fact that the steppes were alive with herds of woolly mammoths which gave these parts their name. From their vantage point over a snowy slope, they could see the silhouettes of at least twenty animals traveling in the same direction, and their calls and trumpets carried across the valley.

"It's a really different feeling to the last trip," said Nigel. "No trees, perfect climate, perfect vegetation for mammoths. And they're flourishing."

"They're all females." Fluttershy observed through her binoculars. "They have much smaller tusks than the males."

The Englishman nodded as they continued to observe the migrating herd. "They're following the lead of one animal, and she's the matriarch. She could be 50 or 60 years of age. She maintains cohesiveness in the herd. They stop when she stops, they sleep when she sleeps, and they feed and drink when she does."

The pink-haired girl directed her lenses to where the mammoths were going. "There's a big patch of green down there. That might be an area of vegetation. And it looks like they're headed there to start feeding."

"Then that's where we should go to get those plant samples." Nigel concluded.

The pair set off on their snowmobiles, gliding across the ice and snow of the Mammoth Steppe as they approached the mammoth herd which looked for all the world like walking haystacks. They came to a slow and steady halt just several yards away from the herd. The mammoths continued ambling along their traditional migratory route, paying the humans little heed, with the exception of the matriarch who kept a wary eye on them. Fortunately, the duo knew better than to get too close.

Before too long however, the matriarch's concerns would soon lay elsewhere as a great trumpeting commotion began to excite the herd.

“What's going on?" asked a confused Fluttershy.

"There's a commotion in the herd. The matriarch is leading them away. I don't know why. I can't see a... predator." The Englishman's binoculars eventually fell upon the source of the disturbance. He then pointed along the outskirts of the herd; there, disturbing the peace, was a hulking figure with an impressive set of ivory tusks, each one nearly sixteen feet long.

There were also some differences between it and the other mammoths. It had a short head compared with the mammoths as well as a smaller jaw. It had grey skin and less fur than the mammoths. 

"There. It's a big bull mammoth, a male mammoth, and he's in musth, which means he's ready to mate."

Fluttershy frowned. "When they're in this state, they've got four times the amount of testosterone they normally have. They're looking for a female to mate with, and they can be really bad tempered and aggressive. Any little thing can set them off."

The steppes were filled with the blaring trumpets of the hormonally aroused bull mammoth. "He's driving the herd away," said Fluttershy as the mammoth cows moved away from the cantankerous bull.

"He's investigating all the females, seeing if there's one that's ready to mate." added Nigel.

"But it doesn't look like any of them are interested." Fluttershy remarked. The bull seemed to take the hint and began to lumber off elsewhere while the two continued to follow the main herd to their pasturing grounds, away from the irate colossus.

“You know, what’s really surprising is that neither of us were expecting that bull to be here, he’s not even a woolly mammoth at all.” Fluttershy told the cameraman. “He's actually an ancestor of them called a steppe mammoth. Some fossils in Germany shows us that this animal could reach nearly 15 feet high at the shoulder, making it one of the largest land mammals on Earth.”

The mammoths and the duo eventually arrived on a grassy meadow where the hairy behemoths began to disperse and graze to their heart's content. While they started their task, the two time travelers took the time to take in the scenery. Needless to say, they were mesmerized by the spectacle which was one day destined to disappear forever with the glaciers.

"Wow!"

"It's such an enchanting sight." Nigel observed. "It's like an extended family– mothers and calves, there's aunties, there's sisters,"

And they all seem to be thriving on their grassland diet.

"Now that's a grass eater alright." Fluttershy noted as she observed a grown cow grazing. "Using her trunk like a hand to pull up huge mouthfuls of the stuff."

"And look at how rich it is! It's so diverse; grasses and flowers and mosses, all sorts of things." With a handsaw, Nigel began to cut away sizable samples of these prehistoric plants. "And they need a lot of vegetation. Sometimes they have to have 200 kilograms,"

"440 pounds." Fluttershy chimed in. "That's as much as two Nigels put together." she snarked.

"Hey!" Nigel cried out, feigning offense while Fluttershy chuckled at his expense.

"I'll have you know I'm a vegetarian!" the Englishman remarked in mock severity. Back to the camera crew, he said, "Anyway. Mammoths forage on things like this over here, they may get vitamins and things from twigs like that. The plan is to get a big enough sample to take it back for an analysis at Prehistoric Park and get Martha and Mary feeding again."

"Besides, Twilight also requested that we bring back plant samples from each time period we visit, so we can actually grow them back in the park. We've even asked Bob to build us a greenhouse just for the purpose."

They may have come here to find out about their food, but they're learning a lot more than that. Just like elephants, mammoths seem to have a strong bond between members of the herd.

As she was collecting a clump of yellow arctic buttercups, a high-pitched trumpeting sound caused Fluttershy to look up from her task. She gasped at what she saw.

"What's wrong, Fluttershy?" asked Nigel.

"There's a calf stuck in a muddy pond!" cried the animal lover. It didn't take long for Nigel to take notice. Over a hundred yards away from them, a baby mammoth had wandered far from the watchful eyes of his mother and had slipped into a barely frozen pond.

Nigel frowned. "He's on his own and he's really struggling."

"The rest of the herd have taken notice. The mammoths are going over." True to Fluttershy’s word, the adult mammoths lumbered towards the edge of the pond, alerted by the calf's cries for help.

"The matriarch's coming too." Nigel observed, while the head of the herd arrived on the scene. With each feeble attempt to break free, the calf only grew more exhausted as he sank deeper into the mire. "He's really in trouble there, a tiny calf. Can't be more than a month or so old."

Fortunately for the baby, his grandmother was near enough to reach him. After reassuring him with gentle caresses from her trunk, the matriarch used her ten-foot tusks to delicately hook the calf within her grasp. Once her hold was secure, she slowly moved backwards, reeling her grandson safely back on terra firma.

"She did it!" cheered Fluttershy.

Nigel smiled, turning to the film crew. "And that's what the matriarch does. Whenever there's trouble, she goes in to help." The mammoth calf was muddy and drenched, but none the worse for wear, thanks to the actions of his wise and devoted grandmother. With that crisis averted, the herd resumed the usual business of eating while the duo went back to the task of collecting much needed Pleistocene plants.

Mammoths aren't the only creatures digging into the rich grassland.

From her place on a rise, Fluttershy surveyed the vast expanse of the steppes. "This place may be called the Mammoth Steppe, but it also supports a wide array of so many other herbivores! There's wild horses, steppe bison, muskoxen, reindeer, and those look like Megaloceros. Sometimes called the Irish elk. It's like the African Serengeti—“ The animal lover and the Englishman immediately did a double take as a loud snort was heard behind them. 

Dangerously close to the snowmobiles was what looked to be a gigantic rhinoceros, easily twice the size of any African or Asian juggernaut in much later centuries, covered in a shaggy pelt of reddish-brown hair. But the most striking feature was the massive horn growing from its forehead. The rhino didn't seem to notice the humans as he lumbered along, grazing as it did so. And it was getting closer!

Fluttershy gulped. "Isn't that a–"

Nigel nodded. "I've seen these in the textbooks. It's an Elasmotherium, a prehistoric rhinoceros twice the size of modern rhinos. Weighs up to 5 tons."

The Elasmotherium will soon be extinct, dying out as the climate gets warmer, its habitat disappears, and humans hunt them to the brink. 

"We're downwind of him." said Fluttershy with a strained whisper. "If Elasmotherium are like modern rhinos, they have very poor eyesight."

Nigel nodded. "That's right. He's got to get very close to see us. But if he does, he could charge."

"And that horn looks really formidable, it's as long as you're tall." Fluttershy said to the English naturalist. "About 6 feet."

Nigel shuddered as he added, "And he'd have no hesitation about charging and impaling us with that. That would really spoil our weekend."

Fluttershy chuckled nervously. Neither of them had any plans on becoming human-kabobs. Silently, the two began to back away, far away from the giant herbivore.

But then you wouldn’t want to be trampled by an angry steppe mammoth either. 

Directly behind them was the hulking form of the male steppe mammoth sighted earlier. The bull gave a threatening roar to the two interlopers standing in his way. While it probably never seen humans before, he had become so aggressive that everything that moved was something to unleash his anger on.

"Flippin' heck." Nigel muttered.

Aware of the mammoth's presence, the Elasmotherium wisely gave the volatile giant a wide berth as he lumbered off to seek good grazing elsewhere. The mammoth showed no such hesitation; as far as he was concerned, he was the most powerful creature in these lands, and these puny underlings would do well to remember that. He continued to advance towards them, becoming less friendly by the minute.

"Shall we run for our lives?" Fluttershy casually inquired.

"Oh, yes, let's." Nigel replied.

The instant the duo took flight, the bull steppe mammoth was at their heels, roaring and trumpeting his ire. With the raging colossus quickly catching up to them, Nigel had to throw his hard-earned grass samples to lighten his escape.

"Yeet!" shouted Fluttershy, throwing her bag to the side as she followed her companion, both running for their lives. The two had managed to reach their snowmobiles just as the mammoth came thundering towards them! Fluttershy fled the moment her transport roared to life, but Nigel was having a more difficult time jump-starting his own. And the enraged behemoth was quickly closing in. Once, twice, the Englishman fiddled with the ignition until– the snowmobile roared to life! Nigel wasted no time in flooring it, ducking down to avoid a sideways swipe of the bull steppe mammoth's tusks, leaving the hulking beast to bellow his rage and frustration as the duo sped away.

Although safe from the wrath of the bull steppe mammoth, the duo need to retrieve the plant bags, but now Nigel's got his eye on something much bigger to take back to the park. 

Fluttershy exchanged a questioning glance as Nigel set his sights on the Elasmotherium foraging around the plant bags, as though he was guarding them. Not far away from the heavily armed behemoth, a herd of eight Irish elk also grazed. Standing up to seven feet tall at the shoulders, the bucks sported impressive sets of antlers, each as long as a person. Next to them was a herd of four Aurochs. But unbeknownst to the herbivores, a young cave lioness was slowly stalking the herds.

This is their chance to save the Elasmotherium from extinction, but it means taking a huge risk and using themselves as bait.

The giant rhinoceros began to move away from the plant bags. It was now time for action. After Fluttershy finished setting up the time portal, she and Nigel went to retrieve the plant samples, deliberately making as much noise as possible to draw the rhino's attention.

Alerted by the intrusion, the Elasmotherium turned to face the scrawny humans, his horn lowered in threat. After recovering their samples, the animal lover hurled a snowball at the irate herbivore. Fluttershy’s aim was true as the snowball struck the rhino in the snout. The horned behemoth rumbled and snorted his ire, clouds of smoke billowing from his nostrils as he pawed the frozen earth with his front feet, preparing for his charge.

The yellow one was going to die first.

Despite the Ice Age unicorn bearing down upon them, Fluttershy and Nigel remained motionless.

The horned colossus thundered closer and closer...

Judging the time was right, the pair opted for tactical retreat, with the rhino not far behind. The sight of the oncoming Elasmotherium was enough to spook the Megaloceros and Aurochs herd into a stampede, with the males leading the does and cows away from the imminent threat, galloping blindly through the transparent veil of time that suddenly materialized in their path. The cave lioness, the duo and the raging, shortsighted Elasmotherium followed soon after.

Prehistoric Park, 21st century...*

It was complete pandemonium as the duo ran through the stockade with five tons of angry rhinoceros at their heels!

"Get these veg samples!" shouted Nigel as he tossed his bags over the stockade.

"Yeet!" yelled Fluttershy as she threw her. And not a moment too soon as the Elasmotherium thundered directly behind them, bellowing and roaring his fury! Before them, the herd of Irish elk and Aurochs and the cave lioness bellowed, roared and pranced in alarm as they struggled to escape within the sudden confines of the wooden palisades, large antlers and horns locking and buckling with every push and shove. Fortunately for the panicked deer, cattle and feline, the Elasmotherium's focus was solely on the two humans that had beguiled him, his six-foot spear lowered with murderous intent.

Nigel was quick to climb up the ladder which led to the catwalk situated on top of the stockade. Fluttershy soon followed. Her eyes widened as she saw the rhino's horn had missed her by mere inches!

"Ohh! Close the gate!" she shouted, and two frantic keepers quickly slid the wooden gate shut, halting the rhino's charge. The cornered beast snorted in protest, slamming his horn against the barrier which threatened to burst with each mighty blow.

"Fluttershy! See if you can round up the herds and that cave lioness!”

Fluttershy nodded. "You got it, Nigel!" They ran along two separate ends of the catwalk.

The instant a clear corridor opened up for the spooked herd of Megaloceros and Aurochs, they immediately took it, running in single file towards a spacious quarantine enclosure while the cave lioness charged towards another enclosure away from the grazers.

"On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, on Blitzen! ¡Andale, Josè! ¡Andale, Sofia! ¡Andale, Isabella! ¡Andale, Elena!" shouted Fluttershy from her platform, naming each elk and cattle as they passed through into the holding pen. There were four males and four females within the Megaloceros herd, and one bull and three cows within the Aurochs herd. "All the Irish elk and Aurochs are accounted for! The same goes for the cave lioness!"

With Nigel, he had opened up a passage that would lead the Ice Age behemoth into an unoccupied enclosure of his own.

"Okay, let him through!" ordered Nigel.

The moment the gate was reopened, the rhinoceros wasted no time in charging through the open corridor, ultimately being funneled into the holding pen.

As soon as Fluttershy rejoined him, the duo exchanged congratulations and high fives. "We've got it!" Below them, the Elasmotherium bellowed as he glanced up at the celebrating primates now far out of his reach. He'd been had again.

A large male Elasmotherium, a cave lioness and a herd of Megaloceros and Aurochs are now the latest additions to Prehistoric Park.

Alerted by the surge in activity, Bob hobbled over to meet the pair. "All right, chaps? What's going on?" He then looked down into the enclosure holding the rhino. "I don't believe it! Only you two could go away to collect a few grasses and come back with something like that!"

"Say hello to Vlad the Elasmotherium!" said Fluttershy with an infectious smile.

Bob raised an eyebrow. "Vlad? After Vlad the Impaler?"

Fluttershy chuckled as she gave a sheepish grin. "It seemed appropriate."

"He's magnificent, isn't he?" panted Nigel, partly from all the excitement, and partly from the sudden African heat after a day in the Ice Age.

Bob radioed the others. "Suzanne? You'd better get over here. Nigel and Fluttershy got a little surprise for us. Look at that!"

Suddenly, a blaring trumpet was heard as Nigel and Fluttershy turned their heads to see a familiar hulking figure exit the portal.

“We’re gonna need a bigger trailer.” muttered Nigel.

The new arrivals are quickly placed in their new homes.

The arrival of the Aurochs herd and the cave lioness seems to be beneficial for the young male and the bull Aurochs, who Fluttershy now named Valiente.

They both became a lot happier, and seem to be getting along, besides a few fights between Valiente and Josè.

But for now, Nigel and Fluttershy are headed straight over to see whether they can tempt Martha and her sister with their lce Age grass samples.

Nigel held out a handful of Pleistocene grass for Martha and Mary. "Come on, girls. Come on. This is some prehistoric salad." But the two mammoths didn't acknowledge the food, or even move.

"You must be feeling hungry." said Fluttershy. "How about some buttercups?" No response. "Come on. This is salad from the lce Age. You gotta at least try it." 

The mammoths only gave pitiful moans before promptly turning away.

Twilight came to greet them. "Hey guys. How’re they doing?"

"They just won't be enticed." the English naturalist replied regretfully. "They just won't feed at all." Twilight’s heart sank at the news.

Suddenly the roar of an engine rumbled over the hill, and the threesome and the mammoths looked over to see AJ's jeep slowly driving in, followed by the herd of eight Megaloceros. Disembarking from the all-terrain vehicle was Applejack, Sunset and Pinkie, the latter rattling a bucket full of pellets and feed which she scattered about in the grass for the herd of hungry deer.

"Hey guys. Sorry we're late," Pinkie announced. "Bob needed the trailer to move Vlad, erm, whatever you called him to his new home. Plus there wasn't enough room in there for those ginormous antlers."

"Good news. Martha and Mary got some new neighbors." said Sunset, gesturing to the giant deer who were content to be grazing along the boundaries of the mammoth sisters’ pen. "Turns out that the Megaloceros, or Irish elk, used to inhabit much of the same landscape as the woolly mammoth, from Ireland to the east in Siberia. What'd we miss?"

"That's great, Sunset. But–" Twilight gestured sadly towards Martha and Mary who barely spared their new neighbors a glance. "They’re still not eating." The bacon-haired girl’s smile disappeared.

"Oh no."

"If it's not the food, what else could be the problem?" asked Applejack mildly exasperated.

The duo exchanged sad glances as they took a good look at the forlorn creatures standing in the empty enclosure. One thing was sadly clear; they were more alone now than they ever were back in the Ice Age. How could they not have seen it before?

Nigel sighed. It was time to acknowledge the hairy elephant in the room. "It's anthropomorphic to say it, but they look lonely."

Twilight nodded. "Of course, they're intelligent and emotional creatures."

"They have feelings," said Fluttershy in a faraway tone. "The mammoths we saw, the females at least, were always in big groups. There were aunts, grandmas, moms, calves, sisters.”

"We would have brought another one back, but of course, their mother was killed by the hunters." the Englishman said with a great deal of remorse.

"Oh." said Sunset, feeling even more sorry for the lonesome pachyderms. "That's terrible. It's no wonder they’re so blue."

"Really? They look more like a reddish brown to me," Pinkie remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"No Pinkie. I meant that they’re depressed."

"Oh."

"Not to mention that male steppe mammoth we encountered was way too unpredictable." Fluttershy added in a matter-of-factly tone.

"It makes so much sense." said Twilight. "Mammoths and elephants are closely related. They even share 99.9% of the same DNA."

Nigel nodded. "In elephant societies, only bulls are on their own. Cows are always with calves and other elephants."

"So maybe they just need some companionship." Applejack concluded.

Sunset tapped her chin in thought. "But how?"

Could that be the answer: The reason that Martha and Mary aren't eating is the fact that they’re all alone?

Suddenly everyone's attention was drawn by a tiny trumpeting at the edge of the paddock. Even lonesome Martha and Marty raised their huge, tusked heads in interest; it had been so long since they had heard that call, the call of a calf. Twilight felt something nudge her from behind. She turned around, and smiled as soon as she saw who it was. "Oh hi, sweetie!"

"Jomo? What are you doing here?" Fluttershy questioned. The baby elephant had wandered away from his herd to greet his human friends and playmates.

"You gotta get back to your herd." said Applejack, affectionately scratching Jomo’s rough skin.

"Your mum's gonna be worried sick." cooed Nigel, crouching down to be at eye level with the calf. Jomo relished in the attention he was getting from his caretakers. Just then, two huge shadows fell over the tiny calf, causing him and everyone else to look up. Martha and Mary, both who had been silent and withdrawn all day, had lumbered over to see this small and hairless visitor standing just outside the paddock.

With the team, no one moved, not a word was said as they all silently watched this interaction.

Martha and Mary rumbled low guttural salutations to the curious calf. Jomo enthusiastically chirped a greeting at these strange hairy elephants who seemed to be very friendly. What were they doing all by their lonesome self and were they perhaps elephants from a chiller climate? Martha and Mary slowly reached their trunk beyond the fence, stopping just mere inches from the calf. Jomo fearlessly reached out to touch the extended trunks.

The spectating humans were moved by the touching scene, Twilight and Sunset especially as they had to muffle a giggle.

Just then, a loud trumpet sounded over the ridge, the sound of Jomo’s mother, Asali, calling for him. Upon hearing the voice of his mother, the elephant calf reluctantly ran back to rejoin the herd, but not before trumpeting a farewell to his new friends.

The moment the baby elephant disappeared out of sight, the mammoths’ depression seemed to return to their tenfold, moaning mournfully as they remembered everything they had lost; herd members, family and loved ones who had succumbed to starvation, pestilence, or the human spear, and lastly their mother, all they had left in the harsh and unforgiving world they left behind; the last one who had loved them and comforted them through their ever changing world before she was so cruelly taken away from them. The team could only look on sadly as Martha and Mary slowly lumbered to the opposite side of the enclosure, the last of their kind anywhere in the world.

Some creatures are well suited to being on their own, like the Elasmotherium, the cave lion couple and the cave bear, who are all settling in well to their new home. And the bull steppe mammoth seems to be fine on his own. But just as female elephants need to be close to their families, so do mammoths. Martha and Mary, both barely able to stand up, are dying of loneliness. 

Later that evening, Nigel and Fluttershy call a meeting to propose a rather bizarre idea.

As the sun was setting over Prehistoric Park, Nigel, Bob, Suzanne, and the Equestria Girls had all gathered in Nigel's bungalow to address the hairy elephant in the room.

"Putting them alongside the steppe mammoth is out of question. He's in musth. He could kill them. But they’re literally pining to death." Nigel explained. "They're herd animals, mammoths. They’re stuck in that paddock on their own. They’ve got no companionship." The naturalist's statement was immediately challenged when a certain girl cleared her throat, her purple and spectacled eyes narrowed. "Well, except for Twilight."

"And as we know, mammoths and elephants are closely related," said Twilight.

Fluttershy continued for her friend with the bluntness of a hammer. "What do you guys think? Do you think we can put them together?"

Suzanne was in favor. "It's been done before. We've put elephants in established herds and that seems to work. So, I don't think it's a bad idea to see how we go with Martha and Mary."

Bob and Applejack weren't convinced. "Our herd's established, it's got a pecking order, and it's got a matriarch.”

“What happens if we introduce them and Martha or Mary decide to take over as dominant female?" Applejack said.

"Surely, we can just do it slowly." Nigel countered. "If there's a big problem, we can get in and split them up." 

"What else are we gonna do?" asked Sunset. "If we don't do something, they’re gonna die."

The room fell into somber silence as no one could easily answer that question. There were no other alternatives.

"What if we brought back their mom?" pondered Rainbow. Fluttershy and Nigel's heads shot up, while Bob, Suzanne and the girls looked skeptical. Why hadn't they thought of that?

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! Bad call!" She cried, shooting down that idea altogether.

"Why not?" asked Rainbow.

“Sci-fi rule #1: you mess with the past, you end up with monkeys ruling the future."

The three exchanged confused glances. "We kind of already do that, don't we?" asked a puzzled Fluttershy.

"And nothing bad has happened so far," said Nigel.

"And certainly no monkey overlords." added Rainbow, rolling her eyes at such a ridiculous notion.

Twilight shook her head regretfully. "Bringing back extinct animals is one thing, but revisiting the same place at the same exact moment is too risky. The time portals were never designed for that purpose."

Sunset decided to throw in her two cents. "And Pinkie’s got a point. If you try to go back to 10,000 years ago on the very same day you found Martha and Mary, it could create a paradox that could tear a hole in the space-time continuum."

"In theory, we might also run into our past selves," said Twilight.

"Time travel sure is confusing." said Fluttershy, hand on her aching head. Nigel nodded in agreement; they were zoologists, not rocket scientists.

The rainbow-haired teen heaved a remorseful sigh. "There goes that idea,"

Somber silence once more.

"So we're all agreed?" asked Applejack.

"It's a risk we gotta take to save Martha and Mary." Nigel concluded.

It's a team decision. But will it work?

The Next Morning...

It's an important day at Prehistoric Park. Nigel and his team are about to introduce two lce Age mammoths to an elephant herd to cure their loneliness. 

He was currently driving down the dirt road in his personal jeep, heading straight for Mammoth Mount.

"I'm petrified about this." the Englishman told the cameraman truthfully. "It's difficult enough putting strange elephants into an established herd, but when you're trying to do it with mammoths like Martha or Mary, but we've got to try it. It's their last chance."

Nigel just hopes he's doing the right thing. 

The rest of the team was already there, waiting expectantly, as well as the entire elephant herd. The elephants too, seemed to be waiting anxiously, as though they too sensed a change in the atmosphere. Inside her enclosure, Martha and Mary paced anxiously as they too sensed the ever growing tension, a far cry from the endless monotony of the paddock.

The plan is to introduce Martha and Mary to the head of the elephant herd, the matriarch. If they’re accepted by Asali, then they'll be accepted by the rest of the herd. While it has its risks, it could save Martha's life.

As Nigel disembarked from the vehicle to join up with the team, Fluttershy escorted the matriarch towards the threshold of the mammoth sisters' enclosure, divided by a wooden fence to separate the modern pachyderm from her shaggier prehistoric relatives should things turn south. Sensing that they had a visitor, the mammoths slowly made their way towards the edge of their enclosure where the African elephant cow stood tentatively, swinging and rocking, and shifting from one foot to another.

But elephants can be very unpredictable, especially when faced with the unfamiliar.

"It's nerve racking, isn't it?" asked Suzanne as Nigel joined her at the edge of the fence.

"They’re sensing everything, smelling everything that's going on." he observed, watching the interactions very closely and carefully. Inside the paddock, Fluttershy stood on one end with the elephant matriarch while Rainbow Dash was with the mammoth sisters on the other end. Fluttershy began the introductions. "Asali, meet Martha and Mary. They’re woolly mammoths. Close cousins of yours, several times removed."

"Martha, Mary, this is Asali, Jomo’s mom and herd matriarch." Rainbow Dash told the mammoths. Just then, somewhere among the herd, the baby elephant interjected with playful chirps. He was unfortunately prevented from joining the induction by his protective aunties who kept the calf safe between their legs. The teen chuckled. "Of course you've already met Jomo."

Back outside of the enclosure, the rest of the team continued to watch the interaction between the three great beasts who had, until now, been separated by the vast chasm of time.

"I'm pleased they’re walking up. They don't seem to be really apprehensive about the matriarch." Suzanne noted.

"So far so good," said Applejack apprehensively.

Twilight noticed a change in the mammoth sisters' demeanors. Gone were the withdrawn and isolated animals from the day before, replaced by more approachable, sociable creatures yearning for companionship. "They seem really good, really happy."

"It's a good start, though." replied the English naturalist, allowing himself to smile. "This is much better than we thought."

As the induction continued, the head of the elephant herd lifted her trunk in a salute and bellowed a good-natured trumpet at these fascinating newcomers. The woolly mammoths returned the gesture in kind. This gesture had not gone unnoticed by the head vet. "The way with their trunk they’re making overtures of friendship, at least."

"This looks like it's working. It's amazing." said the fashionista. Never in a million years did she or her friend imagine that they would witness the meeting between two iconic giants, worlds and eons apart, vastly different but uncannily similar in their shared need for amiability and fellowship.

"Matriarchs have been known to kill elephants trying to come into the herd," informed Nigel, happy that his original worries had been misplaced, "but nothing like that."

"It's great. Look at that."

Time seemed to fly by, and before anyone, man or creature, knew it, the meeting had concluded.

The Englishman looked to his comrades. "What do you think? Should we...?"

Suzanne was the first to voice her opinion. "Yeah, I think we should go for it."

"No objections." Rainbow answered.

"Absolutely." added Spike.

"This is much better than we've hoped for," said Rarity hopefully.

Inside the paddock, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gave their own verdict as they gave a thumbs up.

That was the only answer Nigel needed. "Okay, Bob. Open the gate please!"

As Bob and four other keepers began to disassemble the gate, Fluttershy led Asali back to the waiting herd. Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder, making a gesture for the mammoth sisters to follow them.

All the signs are good.

Even when all the barriers were removed, the mammoth sisters held back, standing at the border of their old enclosure almost as if they were unsure about their next move. Turning their massive, tusked heads to their right, they spied Twilight along the edge of the fence, the human that had shown them tremendous kindness and love, whom they could call their friend.

"Go." Twilight told the pachyderms softly, her eyes glowing with pride and joy.

That was all the encouragement the pair needed as they began to follow the elephant matriarch to meet the rest of the herd. Their new family.

It looks as though Martha and Mary the mammoths have been accepted by the elephant herd.

Nigel, Suzanne, Bob, Spike, Fluttershy and the rest of the girls looked on joyfully as Martha and Mary were introduced to the other members of the elephant herd, all of them keen on welcoming the newcomer, but none more than Jomo who ran around under the mammoths’ legs squealing and chirping with excitement.

They now truly had a second chance.

Suddenly, Bob’s radio began to make static as a familiar bubbly voice could be heard from it. “Guys, meet me at one of the snow fields. I’ve got a surprise for you!”

Some Time Later...

Soon, Pinkie and her friends were standing on a platform overlooking a large expansive paddock, which was mostly snowy grassland with a large lake. Awaiting their arrival was a number of park staff and five loading trucks, one of them off in the distance.

"Pinkie, what on earth have you done now?" Rarity wondered.

"Alright, boys! Let them out!" Pinkie ordered those manning the loading trucks once the ramps were in place.

First a small herd of saigas and muskoxen came barreling out of the first truck. Then, to Nigel and Fluttershy’s surprise, a female Elasmotherium trotted out of the second truck alongside a few reindeer and wisent. That was when an all too familiar trumpeting call was heard. No sooner had the doors been open when mighty beings marched out of the third and fourth trucks.

The group’s wide eyes did not deceive them; exiting the trucks was not one, not two, but a small herd of twelve woolly mammoths and a quintet group of bull mammoths! Even in the distance, charging out the final truck, was a large bull far away from the rest of the paddock's inhabitants as the truck and the workers drove off to avoid angering the beast, who Pinkie appropriately named Goliath. 

“I don’t believe it!” said an incredulous Applejack.

“I just thought if Martha and Mary didn’t get along with the elephant herd, I would bring some woolly buddies to keep them company. And I even got a girlfriend for Vlad, I like to call her Moonbeam.” Pinkie told them.

Nigel turned to Pinkie with a warm smile on his face. “Pinkie, this could be the start of something new here at Prehistoric Park. Something wonderful.”

Fluttershy smiled as well. “I bet Vlad will be really happy to see another of his kind with him. Maybe we can get a mate for the cave bear too.”

Maybe the mammoth is returning from extinction sooner than we’d thought.

“Oh, and I also tested some experiments with the time portal and turns out we don’t have to deal with monkeys ruling the future.”

The entire group exchanged looks of confusion and bewilderment.

“Pinkie, what are you talking about?” said a puzzled Nigel.

“You see, silly, I found out that the portal only opens up to alternate timelines, so we don't have to worry too much about altering our own." Pinkie explained.

"Only alternate ones?!" Twilight said in shock.

"I had a bunch of guys go through the portal and do things that would change history: introducing natives to vaccinations, stopping presidents from getting killed, and, since everyone thinks about it, assassinating “you-know-who”. When they got back, nothing changed.”

“Of course!” Twilight shouted in realization, slapping her hand against her forehead. “How could’ve I been so stupid? It’s the “causal loop” theory. Anything Fluttershy or Nigel did or took from the past already happened. That means we can mess with these timelines without recreating A Sound of Thunder.”

With that time travel theory safely in the bag, the whole group watched the herds graze the plains of their new home, just as they would’ve done during the Ice Age… in the Land of the Mammoth.

Next time on Prehistoric Park, Nigel and Fluttershy go back 125 million years to rescue one of the strangest ever dinosaurs but end up with a whole herd of giants. However, not all the residents are so friendly. Back at the park, Bob and Applejack have their hands full when the T-rex siblings turn nasty, while Suzanne and Twilight keep the mammoth sisters cool with much-needed haircuts. But for now, the elephants, Mary, and Martha are busy enjoying their dinner.




Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) (1; 1 adult male)

Elasmotherium sibricum (2; both adults; 1 male, 1 female)

Eurasian aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) (5; all adults; 2 males, 3 females)

Eurasian cave lion (Panthera spelaea) (2; both young adults; 1 male, 1 female)

Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) (8; all adults; 4 males, 4 females)

Steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) (1; 1 adult male)

Woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) (20; 12 adults, 5 young adults, 3 calves; 8 males, 12 females)