Montana, North America
65 million years ago
The juvenile Monstrous Nightmare yawned as it stood up in its cave. Flameface groggily walked to the opening and looked out at the jungle below. Longnecks were having breakfast, leaves on treetops, below. A whole herd of them could strip an entire forest of leaves in hours. He doubted that they could do that. "Morning." Flameface turned to see Shadowtail, a Night Fury, standing behind him. "Pretty nice, isn't it?" He snorted. This world wasn't what it seemed. Sure, it may look peaceful from a glance, but on the ground, their competitors and wingless rivals were waiting to rip him to shreds. Flameface even had the bite marks to prove it. "Hmph. Depends on what "nice" means for you". Shadowtail smirked. "Look on the bright side, Mr. Grumpy! We can fly, they can't! Unless you count the Beakwings…" Flameface looked up at the sky. He noticed something was unusual. There seemed to be two suns in the sky today. Shadowtail noticed it too. "Huh. That's weird. Since when were there two suns?" "Can't be that dangerous. Not since Bluescale died from that Tyrant bite on her wing after wandering too far into one's territory." Flameface had no idea how wrong he was…
Hours later, Shadowtail was flying over a lush valley. Views from up here were incredible. He almost envied his saurian cousins' inability to fly. He watched a Tyrant fight a Stoneshell to the death. Just to the right, a Threehorn was feeding its young with (yuck!) regurgitated ferns. He thought on how both dragons and these reptilians came to be.
There were stories he heard from his parents about millions of years back, a single amphibian emerged from the sea and grew limbs on its fins. More came and evolved into small reptiles. However, at some point in the evolutionary line, some reptiles grew wings and broke away. The dragons were now born. They took to the skies while their relatives remained on the ground. Both species were now dominating over the world.
Shadowtail landed on a cliff and looked up. The second sun seemed to be brighter now. He squinted as he dove into the trees. Weaving through them with accuracy, he managed to swat a Threehorn with his tail teasingly. He could hear it roar at him in anger. Shadowtail chuckled. He had done this before many times, even with a Tyrant. He had almost lost his wing that time… Wait. The second sun was now brighter than before! He growled, having trouble seeing where he was going. He slowed down and gasped. This was not a second sun. Whatever it was, it was getting closer and closer until it came into view. A massive fireball was now over the horizon. Sensing danger, Shadowtail turned and flew off as fast as he could. He looked behind him to see the fireball smash into the earth with great force! Chunks of the fireball flew skyward! A shockwave of fire rose over the valley. Panicked, Shadowtail flapped his wings harder and harder. But he could not escape. He roared with pain and agony as the blast wave engulfed him alive.
Even from his home, Flameface heard the colossal explosion of the fireball. He looked skyward. The second sun was gone, but chunks of rock were flying high. He called out for Shadowtail, but he didn't arrive. Below, a Tyrant jerked its head in the direction of the explosion. Longnecks cried out in alarm. Flameface and other dragons launched into the sky in panic. To his left, a Typhoomerang with tattered wings was hit by one of the falling chunks of rock coming from above. It screeched as it plummeted to the ground. Flameface gasped in terror as another shockwave came, strong enough to lift the Longnecks off the ground and tearing their skin from flesh. The wave went faster than the speed of sound, sending most of the airborne dragons flinging out of control.
Flameface noticed a hole made by a Whispering Death. He dove in with other dragons following or plunging into the oceans to hide from the chaos. Fire swooshed overhead as he covered himself with his wings. He noticed tiny rodents scampering along, but he had no appetite. He closed his eyes and refused to open them for a very long time.
When he did open them, he noticed some dragons trying to dig their way out. "What happened? How long have I been out?" he asked. "I'd say a month, give or take!" a Snafflefang replied. "Shadowtail…" "He's gone, Flameface. I'm sorry. What that fireball did was immense. We… we may be on the verge of extinction. Some of us can't even afford to go out there, but we must if we are to survive." The tunnel entrance then collapsed as the digging stopped. Dragons coughed as smoke and dust flooded the tunnel. Flameface stepped out and froze when he saw the landscape. A massive cloud blocked out the sun. Where a beautiful paradise once lay, there was now a gray, lifeless desert. Hatchlings shivered with fear, clinging to their parents, who kept trying to calm them down. There was no plant life in view. Bones lay here and there. A lone Tyrant stood on a hilltop, surveying the dying world. It let out a titanic roar before it collapsed of starvation. A Deadly Nadder sniffed it and froze. "This… this is the last one. They're gone. They're all gone…" "All of them?" Flameface whispered. The Nadder looked out at the reptilians' bodies dotting the area. He lowered his head. "All of them…" The dragons lowered their heads in silence for their fallen, now extinct saurian relatives. "Wait… maybe we can start over." A Gronckle spoke up. "Look at us! They might be gone, but we're not!" Voices spoke out. "He's right!" "We're still here!" "Are you saying we replace them? I'm in!" "Let's do it!" Flameface smiled. It was time for the dragons to take their place in the world.
Many years later
The dragon hatchling scampered through the leaves playfully. It didn't know of the disaster that happened years back. Nor would it care. As it reached a clearing, it stopped. In front of it was a strange creature. It had no scales, no claws, no fangs or wings. But it did have a clump of fur on its head, some leaves around the waist and held a long wooden stick in its hand. The two stared at each other curiously. It slowly reached out and touched the hatchling, which jerked away in response. The other creature pulled away. After a while, the hatchling turned and ran as fast as its little legs could carry it, so it could tell its parents what it had found.
DRAGON-DINO KEY (dragon names for dinosaurs):
Tyrant- T-Rex
Threehorn- Triceratops
Longnecks- sauropods
Stoneshell- Ankylosaurus
Beakwing- Pteranodon