3 Months Earlier
At a large field, 5 miles from Ponyville. All was calm.
But they it was disturb when a cub of Cat of some kind is being chased by 2 Albertosaurus.
And soon, one Albertosaur quickly gains on the cub. And knocks it off it's feet.
For almost a year, Albertosaurus was one of the most powerful predators.
But recently, a new breed of killer has arrived. One fierce enough to terrorize the Albertosaurs.
Then suddenly as the Albertosaur begin to make the kill. A large Sabertooth Cat suddenly appeared, and he confronts the 2 Dinosaurs has the cub got next to him.
And soon, the 2 Dinosaurs ran off, as the Cat roars out.
Smilodon.
The fabled Sabertooth.
The most powerful Big Cat of all time.
The male Smilodon roars out in triumph.
Present Day
Everything was calm in Ponyville, and recently in the last few weeks. New ancient Mammals have been seem.
And recently, a group of Sabertooth Cats arrives. For once, this is something Twilight was more familiar with, since some bones of Cats with knife like fangs were found.
Pinkie often calls them Sabertooth Tigers. But there is no such thing as a Sabertooth Tiger. The correct name for these beasts is Sabertooth Cats. And there have been many different species. The largest of them all, at 660 pounds...
Is Smilodon, meaning Knife Tooth.
And when Twilight and Fluttershy observe them, they actually lived in similar family groups like that of Lions. The pride is made of 4 adult females, and youngsters. And surprisingly, 2 males. 2 males is rare to see in Lions, but they do happen sometimes when 2 brothers worked togethers, and that's what they are. But sometimes, occasionally, a pride could have 3 males in charge.
Smilodon origins came from, and appeared from grassland. From one of the strangest continents on Earth.
Since splitting from Antarctica, 30 million years ago. South America has been isolated from the rest of the world. And as a result, it's animals are unique. Oddities thrive there, like Doedicurus. A spiky tailed relative of the Armadillo, the size of a car.
Even the large herds of herbivores are exotic. The Macrauchenia, are unrelated to any modern Mammal.
Even though they look like Camelids with a trunk like nose.
And then of course, there are the native predators. The flightless Terror Birds.
But they're not much to look at yet.
But the isolation of these animals, came to an end when the movement of the South American continent. Caused it to collided with North America. Across a land bridge, came new groups of Mammals to colonize this exotic world.
Life there, was never the same again.
Cats were among those colonists. Not Cat has ever set foot in South America till then.
Original from North American, Smilodon came to South America 2 millions years ago.
But the Smilodon pride's 2 males were not the original male. 3 months ago, they've taken over the group and driven the male away.
He was a 7 year old male, and is missing half a left saber. Which hints his name, Half-Tooth.
After defeated him, Half-Tooth's cubs were killed by the brothers. Which is the same thing happens with Lions when a new male takes over and eliminates the previous bloodline of the last male. Which may seem like a pointless act of violence. But will focus of bringing the brother's offspring and bringing the next generation. But the adolescents were actually spared, and because their almost old enough to mate.
In a forest over a mile away, a lone male Smilodon wanders in a forest. And is missing half a left saber.
He is in fact Half-Tooth.
So far, he hasn't been able to find anything to eat. For 3 years, Half-Tooth hasn't had to feed himself since the females did most of the hunting. In Lions, 90% of the hunts were females. The male does join them on hunt when need to.
But the dense undergrowth has a colossus.
Nearby, a large clawed hand reaches a branch.
A Sloth.
But this is no ordinary Sloth.
It's Megatherium. A Giant Ground Sloth.
The Megatherium feeds from a tree, and another is close by.
It has huge claws, is 20 feet from nose to tail. Stands 12 feet at it's hind legs. And weighs 8,000 pounds. A very different monster from it's relatives, the gentle Tree Sloths.
Nearby, Half-Tooth watches them. But Smilodon would never dare attack such a giant.
The Sloth also poses impressive defenses. Small bones beneath their skin act like chain mail. Adults are almost indestructible.
Half-Tooth wisely gives them a wide space.
And soon, he begins to move away.
At Ponyville, Twilight and her friends were watching a herd of Macrauchenia.
"Boy, those guys sure are funny looking." Pinkie said.
"Sure are, Pinkie." Spike said. "They're like Camels with trunks or something."
"I guess in some places, animals are very odd." Twilight said.
But these creatures, are prime targets, for Smilodon.
Some distance away from the group, the Smilodon females are stalking towards the herd. Using the same method in Lions, one females circles round the herd as the other females wait in an area.
Macrauchenia are fast, wary animals. And getting close enough to kill one, that's endless patience.
The females work as a pack, and begins to set the trap. They have been closing in on this for 2 hours now. Smilodon are powerful killers, but they're not built for long chases. Unless they get close, they don't stand a chance.
It will be a question, against speed and stamina.
Slowly, the Smilodon begin to ready.
One false move, and they'll have to start all over again.
And then, after a few moments. The lead female erupts form her hiding place, and the Macrauchenia starts to flee as she chased after them. And soon they were driven towards the other females as they start to join in on the chase.
And soon, the Cats have chosen a victim. And begin to close in.
The chosen Macrauchenia runs as one of the Smilodons begin to close in from behind. But she has amazing turning even at full speed. And she quickly jolts a slight left wrong footing her pursuer.
But that's why Smilodon hunt in groups.
A 2nd Cat, brings her down.
The 2nd Smilodon quickly pounces on the Macrauchenia, and was able to slow her down. And the Cat got on her back and holds her as the rest of the Macrauchenias leave the area.
Twilight and the others saw the whole thing, and were speechless.
They watched as the Macrauchenia desperately tries to escape the Cat's grasp. And soon a 2nd Smilodon appeared and grabs hold of her.
Surprisingly, as the Cats fight to restrain their prey. They do not use their infamous teeth, in case they break them.
Soon, the Macrauchenia was brought onto her side.
First, they work together to pin down the struggling animal. Under the weight of their bodies. Only when the prey is totally subdued. Are the famous saber drawn.
Once the Macrauchenia is subdued and helpless, and the Smilodon then stabs her famous 8 inch long fangs into her throat.
They are amazing tools for killing, their teeth cuts the blood supply, and strangle the windpipe. One bite, and the prey is dead.
But these are the original double edge swords. The lethal 8 inch sabers, are actually quite fragile.
Soon, the rest of the pride appeared and begins to feed.
They cannot bite into bone, and so Smilodon can only eat the fleshier parts of a carcass. They is very wasteful, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by other carnivores on the grasslands of South America.
Before long, 2 Gorgosaurs arrived on the scene. And wait patiently for their turn, and even though they weigh 7 times heavier. They are outnumbered by 2 to 5 feeding Smilodon.
Both predators are the top predators of their time, and neither want to risk injury.
And so, the Gorgosaurus can simply wait for their turn.
The Terror Birds that Smilodon replaced as top predators, were able to find new ways of living. Thanks to the Cats.
Eventually, the Smilodon have eaten and much as their sabers will allow them. And had their fill, and they begin to move away.
Leaving the carcass to the Gorgosaurs to finish.
And they begin to feed.
A week later, Twilight and Rainbow watched a pair of Doedicurus fighting.
These giant Armadillos are not only well armored. They are huge. These ancient relatives of the Armadillo weigh 300 times heavier. Their spiked tails clubs alone weigh 88 pounds, as much as a cannonball.
And soon, one of the males backs down and leaves.
After leaving the Doedicurus, they soon came across the Smilodon pride feeding.
They've been making a kill every few days. And are feeding well today.
As usual, scavengers are not far away.
But on this occasion, there is another scavenger. A Megatherium.
And then, a Megatherium appeared heading towards the kill.
They might be herbivores, but they'll occasionally go for carrion to supplement their diet.
And when they do...
Nothing, gets in their way.
The Smilodon soon saw the approaching Sloth, and one of the brothers confronts the Megatherium as he rears up standing tall. But then, the brother make a careless move of signing his death warrant. And the Megatherium then swatted his enormous claw into the Cat.
And the Sloth bellows and the blow was enough to kill him.
And the Megatherium approaches the carcass.
One of the brothers has been killed. The rest of the Smildon quickly abandon the kill to the giant.
And the other Smilodons and the remaining brother retreats.
In the blink of an eye, the Megatherium has changed everything for the pride.
Now, there's only 1 brother left.
Within days later, Half-Tooth suddenly reappears.
Half-Tooth nears a tree not too far away from Fluttershy's cottage. And sniffs it.
He must've been closely monitoring his old territory.
So sensitive, is the sense of smell in Cats. That he can tell the identity, and even the health of a male who has left his scent. This this case, the marks are easy to know. Where there is once 2 males, now there is only 1.
Somewhere else where, with the pride, things are going bad with the remaining male.
He was not the dominant of the 2 brothers, and the females appear unsettled again.
And soon, the brother heads off.
But it is not the females that the lone brother is worried about. It is only a matter of time before other males come looking for trouble.
And the lone brother heads out for a territorial patrol that Lions do as well. And marks a tree.
And continues to patrol his territory.
But a challenge will come sooner, than the brother expects.
Somewhere, Half-Tooth is close.
Half-Tooth is back, encouraged by the signals. He is wasting no time, in trying to reclaim the pride.
And he soon arrives where the brother and sniffs the area
A fresh scent trail, leads him on.
Almost 10 minutes later, Half-Tooth soon finds the brother drinking at a stream.
3 months after losing to the brothers, Half-Tooth is once again, about to fight for this territory.
And then, Half-Tooth roars out to the brother. And soon, the 2 males confront each other.
The odds this time, have evened up.
The Smilodon growled, and they lashed out into a fight. And Half-Tooth easily overpowers him. And within a few moments, the brother quickly flees. And Half-Tooth roars out in triumph.
The fight is brief, and brutal. But Half-Tooth triumphs.
And Half-Tooth continues to roar out.
An hour later, the brother is out on a field. But the fight has left him injured.
The brother is defeated, and fatality injured.
He looked like he won't be able to stand for much longer.
2 hours later, the brother was dead.
Unlike Half-Tooth, this Cat will get no 2nd chance.
And soon, 2 Albertosaurus appeared and feed on the carcass.
The short, violent reign of the brothers...
Is over.
2 months later, finds Half-Tooth with new arrivals of his own.
Half-Tooth has recently became a father again with 4 week old cubs.
And once again, he is king.
And Half-Tooth's pride soon heads out for a hunt. And from her castle, Twilight watches as they head out.
Smilodon are very successful predators. And survived up until as recently as 10,000 years old.
But eventually, the world around them, changed too much. The climate became cooler and drier in their South American grassland home. The larger prey they specialized in killing, disappeared.
In South American.
The Sabertooth World...
Came to an end.
But in Equestria.
It has returned.
Next Time:
A new arrival of Mammals appeared.
But these ones are built for the cold.
Author's Note:
After some thinking, I've decided to rewrite chap 13 to 17 of A New Island: Fallen Kingdom to fix a few things.
And don't worry, the Terror Birds will make their appearance.
Species Shown:
Smilodon
Doedicurus
Macrauchenia
Megatherium
