Somewhere on the edge of the Jurassic forest, a mother dinosaur is laying her eggs.
In a large clearing at the forest's edge, a colossal long neck dinosaur lets out a bellow.
She is a 25 ton Diplodocus.
The Diplodocus crouches down into position and lays the last of her eggs.
Each football sized object is carefully place in a deep trench.
And soon, the last was laid.
And the mother covers them up.
Tenderly she buries her clutch, and then abandons them to their fate.
And once the eggs were covered, she leaves them just as mother sea turtles do after laying eggs on a beach. And heads out to rejoin her herd passing by.
Out on the fern plains, the rest of her gigantic herd grazes. She is one of a great family of dinosaurs called the Sauropods, that dominated this period in Earth's history.
The female Diplodocus bellows out to her herd.
They are the largest animals, to have ever walk the planet.
And the herd marches across the plains of the Jurassic. The time of the Titans.
COLORADO
152,000,000 BC
This is the Jurassic Period.
And the giant continent of Pangaea that use to stretch form pole to pole, is now breaking up.
It is much wetter than the earlier Triassic Period, and where there were once deserts. There are now vast forests of conifer trees.
It is over 70 million years since dinosaurs first appeared on Earth. And in this greener world, they have evolved into a number of different forms.
In a section of forest, Twilight and her friends have just arrived from their time warp. And right now, there exploring a section of forest floor with pieces of what appears to be eggshells.
3 months ago, a mother Diplodocus laid 100 eggs in this clearing on the edge of the forest. It is time for them to hatch, but there are signs they have been discovered by a egg thief.
'Find, anything guys?' Twilight called while looking at a eggshell piece.
'Nothing, yet!' Rainbow called.
'Hey! who's that guy?' Spike seeing something.
The others went to Spike, and just 30 feet away. Was a small 6 foot long dinosaur. And seems to tall enough to look Twilight in the eye.
The culprit is a Ornitholestes.
A 6 foot long carnivore. That is closely related to the dinosaurs that will evolve into birds.
They then notice the Ornitholestes feeding on a small animal, but they can't make out what it is.
Normally he hunts small lizards and mammals in the forest. The hatchling, is a extra treat.
As they were looking at the Ornitholestes, what they didn't is they were about to get a real surprise. As a bit a leaves move.
Only 30 feet from the carnivore, and right under Twilight. The forest floor moves.
Then right under Twilight, a small greenish head of a creature pokes her head from the ground.
Right under the predator's gaze, a baby Diplodocus, or Sauropodlet is hatched.
Then suddenly more baby Diplodocus poke their heads from the ground like sea turtles emerging the sand on the beach. And it wasn't all long before Twilight and her friends notice. And even the one under her.
All around her, her brothers and sisters are also struggling free from their buried eggs beneath the surface.
And their are safety in numbers.
'Aw! Hi there, sweetie.' Fluttershy gently petting a baby Diplodocus's head.
And luckily for the babies, the Ornitholestes is too busy eating to start chasing more Sauropodlets. He has had his fill.
Meanwhile, Twilight notice the hatchling that was under her. And she was only as big as a small cat.
The little female rests for a instant.
However small, vulnerable and cute she may appear now. But she is genetically program to become a 90 foot long, 25 ton giant colossus like her mother.
And then, along with the other survivors, heads for the deep forest as fast as her legs can carry her.
Twilight and the others watch as the baby Diplodocus scatter further in the forest like baby sea turtles heading for the water after hatching.
Their mother laid them at the edge of the forest, because she was too big to go in deeper. But the little sauropodlets need to, they need the cover of the deep forest. For the next few months, their only chance for survival is to remain hidden from predators amongst the vegetation.
A short time later, Twilight and her friends momentarily lost some of the hatchlings in the ferns. But soon found them after seeing some ferns shaking.
Between the trunks of huge redwood trees, the forest floor is covered in a dense layer of ferns.
Beneath these, the sauropodlets immediately start their life long obsession with eating. Newly hatch, they only weigh a few pounds, But they'll have to grow by 1 ton a year until they are adults, that's an amazing 4 to 6 pounds a day.
But the forest is not a perfect sanctuary.
Soon a Ornitholestes appeared into view and is hunting.
When faced with danger, the sauropodlets lie very still. And depend on their camouflage for protection.
The baby Diplodocus kept still as they could, and their green coloration to match the ferns. And the Ornitholestes walks past them, and luckily the predator ignores Twilight and her friends who were near some.
It may have worked this time. But all too often, the sharp eye predator gets his meal.
'That was close.' Said Starlight.
'Yeah, these little guys sure know a thing or 2 out here.' Rainbow said.
Sometime later, Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy decided to explored outside the forest.
Not all of the landscape is covered in forest. There are vast open fern prairies, and this is where the titans of the Jurassic roam. Dinosaurs like Stegosaurus, with it's distinctive row of spinal plates.
Soon, the 3 flew over a pair of Stegosaurus.
'Wow! like the back plates!' Rainbow like the plates of Stegosaurus.
These prairies are kept clear of trees, by the constant grazing of such giant herbivores. And none, have a larger impact on this environment, than the biggest dinosaurs of all.
the Sauropods.
Then the 3 saw a large herd of adult Diplodocus and couldn't believe their eyes of what they were seeing.
There are many different types of these gigantic long necked creatures. Diplodocus are some of the longest of them in this time. For protection, they move in herds of 30 or more. And some of the older ones are over 90 feet in length.
They use their very strong but stiffed necks to graze over large areas without moving much. To balance their necks, they have long tails, with long whip like ends that are used for communication between members of the herds.
As the 3 flew around the herd, Rainbow almost got hit by the whip like tail of one that swings around.
Such a huge herd on the move, attracts a number of smaller animals. As they eat and trampled the vegetation, insects swarm around them.
As Twilight flew closer to side of one, she notice some flies of the dinosaur's side.
And insect hunters, like damselflies. Use the dinosaurs as gigantic feeding platforms.
There is even a tiny flying reptile or pterosaur, called Anurognathus. That specializes in life amongst these giants.
Twilight then notice some Anurognathus feeding on damselflies.
These pterosaurs feed on insects, and spend their entire life's hanging on to the Diplodocus.
They fight, feed and breed. On creature that are 150,000 times heavier than they are.
The herd of giants moves on, carrying it's own unique habitat, with it.
Then suddenly, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow sucked into a time warp. Even the others.
1 YEAR LATER
After a night of rain, the redwoods steam in the tropical morning temperatures. And a dinosaur's dawn chorus fill's the air.
In a small canyon, Twilight and her friends can hear the chorus of calls. And it was a wonderful sound.
A year has pass since the sauropodlets flee into the denser part of the forest. And deep in a canyon, the little female grazes.
Twilight and the others soon found their little friend feeding on the canyon walls with her siblings. And she has gotten a growth spurt since they first found her.
She is already over 10 feet long, she feeds with other yearlings that stick together in a crush, for safety. Their here because the canyon wall's are dripping water, creating a thick layer of moss and fern.
But the canyon runs down to the prairie, and all this green attracts larger dinosaurs.
As Rainbow and Spike explored a little further down the canyon, a large male Stegosaurus suddenly appears from the next bend.
A 3 ton male, Stegosaurus. He to is a herbivore, but very dangerous if needed to. The large plates on his back are there for display. It is the 3 foot spike spines on his tail, that make him so lethal. These he cam make such deadly effect, despite having a very small brain for his body size.
The large male begins to drink water from the stream.
And Spike and Rainbow made the wise choose of leaving him alone. And soon everyone else went further down the canyon away from the Stegosaurus.
But on the other bend, behind them. 2 large predatory dinosaurs appeared.
But 2 Allosaurus have also been drawn here, by the smell of prey.
The crush of 5 Diplodocus, Twilight and her friends are unaware that there about to have some deadly company.
Meanwhile, Spike then had a strange feeling and glance behind him. And his eyes widen with fear and his head spines went limped. And slowly backs away passing Twilight.
'Spike, what's wrong with you?' Rarity asked unaware of the Allosaurus.
'Spike? What's gotten in to you?' Twilight asked.
Trapped between the Allosaurus, and the Stegosaurus ahead. Spike would rather deal with the Stegosaurus and starts running away as fast his legs can take him. And the baby Diplodocus soon spotted them, and start to flee.
Twilight and the others soon saw the Allosaurus and starts running from them. But sadly, 1 Diplodocus have sadly met it's end when the first Allosaurus knocks it off it's feet and deliver's a killing blow to the neck.
Meanwhile, the rest of the young sauropods flee pass the Stegosaurus and startled him, as well as Twilight and her friends.
'Sorry, big guy!' Rainbow passing him.
But then, in an act of self defense. The Stegosaurus struck a tail spike at a baby Diplodocus, the force was enough to kill it on impact.
Meanwhile, as the 1st Allosaur feeds, the 2nd Allosaur hasn't made a kill yet. And begins to chase after them. But only to find the Stegosaurus in his way. And soon the Stegosaurus turns to his side to make himself look bigger along with his back plates.
The Stegosaurus flushes blood into his plates, creating a frighting display of color.
The Stegosaurus swings his tail, and stands his ground with his opponent slowly backing away.
Confused and frighten by the herbivore's display, the Allosaurus backs down.
And soon, the Allosaurus leaves the Stegosaurus alone. And the large male soon begins to calm down.
And the Allosaur heads back to his friend still feeding on the baby.
Sauropodlets are small prey for the Allosaurus.
The 1st Allosaur growls at his friend, saying this meal is his.
These are the Lions of the Jurassic. One of the Top Predators of their age.
The Allosaur roars again and feeds again, and the 2nd is force to wait his turn if there'll be any scraps left that is.
Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends have manage to return to the fern patch. Along with the other surviving Diplodocus.
The crush once again, seek the sanctuary of the ferns. Even though, weighing half a ton now, there not as well hidden as they used to be.
And soon, they begin to feed.
As they grow, there teeth become more like the adults. These are simply pegs that not design to nip or chew. Instead they are perfect for stripping ferns of there leaves.
As they fed, the young female approaches a large skeleton.
Nearby, the vast skeleton of a adult Diplodocus lies where it fell. Such huge weight baring bones are too large for any forest creature to remove. The female can have little idea that in 10 years, she will be almost as large as this.
But the crush realize they are too near the edge of the forest. And retreat into it's green depths.
4 YEARS LATER
Twilight and her friends once again exit a time warp.
'This is getting a bit old.' Said Rainbow.
'You're telling me.' Said Applejack.
As they walk through the forest, Twilight suddenly bumps into a very strange tree.
'This is a odd tree.' Said Twilight.
Spike then felt the tree trunk. But instead of wood, he's feeling tough scaly skin. Then suddenly, the odd tree trunk moves as it turns out it was the right front leg of a immature Diplodocus.
This is the female, that hatched 5 years ago. She is now 40 feet long, and weighs over 5 tons. She has also start growing the spines of the adults, and the whip like tail end. And the old predators are no longer a threat.
The Diplodocus have remained in a crush. But are starting to get too large for the forest, there's not enough food. And the trees decrease their movement. Soon they'll have to leave, and join a adult herd on the plains.
'These guys are sure getting big.' Applejack amazed by their size.
'Yeah, but I think they may have to leave the forest soon.' Said Fluttershy.
But there is more room, down by a river running through the forest. But Nature is about to take charge of these dinosaur's future.
As the Diplodocus drinks from the river. Smoke appeared.
'Is something burning?' Spike smelling something.
Drifting through the trees, comes the scent of woodsmoke. It is a smell that terrifies every forest dinosaur.
'Oh no. A fire must've happen.' Starlight said.
'We better get out of this forest before it gets closer.' Twilight said.
They along with the Diplodocus crush begin to flee from the smoke, hoping to get a head start from the fire.
There is a huge forest fire to the south.
The Diplodocus start to flee, but to support their weight. They always need 3 legs on the ground. So despite the danger, they can only managed to amble.
But if they were in the open, they can actually do a speed walk like how a elephant would do if they wanted to get somewhere in a hurry.
The blaze however moves faster.
Later that night, a huge firestorm burns across the forest. And the cries of trapped dinosaurs rang through the blaze.
These Jurassic fires are rare, but can be destructive.
The fire has went on all night, and most of the forest has burn. And the flames have claimed a huge number of victims that were unlucky to make it out alive.
Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends are now out on the prairie. And they made it out of the forest just in time. But only 3 members of the Diplodocus crush made it out with them.
This is expose territory for them, there still not large enough to avoid an attack from a adult Allosaurus.
And some distance away, under the shade of some trees. A pair of Allosaurus sleeps in the shade, and one watches as the group walks by.
To the young Diplodocus, the other dinosaurs here are unfamiliar. Even with Twilight and her friends.
And huge.
As walked, then suddenly a large sauropod appears behind them. And it's body shape made it look like a Giraffe.
'Whoa!' Rainbow stared.
'Sweet Celestia!' Applejack removing her hat.
This is Brachiosaurus. a 43 foot high sauropod, that specializes in grazing on the treetops. His kind can harvest cones and fresh leaves, no other dinosaur can reach. And have grown enormous on it.
Twilight and her friends were amazed by the Brachiosaurus, and soon saw a another.
These adults weigh over 50 tons. making them some of the largest land animals that have ever existed.
The juvenile Diplodocus do not have the same size advantages. And need the protection, of a adult herd.
A few days later, a eerie call of cries went across the plains from the young sauropods. A call adult animals are program to respond.
Twilight and her friends are at a lake still with the surviving Diplodocus.
And the youngsters need help.
And suddenly, a herd of gigantic adult have finally responded to their calls and have arrived.
1 elderly female sizes up the new comers. She's possibly the herd's leader. And she accepts them. And they soon follow the herd.
Safe, at last.
5 YEARS LATER
The herd of Diplodocus is at full strength. With a range of members from 40 foot youngsters, to gigantic old adults 3 times their size. It is the mating season. And for the first time, the female that hatched 10 years ago in the forest. Is old enough, and strong enough to reproduce.
'Quite a surprise, that we keep getting in more time jumps, huh?' Rainbow said.
'Telling me, it's doing something.' Said Spike.
Then the Mane 7 begin to watch the Diplodocus.
The males have started to display. During this, they rock back on their tails to impress mates.
Then they saw 2 males stood up on their back legs. Then 2 males stood shoulder to shoulder with each other.
And fights break out. With creatures this size, the forces at work during mating confrontations, are colossal. Enough to shatter ribs, and shake the ground.
Then the 2 males started shoving their bodies at each other. And the ground shook. And quickly one of them backs down. And the victor rears up and came down shaking the ground.
The victor wins the right to mate.
That evening, their female is approach by a young male. She first responds with foot stamping and low frequency sound that are too low for most animals to hear. Something similar with elephants. The male picks them up through the ground and rubs his body against hers.
A few days later, the Diplodocus have calmed.
As Twilight and her friends check out the herd. The female feeds on the edge of the herd. But she is still not large enough to be immune from attack.
And she is unaware, she is being watched.
Some distance away, a pair of hunting Allosaurus is eyeing on the female having choosing their target.
An Allosaurus knows she is vulnerable.
The female Diplodocus continues to feed unaware of the Allosaurs.
The predators wait for her to become distant from the herd.
The Allosaurus watches patiently waiting for the right moment to strike. But then, the Diplodocus has stopped them and flees. One Allosaurus charges towards her, and then he leaps onto the side of the sauropod almost knocking her off her feet. And then the predator slips and falls off.
Then Twilight and her friends notice the hunt going on.
The female Diplodocus ran as fast as her leg can take her. But the Allosaurus being faster, has got in front of her. And instinctively the sauropod rears on her hind legs to keep her throat out of leaping range of the Allosaurus.
The Allosaurus was so focus on the female, that he has failed to notice that suddenly a tail of a adult Diplodocus slams his body. And the impact knock him off his feet.
Saved, by the huge tail of a larger Diplodocus.
The Allosaurus rolls over, and climbs to his feet.
Twilight and the others saw the whole thing, and were amazed by the scene.
'Whoa! Didn't see that coming.' Rainbow said in awe.
'Yeah, that is cool.' Said Spike.
Soon the female rejoins the herd with deep wounds on her side. But she will recover.
Then the female joins the side of the biggest Diplodocus that the mane 7 have ever seen of this trip.
Diplodocus can live for a hundred years. And above a certain size, they have no natural predators.
Sauropods dominate the Late Jurassic. And it will be millions of years before they'll disappear, along with the other dinosaurs.
With their passing, Life will never again...
Be this large.
Twilight and her friends watches the herd of Diplodocus. And soon the time warp opens, and are pulled and taken to their next destination in history.
And the herd of Diplodocus continues to march across the land.
The mighty sauropods will continue to roam the planet.
And their lowland prairies became flooded. Because the sea levels began to rise.
This created vast inland seas, and in the next chapter.
We will meet the giant carnivorous reptiles that patrol them.
Next Time.
They'll travel another 3 million years, and explore the shallow seas where Europe will one day be.
And meet an old Ancient Enemy.