The early morning light reveals on a sandy beach, and lying on the sand was a dead body of a large Pterosaur.
In life, he was the most magnificent beast ever to take to the wing. He ruled the skies supreme, flying far and wide over the lands of the dinosaurs.
This is the story of the last journey this giant ever made.
And the Mane 7 will be part of it.
BRAZIL
127,000,000 B.C.
Twilight and the others have recently arrived on a rocky coast, with some flying creatures around them. And nearby with the young Atlantic.
It is a beginning of a period in Earth's history, called the Cretaceous. And the movement of the continents is not only breaking up the giant northern and southern land masses. But it continues to push up sea levels, this has opened new sea ways and coastlines.
Where once there was solid land, now there are ragged cliffs. Housing with a colorful abundance of flying reptiles, called Pterosaurs.
Pterosaurs have filled the skies for 100 million years, and many species are now huge. Wingspans of 20 feet or more are common. But there is one species that dwarfs them all.
"What are those things?" Spike seeing the Pterosaurs.
"I think there some sort of flying reptile." Twilight said.
"There not like any flying creature I ever saw." Fluttershy said.
Pinkie then looks behind her, and then her eyes widen. "WHAT IS THAT?!"
The others turned, and were completely awestruck. It was a giant Pterosaur, 3 times bigger than the pterosaurs that fly around him.
His is Ornithocheirus, 38 feet from wingtip to wingtip, and a body bigger than a man's. He is the undisputed King of the Skies.
Soon the huge male Ornithocheirus gently glides down, and lands on a flat surface of rock. And the Mane 7 moved a little closer, to get a better look at him. To the Pterosaur, the strange newcomers seeing him don't seem to bother him.
This giant is over 40 years old, most of his life has been spent wandering the globe in search of food. But every year, there is a dramatic interruption to this nomadic lifestyle. It will soon be time, to find a mate.
On the rock ledges around him, the mating season for another Pterosaur as well underway. The bizarre looking Tapejara. Which are known for their sail like crests.
Pterosaur's wings are thin membranes of skin, that stretch from elongated fingers on their fore limbs to the ends of their hind limbs. It's a similar design of that with Bats, but a Bat wing is more of a design with elongated fingers with webbing between them. Dragons also have the same wing design. The wing design of Rainbow, Fluttershy and Twilight is somewhat similar to a Bird's wing.
Their bones are hollow, and very lightweight. They are masters of the air, but on land cumbersome. With their legs joined up by the wings.
The male Ornithocheirus is now finishing up his rest.
Instinct is telling the Ornithocheirus that it is time to move on. He must leave these shores and returned to his breeding site in Europe. On the other side of the world.
And then, the Ornithocheirus spreads his wings, and then soon takes off into the air.
"I wonder where he's going?" Starlight wondered.
"Maybe we should follow him." Twilight said.
"Uh, Twilight." Applejack said. "Hate to break it to you, but almost half of us don't have wings."
"I really hate to repeat the last time I had them." Rarity shivered from the memory when she did.
"We can just use a spell that allows you float and we'll follow him." Starlight said.
Before long, Starlight made a spell allowing Applejack, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie and Starlight to float in air. And they begin to follow the giant pterosaur through the air.
For this giant of the sky, it will be the last great flight he ever makes.
What he is about to undertake, is the most astounding journey in the Animal Kingdom. And Twilight and her friends will be a part of it.
From the shores of the Great Southern Continent, they will travel to North America, cross the Atlantic Seaway, and fly onto the islands which mark where Europe will one day be formed.
Spread out below them, will be the majesty and spectacle, of a world ruled by dinosaurs.
In just a few days, they reaches the southern tip of North America.
And below them, traveling north across the coastline. Was a large of dinosaurs called Dakotadon.
The beach is wide, flat and by the edge of the forest. In this time, the beach is like a Dinosaur Freeway.
Below them, a column of Dakotadons stretches along a beach. Grazing the edge of a dense forest. A thousand tons of dinosaur, are on the move.
Hundreds of mouths are searching for a fresh place, to satisfy their enormous appetites.
The herd is traveling on the beach, because for many reasons. There's more room to move around than inside a forest, and if a predator is spotted, one will call out. And the sand would give them extra traction to run.
But there is a setback ahead.
The weather begins to change from a sunny day, as storm clouds begin to gather.
And soon it begins to rain.
The climate in the time of the dinosaurs is warm and tropical. There are only 2 seasons, dry and wet. Now it is the time of year for tropical storms. In moments the short stretch of coast is drenched. Welcome relief for thirsty plants and lean rivers. But it is a disaster for a migrating Pterosaur.
The Ornithocheirus was forced to take shelter inside a gap under a rock.
The Ornithocheirus is grounded by the heavy rain. Frustrating his urge to get to the breeding site.
Twilight and the others are forced to take shelter as well.
The next day, the weather starts to improve.
As the sun begins to raise, Twilight and her friends started to wake up. And the the storm has finally pass.
The Ornithocheirus waits impatiently in his cave, and busies himself grooming. He's plagued by biting parasites that tap into the blood vessels on his wing membrane. If he is to find a mate, he must be in good health and prime condition. He has to keep the parasites in check.
Half an hour later, when the updrafts from the water begin to form. The Ornithocheirus finally takes off, and Twilight and the others begin to follow him.
At last, he can resume his epic journey.
For thousands of miles, they follows the coast of North America.
When flying next to this flying giant, the Pterosaur's wingspan was 4 times wider than Twilight's. To him, she's the size of a Sparrow next to a Harpy Eagle.
And soon, they must face open water.
This, is the young Atlantic.
But it's still only 186 miles wide. To reach the other side, he'll need all his gliding skills to exploit the air currents that form over the waves.
Today, large seabirds like the Wandering Albatross which is the largest living flying bird. Use air currents over the ocean to keep themselves in the air.
Along the way, he must feed.
But flying low has it's dangers. Hungry monsters watch him from below the waves.
And beneath the surface, a Plesiopleurodon dives down.
An entire day on the wing, and they have arrived on the most western of Europe's islands.
Further inland, a relative of Dakotadon thrive here.
It's there larger most famous cousin, Iguanodon.
They grow up to 3 tons at full size.
These animals are also joined with a Polacanthus, it's likely they travel with Iguanodon herds for extra protection. Even though they have a set of spines on their back and armored back.
Meanwhile, the Mane 7 and the Ornithocheirus are resting on a rock in the middle of the lake. While on the shore, a mid sized predator was watching in the bushes.
A Utahraptor.
Raptors are a recent species to evolve. But have quickly proven to be the deadliest dinosaurs.
But luckily, the female Utahraptor has chosen the Iguanodon as targets.
Somewhere close by is the rest of the pack.
The other Raptors have a wide circle around the herd. And are waiting for the right moment to strike.
With lethal claws, this 20 foot long killer is armed. And long fingers help them to latch on to swift moving larger prey.
And that's what Raptors are most famous of. They can tackle animals many times their own size.
And soon, the pack starts chasing after the herd as the Iguanodons started running. One Raptor closes in on one Iguanodon, and quickly lunges into it's back. But the 3 ton herbivore quickly jolts to the left and the sudden momentum cause the Raptor to slip and fall onto the ground.
By the time the Raptor got up again, the herd starts bellowing to get her to leave. And the Raptor screeches.
Raptors have the legs of a sprinter, and do not pursue their prey for long. So she saves her energy for later.
Close to a hour later, the Iguanodons move down to the lake to drink.
In the background, the Ornithocheirus sits on his rock completely safe. And the Mane 7 watch the herd as they drink.
Some distance away, a lone Utahraptor watches.
The Raptors are closing in.
Soon the pack begins to close in, and are within striking distance.
And then the Utahraptors lunge from their ambush spots. And the herd starts to run from the Raptors.
And then, one Iguanodon has gotten separated and then, 2 Raptors lunge onto his side. The herbivore tries to shake them off, but they got a firm grip on his side. And the 2nd Raptor clamps around neck.
And moments later, the Iguanodon was brought down.
Later in the day, the pack was still gorging themselves in the carcass.
This is the first kill they pack made in for over a week. In one sitting, they'll eat 220 pounds of meat.
High above, the Ornithocheirus has to leave this killing fields. And the Mane 7 follow him. To find a safer place for the night.
Later, they rest for a while at a lake.
But were soon drove off by birds protecting nests with eggs.
The birds will one day rule the skies.
Driven on, they eventually reaches the huge island of Cantabria. Which will one day be the bedrock of Spain.
They are exhausted by their 8700 mile journey.
Ahead lies the mating ground.
Every year of his adult life, he has returned to this same spot to mate. Already the beach is full of male Ornithocheirus nosily competing for space.
And soon they begin to fly lower to the ground.
"Ugh, we've been flying for days." Rarity complained. "I thought we never rest."
As the old male approaches, he knows from experience that the nearer the center of this loud crowd. The more attractive he will be to the females. He heads straight for the dominant position has has occupied in previous years.
Right in the middle.
As the old male get closer to the middle, he was then drove off by the males.
Bit this time, he faces a challenge to his supremacy.
Again and again, he tries to land. But the males on the ground sends him off.
Eventually his weariness tells him to land somewhere else.
His position has been taken over by younger males.
For the outcast, the world has been turned upside down. Now banished to the outskirts of the mating area, he'll be lucky to attract a female at all.
The old Pterosaur starts calling out as the Mane 7 are nearby resting.
"I guess this guy has seen better days." Rainbow said.
"Yeah, and he flew for a long time." Pinkie said.
"At least we can rest for a while, now." Spike said.
Meanwhile in the center of the gathering, younger males are having better luck of finding mates.
3 days later, and at last the breeding site is emptying of males.
And it is blistering hot.
Twilight and her friends have been keeping cool from the sun in the shallow water.
But on this day, their huge flying friend wasn't feeling well.
Their Ornithocheirus has yet to mate. And worst still, the hot sun has taken a heavy toll.
Heat stress and lack of food, have all but killed him.
Twilight and the others appeared after a swim. But soon saw the weak condition of their friend.
The King of the Skies, has lost his majesty.
By sunset, the old Pterosaur begins to lose his fight with the heat.
By morning in first light, he was already dead.
His life has run full circle. In his time, he traveled the globe. But death finds him here, in the very same place where he first mated, some 40 years ago.
On the beach around him, are others who lost out in this struggle to reproduce.
Twilight and the others stand by his body, believing he had a good long life. And a small young Ornithocheirus approaches the body and starts feeding.
But nature has seldom wasteful. They have become food, for the next generation.
The possibly soon to be future King of the Skies calls out.
And then, Twilight and her friends were sucked into the time warp and being taken to their next destination.
The Pterosaurs continued to rule the skies for millions of years.
While on land, the dinosaurs spread to every part of the globe.
In the next chapter, they will see how they even conquered the most extraordinary environment of all...
The dark forests, of the South Pole.
Next Time.
Twilight and her friends jump forward 21 million years, and meet the dinosaurs.
Surviving in the South Pole.
Author's Note:
I'm sorry for the long wait, it's been busy with other stories.
I promise the next chapter will come sometime next week.