95 Million Years Ago
Patagonia, Argentina, South America.
Twilight and her friends soon exit the time warp, and arrived in a dry hot climate of what will become Patagonia.
"Whoa, I wonder where we are this time?" Spike looking at the landscape.
"I don't know, let's have a look around." Twilight suggested.
After an hour of hiking, the Mane 7 soon came across what looked like a large plain with strange rounded mounds in the ground.
"I wonder what that is?" Rainbow wondered.
"Maybe we should check it out." Starlight said.
And then they approached the plain, and soon came across what appears to be a nest.
"What is this?" Applejack asked.
"I think it's a nest." Fluttershy said.
"Hey, this one has eggs in it." Twilight called from a different nest.
They moved over to Twilight, and there was a clutch of 5 eggs. But they were as big as Footballs.
"Wow, that is one big egg." Pinkie said.
"What in the name of Celestia would lay an egg that big?" Rarity asked.
"I'm not sure." Twilight said and looks around. "But there doesn't appear to be any footprints of any creatures coming by."
And then, one egg in the clutch starting to show signs of life.
"I think it's hatching." Fluttershy said.
The start, of a new life.
And soon, a piece of eggshell broke off. And emerging from the shell, was a little baby Sauropod no bigger than a foot long and weighing 9 pounds.
"Aw." The 8 went of the little dinosaur.
"Aw, hi little one." Fluttershy stroking the baby.
"Hey, who's that guy?" Spike asked looking out.
They turned, and not too faraway was an Abelisaurid called Skorpiovenator.
"I don't know." Starlight said as they turned to him.
The Skorpiovenator tilts his head curiously at the group, never seeing ponies and a dragon before. And he then turns away and got back to his business.
The Skorpiovenator then lowers his head down, and sniffs a nest. Happens to be a nest raider, preying on the hatchlings.
The Abelisaurid soon snatch up, and eats a few hatchlings before the Mane 7 noticed and turn back to him.
But then, they suddenly got unexpected company, when the hatchling's real parent appeared.
It's Argentinosaurus.
Standing before them, was a colossal adult version of the hatchlings. It was a long as 8 Friendship Express coaches, and as tall as Twilight's castle.
The Mane 7 were instantly jaw dropped stunned of this mighty giant colossus.
A plant eating giant, that dwarfs everything around it.
Intimidated by the sheer size of the Argentinosaurus, the Skorpiovenator turns and leaves the area.
And Twilight and the others watched as the giant walks across the plain shaking the earth with each tremendous step of it's 4 feet. Argentinosaurus grew to a colossal 130 feet long, and weighing 100 tons. That's the same, with 15 African Elephants.
No other land animal even comes close.
The Earth will never see a bigger creature on land.
And yet they start out in eggs as big as Footballs.
But Argentinosaurus, like other Titanosaurs, leave their eggs to their fate. Relying on their large numbers for the survival of the species.
Twilight and the others looked the baby as he looks at 2 passing adults.
The little baby Argentinosaurus, let's call him Strong-One. Will grow as big as a Space Shuttle Orbiter, and 30 feet longer than a Blue Whale, the largest animal alive today.
If he lives long enough.
Only a few will reach adulthood.
And chances of getting through his first year is very against him.
Meanwhile, a few miles away was another nest.
And then a feathered Dromaeosaurid appeared just as a large Theropod appears as the Raptor snatches an egg. But was forced to drop it as soon the Theropod got between the egg thief and the nest, which happens to be hers.
The Raptor screeches, and then the mother roars as the nest raiders runs off.
The Theropod turns to her clutch as soon as the raider was gone. And gently rolls the egg back into her nest.
She happens to be among a new generation of monster predators.
The Giganotosaurs.
The Giganotosaurid arrived just 5 million years earlier, 3 species of this group surpass the famous T. Rex in terms of size.
The mother soon noticed a Giganotosaurus behind her and confronts the intruder. Not looking for trouble, the Giganotosaurus walks away clearly not interested of a fight.
And the mother turns back to her nest, as one of them tilts to it's side.
Although rare in Reptiles, caring for the young has been obverse in Crocodiles for incense. In Dinosaurs, this caring behavior has evolved enough to remind us of Birds.
The egg begins to show signs of life as it jolts a bit.
And soon, within a few moments. The egg hatches. A little female covering in small feathers.
This baby female, is named Long-Tooth. However small, vulnerable, and some... Cute, she may appear now. She is genetically programmed to rapidly become a 45 foot long, 8 ton predator like her mother.
Long-Tooth's mother needs lowers and lays down. And then allows her daughter to climb into her opened mouth.
Twilight and her friends have recently exited a time warp
And have fast forward only a decade after the birth of Strong-One.
But they wondering of how they grew so big.
A dry climate with cold could've favored animals that retain internal heat better because of their larger mass.
But a simpler theory rest on a warm climate, and a fertile land with all the vegetation you can eat.
Yet another theory tells us that large herbivores had to grow to big enough to hold the large stomach able to digest high in fiber, low in protein vegetation.
Finally, large amount of flat space could've led naturally to Argentinosaurs. As the vast seas have led to Whales.
Half an hour after hiking, Twilight and the others have found a herd of Argentinosaurus.
And they approached a tree as 2 young Argentinosaurus heads towards them to feed. At their size, their like House Cats next to a large bull African Elephant.
And one of them is actually Strong-One who has managed to get through his first year. And he is as big as a Sperm Whale.
Size has it's advantages. The highest branches belong to those who can reach them. And many animals are too small to be threaten, among situations.
The young Titanosaurs got the trees, and Strong-One's friends rears up on his hind legs with a bellow, and drops down. And Strong-One bellows.
Strong-One is now about 10 years old. He has reached the length of 60 feet, half his adult size. His rapid growth will give him the protection in size, early in life.
Strong-One feeds on a branch as his friend rears up and feeds at a higher vantage point.
And Twilight and the others watched in amazement by the trees.
"Those guys are huge!" Rainbow said.
"Yeah, amazing." Spike said.
And soon, the Argentinosaurus drops down with a thunderous thud shaking the ground. An bellows as he turns and heads to the herd now leaving.
And after stripping leaves from a branch, Strong-One noticed and begins to follow. And saw the Mane 7 and looks at them, and after his curiosity fades. He begins to turn to follow his herd.
And the Mane 7 watched as the herd of giants traveled across the plains of Patagonia.
If a single Argentinosaur is hard to attack, a herd of Argentinosaurs is even more so. And such a herd has to move constantly, because it eats a lot. And has to find new or regrown food sources.
Several miles away, by a waterfall with a cliff. Long-Tooth wanders around the plains for anything to eat. And still carries small feathers when she hatched.
And soon, she noticed a Dragonfly on a bush. She attempts to catch it, but misses when the Dragonfly flies off.
Long-Tooth has reached a quarter of her adult size. She's growing fast too. Her small feathers have almost all disappeared. She has been feeding on, just about any small animal and even some vegetation during the first part of her life.
Her genes will eventually command her to eat only meat.
After a few fail attempts to catch the Insect. Long-Tooth loses interest and begins to head out.
The Mane 7 once again excited a time warp, fast forward another 10 years.
And onto a riverbank, and their was a herd of Argentinosaurus traveling alongside it.
And one of them, is Strong-One not fully grown.
Strong-One has reached maturity. For many scientist, he's at full size. His 20 years old.
And he is at the beginning of more than a century of life.
The Mane 7 watched as Strong-One and the other members of the herd marched across the riverbank.
Other scientist believe that he will keep on growing. All of his life, but at a much slower pace than his earlier years.
Strong-One bellows and soon his left front foot drops on a rock, and he crushed it under his 100 ton bulk to pebbles.
Argentinosaurs were 12 times more massive than their biggest predator.
On the other bank of the river, Long-Tooth now nearing full size follows them.
They were almost invincible.
Long-Tooth walks over some mud leaving 2 footprints, and carries on with following the herd of giants.
But one day, those footprints could be seen by Humans.
Sometime later, Long-Tooth rests under a tree.
And at 22 years of age, she is fully grown.
Meanwhile, not too far away. A herd of Argentinosaurus travels across the plain in search of food. And Strong-One is among them, as well as the Mane 7. But there's a gang of Gigantosaurus following them.
Strong-One is unknowingly at a dangerous time. As an adult Argentinosaur, he has no predator to fear.
Strong-One bellows.
Unless he is to old, sick, or wounded.
On Strong-One's right shoulder, he carries a wound and drawing blood.
Long-Tooth lifts her head as another Giganotosaurus approached nearby. And she got up.
And soon, Long-Tooth charges.
"Uh oh!" Twilight said. "Guys, move!"
They quickly moved away from the herd, and soon Long-Tooth confronts Strong-One and roars. And then she roars at another Giganotsaurus. Soon, the rest of the pack begins to drive the herd as the turned to Strong-One. The large Sauropod lifts up a bit and drops.
And Twilight and the others watched as the clash of titans begins.
Long-Tooth soon bites on Strong-One's left front leg, at his knee. And another Giganotsaurus bites down on his lower left hind leg. And then Long-Tooth snaps at him, and then they bites and locked jaws at each other. And the Gigantosaurus backs away from her.
But he unknowingly got too close to Strong-One's long tail. And then with the force of a freight train, he swung his tail like the arm of a crane at the predator's side and hits the ground and growls in pain.
"He is so gonna feel that tomorrow." Rainbow winced.
"I think he felt it now." Spike said.
The 3 Giganotsaurus continue their confrontation with the Titanosaur.
Despite their numbers, and their powerful jaws.
The Giganotsaurs can't bring down such a giant.
Long-Tooth bites down on Strong-One's leg front leg. And then Strong-One lifts up on his hind legs as Long-Tooth was left hanging in the air. And then he throws the predator off his leg, and he bellows and drops down with a massive thud.
Long-Tooth soon got up, and roars.
Soon, Strong-One begins to hurry back to the herd as fast his legs can allow him. And Long-Tooth and the other Giganotsaurus begins to turn away from him.
Tearing off pieces of skin, and letting the large prey bleed to death. Or die from infection, is a time more likely of success.
Giganotsaurs can wait days, even weeks between meals.
The Giganotosaur pack approaches their fallen member.
But this time they won't have too.
The fallen Giganotsaurus is injured from a broken rid cage, and likely with a pierce lung and internal bleeding.
The Giganotsaurus begin to surround the weaken member, but then a Dromaeosaurid appeared for the kill. But realized there's 4 other Giganotsaurus around him. And they roared at him as he runs off.
Sometime later, Twilight and the others wander around the Patagonian plains.
"That sure was cray back there." Spike said.
"Yeah, guess being big doesn't mean you can be left alone." Starlight said.
And suddenly, Pinkie bumped into a large object.
"Hey, what is this?" Pinkie wondered.
Instead of a large rock, the surface was all rough and scaly.
But it was actually a fallen Argentinosaurus, but it wasn't Strong-One. This one is likely to been a different one that was attacked, and has grown weak from the injuries.
And soon, a few Skorpiovenators have gathered around the fallen giant. And soon the giant's life has faded away.
And the predators begin to feed on the body.
It's a prize worth waiting for.
From a distance, Twilight and the others watched as the frenzy grows bigger.
And it's attracts carnivores from miles around.
A few hours into the frenzy, a Giganotosaurus arrives on the scene. And the Skorpiovenators are forced to leave as the top predator of Patagonia feeds.
Like every carnivore today, scavenging meat plays a huge part in their diet.
The frenzy went on all day, and into the night as the Skorpiovenators return to feed.
The biology of giant Sauropods and with a 70 ton animal. That 11 tons is bones, 3.5 tons of blood, 4 tons of hide and skin. 15 tons of fat, and 39 tons of meat.
It's enough to feed an ecosystem for days.
Several days later, most of the carcass has been stripped clean. And now is left of the skeleton.
And soon, the Mane 7 approached the skeleton for a better look.
"Whoa, even the bones of this guys is big." Pinkie said.
A single backbone of this giant was as tall as a Human, and likely weighed as much as 600 pounds.
"Can you imagine something like that, in a museum?" Fluttershy said.
And then suddenly, the time warp opens and pulls them in. Taking them to their next destination.
Next Time.
The Mane 7 traveled halfway across the world, to Africa.
And meet the Biggest Land Predator of all time.
Author's Note:
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!