Chapter 8:
New Threats/ Meet The Herd
Back in the present…
"I can't believe they lost everything that day. So awful." Flurry said, feeling bad for Aladar and his family losing their home in all that destruction.
"They lost many things that day, Flurry. They lost their families, friends, and their home. But they did however gain many things as well." Twilight said looking at her niece and then back at the statue of Aladar.
"Really? Like what?" Flurry asked. She was wondering how anything good could have happened that day.
"Well, after they lost their home, Aladar and his family headed inland…" Twilight said as she continues telling the story…
Twilight: …They've walked across their desolate world trying to find a place with plenty of food and water to call their new home.
Later that very night, Aladar and his family trekked across some kind of rocky landscape as a river of lava flows nearby…
A few days later, Aladar was still hiking inland as they were now trekking across what looked like a rocky desert. So far they were the only signs of life for miles and they haven't seen anything since they arrived on the mainland. And since they are heading inland, everything around them looks completely new and strange. But it also means encountering new predators.
As they continued on, the Crusaders were quietly crying as they held on to their sisters for protection.
"Do not worry, young ones. There's nothing to be afraid of," Chieftress Night Cycle assured, comforting them. She gave the young fillies a nuzzle of affection. It made them feel a little better as she hadn't had much time for them before, the herd having been so large before. But a noise distracted them.
A sound was heard as Sweet-Tooth looked and saw something ahead of them.
"Look!" Sweet-Tooth exclaimed looking ahead.
Frolic Timid jumped as Sweet-Tooth leaned over her.
"What?" Cinnamon asked, looking ahead as well.
"Huh?" Sky Color frowned.
"Whoa!" Aladar exclaimed as he looked ahead and saw something ahead as well.
Ahead of them, a silhouette of a creature rushed by and vanished behind a hill.
"Did you see that?" Aladar asked as they headed to the hilltop.
"See what?" Rareness asked for she didn't see it.
"I did," Sweet-Tooth replied.
"Me too," Tangerine said as well.
When Aladar made it to the hilltop, the creature was already gone.
"That's strange. I thought I saw something," Half-Light said as Sky Color nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. But where did it go?" Sky Color asked, wondering
"I don't know. Let's go see," Aladar said as he wanted to see it again.
"Or maybe we should leave it alone. Hey!" Rareness demanded but was defied when Aladar began to move.
"Shh! Rareness, be quiet," Cinnamon shushed her and warned.
"But it's scaring Sweet-Pebble here!" Rareness said, not wanting to deal with whatever it was.
"No it's not, Rareness," Sweet-Pebbles said, looking at her sister.
"Well, it's definitely scaring me!" Frolic Timid said, shaking in fear a little.
"Everyone just be quiet," Aladar said.
"Aladar's right. We don't know what we're up against so we all must stay quiet," Bright Cycle said in a whisper. Even though their group was small she wanted to keep her family safe.
"The creature went that way so let's go there," Night Cycle said, pointing to a gully as Aladar heads down into the gully and looks around.
They soon got to an area of rocks and looked around as a distant cooing was heard. Aladar heard the chittering and turns to the nearest hilltop and saw something.
On the hilltop, there's a small feathered bipedal Dinopony. It appears to be 10 feet long and has ears, a mane, and a tail like that of an Earth Pony, but has a snout, head, and body of a Dromaeosaur. Its body was a tan color and has green stripes. It also has long feathered arms that looked like wings and three long-fingered claws. And it has a big curved claw on the big toe held up.
This small Dinopony is called Acheroponaptor, Part Earth Pony, Part Acheroraptor.
At the moment, this Acheroponaptor was busy grooming itself.
Unsure of what to make of the small Dinopony, Aladar took a step forward.
"Bright Cycle, what is that thing?" Half-Light asked, turning to the Chieftress.
"I'm not sure, Half-Light." Bright Cycle replied, looking at the creature. Something didn't sit right to her about the creature.
The Archeroponaptor continues grooming itself until it lifts its head up and spotted them. The Dromaeopony stared at them and lightly growled as a second Archeroponaptor appeared by him. Aladar took a step back as the two Dromaeoponies watched them on the ledge until a distant sound was heard nearby and Aladar turns to his right and saw three more Archeroponaptors just appeared from behind some rocks. It was then that Aladar began to realize that something was wrong.
Then they realized they were surrounded all each side by a pack of seven Archeroponaptors as they squawked and trilled as Aladar looked to his left and three of them started to approach them.
Dromaeoponies are famously known for hunting in small family packs.
"Okay, Aladar. Stay calm and walk away slowly," Half-Light whispered quietly as Aladar started to move away.
But suddenly, a pair of familiar feet with big toe claws appeared and landed on a rock near Aladar as he turns to it and gasped for he has seen another Archeroponaptor. But this one has a blue coloration on his head feathers, which indicates that this Dromaeopony is the alpha.
For a moment, the Alpha looks at them curiously and made a low growl until suddenly it let out a screech and bared its small but sharp teeth and its hand claws out too.
Aladar gasped as he backed away and Half-Light and her friends screamed as they held on.
Aladar turns and saw three Archeroponaptor approaching him and his family as he begins to back away up a hill while the pack started to gather shoulder to shoulder and the alpha jumps down from the rock and joins them. But the pack won't attack them until the alpha makes a move and charge first.
Aladar found himself against a high ridge of rocks.
Seeing that they have them cornered, the Alpha Archeroponaptor trilled and rears back into a lunging position and then catapults itself towards Aladar.
"HEADS UP!" Sky Color shouted.
Aladar quickly lifted his foot as two Archeroponaptors slammed themselves against the rock hard. Aladar quickly got down and grunted as he gasped and took off while the Alpha Acheroponaptor tries to attack.
Aladar quickly climbs up a rock and glanced back but then quickly jumped down and takes off running. The Archeroponaptor leaped over the rock and chased after them.
Aladar ran as a sandstorm occurred and the Archeroponaptors swiftly chased after them.
Aladar ran and grunted as the Prehistoric Mane 6, Crusaders, and The Chieftresses held on as they gasped. But the Acheroponaptors were quickly catching up to them.
Dromaeoponies have long legs built for high-speed chases, but they usually leave animals many times of their own mass alone and rather hunt smaller animals and Dinoponies of the same size, and they are only built for high-speed chases in short distances.
The Alpha got alongside Aladar on the right and leaped onto his right thigh as Aladar grunted. The Alpha sank his blade-like teeth into Aladar's thigh and bit down hard as Aladar bellowed out in pain. On the left of Aladar, a second Archeroponaptor approached him and being a good jumper, it leaped into the air and almost got over Aladar's back and near Night Cycle as it snaps its jaws almost snatching her.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Night Cycle shouted as she fell off, losing her balance.
At the last second, Bright Cycle quickly acts fast and grabs her sister's hoof.
"Sister, Grab On!" Bright Cycle yelled, reaching out her other hoof.
"I can't reach!" Night Cycle shouted, trying to reach her sisters' other hoof.
But Night Cycle continues jostling on Aladar's side as she struggles to grab hold until the Alpha's right clawed hand appeared near her. Bright Cycle and Half-Light quickly pulled her up as the Archeroponaptor snapped its jaws trying to snatch her but missed narrowly.
But then the Alpha Archeroponaptor looked to its right and ahead and seemed to look like it noticed something ahead. The Alpha growled and then leaped off Aladar's side and ran as Aladar continues running, but the pack slowed to a stop as the Alpha screeched out.
"Aladar, they're stopping!" Half-Light said as she and Bright Cycle helped Night Cycle up.
"What? Why did they stop?" Sweet-Tooth asked.
Aladar gasped as he soon slowed down to a stop and looked back to see the Dromaeoponies rushing off into the blowing sand.
"And where are they going in such a hurry?" Sky Color asked as bellowing was heard nearby.
Before they could protest on what was happening, Aladar looked ahead and saw something ahead of him as a shadow appeared over him.
"Huh?" Aladar said as the shadow loomed over him.
Then growling was heard and suddenly Aladar was knocked off his feet and hits the ground hard. What knocked him off was a very angry Kritopony with a light purplish mane and scales, light blue eyes, and a high nose crest.
"Stay out of my way!" He demanded as he walks over Aladar and Half-Light and her friends quickly moved out of the way to avoid getting stomped on.
As the Kritopony continues walking off, a second Kritopony with a brown mane and scales, greenish eyes and a high nose crest turned to Aladar and said, "You heard Kron. Move it!".
Aladar got back up on his feet as he gasped, and his family got back on his back. Then bellows were heard nearby as Kritoponies came into view from the blowing sand and Aladar turns and found himself walking aside a large herd of Dinoponies as they walked past them as scattered bellowing and calling occurred among them.
There were Kritoponies and Edmontoponies as well and Aladar watches in amazement as an Edmontopony walked by him. Aladar looked down as squawking was heard as a dozen of baby Kritopony foals walked by and under him as his head follows them and looks down.
But as he lifted his head back up, Aladar accidentally hit his head against the head of a Kritopony mare with a tanish mane and scales with some purple, and yellow eyes as they both grunted.
"Watch it," She said as she begins to walk off and Aladar watches her go.
Suddenly, a ferocious bellow was heard and Aladar turns to see a Toropony walking towards him and slamming its head against Aladar's flank as the Kritopony cried out and hits the ground. A group of small Dinoponies called Leptocornatops appeared and leaped on the ground as they passed him chittering.
"Sweet-Tooth, get your head down!" Cinnamon said, lowering Sweet-Tooth's head as she was all wide-eyed.
Aladar lift his head up as the little Dinoponies leaped away, and then a loud low bellow was heard as the ground began to shake with loud footsteps.
Aladar looked and turned his head.
In front of him, was a herd of Alamopegasus approaching him as the ground shook with each step. The first Alamopegasus bellows out as Aladar looks up to where their heads were. These Dinoponies are the biggest creatures he has ever seen in his life. When Aladar looked down again, he saw their massive hooves nearing him and quickly moves aside as the Alamopegasus herd walked over him.
Aladar, Half-Light, Cinnamon, Sweet Tooth, Rareness, Sky Color, Frolic Timid, Sweet Pebble, Free Fall, Tangerine, Bright Cycle, and Night Cycle were in full amazement as they watched.
Aladar then got back on his feet as the last two members of the Alamopegasus herd walks by and Aladar watches them go.
"You're walking backward, huh? Well let me know if that gets you there any faster," an elderly voice said as Aladar turned to see an elderly Tricornatops, Part Triceratops, Part Unicorn, with a brown mane and scales and yellow eyes walking by.
"Keep those little legs moving Url or you'll get left behind!" the elderly Tricornatops called out to a brown Ankylopony keeping up with them.
Then Aladar walks up to the hilltop and saw in amazement as an Alamopegasus bellows out, and the sandstorm clears, and they see an entire herd of surviving Dinoponies walking off.
"Whoa! Look at all of them!" Free Fall said in amazement.
"They all look like Aladar," Tangerine said in astonishment.
"There must be dozens and dozens of them," Sweet Pebble said looking at the sight and number of the herd. She has never seen a herd like this before.
Aladar watched them go as Sky Color noticed the look on his face.
"If you're even thinking about joining them Aladar…" Sky Color tried to say until a growl suddenly made Sweet Tooth and Frolic Timid jump and cling around her fearfully.
Appearing behind them on a nearby hilltop was the Archeroponaptor pack for they have circled around the herd and soon spotted them.
"Hang on! Hang on!" Aladar said quickly as he runs off.
The Archeroponaptors trilled and then started chasing them.
Aladar quickly runs off after the herd as the Dromaeoponies got to the hilltop and watched the herd go as it was too big for even this pack to get too close and the Alpha lets out an Eagle-like screech.