-Manetana-

Bone Digger brushed away at the dry, dusty dirt, her tongue sticking out of her mouth in an effortful manner. Her knees ached, despite the knee pads she wore, her lungs burned, and sweat ran down her forehead. She was oblivious to the pain and had her blue eyes practically glued to an area of ground around her. With a satisfactory smile, she sat upright.

Bone Digger was a paleontologist who had lived in Manetana for several years. She was odd for a pony and was most commonly remembered for the scale like appearance beneath her snake like eyes. Dust stuck to her yellow pelt, staining her coat with tan spots, and she wore a green bandana around her neck. A single carnosaur skull with a curve of neck vertabrae covered her left hip, forming Bone Digger's curie mark, a sign of her paleontological career.

Having written several books about prehistoric animals and the theory of evolution, she was well known to some, but not so much to others.

Bone Digger lifted herself to her hooves and looked around the rocky badlands. She didn't picture these dry lands as... well... DRY... The mare pictured the land as a lush, wet, swamp flourishing with dinosaurs and crocodiles. Pterosaurs soared above her, cawing and screeching. Spinosaurids stalked the shorelines, small tick birds resting on their vertabrae.

"BONE!" a voice called, detracting the mare' attention from the mystifying land. Bone Digger turned to see a young pony approaching her with a wide smile. "BONE!" she called again.

"Yes, I heard you." the pony reassured her with a slight smile.

"How's the skeleton coming?" the mare asked, approaching her with a smile.

"Great!" Bone Digger replied. "My best assumption for the animal is a species of therizinosaur, maybe a Deinocheirus. I'm not quite sure anyway, but the creature is reaching record lengths for the only herbivorous theropod." the mare exclaimed, gazing down at a massive pair of claws attached to the animal's forearms.

"Are you kidding me?! That's excellent! A Deinocheirus, and fully intact too!" she replied, jumping in joy.

"Calm down!" the older mare commanded, holding down her shoulders. "I'm not even sure that it IS a Deinocheirus, so there's no need to get overexcited."

"Anyway... Princess Celestia called... Asked for you to identify some creature. She says it bit one of the Mane Six. The pony ended up in the hospital."

"What?" Bone Digger asked in shock.

"You need to go to Canterlot." the mare continued.

"Lemme see the phone!" the pony asked, snatching the cellular device from her partners hoof. With a few beeps, she punched the number into the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello? Yes, this is Bone Digger. May I speak to Princess Celestia please... Yes, I can hold, thank you... Hi. I was informed that you need me... A living raptor?! I highly doubt that... I'm afraid that I can not come. The digging team and I have just uncovered a possibly new species of- Wait... What?! I... uh, I don't know what to say... I-I'll try... Alright, I'll see you then."

The paleontologist hung up and turned to the pony beside her.

"Well! What did she say?" the mare asked in excitement.

"The creature that attacked that pony was described to me as a raptor... I want you to cover the fossil until I get back... Celestia wants me to identify the creature in question, and I don't want the skeleton buried from the wind."

"What?! Are you crazy?! There's only a month or two until winter and we just uncovered a new skele-!" she was cut off by Bone Digger.

"If I go... we'll be given the money to support a full five years of digging here." she said sternly. "I want the skeleton covered. I don't know when I'll get back. Do you understand?" Bone Digger said.

"Yeah." the mare sighed, gazing down at the skeleton.

"Good..."

-One Hour Later-

"Alright! Everypony, listen up!!" Bone Digger started, climbing to the top of a large boulder. "I have been promised enough money to fund the dig site for a full five years if I can identify a creature that is attacking Ponyville's residents! There will be no digging activities until I return!" she continued. "Wish me luck!"

-Manetana Airport-

Bone Digger approached the helicopter, the wind from it's propellers blowing at her short mane and tail. "Bad hair day?" the pilot asked as she climbed into the flying vehicle.

The mare looked into a rear view mirror and smiled. "Apparently so!" she called over the sound of the rotors.

"Well then, buckle up!!" he told her with a cheery grin. Bone Digger found the buckle and pulled it over her chest. With a click, she pulled the strap to tighten it.

-Gates of Canterlot-

Bone Digger rested her pack on the ground and gazed up at the tall, iron gates of Canterlot with wide eyes. "Wow." she exclaimed as a pony on the other side approached the gate.

"Hello." he said, taking a helmet off of his head. The stallion was only able to be described in three words: Tall, Muscular, and Handsome... Well that's three words, but you get the point.

The paleontologist stared at the guard with a flabbergasted expression.

"Uh, Ma'am? Can I help you?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Oh! Yeah, uh, sorry... I'm here to discuss an important matter with Princess Celestia." she stammered, not looking away from the pony as he leaned against the gate.

"Technically, I'm not supposed to do this, but you seem nice enough. C'mon in." he told her, pulling open the gate. Bone Digger stared at him as he pulled the gate open with seemingly unmatched strength.

-Inside Canterlot-

Ratchet lead the odd mare down Canterlot's long, marble halls, his eyes unnoticeably eyeing the pony. Since the breakup between Ratchet and Frost Bloom before Operation: Final Wars, he had been on the lookout for a mare.

"My name is Bone Digger." the pony said, interrupting the stallion's thoughts.

"Ratchet." he replied, stopping at a large door before him. It had a golden frame and fancy golden plating covering parts of the wooden door.

"Thank you, Ratchet." Bone Digger said with a slight smile.

"Mm... Your welcome." he said as the mare lifted a hoof. Ratchet shook his hoof and continued. "Maybe we could go get a coffee or something, sometime." he said, walking away.

"Perhaps..." Bone Digger whispered to herself, turning to knock on the large door. With a sigh, she knocked her hoof against the large door.

"Come in!" a voice replied. The mare gently pushed the door open and gasped, her breath taken away by the size and gracefulness of the room. Standing in the center of the room were Princess Luna, and her eldest and only sister, Princess Celestia. The alicorn smiled at the pony and spoke. "Hello, Bone Digger."

"Your Majesty!" the shocked mare stammered, falling to her knees in a form of showing the monarch that she was supreme. She remained that way for several moments. Princess Luna raised a brow.

"Please, that will not be necessary." Celestia chuckled. "Rise." she continued calmly.

Bone Digger lifted herself up and smiled. "Now then, what of this... Raptor?" she asked, her pupils dilating as her heart rate returned to a normal rhythm.

"They have been attacking Ponyville's residents... I was hoping that you could identify the creatures and put a stop to their mischief." Celestia replied, her smile vanishing.

"They?" Bone Digger said, a puzzled look upon her face. "They really do hunt in packs." the paleontologist mare added quietly to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. She then turned to Princess Celestia. "Your Majesty, I would be happy to identify these animals, but do you wish for me to kill them off?" she asked.

"Yes... I don't like killing or sending others to kill, but these creatures are threatening Ponyville and it's residents. Do what you must to get rid of them." she replied.

"I will wait until evening to head out to Ponyville." Bone Digger said with a stern tone.

"That is alright with me... But one more thing before you leave, the creature that was initially spotted by Fluttershy did not come to harm her... You will not kill that one. Do we understand one another?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." the paleontologist replied, bowing down. "But how do I tell this one apart from the others?" she continued.

"It will not attack you."

-A Few Minutes Later-

Bone Digger raced down the hall, her hooves loudly clopping against the marble floors. It was exciting for her to know that dinosaurs may not have gone extinct like so many other paleontologists suggested. The mare sharply rounded a corner. With a loud slam, something knocked her to the floor. "Hey!" she snapped, lifting herself up. In front of her was a dazed unicorn stallion, even though his horn was broken.

With an angry growl, the pony jumped to his feet and glared at her. Bone Digger took a step back as he took a step forward. The stallion let an irritated snort loose from his nostrils and lifted himself up.

"I'm sorry! Here, let me help you!" Bone Digger said, softening her tone to an apologetic voice. Hesitantly, she held a hoof out for the stallion.

"Keep your hooves off of me!" the pony snarled, pushing her hoof away.

At first glance, the stallion was just your average earth pony. He was large, muscular, and particularly aggressive. But, the broken horn ruled out that. He was easily the height of an alicorn, though not one. What really caught the mare's attention were the yellow, snake like eyes that glared straight at her. He also had a single fang jutting out of either side of his top jaw, giving him the appearance of a Kirin or changeling.

If she didn't know any better, the stallion would have the appearance of a dinosaur turned unicorn.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't m-mean to hit you." Bone Digger stammered, staring him in the eyes with awe and wonder.

"What're you gawkin' at?!" the stallion growled, flattening his short mane with a hoof. Bone Digger looked down in response and tried a different approach.

"I'm sorry... My name is Bone Digger." she said.

"Mm, Rex." the unicorn replied, gazing down at her with a confused expression.

The mare pondered for a moment, lifting an eyebrow. "Rex? I didn't know that Rex was actually a pony name." she said, looking up at him with a slight frown.

"Yeah, well... It's NOT a normal name. I was a Tyrannosaurus Rex." he grunted, pushing passed Bone Digger.

The paleontological pony reeled back with a mix of surprise and horror on her face. "Y-you can't be a T-T Rex... Th-they went extinct 65 m-million years ago." Bone Digger stammered.

"It may come as a shock to you, but I'm not from this world." Rex exclaimed, turning to face her. The mare took a step forward and promptly lifted her hooves to his maw. "What are you doing?" he growled as she pulled down on his bottom jaw, examining his sharp, predatory teeth.

"Well, yer no herbivore." Bone Digger coughed, waving a hoof in front of her face as the smell of rotting meat filled her nasal cavities. Rex pulled away and gave her a disgusted look. "We'll talk again... But right now, I have work to do." Bone Digger said, ignoring the stallion unicorn's expression...

-Ponyville-

The Dimetrodon gryphon soared through the night sky with a frown crossing his cragodilian head. "Sssstupid, tiny beast... It made Berries lose it'sss meal." Berries hissed, referring to the small orange pegasus that prevented him from feeding upon the Indominus Rex.

Swiftly, the gryphon dropped his altitude below the cloud line and searched for a meal to call his own. "What isss it?" he breathed to himself, spotting a group of animals traveling swiftly, hissing at each other.

With a quiet hiss, Berries folded his wings together and dove towards the ground. The earth rushed up to meet the pterosaur as he free fell toward a target... Berries uttered a triumphant screech as he slammed his hind claws on a creature. The animal shrieked in pain and swiveled it's head. With a furious hiss, the animal clamped it's small jaws on the gryphon as he tried to take of with his prey.

"AACH!!" he screeched, releasing the feathered reptile. "It BIT Berries, it did!!" he howled, holding the injured claw with a talon and inspecting it. No sooner had he, when the creature leapt up and closed it's little jaws on the thin membrane that made up his wing. "AAGH!!" Berries screeched again, flapping his large wings to throw his attacker away.

Bone Digger watched through her bush hiding spot as an odd looking gryphon was attacked by what appeared to be a Troodon. "Raptor!" she breathed to herself, noting the sickle shaped claw that curved upward on each foot.

The mare held the barrel of her double barrel shotgun into the air and snuck around the corner of a building to get a clear shot at the creature.

"SSSSSSS!!! It won't let go of Berries!!" Bone Digger heard, looking at the gryphon with a confused look.

"What the hell?" she said to herself, raising an eyebrow as the gryphon frantically beat it's wings. "S'pose I should help him out." she coughed, placing the shotgun's stock firmly against her shoulder.

A loud gun shot rang out as the weapon bucked in Bone Digger's arms.

The mare watched as the Troodon dropped from the gryphon like a fly.

"What happened?! It fell!" Berries raspy voice hissed. In confusion, he looked around him. Then, he saw it; a pony moving throughout the bushes. "Ssssss!" he hissed, squinting his eyes and raising his lip.

He uttered a single screech before diving toward the pony, his hind talons splayed out and his jaws unhinged as he though of the warm blood running down his gulet.

What came next was fast, almost too fast for Berries to comprehend.

The mare leapt out of the bushes and swung the stock of a gun at him. With a painful shriek, the gryphon, slammed into the wall of a building.

Bone Digger glared down at the gryphon with the barrel of her gun held to the tip of the former pterosaur's snout. "Move, and the next shot is down your throat." she growled, shoving the barrel into his mouth with little effort.

"Ssssss!!" the gryphon hissed, placing the claws of his wings against the gun and trying to pull away.

Bone Digger glared down at the persistent animal and raised a brow. It was then that it began to panic, making it's best attempt to free itself. He then pointed over her shoulder with a wing claw as a Troodon leapt onto her back, screeching and clawing.

Bone Digger dropped the gun and fought the animal. With a shriek, the raptor pinned Bone Digger to the ground, trying to bite her face as she pushed on it's shoulders with her hooves.

Berries lifted the strange stick and looked up at the dueling animals. With an effortful grunt, the Dimorphodon gryphon brought the gun down on the Troodon's head, knocking it to the ground.

Bone Digger leapt to her hooves and glanced at the strange gryphon. "Thanks." she grunted, snatching the gun out of the creature's clawed arms. "Duck!" she commanded as a Troodon prepared to leap on the Dimorphodon's back.

Berries swung his head around just in time to see a feathered dinosaur jump at his face. With a terrified screech, the gryphon ducked his head.

The dusty mare took aim at the Troodon's skull. A loud gun shot rang out of the barrel and struck the animal in the head, instantaneously killing it. "You alright?" Bone Digger asked the gryphon. Berries slightly nodded his head, his muscles twitching in fear at the ear splitting gun shot.

Berries shakily rose to his feet, the claws on his wings held to his head as he did so. "It saved Berries... Why?" the Dimorphodon asked the gun wielding mare with a confused expression.

"Because I have some questions for you that your dead body can't answer for me." she replied.

The sound of twigs snapping and bushes rustling startled both the pony and the gryphon. With a scared yelp, Berries jumped onto Bone Digger's back and tightly clung to her body.

"Get OFF of me!" the mare breathed, pulling the pterosaur gryphon off of her body.

Berries swiftly jumped to his feet and stuck close to the paleontologist as she approached a large hedge. Bone Digger stuck her ears straight up at the sound of a soft whimpering like hiss. Cautiously, the pony pulled a thorny branch out of her view and spotted the source of the noise.

It was a small feathered Troodon, curled up in an almost sad manner. At the sound of the bushes, it snapped it's head up and stared at Bone Digger with wide eyes. The mare held the gun up to it's head and raised an eyebrow at it's reaction... Instead of attempting to defend itself, the animal cowered in fear. It was then that Bone Digger remembered what Celestia had said about the one animal that wouldn't attack her.

Slowly, the paleontologist pulled a tranquilizer dart out of her saddle bag and approached the animal with a calm look. The Troodon reeled back and defensively hissed at her. Bone Digger hesitantly stopped and then continued her approach. With a careful aim, the pony tossed the dart at the dinosaur.

The animal shrieked in pain and swung around to run. It was asleep before it could even begin it's escape.

Author's Notes:

Bone Digger concept illustrated by PrehistoricPlague on Deviantart.