As time went on, the king and his queen realized that raising their children wasn't nearly as difficult as they thought. Viper was the only one that woke up at different times during the night, but before the lovers could get up from their bed, Indoraptor was usually the one to calm her down. Other nights Indominus was the one that had to deal with the tedious task of changing her diapers, and luckily wasn't disgusted or repulsed by the odor. Though most of the wake up calls were Viper missing being in her parents' embrace, and they would let her sleep with them when she was lonely. But Viper wasn't the only one getting her fair amount of care and attention.

Scootaloo had been worried that Viper's arrival would replace her place in Rainbow's heart, but the pegasus never let that thought cross her adoptive daughter's mind. Rainbow made sure to include Scootaloo in as many of the bonding moments as she could, and practicing flying exercises with both of her daughters. Indoraptor wasn't born with wings, so Indominus decided that his son would receive his wings once he was around six years old. His time with Scootaloo gave her more time to experience what it must've felt like for Rainbow to be the big sister, and she loved his adorable, affectionate side whenever they played together. Between all the time spent together on hunts and the family moments shared among the dinosaurs and ponies, no one in the growing family ever felt left out.

It was about one year after they were born that Rainbow and Indominus got to experience part of what their kids had inherited from them. At just one year old, Indoraptor was too big to fit in the crib Applejack had made and had to be given his own room. It was one of the many rooms that the castle had, and it was massive enough for him to practice ambush pounces for the hunts with his father, big brother and sisters. Viper didn't like the absent feeling of her brother's scales, and Blue or one of her sisters would often carry her into her brother's room to reassure her that he wasn't far. So Rainbow put her crib into the same room with another bed for when she'd be old enough to outgrow the crib. On one evening after dinner, Indominus, Scootaloo and Rainbow were playfully chasing the kids around the castle when they dove into their bedroom.

"Such playful little rascals," said Scootaloo.

"It's so cute how they keep on trying to hide from us, not knowing that it's impossible," said Rainbow.

"Too right you are, babe. My heat vision spots them every time, but this time I'll make it more fun for them," said Indominus as they got to the door. He put a finger to his mouth to silence the girls as he opened the door.

Inside the bedroom, they could see two lumps hiding under the covers and small giggling coming from the crib. Rainbow and Scootaloo chuckled at Viper's attempt to conceal herself and Indominus smiled at how Indoraptor was trying to make himself seem small.

"Where did they go Rainbow Dash," Indominus asked playfully.

"I'm not sure, Indominus. We saw them come in here."

"Did they disappear? Did they turn invisible," Scootaloo asked playfully as she joined in on the fun.

"I just have no idea," Indominus said as he got closer to his son's bed, hand on the covers ready to pull them away.

"They have to be somewhere in here," Rainbow said with her wing over the blankets in the crib.

"Gotcha!" Rainbow and Indominus pulled back the blankets, but to their complete surprise, they didn't find hybrid children underneath them.

"They're gone."

"What? But how? We literally saw them come in here," Scootaloo said in a daze as she too saw that there wasn't a sign of either of them.

Then a piercing roar erupted out of nowhere and startled all of them. Indominus looked about the room, but focused his attention on the spare bed as he caught faint movement. He watched as Indoraptor and Viper slowly appeared on the spare bed, their skins changing back into their original colors. Both hybrids had camouflaged their bodies, remained motionless to make it seem like they had vanished, and silently snuck onto the spare bed to spook their parents. Rainbow and Scootaloo realized what their daughter had done as they pulled her into a hug, ruffling her mane for the little prank. Indominus nuzzled his son with a proud look in his eyes, seeing that his son had inherited one of his trademark abilities.

"It would seem our kids are developing wicked senses of humor," Rainbow said as Viper giggled from the attention.

"I'll say, she's already developed your habit for pulling pranks," said Scootaloo.

"Not to mention that they both can camouflage, just like me," said Indominus. The hybrid smiled proudly at his son and daughter, hoping he would get to see more of their abilities in the future.

---

Another year later and the two hybrids had grown quite a bit. Thanks to inheriting Indominus's cuttlefish DNA, they also had a rapid growth rate, but nowhere near as extreme as their father's. Viper was already too big for her crib at such a young age, and got to have her new bed in her brother's room. She could fully walk and had the confidence and wingpower to fly for a short while. Indoraptor was a sub-adult and an impressive fifteen feet long and six feet tall, he was already bigger than any of his raptor sisters. The energy Viper had given him was still holding strong and there weren't any signs that the ailment was coming back.

On one morning, the entire family was out hunting in the Everfree Forest. Rainbow had been so nervous about Viper being out in the Everfree Forest, but Indominus was right about her needing to have her own hunting experience. She was close to Indoraptor's size when he had gone out on his first hunt, and he was staying really close to her. With the added support of the raptor squad, her mother, big sister, big brother Rexy and her father, Viper was heavily protected from any animal that was stupid enough to try and get close to her. Her first time in the Everfree Forest was going to be an exciting one, as Viper was going to get her first experience in hunting prey.

The dinosaurs scouted the area for any potential prey that the kids could go after and wouldn't be too big to handle. Indominus couldn't pick up any heat signatures in the area, and Tyrannosaurus couldn't pick up the scents of their usual prey either. It was a strangely quiet afternoon, the animals must've been napping. Blue spotted something on the ground that struck her as unusual, the statue of a small winged creature in the dirt.

"We've never seen this before," Delta said as she examined the stone body.

Echo noticed a handful of more stone victims scattered about behind trees and bushes. Indominus didn't understand how something like this could happen.

"What kind of creature turns others to sto-," Scootaloo started to say, but she froze as a haunting memory came back to her. The memory of the Crusaders encounter with a monster in the Everfree Forest that had almost succeeded in turning them to stone.

"What's wrong Scootaloo," Rainbow asked as sweat began to form on Scootaloo's forehead.

"I know what did this. It's a monster called the Cockatrice. It has the head of a chicken and the body of a small dragon. It has the power to turn others to stone just by looking into its' eyes."

As Indoraptor listened to his sister's worried concern about the animal that could've created the stone victims in front of them, he noticed Viper was wandering towards the bushes, following a smell she had picked up. He got down on all fours and started to follow after her in a different direction, trying to pick up what his little sister had smelled. Rainbow noticed her kids going off and went after Viper, getting down low once she caught up. She too noticed Viper sniffing the air like she had found prey and tried to find the scent herself. Indominus had the others wait so his kids could have their chance, keeping an eye out for any potential trouble with his thermal senses. He spotted two heat signatures moving within the bushes, but they weren't like any animal he had hunted before. What he also hadn't realized was the Indoraptor had completely disappeared from his sight.

Rainbow and Viper heard rustling in the bushes next to them and got into their crouch positions ready to pounce on whatever came out. A chicken's head emerged from the bushes and Rainbow felt disappointed at the sight, not realizing that it was the creature Scootaloo had just described. It was then joined by a larger chicken head and they seemed to be glancing in the direction of the pony hybrids.

"A pair of chickens? Oh for crying out loud, did Fluttershy's hens get out of their coop again?"

"No Rainbow Dash, those aren't chickens. Those are-" Scootaloo was cut off as a demonic version of a chicken's call came from one of the heads.

Viper and Rainbow Dash slowly backed away from the heads as the two creatures emerged from the bushes. Their heads were indeed chickens, but their bodies were a teal color and were more dragonlike than chicken. It was a mother cockatrice and her child, and they had their sights set on Rainbow Dash and Viper. They bellowed angry calls at them and Rainbow already had her eyes covered, heading Scootaloo's earlier advice. Viper was incredibly intimidated at the sight of the pair, the mother was vastly bigger than her son and a dark smile formed on her beak as she closed in on the young hybrid. She couldn't pull her eyes away from them and the mother cockatrice saw an opportunity to turn the filly to stone.

Rainbow peaked through her wings and saw what was going to happen. She leaped in front of Viper as the mother cockatrice used her glare on her. Her wings shielded Viper from the creature's gaze, but Rainbow could feel her body slowly being turned to stone. Scootaloo became horrified at seeing her mom being made into a statue, she tried to fly over and save them, but Indominus stopped her.

"What are you doing, dad? Mom's gonna become another statue if we don't do something."

"It's alright Scootaloo. Rainbow's gonna be fine."

"How can you be so sure, Indominus," asked Charlie.

"Just smell the air for a minute. Those cockatrice are in for a very unpleasant surprise."

The dinosaurs focused on their sense of smell and they all picked up one unique scent that was sneaking up on the unsuspecting creatures. Scootaloo tried it too, and once she picked up the scent, she knew what her dad was talking about. Rainbow's body was half turned to stone as the cockatrice continued to glare at her like vultures. She could feel Viper trembling against her body as she tried to stay calm.

"It's alright honey, everything's gonna be ok," Rainbow said while trying to sound more calm than she really was.

The younger cockatrice merely laughed at them as his mother continued to work her magic. Then in one swift motion, a huge black shape snatched the cockatrice from his mother and she was swatted away like a fly. The break in her concentration broke the gaze, and the stone encompassing Rainbow's body was shattered. The mother recovered from the attack and looked around in bewilderment trying to see where her offspring disappeared to. The sound of the young cockatrice crying out in agony echoed out over the area and the accompanying sound of breaking bones interrupted his cries. Then the cries stopped and the forest became eerily silent.

The silence was so unnerving that it was scaring the cockatrice, but Rainbow and Viper knew who had just saved them. The creature sensed that something was terribly wrong, but she had no idea what it was. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of something being thrown in her direction. She flew out of the way, only to be even more horrified when she saw that the object that had been thrown at her, was the bleeding body of her offspring. Several punctured holes were scattered throughout his body and blood was spilling out of each hole like a running river. The cockatrice touched down in front of her dead offspring, devastated by the sudden loss, but her grief was going to be short lived. A powerful roar bellowed from the area where her offspring had been taken, and out from the brush stepped Indoraptor, blood oozing from his jaws.

Seeing the blood on Indoraptor's face was all the cockatrice needed to know that he was the one who had killed her offspring. She growled at Indoraptor, flew up to his face and used her glare at full force on the hybrid dinosaur. Rainbow waited for the stone to start forming on her son's scales, but to her, Viper's and the cockatrice's surprise, nothing was happening to Indoraptor. The hybrid dinosaur was clearing looking at the cockatrice head-on, but he didn't seem affected by the glare. That's when Rainbow's keen eyesight caught sight of the reason why Indoraptor wasn't affected.

While the cockatrice was continuing to glare at Indoraptor, she failed to notice that the hybrid dinosaur had a membrane layer over his eyes, which was shielding him from the effects of the glare. Indoraptor had seen what the glare could do while he had been stalking the pair, and had figured out how to protect himself from it during that time. Now he had the cockatrice on edge as he roared back at the creature in defiance, baring his numerous teeth. The monster dropped to the ground in fear and started backing away as Indoraptor circled around her, causing the cockatrice to turn her back to Rainbow and Viper. Rainbow didn't understand why Indoraptor wasn't killing the animal, until she saw him glance towards Viper, making growls that were supposed to get her attention.

It dawned on her that Indoraptor was setting up Viper's first kill for her now that the tables had turned. Rainbow tried to nudge her daughter forward to get her to make the kill, but Viper was still nervous. However, once she saw that her brother wasn't afraid, just like how he hadn't feared those thugs that had tried to kill him during that night in the hospital, Viper realized that she needed to be brave like him. The fear in the cockatrice's eyes also helped fuel her bravery, and she got into the crouching position she and her brother had practiced so many times. Then Indoraptor bellowed one more roar right into the cockatrice's face and Viper saw that as her chance to charge.

As the cockatrice backed away in terror, Viper ran forward, leaped into the air and clamped her teeth down on the head, piercing one of the monster's eyes in the process. The cockatrice shrieked in agony as blood spurted from the bleeding eye, but the force of the attack drove her onto her side. Viper jumped onto the stomach and clenched her teeth down on the throat of the cockatrice. With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Viper tore her claws into the creature's hide and started shredding the cockatrice apart. She shook her head violently with the neck still in her teeth and blood was sent flying across the forest floor. Viper kept up her savage attack until she heard the cockatrice's neck snap and the creature went limp.

The hybrid pony released her grip on her prey and looked back at her brother with blood on her mouth too. He nodded in praise and actually smiled approval before leaning forward and licking the blood off his sister's face. The two hybrids placed their clawed hands and hooves on the bodies of their beaten prey and roared out into the forest. Rainbow smiled proudly at her children as their roars were answered by the rest of their family. Scootaloo, the raptors, Rexy and Indominus all walked over to congratulate them, and were all amazed by how savage the kills had been.

"Whoa. Did you two do all this," Scootaloo said as she took in the sight of the punctured and mangled bodies.

"They sure did, Scootaloo, and I'm very proud of how well they did under pressure," Rainbow said as she hugged her son and daughter. "You two did so well with those animals, tell me, did you enjoy your first hunt, Viper?" The filly nodded happily and then something happened that made Rainbow's heart melt.

"G-good......mama." Indominus wasn't sure if he had heard that right or if it was in his head as he tried to process those simple words from Viper's mouth.

"Viper, what did you say," the hybrid dinosaur asked, waiting to see if she would say it again.

"Good.....h-hunt.....daddy." Tears were filling every eye as Rainbow and Indominus nuzzled their daughter.

"I can't believe it, our little girl's first words!"

"This has been a hunt to remember, Rainbow Dash," Indominus said happily. Scootaloo joined in on the hug and wanted to see if her little sister could say who helped her out during her first kill.

"Little sis, do you know who helped you out with this?"

Viper wriggled a hoof free from the hug and pointed to her brother. Rainbow motioned for Indoraptor to join them and when he got close enough he rested his snout against Viper. She laid her hoof on his nose as she looked into his eyes.

"B-brother.....Indo.....raptor." The black scaled hybrid licked her face and Rainbow couldn't hold back her happy tears as they came out from the touching moment.

"This one is going down in the history books, Indominus. Our daughter and son work together to bring down a pair of cockatrice, and Viper says her first words."

"Including saying his name," Indominus said as he looked at his children with proud eyes.

"We should let them eat, brother. We need to go hunt for ourselves too," Rexy said. "But you two are going to be amazing hunters one day. Keep up this cooperation and you'll make devoted guardians too."

"We're really proud of you two," Blue said as she and the dinosaurs went deeper into the forest to hunt for more prey.

Scootaloo chose to stay behind with Rainbow Dash and keep watch over the kids while they ate. Viper let Indoraptor have the mother cockatrice while she got to feast on the younger one. The hybrids dug into the flesh of their prey and ate away at their meals with their sharp teeth. Rainbow and Scootaloo watched them patiently and perked up as they heard the anguished roars of manticores being killed, followed by silence. The rumbling footsteps of their dinosaurs came back quickly, and they returned with fresh meat being carried in their jaws and hands. Indominus and Tyrannosaurus dropped their girls' catches then went to their own meals as each dinosaur dug into its kill.

The entire family ate in peace as the afternoon dragged on, with the sounds of crunching bones filling the air. Everyone continued to feast on the meat laid out before them until their guts were full. After Indoraptor had eaten all of the tasty insides of his cockatrice, he chomped down on the body and gulped the remaining meat down his throat whole. By the time the feast was over and the family had left, all that remained was the skeletons of the young cockatrice and a handful of manticores. The King's legacies had proven their combined brainpower and cooperation could take on one of the forest's deadliest animals. They were well on their way to being lethal hunters and powerful, cooperative guardians.

Next Chapter: Rough First Day Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 45 Minutes