//------------------------------// // Startracking - Part 1 // Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot // by Equimorto //------------------------------// Applejack was out in the fields when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. Working on the orchard, taking care of the apple trees. Canterlot was in sight, but it still took her a while to realise something was off. At first, all she noticed was a little shade covering the fields, but she assumed it was merely a passing cloud. Distant as she was, the Behemoth's shadow wasn't as cold over her as it was over Canterlot. But then came the steps. She thought it was an earthquake at first, as unusual as it would have been, what else could have caused something like that? But there was something off about it. It had a rhythm, a cadence, it stopped and started back up again, like a series of blows against the earth itself. She'd never felt anything like that, not even a dragon's steps could compare to it. Another shock came, stronger than the last, and all fruits still hanging from the trees were knocked off their branches. Her first instinct was to look towards the farm, suddenly worried the buildings could collapse if things kept up. Then, as her eyes darted around to find some sort of explanation, she looked up to Canterlot, and a shiver ran down her spine. The silhouette stood out against the sky, framed by the light, half-translucent and seemingly fading in and out, subtly shifting in shape. It was massive. Larger than anything Applejack had ever seen, and she'd walked around the Dragonlands before. That she could still spot it all the way from Ponyville was a testament to just how unreasonably big it was. It put even the Tantabus to shame, never mind dragons or other creatures. Applejack suddenly felt cold as she gazed at the creature. An odd sensation, not something she'd ever felt, a coldness spreading from inside rather than outside. A flower of ice blossoming in her heart and extending its roots and thorns all the way to her limbs. Time seemed to slow down for her, the sounds of the shaking earth distant and muffled. There was something about the light that passed through the half-there, half-fading figure. It was like watching an eclipse through a thick glass bottle to shield your eyes, a distorted, surreal tinge to the images on the other side. But they couldn't possibly be that near, right? Another quake shook her out of her stupor. She was suddenly aware of just how cold it had become in the orchard. Without the Sun's light, while the breeze kept blowing, things did tend to get chilly, but the shadow cast by the creature felt like it was sapping away the heat from all it covered. But she had things to take care of. Running through the trees and fallen fruits, Applejack headed back towards her house, calling out for her family to make sure they were safe. The buildings remained intact, though in need of repair, and none of their inhabitants were injured. Applejack was glad that was the case, she knew very well the rest of Ponyville hadn't fared as well. The ruined harvest would be a problem, but in the coming months it became clear just how little of one compared to everything else. Still, Applejack never forgot that first day. When the Behemoth came to Canterlot, and she gazed into its shadow.