//------------------------------// // A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 1 // Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot // by Equimorto //------------------------------// The sunlight took on a green tinge as it passed through the leaves of the trees above him, with occasional patches of yellow cast on the path in front of him where it passed unobstructed between them. He hadn't started moving until about halfway through the morning, having slept in late, but it likely wouldn't be a problem. He was pretty sure he was close to his destination. The portion of the path he was on went up a small hill, the space behind it hidden from sight. Sure enough, once he actually made his way to the top, the city of Ponyville appeared to him further down the road, still maybe an hour's walk away. He would be there before noon. Then he'd decide whether to go to Princess Twilight's castle immediately, or find a place to eat and possibly stay first, depending on what the locals said. Speaking of the castle, it really was rather jarring to see it stand out like that against the plain scenery around it. Ponyville was no different from what one would expect when picturing a small town in the countryside, with perhaps a few more modern additions, and the building instead looked more like something out of a toy set. Although, to be perfectly fair, the crystal-tree-castle hybrid would have looked out of place just about anywhere in Equestria. Perhaps it was more in line with the architecture of the Crystal Empire? He'd only ever seen a few pictures of it though. Never been one to travel much at all, something he was actually starting to regret a bit. There was a lot out there, such a shame he had to wait until it was all in ruins before going to see it. Then again, he would not have travelled in the first place had it not been for the Behemoth. Maybe he would visit the Empire too, one day, even if what he'd heard was not encouraging. "Hey you, down there!" Stone Brick suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky, where the voice had come from. Sure enough, a pegasus was there, hovering in the air, staring down at him with his green eyes. "You going to Princess Twilight's castle?" "How did you guess?" "Well, it's either that or the School that creatures go through the trouble of coming here for nowadays," the other replied. "You look too old to be a student, and not responsible enough to be either a teacher or a parent, so I figured it had to be the castle." "Maybe I'm here to be janitor, what do you know?" Stone said back to him, barely holding back a smirk. That got a chuckle out of the pegasus. "You know what? You got me there. Name's Soarin'. I was going back to the castle myself, I can lead you there if you want." "Stone Brick. And sure, go ahead. I don't mind the company." The earth pony went back to walking down the hill, while Soarin' floated by just above him. "So what brings you here to Ponyville, anyway?" Stone paused for a moment, thinking back to the thing hidden at the bottom of his saddlebags. "Oh. It's a long story."