Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Want Me Gone

It was strange, at first. Like waking up after a long, long sleep, yet like falling asleep at the same time. Her sense of awareness came back, yet those parts of her that had always been there paying attention to the outside world began to dull, to grow tired.

It took a while for the changes to become in any way apparent. Weeks, perhaps even months. But from her perspective, it was all a short blur.

If someone had been there, yes, they might have noticed something. Cracks appearing on the surface of the stone, thin at first, spreading and growing longer with time. Patches of colour reappearing. Movement, even. But the castle was abandoned, the gardens unused, and not even animals dared go near those areas of the city closest to the Behemoth.

And when the last chunks of stone covering her body broke off and shed like an old shell, and Chrysalis shook her head and opened her eyes again, she was alone. Not quite completely alone, perhaps, the two creatures she had shared her prison with still remained there. But they did not appear to share her tendency to no longer be a statue.

All the better, as far as she was concerned, but she did wonder how exactly she'd managed to escape or be freed herself in the first place. But looking around, it became apparent no one would be there to answer that question. No one would be there at all in fact, a quick look towards the castle revealed broken walls, shattered windows, towers missing their upper floors and vines in the process of covering its entire surface.

She did wonder, for a moment, if that didn't mean the whole of Equestria had been destroyed. Had they perhaps spent so long encased in stone? But that seemed unlikely. Perhaps only Canterlot had been abandoned, just as the old capital a long time before. But it looked like a recent thing. The ruins looked unstable, ready to crumble further, the vines barely reached past a couple floors in height.

She shook her head. Whatever had happened, she wouldn't get her answers by questioning stones and plants. Picking a direction, Chrysalis began to walk, keeping her eyes and ears alert for any signs of other creatures. She didn't bother with transformations, she was by herself more intimidating than just about anything she could turn into and she didn't want to risk wasting energies when she wasn't yet sure of what her own conditions were, much less if food would be available.

Despite her attention though, she failed to spot even a single other creature in her walk through the gardens. When she finally stepped outside of them and into the streets, she took notice of how they didn't appear to be in much better condition. In particular, some buildings seemed to have been crushed altogether or cleaved through.

It was while following the trail of destruction that she finally saw it. Half visible as it flickered against the light, her eyes turned higher and higher still as she took in what she could of its full size. Turning, almost stumbling on her hooves, Chrysalis rushed towards the opposite direction as quickly as her legs allowed her to, and only stopped as she heard the sound of ponies approaching behind a corner.