//------------------------------//
// Cracks in the Light 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
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She sat at the edge of the cave, studying the pattern of cracks on the ground just outside. It looked stable enough, and with a rather clear path through it. Safe. But was it worth the risk? There was nothing in sight. She could try to scout the surroundings, but for how long? If she found nothing, and came back, it would be a waste of energies. And worse, what if she strayed too far in search of something, and the pattern changed, leaving her trapped? 
She weighed her options, throwing a backwards glance at her supplies. She still had food for a couple of days, definitely enough to make it until the next major shift. If she played her cards right and was careful, maybe enough to carry her until the one after that, too, in case the next one brought nothing good. But if that left her stranded too, then she would be out of luck. No more food, no more ways to get more. 
What were the odds of the next shift screwing her over? Heh. Knowing that would have made things a lot easier, but there was no way to tell. Not as far as she knew, at least. So it really was just about making a guess. Stay inside, wait, hedge her bets by making sure she'd have a second shot if things went poorly next round. Or go now, while she could, and hope to find something, and if that failed hope luck would be on her side when the next shift came.
It was a solved problem, in a sense. There was a correct course of action. It wouldn't necessarily ensure her survival, but it would give her the best chance. The results of the next shift remained unknown, and would still dictate how she would fare later on, but the world outside the cave was set. It was there. Just knowing whether or not she could find something would have made all the difference, and solved her decision. 
But instead, she couldn't know. And that drove her nuts. The kind of aimless rage that couldn't be unleashed on any target, and ended up feasting on the one feeling it in the first place. All because of those light cracks. There could have been a fruit tree, right there, not eight metres away from her cave, or a patch of grass, or a banquet table filled with cakes, and she wouldn't see it! She couldn't see it. Because there was a crack there, meaning a blade of light shot up from the ground and covered whatever was behind it like a curtain. 
She could, at least, take minor solace in the fact that there probably wasn't food there. It was most likely just another barren chunk of grey ashes. There could be food, yes, but the chances were slim. Very slim. If she extended her gaze, though... The cracks and lights hid everything past a certain distance, but what were the odds of there being something behind them? And how long would it take her to get to them?
About ten minutes or so, to get there. In half an hour, she could be way past that point. The cracks wouldn't shift for at least two hours, she would have time. But it would wear her out, as walking near the cracks always did. And... And the thing was, yes, there could be something out there, but what were the odds of her finding it? That was the real problem.
She couldn't see anything from the cave. So if something was there, either it was far, or it was small. And if it was small, there was a very, very large chance she'd miss it. Her visibility would be constantly hindered by the cracks, and while she could walk a fair distance she could only cover a rather small amount of the fields before her in terms of area. One wrong turn would mean entirely missing any potential resources she might find, and a wrong turn was far more likely than a right one.
So, well... It seemed, unfortunately, the wise thing to do was also the frustrating one. Wait there, do nothing, don't waste her energies. Hope things would be better the next time around. Or the one after that. It was... It was hard to describe, actually. Would she have rather gone out to find nothing? Of course not. But staying inside wasn't pleasant. Feeling powerless, at the mercy of chance and luck, was not pleasant. But it was her situation, no matter what. Better make peace with it and pick her best option. And so she waited.