//------------------------------//
// Burnt 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

"Something wrong?"
"Yes."
"How wrong?" Firecracker asked.
"Fairly wrong," the mare replied. "There's something else there with them. I think it's another mutated pony."
"Did it get there now? Is it going after them?"
"That's the thing." The mare disappeared for just a moment. "And no, it seems like they're waiting, probably hiding from it. I think it's been there for a while, but I couldn't see it before because I was looking at it wrong."
"What do you mean?" asked Firecracker.
"Well... I'm not sure exactly, but I think it might be flying."
"Oh," Firecracker said. "Oh that's not good. I didn't know they could fly. None of the ones we'd seen could fly. Do you think it's a recent development? Do you think more of them can fly as well?"
"Probably and maybe," said the mare. "Should we still go towards them?"
"Of course," Firecracker said. "Can we circle around it? Would that take too long?"
"I can't tell where it is exactly. We might be able to, but I'm not sure when and where we should start, and I probably won't be able to say until we're closer." The mare looked back to the ponies following behind them. "I'm not sure if it's wise to do it with this many ponies. We might want to only send a few, otherwise it's likely we'll be spotted."
Firecracker looked back as well. "Yeah. You're probably right." They spotted Bon Bon among the group, and beckoned her forward with a wing.
She saw them, and sped up her trot to reach them. "What is it?" she asked once she was there.
"There's a creature near the group we're heading towards," Firecracker explained. "It seems like it's able to fly. We're considering trying to circle around it with a smaller group to reach the others, and guiding them back the same way. We can't bring everyone, that'd make us too big of a target and too easy to spot." They looked Bon Bon in the eyes. "Are you coming?"
Bon Bon paused to think about it, though she kept walking not to fall behind. "Someone will need to stay behind and guard those who do," she said. She wasn't volunteering herself for that task, merely listing it off as a necessity while deep in thought, honestly considering what the best option was likely to be. "You need to bring Lyra with you. She's too much help not to." She gave a very, very small sigh, hardly more than a regular breath, easy to miss even if one was looking. "If she's coming then I'm coming too, and she has to come. I'm in."
Firecracker nodded in understanding. They turned to the pegasus then. "Would you rather come or stay?"
"You'll need a guide," she said matter-of-factly. "I'll make sure there are no creatures close by before we leave the group. If things go bad I can survive through them, and we need someone who can get back to everyone else in case things do go bad. It's best if I come."
Firecracker nodded again. "That's four of us already. I'll have a couple of guards along as well." Almost as an afterthought they added, "We're leaving Rarity behind with the others."