Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Mind's Nail

She could not properly move around in those conditions. She'd almost tried, but a brief look had been more than enough to tell her that it was not a good idea in any way. The winds looked bad on that side, but they looked much worse on the other, and they weren't the only thing there. Trying to move around there would have been too dangerous. She'd done it around the Behemoth, but that was not actively flailing around.

She could potentially slip into it and stay still, she supposed, if it turned out she ever needed to hide or avoid something. She'd seen other things there that were around her, barely caught a glance at them, but she knew they couldn't see her there even if they were visible. But she did not have much of a desire for doing any of that. It would be uncomfortable, and anyway it would prevent her from actively looking for other ponies to be with.

She did wish she could just leave. Just abandon the place and get to safety. It wasn't out of cowardice either. She knew she couldn't help much any longer, and she knew herself vulnerable. She would have been taking a load off the others' shoulders. She had always planned to leave if things turned out particularly bad, she'd just unfortunately missed her chance to do so. Though yes there were ponies there she cared for, she couldn't do much to defend them, and only risked putting them in danger if they had to protect her.

At least though, taking a look at the other side did allow her to see where the closest ones were, on occasion. Then she had to actually figure out which direction was the right one when she blinked back in, never an easy task, but after enough back and forth she eventually got it right. There was a particularly visible someone nearby, and she suspected she knew who they were. They'd been close by before being separated, it made some sense for them to have ended up close to each other. Or maybe it was pure coincidence.

Whether the case, as she gingerly stepped over rubble trying to avoid the puddle of darkness on the ground, she found her guess confirmed as she spotted the floating silhouette of a familiar pegasus appear through the wind while walking towards its direction. "Fire!" she called out to them, but not too loud, just in case something beyond the field of her vision was listening.

Firecracker spotted her immediately once she called, and immediately flew towards her. "Is everything okay?" they asked first thing, before even getting to her, moving as quickly as the winds allowed them to.

She nodded slightly. "Manageable," she said. Then, for a moment, she disappeared from there. She reappeared a second later, a hoof pointed in one direction. "There are others there, and the way his clear right now."

Firecracker nodded. They flexed their wings for a second, then turned and began to head towards the indicated direction. "I'm glad you're okay," they said quietly as they walked, keeping the pace moderate for the mare to keep up with them.