Earlier, that same day...

“Linky is the greatest mare to ever walk this land.
She cannot be stopped, oh no! Her plans are quite grand.
Everypony loves that mare; she simply is the best.
A monster in her way? Hack, slash! She'll pass any test.
To the depths of the seas and the peaks of the mountains–
No treasure can hide, lock pick! She has plaques in fountains.

"Her humble journey starts in the Forest of Snakefog.
The fog temple there? Her goal!, as noted in her log.
The viscous pony mantids do bow to her skills.
She did show them up, she did! She's the best in those hills.
Not even the manticore can stymie her passage.
The wicked beast begs, it does! for her, er–

“What rhymes with passage?” Linky asked. Dangling by her gray tail wrapped around a tree branch halfway down the side of a cliff, the blue earth pony looked at the manticore pacing beneath her.

“Me eats you.” The manticore was a mostly lion-like beast with bat wings and a large red scorpion tail. He sat on his haunches and stared up at her smacking his lips.

“You keep saying that, and it's never going to happen!” Linky sighed and looked down at her fallen saddlebags. The beast had already rummaged through them, ruining her tent, scattering her rations, and generally trashing her carefully and meticulously packed supplies. She'd lost almost everything, except her life, and he sat patiently waiting to take that too. “So I was thinking, 'massage', maybe? But who gives massages to monsters?”

Even as she said that, she knew the answer. Linky's eyes were drawn towards the cutie mark she wore. It was a large glass jar containing three pink butterflies. She had to suppress the sudden urge to let go of the tree and fall down to give the manticore a hug. That would last all of two seconds before it ate her.

What a strange urge. Linky shook her head to clear her mind. Bah. 'Massage' doesn't even rhyme with 'passage', anyway. Either the blood rushing to her brain was making her crazy, or she'd been wearing Fluttershy's cutie mark far too long and was starting to think like her. “You know, for all the trouble I want through to get this, it certainly hasn't been very useful. The pony mantids don't care what I do as long I don't bother the sacred fog serpents. Um, hello? I'm an earth pony. I can't even bother them if I tried. It's not like they can stop me either, since I can, you know, walk right through them.” Linky looked up at the top of the cliff which was still obscured by a thick white cloud. “Of course, it would have been nice if I could have seen where I was going.

“And you–” Linky pointed down at the manticore “–what good does talking to animals do if they won't do what I tell them to? Hey! Get lost! Go home!”

“No. Food first. Then home.” He didn't budge.

“If you really want me that bad, then why don't you flap those wings and come up here and get me?” Linky asked. That was probably a stupid question to ask, but she was thinking stupid things recently.

“Wings for show. Adults can't fly.”

Huh. At least he answered her question. So their kids can fly but they can't? That must make raising children difficult. Linky had no idea what she'd do with that obscure piece of manticore trivia. Perhaps she could try to empathize with him so he'd be less inclined to treat her like food? “You know, I could have flying children too, if I married a pegasus, that is. They probably get into everything but you still have to love them, right?”

“No like kittens. Taste bad.” The manticore stuck out his tongue.

Yikes. So much for that idea. Talk about extreme parenting. Well, it was back to the waiting game.

Linky looked up at the tree she was clinging to. It bowed down from her weight, but it had held her up thus far. It hadn't shown any signs of breaking yet, but she wasn't going to shift her weight around and test its limits. As far as her grip on it, well, she wasn't going to let go anytime soon either. The prehensile tail was an earth pony trait, much like unicorn magic and pegasai flight. Her tail was just as strong as any of her other limbs and she could even tie it in a knot if she really wanted to. “You're wasting your time. I'm never going to let go.”

“Me wait. No hurry.”

“No, I'm serious. I'll die up here before I let go.”

“You die. You fall. Me eats.”

Linky groaned; this was getting her nowhere. Why did she have to run across the world's most patient monster? She'd been dangling above him almost all day. “You know, you can use more than two or three words per sentence. That makes you sound stupid.”

“No care. You food.”

“You should care! Intelligence is what separates the enlightened races from the monsters and the beasts. Do you want to be a mindless eating machine your whole life?”

“Yes.”

Despite the truthfulness of that statement, it angered Linky more than it should. She gnashed her teeth and growled. “This is all so stupid! Stupid forest, stupid fog serpents, stupid mantids, stupid worthless cutie mark! I hate you, I hate you all! And you too, you stupid freaking manticore!”

“Stupid thing,” the manticore added. He got up and started pacing again. “Food silly.”

“Me silly? Me!? You're the one who—wait, did you say 'thing?' You don't even know what I am?”

“No matter. You's food.”

Of course he wouldn't know what she was. Ponies never ventured this far into the Snakefog Forest. Linky hung there thinking. There had to be some way she could exploit that, but she didn't know how.

The wind howled and the fog bank above her lifted away as if in pain. Linky swayed there beneath the tree with wide eyes. She'd heard the term 'fog serpent,' but it wasn't until now that she realized just how huge those things were. The forest went eerily silent in its absence. Even the manticore stopped pacing and sat down.

The tree creaked ominously.

Linky's heart raced and she drew short breaths. Perhaps she had less time left than she'd thought. For a brief moment, her mind entertained some wild notions. Using her body as a projectile weapon to knock out the manticore wouldn't work; he'd easily see her coming and move out of the way, plus, she'd break all her legs. A broken glass jar would make a terrible weapon when up against something with huge teeth, sharp claws, and a scorpion stinger.

Linky tried to hide her panic as best she could, but the beast could probably smell her fear. It was just like visiting Fluttershy's cottage all over again. Why had she given up her safe lifestyle to take up adventuring? Sure, she had a special talent for making horseshoes, which turned out to be a dying trend and nopony wore them anymore...

To Tartarus with that! Linky winced at her predetermined fate. Even if she was doomed to be this monster's next meal, she could at least go down knowing that she'd tried to change her destiny. What a cruel world this was.

Linky looked up, er, down and the manticore was clearly salivating. He eagerly awaited her impending doom. The tree creaked again and Linky swallowed. How long until it started making snapping noises? She wasn't a tree expert, but that had to be a bad sign.

Then, of all things, her stomach gurgled. She was hungry—starved, actually. Being eaten would definitely end her hunger pains, but it'd be nice if she didn't have to die on an empty stomach. Looking down, she briefly entertained the notion of asking him to toss up her soiled rations, but a nearby bush sporting some lovely purple bell flowers caught her eye. She might as well ask. It couldn't hurt, right? “Say, would you mind tossing me up some of those purple bell flowers? I'm hungry.”

The manticore's eyes went wide and he jerked his head back when he saw the plants she was pointing at. “You no want that. That poison.”

Poison…!

Linky grinned. She finally had something she could work with. “Don't be silly. I eat that stuff all the time. It's like, practically all I eat.”

The manticore frowned. He looked uncertain. “You lie. That poison.”

“Not to me it isn't. You know, come to think of it, I'm probably poisonous to you too.”

“But–”

“But I don't look poisonous? Oh, but I think I do. See my vibrant blue coat? See my bright red eyes? Didn't your mother even tell you that brightly colored animals were poisonous?”

“Um.” His frown deepened.

“It's not just me, either. All of my kind are this way. We have reds, yellows, oranges, greens, purples, heh, every color of the rainbow and sometimes all at once! That's why they call us poison-onies or 'ponies' for short.”

The manticore growled and spat in disgust. He turned tail. “Fine. I leave.” He walked off and it was shocking how quickly the dense undergrowth obscured his large form. A nearby tree shook as the clumsy creature egressed past it.

Linky could hardly believe her eyes. She'd done it. “Yes!” She pumped a hoof into the air.

Her sudden motion caused the branch to start cracking. “No!” Linky watched in horror as cracks appeared and the wood split. She felt herself falling, but swung towards the tree before the branch gave way completely. That brought her close enough to grab the trunk and she released the branch in time to watch it tumble down below. It was a good thing she hadn't tied her tail in a knot or she would have been pulled down with it.

Now that she was closer to the cliff face, Linky looked for a less painful way down. There was a shallow outcropping below her, and she dropped down to that. Another outcropping nearby provided another stepping stone. It was jarring and painful to jump down like that, but she managed to make it all the way to the bottom without breaking any limbs.

She frowned at the sorry state of her torn-up supplies. She really was quite hungry, and all of her alfalfa bricks had been trampled into the dirt. She entertained the notion of digging them out, but her eyes caught that plant with the purple bell flowers on it again. Out of curiosity, she stepped over to take a closer look at one.

They were arranged in loose bunches of four or five. They faced upwards, and had a black, mottled, spotty interior. They didn't look like deadly poison, and they actually smelled quite sweet. Come to think of it, she thought she recognized them, but she'd have to chew on one to be certain. Well, with most of her food soiled she'd have to start foraging sometime, so why not start now?

Tentatively, she plucked a flower and nibbled on one of its petals. It had an oily texture and tasted quite spicy. She knew it! This was pepper bell flower, also known as serpent's tear. She stuffed the whole thing in her mouth and nommed on it. Her eyes watered from the massive burst of flavor that included the sweet nectar center. She swallowed and had to take a few deep breaths before she stuffed the next one in her mouth. Sure, the plant had a very strong flavor, but it wasn't killing her. It never would; it was often used as a milder alternative for rainbow-flavored spicy foods.

Crunch.

Linky jumped when the manticore landed just inches away from her. His hot breath stank like rotten meat. He hadn't really left; he'd climbed a tree. Linky panicked and scampered away with her back to the cliff-face where she huddled helplessly.

He made no move to attack her. “You no lie. You poison.” He scrunched up his face in disgust and walked off, for real this time.

Linky's heart thudded in her chest. She was so petrified that it took several minutes for her to even be able to move again. She shook so badly that she had a terrible time salvaging her supplies. That manticore had been playing with her; he'd been playing with her all along. All he had to do was hide in a tree and she'd come down, and he knew it.

Linky clenched her eyes shut and trembled. Was she really cut out to be an adventurer? She'd only survived because of dumb luck. She took a few more deep breaths to calm herself down. That didn't work very well. All of the large fronds, thick bushes, hanging vines, and low-hanging branches around her made her feel nervous. She felt that at any moment something large could jump out from any one of those things and attack her.

In the bottom of her torn saddlebags she extracted a small wooden sword. It was beaten and weathered and was terribly balanced. It had an inscription at one point, but the only word that was still legible was 'master.' She gripped the hilt in her mouth and instantly felt better. It was a terrible weapon, but at least she was armed. Besides, the salty hilt tasted better than the strong bitter aftertaste of her almost-last-meal.

With the 'Master Sword' secured in her lips, she finally had the courage to pack up her surviving supplies. Her research notes remained unharmed, thankfully. Her tent, while torn, would still be usable. Her rations were a complete loss so she stocked up on those potent flowers instead. It probably wasn't a good idea to live off of those but if they kept the manticores away she'd put up with them. Her saddlebags had to be tied shut since the straps were torn apart and gashes in the sides threatened to spill their contents. She had trouble finding her compass, but eventually found it under that fallen branch from the tree on the cliff. She also recovered her collapsible telescope. Well, she was as prepared to journey again as she could be at this point.

Now what?

Linky practically deflated. Was it really worth the risk to keep going? She'd planned long and hard for this, but it wasn't really turning out the way she'd hoped. Perhaps she should give up and call it quits. It wasn't too late to turn back. She could always apologize to Fluttershy and return her cutie mark. The poor mare had looked so distraught when she'd caught up on the road. Linky's disguise had worked, but now she wished it hadn't. With a heavy sigh she turned around and—

Oh right, the cliff. It was at least thrice the height of the tallest trees in this forest. It was very intimidating. She did not trust her meager climbing gear to get her back up safely. She couldn't back out now. She really did have no choice but to keep going.

Linky futility whacked at the underbrush with her wooden sword. She got leaves, twigs, thorns, spiderwebs, and (somehow) even an ant's nest in her face. She brushed that off as quickly as she could. In the future, she made note to carry a proper weapon. She hoped the noise she made would spook away any predators, though she tried to keep an eye out for places to hide if she had to. Her encounter with the manticore was still fresh on her mind.

She felt sorry for the way that she had to turn him away without food even after he had been waiting—

Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold it.

Linky paused and glared at Fluttershy's cutie mark. When she started feeling sorry for the horrible flesh-eating monsters, she knew she'd been wearing it too long. All she wanted was to borrow Fluttershy's talent—not her actual destiny. Linky sat down on a log and dropped her sword. She twisted her head back and sank her teeth into her own flank. Carefully, she pulled out the glass jar containing the three butterflies. Removing the cutie mark was painless, but it was unnerving to see. Linky wasn't sure that she could ever get used to that.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at the jar she'd extracted. Something was wrong. The butterflies barely moved. They'd been fluttering around like crazy yesterday. Was that a bad sign? It could be. She didn't want to hurt them, but what could be wrong? Hmm... perhaps she should punch air-holes in the lid.

She reached down for her sword and peeled back the fabric wrapped around the hilt. She'd done this a few times already so it came off quickly. She popped out a pin, shifted a panel, and slid the handle apart in two even halves. Concealed within the hilt was a miniature sword. She knew from experience just how sharp that thing was. The scars on her legs were still fresh from the ritual she'd performed. Carefully, slowly, she used it to poke holes in the lid. Great, she was using to secret of the Master Sword to poke holes in a lid.

Frowning, she concealed the dagger and put the Master Sword back together. The butterflies didn't seem to notice what she'd done. They still clung there lethargically. What else was she supposed to do? Feed them? What did they eat, anyway? Flowers? She did have flowers with her but...

Linky shuddered and shook her head to clear her mind. Great, she wasn't even wearing the cutie mark and was still thinking like Fluttershy. Sure, the pink butterflies looked just like real butterflies, even down to the tiniest details, but they weren't actually real. They couldn't be. They were just manifestations of magic. Besides, it was already painful enough to put the cutie mark on with the extra glass around it. She didn't want to clutter it up even further by adding flowers too. Without further ado, she stuffed the jar in her saddlebags.

She briefly debated putting her own cutie mark back on, but decided to keep her horseshoes nailed to her hooves for now. Leaving her flank blank would make it easier to put Fluttershy's cutie mark back on if she had to do so in a hurry.

The shadows in the forest grew long and tall. It would be dark soon, and she should find a place to make camp. Unfortunately, the ground was so vibrant with life that there wasn't even a clear spot for her to curl up on, let alone pitch a tent. She didn't want to roam at night, so she picked up her pace in search of a clearing. She lucked out and didn't have to go very far at all.

She found herself on the edge of another cliff. Well, this one wasn't nearly as steep but it did have rock protrusions that were nearly vertical. On a whim, she hopped on one and walked up to the edge. She had a good view and the fog serpents were kind enough not to obscure it. She fumbled in her saddlebags and removed her telescope. She had a good feeling about this.

With a flick of her fetlocks, she unfurled the telescope and held it in her non-cloud-walking earth pony hooves. She squeed with excitement when she spotted the fog temple. It was actually made from actual fog! This was such a good day. Er, well, it was a terrible day, but her goal was finally in sight! She couldn't wait to get down there and explore it.

It was such cruel fate that she'd have to wait. Grumbling, she found a spot to pitch her tent under the shelter of a boulder. Looking up at the sky she—weird. The sky had a strange glossy pinkish hue. The sky wasn't like that just moments ago. That reminded her of the royal wedding in Canterlot, but why would anypony want to put a shield around a forest? It made no sense. It had to be some sort of strange weather effect.

Regardless, tomorrow, she'd reach the fog temple. Tomorrow, she'd make history, for her name was Linky, and she was going to be a legend.