Crypt jumped back from the snake's attack, landing squarely on one of his back hooves. As he skidded, he reached onto his pack and slid a metal ring over his hoof - not the hook, a weapon. He shook his hoof, attempting to activate it.

Unfortunately, he wasn't a magician and the mechanisms inside the ring weren't exactly reliable. He stood poised for an attack without a weapon.

The snake seemed to find this amusing, slithering up slowly and tasting him with its greasy, forked tongue, flattening most of his fur uncomfortably. Deciding he tasted good, it opened its mouth to consume him.

He bucked it in the snout, right between its fangs. It recoiled, hissing in anger, a noise that would have been intimidating were it not interrupted by a sneeze.

"Hey! It's allergic to you!" Pinkie cheered. "Keep rubbing yourself in its nose!"

Crypt knew if it was really allergic, it would have turned and slithered away. Instead, it was rearing for another attack, this time one fueled by rage.

Unfortunately for the snake's poor nose, Crypt finally managed to activate his weapon. Half of the ring folded out to a sharp point, revealing its purpose as a switchblade. He drove it right into the left nostril, repeating the pattern of recoil-hiss-sneeze that had happened just a few seconds before.

"That's it..." Crypt said. "I'm too much trouble for lunch... Just move along..."

The snake narrowed its eyes as if it were considering Crypt's words.

It decided it had to take Crypt down for the sake of some primitive version of pride. It let out a hiss and charged again. Crypt narrowed his eyes, preparing his blade to strike right in the snake's other nostril. His aim was true, he knew it.

"CRYPT LOOK OUT!"

"QUIET!" He shouted instead of listening to her. This allowed the snake to wrap the end of its tail around his back leg. He clenched his teeth - he knew what was coming next.

The snake threw him into the air, turning what was once formidable prey into a simple tossed snack. He flailed wildly, trying to angle himself away from the snake's mouth. Realizing he couldn't hope to miss a target that large, he pointed his switchblade down. At least he would give the creature some major life-threatening indigestion...

Pinkie jumped into the air, her front hooves suddenly holding a weapon larger than she was. Crypt's first thought was hammer, but it was far too colorful and soft-looking to be a real hammer. It made no sense - but it was also his only hope of survival at this point.

The blunt end of the hammer-thing hit the snake's head from the side, compressing with a deafening SQUEAK! noise. The snake's head went flying like it had been hit with an industrial strength spring, its head landing in the waters of the lake while the tail remained on land, flailing around wildly.

Pinkie carefully landed on her good back leg, still holding the 'squeaky hammer' fast in her front hooves. She laughed. "What's it mean if the golf ball is half in the water?"

Crypt had nothing to say. All he could do was stare at her and her impossible weapon.

"Well, now that you've seen it, I might as well blow your mind even further!" She hefted the hammer up with one of her hooves and stuffed it into her mane. Despite it being larger than her entire body. It was as if it vanished.

This is beyond magic. "What are you!?"

"Pinkie Pie. I'm very, very magical. And not whatever magic you're thinking of."

Crypt put a hoof to his forehead, letting out a tense breath.

The snake decided now was the time to rear its ugly head again, rising out of the lake near the middle with a predatory hiss. It glared at them, ready to devour every little inch of their flesh if it was the last thing it did.

A drop fell from the watery orb above onto the Snake's head.

A tremendous purple lightning bolt shot from the surface of the lake to the floating orb, passing right through the snake monster's body, charring its scales to a crisp. It fell back into the water and sunk to the bottom.

Pinkie blinked. "Huh. I guess we don't go swimming, then."

"...Lurse is the gray one. Ravanah is red."

Pinkie looked to him in confusion. "What? How - oh! Oh! Thanks!" She broke out into a grin. "I knew you had it in you!"

Crypt shrugged, turning away. Whatever she was, she had just saved his life. That was worth something.

"Anyway..." Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. "Anything for us to do here at this lake?"

"Too dangerous."

"Figures. So, where to, amigo?"

He didn't know what her last word meant, but that didn't matter as far as he was concerned. "Get out of this grass. Where there's one monster, there are others. Clever predators will look for prey that's been tired out." He scanned the horizon, looking for a place.

"Pretty sure that forest is the closest."

"Not the forest."

"And why not?"

"Just passed through there. Not backtracking."

Pinkie pondered this. "Eh, at least it's an answer." She trotted up to him and pointed toward a spire of rock in the distance. "That looks closer than all the mountains."

Crypt nodded - and walked directly for it.

"Decisive as always..."