The server brought out a tray to their table.  It had three moderate-sized bottles of a dark red liquid on it.  She placed one bottle each in front of the three silent stallions.  Without saying a word, Doctor nodded in thanks, and the server walked away.  In silence, the three stallions popped the tops from their bottles, and drank down the Sweet Apple Cider.  The drink nearly made Brain shudder.  He hadn’t expected such a strong taste of alcohol from a drink in Ponyville.

Big Macintosh downed his cider in mere moments.  He slammed the bottle onto the table, and looked at Brain with curiosity in his eyes.  “You said you’re a human, right?”  

Brain set his bottle gently on the table, taking a deep breath.  “That’s right.  A human.  You ever heard of us?”  

Doctor Whooves couldn’t hold back a laugh.  “Okay, sure you are!  And I’m the pony master of time and space!  Heck, I think Big Mac might be the apple fairy!”  For the second time, Doctor almost fell out of his chair in a fit of laughter, before a kick to the leg from Big Mac set him straight.

Big Mac scratched his head with his hoof, “Maybe Mythol ain’t completely crazy after all.”  Doctor and Brain looked at him quizzically.

“Uh…Who is Mythol?”  Doctor asked.

Big Mac blushed, “Uh…she’s a friend of mine.  I tend to hang out with her when we finish our lunch.”

“Hmm?  So that’s why our rendezvous always ends at two, right?”  Doctor let a grin stretch across his face.  “And what do you and Mythol do, if I may ask?”  Brain knew exactly where Doctor was going with this, and let out a small laugh.

Big Mac stuttered, “I-it ain’t what ya think!  We just talk, mostly.  She likes to go on an’ on about them ‘human’ things.”  Brain’s eyes lit up.

“What exactly do you mean ‘human things’?”  He slammed his hoof on the table.

Big Mac flinched at this sudden movement, “She’s always talking ‘bout some weird animals that stand on two legs an’ have fingers and toes comin’ from their hooves.”  Big Mac scratched his head again, turning away from the table.

Doctor asked bluntly, “Is she completely insane?  And how come I’ve never seen her around town?”

Big Mac laughed, “She lives a little ways outta town.  An’ I guess if Brain here believes in humans, she can’t be too crazy.”

Brain snatched his cider up off the table and took one large swig.  He opened the pouch at his side and pulled his notebook from it.  He ripped the cap from the top of the pen and turned to the first blank page.  He looked at Big Mac and Doctor, and then began writing furiously.  Doctor tried to speak, but when he did Brain shushed him.  Brain suddenly had the urge to write down everything that had happened to him the last few hours.  In an instant, his will to write had returned.  Albeit the things he was writing were copy-written…

After about three minutes of writing, he capped the pen and tossed the notebook in his pouch.  He looked at Big Mac and commanded, “Take me to her.”

Big Mac looked at him like he was crazy, “Nope.  Last thing I want is her thinkin’ I’m makin’ fun of her by telling someone else about her ideas.”  Big Mac wasn’t an idiot.  The last thing he wanted was to evoke the wrath of a mare.

Doctor looked at him curiously, “I would actually like to meet her, myself.”  He smiled.

Big Mac cast an angry glare in his direction.  “Ain’t gonna happen, Doctor.”

Brain downed the rest of his cider, then slammed the bottle on the table, “Look Big Mac, don’t fuck with me right now!  If there’s someone in this damn town that can help me get home, no one is standing in my way!”  The ponies around their table looked at Brain as if he were a psycho.

Big Mac raised his hoof to Brain.  “Okay, okay!  Just calm down Brain, you’re makin’ people stare…”

Doctor quickly stood up, addressing the ponies around them, “I’m terribly sorry for my friend’s behavior, please ignore him.”  He cleared his throat.

Brain looked around at the group of ponies that were staring in his direction.  He sighed, “S-sorry… I just sort of…lost my cool.”  He sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath.

Big Mac turned to face the ponies, “It’s alright fellas, he’s just a little outta place.  Gettin’ used to things around here.”  He turned back to Brain.  “Alright, if it means so much to ya, I’ll take you to see Mythol.  C’mon, let’s go ahead an’ go.”  Big Mac stood up from his chair, nodding at Brain to do so as well.

Doctor chuckled, “I hope you don’t expect me to just stay here.  I’m definitely coming with you.”  He got up from his chair, trotting to the other side of the table.

Brain smiled, “Thanks.  I appreciate it Big Mac.”  He got out of his chair, making sure he had his pen and notebook safely secured in his pouch, then followed as Big Mac and Doctor started to walk down the road.

The trio of stallions trotted along the road, Big Mac steadily growing more apprehensive and regretful of this decision.  Brain, on the other hand, was getting ever more excited as they travelled down the road.  If this Mythol mare actually knew something about humans, it could make his stay here a little shorter.  Doctor was pleasantly enjoying their trot, wondering just what Mythol looked like, and what she had done to win Big Mac’s ‘favor’- a feat that every mare in town apparently wanted to accomplish.

It didn’t take too long before they arrived at a small house built along the road.  It was one floor, and looked like it could easily house three or four ponies.  It was nicely decorated on the outside, done up as if some roadside attraction for travelers to stare at as they passed.  Big Mac hesitated and slowed his pace as they approached the house.  Doctor loved every minute of it.

“Something wrong, Big Mac?  You seem a bit hesitant.”  Doctor chuckled, stopping beside his friend.

Big Mac sighed, “Eeyup…Like I said, I don’t want her to think I’m makin’ fun of her by bringing y’all here.”

Brain placed a hoof on Big Mac’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, buddy!  I promise I won’t do anything to ruin whatever you two have going on.  Where I come from we have something called the ‘Bro Code’.  Cock-blocking is strictly against the rules.”  He let out a loud laugh, obviously thinking he was being funny.

And Doctor sure thought he was.  He laughed, “Don’t worry Big Mac; human-pony’s got your back!”

Big Mac gave them both an evil glare, “Let’s just get this over with…”  He bowed his head low as he stepped up the small staircase to Mythol’s door.  He tapped on it five times, in rhythm with the ‘Shave-and-a-hair-cut, two-bits’ jingle.

A tall, thin, blue-maned, red-coat mare answered the door.  At first glance, Doctor’s jaw dropped in awe.  Big Mac’s face flushed red when he saw Doctor’s expression.  The mare said excitedly, “Ooh, Big Mac, you’re early today!  I haven’t even had a chance to wash up yet!”  A cute, innocent smile covered her face.

Big Mac hurriedly stuttered, “Uh…actually Mythol…  I gotta friend that wants to talk to ya about humans…”  A disappointed expression replaced Mythol’s smile.

“Aww…okay then.  Come on in, make yourselves comfortable.”  She waved at the two stallions behind Big Mac.

Doctor and Brain followed Big Mac into the house and over to a set of couches.  Doctor sat in the smallest chair he could find, not wanting to impose.  Brain took a seat on the couch opposite Big Mac, just in case Mythol wanted to sit beside the stallion.  Big Mac glanced over at Doctor to see him laughing to himself.

“Somethin’ funny, Doctor?”  You could hear the irritation in Big Mac’s voice.

Doctor chuckled, “Oh no, nothing.  I mean, she did seem really disappointed you weren’t here for whatever it is she should’ve cleaned up for.”  He choked down another laugh.

Brain raised one eyebrow at Doctor, crossing his arms over his chest.  He said bluntly, “No need to make fun, Doctor.  Just because Big Mac’s getting more mare plot than you doesn’t mean you should jealously make fun of him.”  Big Mac’s face twisted into one of both embarrassment and enjoyment.  Doctor instantly stopped laughing, instead giving Brain an angry look.

“Very funny, Brain.” Doctor said through clenched teeth.  Turning back to Big Mac, “At any rate, where did Mythol go?”

Big Mac shrugged, “She prob’bly went to get her box of human stuff.”

Mythol suddenly burst through the door at the other end of the room.  Looking through the doorway, it appeared to lead into a bedroom.  She exclaimed, “Which one of you wanted to know about humans?”  In an instant, as she was speaking, her voice changed from one reminiscent of a ditz, to one of a serious school teacher.  The sudden change of tone caught Brain completely off guard.  

So much so, he stuttered as he said, “Uh… Th-that’d be me, ma’am.”  He raised his hoof.

She smiled, “You can call me Mythol.  And you are?”

Doctor called from his chair, “Name’s Doctor Whooves.”

Brain simply replied, “Brain’s my name.”

“Well then, Brain, Doctor, Big Mac, listen up!  A lot of ponies call me crazy when I tell them about humans.  You promise you won’t laugh at me?”  She lowered her head, sitting beside Big Mac and opening the metal box she had been carrying.

Big Mac put an arm around her, “Eeyup, I promise.”

Brain nodded, “You bet I won’t!”

Doctor stated bluntly, “I honestly can’t promise anything.  I think that cider is getting to me.”

Mythol smiled, placing the box on the table in front of her.  She sang out, “Good, then let’s begin!”

Mythol pulled out an article cut out of some really old newspaper.  It clearly depicted a bipedal creature with what appeared to be a t-shirt on.  Of course, the picture could have been anything.  It could have been another pony stretching, for the entire picture’s detail.  She showed it to the three of them, explaining what she thought it was.

Next from the box came a storybook that looked as if it were centuries old.  She turned page after page, until she found one particular picture.  In the background of the picture it showed a small piece of paper with the classic ‘gingerbread-man cookie cutter’ shape drawn on it.  She thought that it might be a child’s version of what could be considered a human.

The next thing Mythol pulled from the box made Brain’s heart leap to his throat.  It was a full-color, full-body picture of a group of real-world humans, and it was missing the bottom right corner.  In fact, it was a picture of himself and his friends at the bar the night before.  He even remembered asking the bartender to take the picture.  They had stopped by the local Wal-Mart to have the photos developed.  It dawned on him that the picture Mythol was holding was the same picture he placed into the back cover of his notebook.

He pulled his notebook out of the pouch with haste, flipping to the back cover.  Sure enough, the bottom right corner of the picture was all that remained of the picture he had placed in the notebook.  He leaped from his chair, “Mythol, where did you get that photo?!”

Big Mac’s expression shifted to unease as Brain raised his voice.  “Somethin’ wrong, Brain?”

“Yes!  That’s a picture of me and my friends!”  He lifted his notebook to show the single remaining corner of the picture.  Mythol placed her photo to the notebook, lining it up with the corner.

Her eyes lit up, and a large smile grew on her face, “He’s right, Big Mac!  The picture fits!”  Doctor hopped from his chair, unsure of what to think.

Big Mac moved a little closer to the photo.  “Well, I’ll be…  It does fit!”  Big Mac scratched his head with his hoof.

“So…does this mean humans are real?”  Doctor lifted a hoof into the air, unsure of how to interpret what had just happened.

“You bet your ass they’re real, and I’m one of ‘em!”  Brain laughed in happiness and excitement.  Now that there was some proof humans were real, maybe he could make progress getting home.

“Well, if this is yours, you can have it back.”  Mythol offered him the photo.

“No, you can keep it.  I’ve got plenty more back home.  But now that you see humans are real, there’s still the matter of figuring out how to get me back home…

Mythol laughed, “Well, there’s always Daring Do and the Otherworldly Treasure.”

Brain looked at Mythol with confusion, “What in the world is that?”

“You’ve never heard of the Daring Do series of books?  You must be from another world!”  Doctor chimed in with a tone of disappointment.

“The book talks about Daring Do’s journey to some mysterious temple far on the other side of what geographers say would be the real-world Everfree Forest.  It gives pretty specific instructions how to get to it, assuming it’s real.”  Mythol smiled, holding up a notecard she filled out about the book.

Brain stared at the notes scribbled on the card.  “Where can I find the book?”  Big Mac and Doctor looked at him as if he were crazy.

“Twilight Sparkle owns all of Daring Do’s books.  You can probably get it from her.”  Mythol sat down on the couch next to Big Mac.  She felt satisfied that some other pony was really interested in her human research.

“I guess I’m heading to the library.”  Brain turned to leave the house.

Big Mac leaped from the couch, holding a hoof out to stop Brain.  He shook his head, “You ain’t really gonna trust some old filly stories, are ya?”

Brain looked at Big Mac with a fire in his eyes, “I don’t have a choice now, do I?  If Daring Do holds the secret to my way home, I’m going for it!”

Doctor got up from his chair, “This should be a fun misadventure; don’t you think Big Mac?”  He walked over to Brain’s side.

Big Mac looked at him in horror, “You can’t be serious, Doctor!”

Mythol smiled, “Just think, if you guys do find a way to the human world, you’ll become super famous!”

“It’s settled then!  Are you going to help us, Big Mac?”  Doctor smiled at him.

“Nope!  No way am I gonna go on a wild goose chase!”  Big Mac turned his head away from the two of them.

Mythol frowned, “You don’t think the human world is real?  But…”  She sniffled.

Big Mac immediately jumped to her side, putting a hoof on her shoulder.  “It’s not that, darlin’!  It’s just…uh… I ain’t gonna trust a book to find the way.  It might be right, but I doubt it.”  He looked angrily over to Doctor.  “We’re gonna have to do a bit more lookin’ than just readin’ some little filly stories.”

Brain smiled slyly, “So, you’re going to help?”

Big Mac sighed in irritation.  He was trapped now.  If he didn’t help them, Mythol would definitely be mad at him.  On the other hoof, if he did find a way to the human world, she would owe him big time.  He smiled as he thought of the many ways she would repay his hard work…

“Alright, we better start lookin’.  The longer we wait, the longer you gotta stay in Equestria.”  Big Mac smiled at the pair of stallions.  He bent down and whispered something in Mythol’s ear, then turned to join his friends.

Brain left the house with a fire in his eyes.  He knew it wouldn’t be too awful long before he made it home, one way or another.  Doctor had an expression on his face as if this were all just some game.  Big Mac shrugged his shoulders as the door closed behind them.  To each of them, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something.

For Big Macintosh, he wanted to impress Mythol.  For Doctor Whooves, he wanted to do something out of the norm.  For Brain, this was a chance to find a way home.

The trio trotted down the road with determination.  No matter what it took, they would find something about the human world somewhere in some text.  If Daring Do’s book didn’t give them what they needed, then surely some other old books about Everfree Forest would.

“Nothing is going to stand in my way!”