The trio found themselves in the Ponyville library, scanning over shelves upon shelves of books.  Until Twilight Sparkle returned from helping Zecora with her potions, the Daring Do book was a lost cause.  With the help of the baby dragon Spike, they had gathered quite a wide range of books about Everfree Forest.  Ranging from histories to plays to geographical documents, a nice pile of literature had gathered on the floor at the center of the library.

While Big Mac, Spike, and Doctor continued scouring the shelves for more related materials, Brain took it upon himself to begin his research.  He sat firmly on the floor against the wall, reading page after page of material and scanning every word for hidden meaning.  If there was any mention of some human world or some strange temple in Everfree Forest, it would probably be cryptic.  

One book mentioned a golden glow emanating from behind some massive waterfall.  Another book told about strange disappearances occurring in some unknown grove of the forest.  A scroll Brain read spoke of a massive stone tree at the dead center of the forest that may or may not contain an endless pit.  Brain saw a map that showed a black hole in the very corner of it, supposedly where no cartographer ever returned from.

One book he found told about a war that happened between the three neighboring nations of Equestria, Everfree, and Zakelon.  The book was dated to be over ten-thousand years old.  It spoke of one particular battle.  The battle ended when a giant tree burst from the ground and a silver orb absorbed the souls of every dead soldier.  During the battle, Equestrian forces were overwhelmed by the seemingly endless waves of Everfree soldiers.  Some survivors claimed that some of the soldiers stood on two legs and had appendages coming from their hooves.

“Dammit! So fucking close!”  Brain slammed the book shut, placing it to his side.

Big Mac walked over to him, “What, did you find somethin’?”

Brain sighed, “Almost.  The book talked about a ten-thousand year old battle between Equestria and Everfree.  Survivors said some Everfree soldiers stood on two legs and had fingers and toes.”

Big Mac didn’t see the problem, “Doesn’t that give us an answer?”

Brain shook his head, “No.  They also said a tree magically burst from the ground and a silver orb started absorbing dead soldiers’ souls.”

Big Mac looked at Brain in disappointment.  “Y’know that monster I told ya about?  Well, let’s just say that tree story ain’t a lie.”  Doctor looked over at Big Mac, holding back a laugh.

“Again, I’m the pony master of time and space…”  Doctor chuckled.

Big Mac stamped his hoof, “You ain’t gotta believe me, but I watched it happen with my own eyes.  You can ask any of AJ’s friends.  They saw it too.”

Brain laughed, “You’re serious right now, aren’t you Big Mac?”

Big Mac felt insulted, “Of course I am!  I ain’t got a reason to lie, do I?  I wanna find this thing just as much as y-…  Well, just as much a Doctor Idiot over there.”

Brain picked the book back up and opened it to the page he had left it on.  He read the section aloud.

“A battle like no other, the Ever-Pony battle was the single deciding factor in the conflict between Everfree and Equestria.  Surviving witnesses have delivered to us personal accounts of just exactly what happened.  According to a few Equestrian military soldiers, the soldiers of Everfree were a never-ending force.  One pony even went as far as to say ‘The enemy forces never stopped.  They continued pouring from the edge of the woods for hours on end.  Many of the Everfree soldiers ran upon two legs, carrying axes and swords in their front hooves.  However, these hooves had strange appendages extending from them, almost like the toes of a cat or dog.’

Another soldier recounted the story of what ended the battle in favor of Equestria.  ‘Our general had been stabbed right through the heart by a bipedal Everfree soldier’s sword.  Our captain sliced the offending soldier in half before kneeling to his wife’s side.  They exchanged unheard words, before a massive golden tree shot from the ground and enveloped them.  Then, a shining silver ball flew from the tree, and like a vacuum sucked up the souls from all of the fallen soldiers, Equestrian or otherwise.  Every soldier dropped their weapons, and the Everfree forces fled back into the woods.  The bipedal soldiers’ captain screamed, ‘Return to the gate, comrades!  We are beaten!’

Nopony has yet been able to decipher these cryptic witness accounts for any deep meaning.”

Brain closed the book and set it aside again.

“That sounds about right, actually.  If what he showed us was real, which it was.”  Twilight stepped into the library, followed by her friends.

Fluttershy told Brain, “The parts about the tree and the orb are true.  I don’t know about the bipedal soldiers, though.  He never showed us them.”

Doctor walked over to join the group.  He laughed, “Who exactly is ‘he’?”

“Fei-” Rainbow Dash started to say, when Fluttershy interjected.

“I would prefer not to bring up the name.”  She glared at Rainbow Dash.

Brain sighed impatiently, “As much as I would love to keep hearing about some monster that I don’t even know anything about, I would really like it if you could just help me find some more stuff related to what’s inside Everfree Forest.  You know, some giant black hole or a temple or even a fucking glowing waterfall…”  He rolled his eyes, picking up the next text in the pile beside him.

“Someone’s in a pissy mood right now, isn’t he?”  Doctor chuckled, tossing a book straight into Brain’s lap.  “This is supposed to be a compilation of entries in a journal some princess kept a few thousand years ago.  According to the publisher, the journal was found in some vaults under the castle.”

“…’Supposed to be,’ you say?  Yes well, I’m sure that black hole on that map is supposed to be a real thing…”  Brain’s face distorted in annoyance.  

For the last three hours he had sat in the corner of the library, reading book after book, hoping to find something that could tell him where his way home was.  All he found was lore and tomfoolery.  He let out another sigh and picked up the book Doctor gave him, deciding that if this book didn’t have the answers, none of them would.

His eyes grew wide as he read the very first page aloud,

“To most ponies, the nation of Everfree has been a source of wildlife and fresh plants for thousands of years.  But to the Triad, it holds an even darker secret.  The Princess of Love has delivered a message to the Princess of Luna and me concerning a strange phenomenon taking place deep within her kingdom.

According to Love, a temple has suddenly appeared from the ground, swallowing an entire city in its wake.  From this temple, strange creatures emerged.  These creatures are said to stand upon two legs, and have appendages extending from their front and hind hooves.  According to her scouts’ reports, the creatures refer to themselves as ‘Humans from Earth’.

I may have to send my own scouts to investigate this phenomenon.  Perhaps Zulema and Merlene will be up to the task?”

~The Memoires of Princess of Sol, Equestrian Royalty c.10, 000 years prior to publishing

Brain set the book aside, trying to decide whether or not he should rip the page out of the book.  He decided it best not to.  “From the mouth of the Princess of Sol, eh?  Surely these memoires are accurate.  No one would tolerate the misuse of their princess’s name, would they?”  Brain looked over to the group of mares that were listening to his reading.

Fluttershy looked at her friends, nodding.  She spoke softly, “I guess that explains how the war started.  And how Zulema and Merlene got killed.  I don’t think the publisher would lie about that.”

Doctor walked over to the group, carrying another book, “The publisher’s notes on this one say it’s the memoires of a Princess of Love.”  He handed the book to Brain.

Before opening this one, Brain suddenly remembered the reason they had waited for so long in the library.  “Twilight, do you have all of Daring Do’s books?”

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up.  Twilight replied, “Yeah, all of them, as far as I know.  Why?”

“I need Daring Do and the Otherworldy Treasure.  Do you have it?”  Brain asked.

Rainbow Dash spoke up, “I just finished reading that one the other day.  I’ll have to go get it from my house.”

Brain looked over to Big Mac, a grin growing on his face.  “I guess we’ll see just how accurate your marefriend is.”

Big Mac blushed, hoping Applejack didn’t hear that.  She did.  “Hmm, what’s all this about a marefriend Big Mac?” she asked with a sly smile.

“Uh…it’s n-nothin’ AJ.  Don’t worry about it!”  Big Mac stuttered in embarrassment.

Just as Applejack was about to say something else, Brain cleared his throat loudly.  He started reading the first entry in the Princess of Love’s memoires.

“Sending that letter to the Princess of Sol was a horrible idea!  Everything has gone downhill ever since her scouts arrived at the temple…  My subjects are steadily growing more worried about an impending Equestrian invasion.  So many complaints and concerns have reached my ears in the last week; I truly have no idea how to handle this.  The humans keep spawning from the temple, and they refuse to leave.  

As far as my subjects are concerned, we’re being invaded on two different fronts.  I only wish Sol would call her scouts back, but they seem determined to investigate the temple thoroughly.  If only she would listen to me, then maybe all of this could be put to rest.  I can find my own way to send the humans back, if she would only leave our business to us!

Oh no!  I think I hear commotion coming from the entrance hall.  Things can only get worse from here…  Damn it, Sol!”

~The Memoires of Princess of Love, Everfree Royalty c.9, 999 years prior to publishing

“That settles it.  There was a temple in Everfree that allowed humans to cross into this world.  Now I just have to find it.  Rainbow, can you go get that book for me, please?”  Brain slammed the book shut, a fire in his eyes.  Both Doctor and Big Mac smiled, knowing that, at least ten-thousand years ago, the portal was real.

Doctor laughed cheerfully, “Well everypony, I guess we’d best get ready for an adventure, eh?”  He rested an arm on Big Mac’s shoulder, an enthusiastic grin on his face.

Twilight looked at him in confusion, “Do you mean you’re actually going to try and find this temple?”  She facehooved.

Brain scoffed as he said, “Oh yeah.  It’s real, that’s a fact.  We just have to find it.”  He stood up, placing a hoof on Big Mac’s other shoulder.

Big Mac laughed, “Eeyup.  Even if we gotta walk through every inch of the forest, we’re gonna find that temple.”

Applejack looked at him like he was insane.  She screamed, “I knew you were a gullible pony, but I didn’t think ya were this bad!”

Big Mac laughed, “Sometimes it’s nice to have a little fun.  Even if the temple ain’t around no more, the journey’ll be fun.”

Doctor placed a hoof on Applejack’s head in a condescending manner.  He chuckled, “Come on, Applejack!  You ponies go on adventures all the time.  I think it’s about time we get to have some fun.”

Brain muttered, “Besides, I still want to go home.  I miss my comfy bed and air-conditioning…”

Fluttershy looked at him with a smile, “Did you say something, Brain?”

He jumped, “N-nothing!  Just thinking out loud…”

Rainbow Dash extended her wings, exclaiming, “I’ll be back in a minute with the book, Brain!”  She took off out of the window, headed for her home in the clouds.

The group of ponies sat around talking to each other for a few minutes.  Most of the time was spent with the mares questioning the stallions’ intentions.  They knew Brain wanted to go home, but Big Mac and Doctor were two completely different stories.  While Big Mac tried his hardest to keep quiet about Mythol, Doctor was happy to give away his motives.  After all, all he wanted was to have a little fun and adventure.

Before long, Rainbow Dash zoomed through the window, handing the book to Brain.  He looked at the book as if it were a million dollars.  His eyes lit up as he examined the cover.  Immediately he noticed a giant stone figure in the background, and a few specks of peach color in front of it.  His hopeful mind assumed that they were humans in front of his way home.

“Well, let’s see what we’ve got…”