An hour passed as Brain read the Daring Do book to the crowd of ponies that had gathered in the library.  Every word was read with care and analyzed carefully for hidden meaning or accuracy to the memoires they had just read.  Though the book just seemed to be an average adventure book, Brain held high hopes that at some point it would reach a clue about his way home.  As Brain read the book, Doctor took it upon himself to write down any important details in the notebook.

After reading nearly the entire book to the ponies, Brain had almost given up hope.  He took a deep breath and placed the book on the floor.  He shook his head in disappointment, “Twenty-two chapters and it hasn’t even mentioned a temple of any kind…  I think this book is a lost cause.”

Rainbow perked up from her sitting position.  She said with a tone of indignity, “You can’t just stop reading the book!  If you don’t keep reading, you’ll never know if she finds the treasure!”

Brain looked at her with an angry glare, “You said you just finished reading the book!  Why the hell am I sitting here reading it when you can just tell me what happens?!”

Doctor interjected before Rainbow could respond, “Because, I’ve taken quite a few notes on the path Daring has taken so far and checked them with the map of Everfree Forest you found earlier.  So far, everything described in the book checks out.  Distance, landmark, everything matches perfectly.”

Brain’s face flushed red, and he scratched his mane with his hoof.  He sheepishly said, “S-sorry for snapping like that Rainbow… I’m just a little on edge here…”

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders, “It’s okay.  I understand why you’d be upset.”

With a deep sigh, Brain picked the book back up.  He continued reading from where he left off, and all the ponies settled back to listen to the rest of the tale.

…

Chapter 23:  The Forgotten Temple

Daring stepped out of the makeshift tent she had built from the large leaves and twigs of the forest around her.  She greeted the sunlight with a smile, her eyes filled with a determination nopony could imagine.  She grabbed her bag of supplies and wrapped the strap around her.  She pulled her compass from the pouch, and regained her bearings.  She turned to face northward, and continued off in search of the mysterious temple she had seen from the mountains the previous day.

Through the thick vines and horrible stench of wild animals and insects, she pressed ever forward, determined to find the treasure hidden within this long-forgotten building.  The many legends she had read about Everfree Forest played back in her head as she continued her trot through the jungle.

The sun was high in the sky before Daring stopped to rest.  She pulled a flask from her pouch and took a small gulp of water as she sat on the ground.  She looked around the area she rested in, examining every tree and flower for any sign of something out of place.  As she packed her stuff up to continue her adventure, a shining object caught her eye.  It was wedged into the ground near a large wilted tree.

She took out a chisel and hammer from her pouch, carefully digging the object from the dirt.  Once she finally had it free from the ground’s hold, she dusted it off and examined it.  She could make out a word engraved on one side of it.  “Quetzalcoatl.” she read aloud.  It sounded familiar to her, but she knew she’d never seen the word before.  She placed the object in a special pocket on her pouch, and then continued on her way.  She pondered the meaning of the word.

For another hour, Daring proceeded through the jungle.  Just as she was about to stop and rest, she noticed the trees getting farther and farther apart as she moved along.  Excitement filling her mind and body, she picked up the pace as she hurriedly headed toward what she assumed was the edge of the tree line.

After what felt like an eternity of running, Daring Do emerged from the jungle into a massive, wide, open field.  The field was specked with tall two-legged figures moving around.  Some of them pushed stone blocks.  Others were chiseling the stone slabs into certain shapes.  Still others were just gathered in groups, doing what seemed like nothing.  But at the dead center of the field, Daring saw something that made her jaw drop and her knees shake.

All of these figures were gathered around a giant stone temple at the center of the field.  The temple reached at least two-thousand feet into the air.  A bright blue glow surrounded the top.  She watched as some figures walked into the glow and others came out.  Whatever touched the glow seemed to disappear for good.  Daring felt in her heart that some super-secret treasure had to be hidden inside the glow, so she set out in a mad dash toward it.

She spread her wings slightly, barely lifting up above ground-level.  The grayscale-rainbow trail that followed her letting the figures in the area know she was there…

“Finally we get a damn temple!”  Brain cheered in relief.  He felt as though the story was dragging it out until the last possible second.

Big Mac laughed, “So now we got two Princesses’ journals and a little filly’s story book telling us the temple exists.  Guess we gotta believe it now.”  He nudged Doctor in the side.

Doctor looked up from the notebook he had been scribbling notes down in.  “So, from the edge of the forest by the golden tree, we head eastward into the woods until we reach a massive waterfall with a green glow.  Then we head northwest until we reach a giant cavern.  We pass through there and we should head north until we come to a mountainous slope.  After crossing over the slope, we should come to a large stone tree.  From that tree, we head straight northward through the jungle until we reach a wide open plain with a temple at the center.”

The mares stared at Doctor in disbelief.  Rainbow Dash stated bluntly, “You sure do have a keen sense of direction, keeping your bearings like that.”

Twilight giggled, “That sounds almost perfect, Doctor.  How’d you do that?”

Doctor shrugged his shoulders, “Meh, it’s just one of my things.  I used to be a cartographer, so directions are kind of a hobby of mine.”

Big Mac slapped him on the back, “So uh…why’s your cutie mark an hourglass again?”

Doctor blushed as he laughed, “Well, I am the pony master of time and space.”  He looked over at Brain as he said this.

Apparently every other pony thought it was a funny joke.  Brain closed the book and placed it in his pouch.  He cleared his throat, and the laughter stopped in an instant.  “Well fellas, I think it’s time for us to start getting ready.  We have a long journey ahead of us.  We need supplies and preparations.”

Fluttershy asked, “You aren’t going to finish reading the book?”

Brain shrugged, “I don’t think I need to.  I have my directions to the temple.  The only thing that will come from the rest of this story will be entertainment.  If you don’t mind, however, I think I will borrow it, just in case.”  He winked at Twilight.

Doctor closed the notebook, placed it in Brain’s pouch, and stood up.  He stretched as he yawned, “I think we should head out first thing in the morning.  It’s starting to get a little late.”  He looked out the window to see the sun setting in the horizon.

Big Mac stood up, his expression changing to one of excitement, “Guess we oughta start gatherin’ our stuff.”  He started to head to the door, Doctor following close behind.  “Get yourself some sleep, Brain.  You’re gonna need it if we wanna do this thing.”

Doctor turned around and took a bow, “Goodnight, everypony.  Don’t let the bed bugs bite in your sleep.”  He walked out of the library.

Brain was left alone with the mares, his mind racing with thoughts of the jungle and the temple.  He couldn’t wait to get back home.  His stomach growled loudly as he realized he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Fluttershy laughed, “Maybe you should get some food before you try to get some sleep.”

Brain picked up the map of Everfree Forest from the spot where Doctor had been sitting.  He rolled it up and placed it in the pouch.  “That might be a good idea.  I also need to find a place to crash tonight.”  He picked the pouch up and pulled the strap over his shoulder.

“Why don’t you just sleep over at my house tonight?  I mean, it is the closest building in town to the entrance of Everfree Forest.”  Fluttershy walked over to Brain’s side.

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll sleep outside tonight.  I didn’t seem to have much problem doing it last night…”  He remembered waking up in the grass that morning, staring at Applejack.

Fluttershy exclaimed, “Nonsense!  You simply must get a good night’s rest if you’re going on a journey!”  She placed a hoof down in front of him.  He decided it was best not to argue with the pony.

“Okay, okay!  You win!  I’ll stay at your place.  But I still gotta get some food.  Is there any place in town that has…meat?  Or at least, something other than flowers?”  Brain blushed as his stomach growled again, this time louder than before.

“The café in the marketplace makes soy burgers.  Is that better?”  Twilight answered.

The first thought in Brain’s mind at the mention of soy burgers was the memory of how he would always eat them at school…  The thought made him sick, but not as much so as the thought of eating flowers.  “That’d be fine.  I’ll head over there and grab a bite, then head to your place and sleep.”  He looked at Fluttershy before he turned to walk away.

Walking through the door, he heard it slam shut behind him, and heard giggles coming from inside.  He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, until his stomach once more brought its emptiness to his attention.  “I hear you already!  Just stop growling!” he mumbled to the annoying organ.  He started off on his way to the café…

He sat in a booth inside the café, enjoying the music that was playing from the back.  Being the only customer in at the moment, his food was delivered almost immediately.  It smelled and looked delicious and- with a plethora of toppings and condiments to choose from- he loaded the burger down with all his favorite things.  Pickles, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup…  He thought he was in heaven as he took the first bite.  Even though it was a soy burger, it was one of the best things he had eaten in forever.  Maybe that was due in part to his extreme hunger.

He sat in the booth for almost twenty minutes, savoring the burger.  Then the check came…  “That’ll be twenty bits for the whole meal.”  The owner of the café smiled at him.

“Twenty…bits…?  I’m afraid I don’t have any money!”  Brain’s face flushed red, his head beginning to sweat in nervousness.

The owner’s smile quickly faded.  “You…can’t pay?”  His left eyebrow twitched.

“Calm down, fella.  I’ll get his bill.”  A stallion walked into the café just as the owner was about to get mad.  The stallion had an orange mane and gray coat.  He had a smug look on his face as he poured the bits on the counter next to the cash register.  He walked over to Brain’s booth and took a seat on the other side of the table from him.

Brain raised a curious eyebrow.  He asked, “Thanks, but who exactly are you?”

The stallion shook his head, “You never were the brightest guy in the bar…”  Brain’s eyes jolted wide as these words left the stallion’s lips.  The stallion chuckled, “Why do you want to go home so bad, Brain?  Don’t you like it here?”  

Brain’s hoof slammed on the table as he shouted, “Tell me who the hell you are!”

The stallion looked directly into Brain’s eyes, smiling as he whispered, “Why, it’s me, Chance.  Have you already forgotten your best friend’s face?”

Brain’s eyes brightened as the stallion spoke.  Now that he thought about it, the voice was very familiar.  And the face kind of resembled his friend’s.  “Uh-huh.  Chance isn’t that uncommon of a name.  And anyone who saw Mythol’s picture would know about a bar.  How can I be sure you’re 100-proof?”

The stallion sat back and laughed, “That was some night, wasn’t it?  You remember the fight Mitch got in to?  That dude fucked his eye up.”

Brain let out a deep breath, sat back in his seat, and relaxed.  He chuckled, “How the hell did you get here, Chance?”

The stallion sighed, “I’m not sure how I got here, but I don’t think I wanna leave.  I mean, think about it for a second.  Even when something bad happens around here, the problem’s almost always immediately resolved.  Besides, I love the show.  This world is pretty kickass.”  He looked at Brain with a serious glare.

Brain let his jaw drop.  “You can stay here all you want pal.  I’d like to get home and enjoy being a biped.  This pony anatomy stuff just ain’t my style.  ‘Everypony’, ‘hoof’, and ‘flank’ are not casual vocabulary words for me.”  He smiled as he watched his friend get up from the table.

Chance placed a hoof on his shoulder, “You know that even if you get back to our world, no one will ever believe you, right?”

“That’s why I won’t tell anyone.”

“And what about when everyone realizes we both went missing…and only you returned?  Don’t you think they may suspect you of killing me?”

“There won’t be any evidence.  They can’t convict me if there’s no proof…or crime.  Besides, I don’t go out very often anyway.  Me disappearing for a few days is perfectly normal.”

“True enough.  Well, if you ever find your temple thing, be sure to send a letter back with your friends.”  Chance took a few steps toward the door.

Brain smiled and cheered, “Thanks!  I’ll be sure to…  Wait a minute, how’d you know it was a temple?”  A look of confusion covered his face.

Chance turned back with a sly smile, “You didn’t think you were the only pony in town trying to find a way home, did you?  I don’t want to go back yet, but eventually I’ll get bored here.  Knowing there’s a way home is comforting.”  Without hesitating, Chance left the café.

Brain was left to ponder everything he had just heard.  Learning that he wasn’t the only human that ended up as a pony was a comforting thing.  At the same time, however, it continued to puzzle him how the both of them ended up in Ponyville.  Why wouldn’t Chance want to go home?  This place was good and all, but sometimes you need a little not-so-peaceful situation to liven things up.  Living in Equestria would be too boring for Brain.

He sighed, “I guess I’m just not that big on the whole ‘Love and Tolerance’ part of the Brony Code…”  He hopped out of his booth, thanked the owner for his service, and headed out of the door.  He let the cool evening air envelope him as he started the trot to Fluttershy’s house.  One thing he didn’t understand is why she insisted he stay at her place.  Of course, he didn’t dare question it.  Like Big Mac, he knew not to risk making a woman mad.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day.  I’d best get some rest…”