Chapter 1

Hoofrain Jungle
963 CR

The sound of chattering birds filled the humid air as a lone pegasus glided just beneath the canopy, her eyes darting around, searching the ground below for anything indicating she was going in the wrong direction. The air rushing beneath her wings generated a cooling effect, but it wasn't enough to keep the sweat from dripping down her muzzle. The adventurer shook the droplets from her face and flew on through the foliage.

After taking another look around, the intrepid explored known as Daring Doo alighted on a thick tree branch and pulled out an old looking piece of parchment, decorated with what looked like a simple map and some ancient Equestrian writing. She seemed to still be going the right way, but the crudeness of the map made it near impossible to pinpoint the temple. But she been using terrible maps to find artifacts for years, and this one would be no different. She took a look around the treetops than back at the map. She should be close by now, but it was impossible to see from above. She had to find it soon, the heat was starting to get to her after traveling in the midday heat for several hours now. Daring slowly took of he pith helmet and wiped her brow dry with the back of her foreleg. Now to get back to finding that...

A strange sound emanated from the trees a short distance away, stopping her thoughts. Daring looked in the direction of the source, her ears perked up. She'd never heard anything like it before, that wheezing, grinding sound. She stood still for a few seconds, trying to figure out what it was, when it began to fade. Not the type of pony to miss out on a new discovery, Daring Doo leaped off the tree and began racing towards the diminishing noise. She was close now, but the sound was gone, nothing could be herd over the cacophony of birds and animals anymore. Still fueled with determination, she pushed onward, only to find her muzzle inches from a stone wall.

With a gasp, Daring pulled back, desperately flapping her wings to keep from hitting the barrier. She knew the Mareans were amazing at hiding their smaller temples, but even this was a surprise. That explained the odd noise she herd though, it probably came from an ancient trap inside set off by an animal or something similar. At least it looked like she'd found her original goal. Carefully working her way round the structure the mare began searching for an entrance, failing to notice something out of place in the trees behind her. Had she bothered looking behind her she would have easily noticed it, but her task kept her from simply turning her head.

Rounding a corner, the pegasus found what she was seeking, but there was something wrong. Normally when the explorer found a temple or something similar, the entrance was overgrown from the many years of neglect. But this one was different. The growth indicated that it was covered in vines and other flora, but it had all been pushed aside and broken recently. Somepony had gone inside before her, and odds were they weren't prepared for the traps that awaited anypony foalish enough (or amazing enough in Daring’s case) to enter the sacred building. Her mind flashed back to the sound of what was likely a trap going off and her eye widened in shock. She was probably to late. Without a second thought, the adventurer landed in front of the temple door and ran inside, praying that the pony managed to stay alive.

The Time Vortex
Date Unknown

The slow grinding of the engines deeply emanated throughout the TARDIS control room, generating a soothing effect to the lone being inside.

The Doctor casually trotted around the center console, flipping the occasional switch as he journeyed to the primary monitor. Things were rather calm since he'd dropped Derpy off, and he looked forward to being alone for a bit. The goodbye wasn't that sad, his assistant just wanted to spend some time with her friends, and there was no way the Time Lord would be found taking part in things like a "makeover". He shuddered at the thought before changing the data displayed in front of him. He'd had several past companions tell him that he should never travel alone, but there was something about being alone, not having to worry about their safety. It was almost...

He froze as a light began flashing on the console. Curious, he lent over to see what it was trying to tell him.

"Oh..." he muttered, "That's not good."

He started to form some witty explanation for the problem when he remembered he was all alone. The only thing that could hear him was the TARDIS, and it probably had a better idea then him what was happening. This realization was accompanied with a large jolt that sent the Doctor tumbling to the floor.

"You know, someday I'll bother to fix those stabilizers. Over a thousand years have gone by, and you'd think I'd have gotten round to that."

But it seemed like repairs would have to wait, as his time machine had decided that it was high time to simple leave the time vortex and return to Equestria. At least it wasn't going to throw him onto a random planet. There the usual bang that indicated landing, then all was silent.

The Doctor unsteadily rose to his feet and staggered back to the controls.

"What is it this time, old girl? I thought we got past the issues of magic in this universe... Let's see then. A bit further south then Ponyville. Date? You still haven't calibrated for this planet, have you? Let's take a look outside then, shall we?"

A quick search provided him with his Sonic Screwdriver, which had rolled under a chair in the commotion. He picked it up with a simile then proceeded to the doors. He grabbed both of them and gave a light pull, allowing them to swing open and let the sunlight flow onto his face. The Time Lord inhaled deeply before stepping into the jungle waiting outside.

"Let's see what kind of excitement we can find here, shall we?"

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