The Timepony’s Journal

by Penny_Shavins109

Chapter 24 - Message Received

With the foreboding creak of rusted steel, the corners of several buildings collapsed. The winds howled and rang like wind chimes, fragments of glass clinking together during their dangerous descent. Free tried to look outside from the safety of the cavern, jumping back as the tram tunnel’s roof nearly collapsed on top of her. While there was a clear view of the carnage outside, any vestige of warmth was snuffed out by the harsh winds.

“The dome won’t last much longer now, I knew that it was collapsing but I didn’t know it was this bad. Everything will be okay, won’t it? You’re here to save us, to take us to your rescue ship!”

The Doctor didn’t know what was worse, the impending doom of the self-destructing dome, or having to break the young mare’s heart. The snow was already getting larger as the glass broke further. It was becoming too dangerous to travel outside, the glass piercing bark of the remnants of long dead trees. Looking at Berry Blossom again for reassurance he took Frequency aside.

“I’m sorry but, I’m afraid we’re not the rescue team that you were hoping for…”

The Doctor winced a little as Free’s expression drifted from hopeful to acceptance. He tried to calm himself and not make anything worse, but it was still throwing salt in his fresh wounds.

“I…” Free gulped before and attempted to maintain her composure. “I figured… the transmissions said that they were still a month's flight away. But I knew that with the rations and the dome it… I just…”

The Doctor immediately pulled her into a hug. It was just instinctual, wanting to comfort this now crying child all lost and alone. He hadn’t felt this way in a long while. Even with Susan it’d been months since he’d last hugged her. The glass snow continued to fall, the flakes growing larger and larger as the cold wind blew.

“We need to be swift and get back to the ship. Berry, you can take Free back while I go and hunt down Spark. He couldn’t have gotten far in these tunnels.”

Berry tried to object but the Doctor shut her down. He had a sad look in his eyes while putting a hoof on her shoulder.

“Now Berry, you’ve grown a lot since we first met. You’re a strong mare and I know that you’ll protect Free. Spark isn’t the only one who I depend on, you know. Now go on, I won’t be far behind.”

Berry smiled and gave a knowing nod, grabbing Free by the hoof. She was still a teacher, caring and loving, even after all the adventures she’d had.

“Do you know a quick way to the center of the dome? That’s where we need to go. The Tardis landed somewhere around there” Berry asked Free gently.

“Yes, though it might be dangerous now. All of the tunnels are unstable and it’s raining glass.”

Almost as if on cue, the entire dome shook as its foundations weakened. Winds outside roared violently, slashing at the infrastructure. These were only the tail ends of the storm, slapping against the glass like a child in a temper tantrum. In the distance a building finally collapsed after years of standing resolute. By the time the Doctor looked back Berry and Free were already gone. He wished them the best and could only hope that they made it to the TARDIS.

Walking down the vast tunnels was not easy. They seemed to stretch on for miles, darkness consuming each end despite the barely functioning light fixtures. Tiles cracked and fell from the ceiling as he ran. He was starting to lose hope, like a rat stuck in an endless maze. Neither Berry nor Free could fly the TARDIS, so if he were gone they were stranded. He chastised himself for even thinking of sending them away, but he only wanted them to be safe.

Leaning against a wall covered in faded tram posters, the Doctor was all alone. Looking up at the ceiling he shed a few tears. Maybe sending Susan away only put her into more danger, just like he did with Berry and Free. He was a lonely old stallion in the midst of a collapsing society, lamenting his troubles to himself and the collapsing walls. Just as he caught his breath, a tall shadow crept across the curved walls.

He quickly did his best to hide behind some old, cobweb coated crates. Whoever they were, they were clearly enraged, their words growing clearer as they drew nearer and nearer. Radio Frequency was constantly trying to get his comm system back online before angrily throwing it on the ground.

“Foul machines never work like they used to. I’ll never get off of this blasted rock at this rate. I miscalculated the dome’s stability, but I designed the place myself. Those stupid corporate big wigs never knew what they were doing. I-“

The Doctor accidentally knocked over a small stack of metal pipes, causing Radio to stop in his tracks. He began to slowly approach the stack of boxes, picking up a discarded wrench. Without hesitation he slammed the wrench into one of the crates, breaking it easily. The wrench grazed the Doctor’s ear, a quick yet lucky dodge. The Doctor didn’t know who this stallion was, but something about him just felt off. Radio’s look softened as he saw the Doctor, a mix of relief and sadness.

“Ah, terribly sorry there. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve been alone for so long, lost in these tunnels without seeing anyone. It drives even the strongest stallions a little mad.”

“Yes, yes, I can see why. These tunnels must go on for miles, hmm? You haven’t happened to run into a young stallion by chance? Red Earth Pony, a friend of mine.” The Doctor said, brushing the cobwebs off of his frock coat.

“No, I’m afraid not. I’ve been using the monitoring system to track any survivors. Do you happen to be a mechanic?”

“Of sorts, depends what you need a mechanic for.”

The stallion came closer, fidgeting nervously even though they were alone.

“I’ve figured out a way to reseal the dome.” Radio whispered.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, having seen the carnage going on outside. He had to admit that he was curious, but he’d seen the carnage outside. He’d felt the infrastructure shaking beneath his hooves as proof, but the security cameras could reveal Spark’s last location if he truly wasn’t in the tunnels anymore.

“Lead the way.”

Down several more corridors the Doctor assumed that this was all a trap or a big waste of time, but they finally arrived at the computer room. The dome’s main database, maintenance, and now a storage area. Observing inside some of the crates were various samples of plants, data cores, and records of the dome. This was their ark, a time capsule of the dome’s history and civilization. Radio poured over the main terminal, running a sequence of queries and diagnostics through one of the less beaten up server banks.

“The biodome is made up of a mix of polycarbonates, steel, acrylic, and a special stabilising agent that coats all layers of the glass. It’s supposed to make the glass impenetrable and slightly flexible for winds like these. Though it seems that Conven Corp shorted out on us.”

Radio’s body visibly tended with anger, the Doctor using this as a chance to do a little bit of his own snooping. There were plenty of physical records lying around in the scattered crates, the Doctor carefully and quietly lifting up one of the crate lids to expose its contents.

“You seem to have a wide knowledge of the biodome’s structure.”

“Why of course, I was one of the lead designers in the whole project. It was our crowning achievement, one of the first successful localised terraforming units on the planet. Of course it was amazing, the entire city. We never expected things to turn out the way they did…”

The Doctor’s eyes widened as he looked at one of the records, hearing a gun being cocked behind his head. Turning around, Radio was pointing a primitive pistol behind his head. A Time nearly slowed to a stop as the Doctor began to analyse the situation. The weapon didn’t run on energy packs so it couldn’t recharge, meaning a limited amount of ammo. There was no telling how many shots it could fire from the looks of it but it likely couldn’t rapidly fire like a stazer. This could grant him some time between shots but definitely not enough. He knew he was old and couldn’t outrun a bullet. That also limited physical altercations as well, Radio likely being a good deal stronger than him too. Time began to resume its normal flow as the Doctor lightly exhaled.

“You know, I never got your name. Terribly impolite of me, I’m the Doctor. And please be careful where you’re pointing that thing, young stallion. Very dangerous.”

“I’d rather think that was the point. I’m Radio Frequency, pleasure knowing you.”

“And, and you said that you designed this dome, yes? Quite the marvellous amount of ingenuity, hmm?”

“Cut to the chase, you know what I’ve done Doctor…”

The Doctor looked down, attempting to keep his cool. He knew the damage, the grief, the thousands of lives lost. He just didn’t want to accept it, that all of this carnage was the fault of one stallion’s greed. The ponies were always a peaceful race to him, spreading their love and friendship. If one pony could do this, were they any better than some of the other monsters that he’d faced? There’d been outliers, yes, great dictators and tyrants trying to overtake Equestria and the world, but he was so ordinary. He had no real power other than his own devices, yet he was still able to do all of this.

“Why did you do it…? All of this destruction.”

The Doctor couldn’t even look Radio in the eyes anymore, ashamed, crushed even.

“I…I was set to be everything that I wanted to be. The Noble Prize, a crowning achievement! I expected to be promoted to manager of Conven Corp’s enterprise in all of Galactic District 8. But they cheated me, threw all of my efforts away for a cheap product! I couldn’t let them get in the way, couldn’t let them put everything in jeopardy. They had to pay the price…”

“So you sabotage them. You redirected several resource shipments to delay the project behind schedule, replacing the orders with even poorer quality materials. You even fudged quite a few numbers in hopes for an investigation.”

“They never even bothered to change the access codes, nor contact the shipment for confirmation on the change. I was even surprised…but I never planned for what happened.”

“You didn’t think that they’d keep going, did you? That they’d ask for your help instead of digging a deeper hole. But they finished it, and continued until opening day. The day of a category 9 sandstorm.”

“I still broke them from the inside, almost like frost cracking in a way. The project was doomed from the start, I only gave them the little push that forced them over the edge.”

“And Frequency, your daughter…?”

The air became more tense as Radio visibly winced. His foreleg began to quiver, his hold on the gun slipping. He could easily escape now, but Radio was still a pony in pain.

“She just wanted to wish you good luck, yet didn’t know what you’d done. This whole place was set for ruin before the ribbon was even cut. You told her that a monster had done it, the Koquillion. You’ve been telling everyone that, haven’t you? But it’s okay now…I can get you away from here and you can make everything better.”

The Doctor offered out his hoof to Radio, who was still holding the gun. He started to cry and shake angrily before gripping it tighter, lunging at the Doctor out of pure hopelessness and desperation. The Doctor didn’t know what was running through Radio’s mind at the moment, all he saw was his blind fury. A bruised and battered Spark came up behind him, hitting Radio on the back of the head and incapacitating him. The gun fell from his hooves and slid a distance away. Spark nearly collapsed, completely out of breath and quite injured.

“You know Doctor, I really don’t like doing this. Fighting other ponies for protection. Are you going to be alright?”

The Doctor looked over at Radio before nodding.

“I think I’ll be alright. I should ask the same of you my colt, where have you been?”

“He pushed me into a collapsing ceiling. Or maybe he didn’t, but now’s not the time. This place is collapsing in on itself!”

Dust rained from the ceiling as it cracked in several places. Everything vibrated as the floor split into several chunks, creating a large divide between the three of them. Spark tried to reach out for Radio but it was too late, he slipped down the newly formed ravine in the floor and into the bowels of his own creation. The Doctor stood there frozen, having witnessed death before his very eyes. Luckily Spark woke him from his dazed state, helping him through the crumbling tunnels as the dome dismantled itself around them.

They dodged and weaved through glass shards the size of train carriages. Everything once again felt hazy, the journey to the Tardis feeling more like watching the events on a screen. It didn’t feel real, even as he opened those dark blue doors. Immediately he began to take off once inside, closing the doors and abandoning the dome to its fate. The time rotor in the center of the console shifted up and down gracefully as they dematerialized.

“Where’s my father?”

The Doctor looked up from the console, a tear in his eyes. He approached her, Free wrapped in a blanket with Berry by her side. He had no words to say to her, just a hug as Free cried into his shoulder, mourning her father’s loss. The Doctor didn’t know if Radio was a good stallion or not. Every pony that he’d met had shown kindness. Sure the more primitive ponies of the pre-Celestial era were more rude and rash, but they hadn’t experienced friendship magic yet. Radio only wanted revenge, but he brought down his own destruction. The TARDIS continued to drift gracefully across the vortex to wherever and whenever it may land next. He didn’t know what to do with Free, but he knew that he’d keep her safe.

Author's Note:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

~ Pencil Scribble Shavings