The Timepony’s Journal

by Penny_Shavins109

Chapter 25 - Nightmare on Memory Lane

Twilight’s hooves shook as she read the page. She wanted to throw the book away as far as possible, to just run away to somewhere safe. She expected something different, something to settle her mind or to tell her that this journey was worth it. She’d been treating the Doctor’s diary as just another book, something out of science fiction. But these were or will be real ponies, the stories of the lives who interacted with him. She put the book down gently on her coffee table and looked at the clock.

It’d gotten fairly late, the sun already setting in the afternoon sky. She only hoped that wherever and whenever he was out there, she’d be able to reach him before it was too late. Sure, the TARDIS was a time machine but the rules were still unclear to her. Did time for the TARDIS pass differently than everyone else? She couldn’t say for sure as no matter what she did she just kept on hitting wall after wall. Now she was feeling sore from crashing so many times, from the repeated torment of being so close yet so far.

Trotting down the crystalline halls those worrying thoughts continued to swirl in her head. She climbed into bed, a good nights rest hopefully doing her the world of good. She needed a rest from all the stress. She needed relief.

---

Darkness. Twilight opened her eyes to reveal the landscape around her. She was in an eerie old hallway, tan and wooden walls with very little on them. The whole place looked grainy, like some kind of TV static was superimposed over every surface. She quickly turned around upon hearing a strange scuttling sound. Something was hiding, twitching, and scurrying around, only seen in the corner of her eye. She knew that this was just a dream, but the fear was still there. An oh so familiar feeling of the hairs standing on the back of her neck and a chill going down her spine.

She heard the sound again, only more frantic. She knew that it came from behind her, but she was afraid to face it. Slowly turning around, Twilight saw a great black mass at the end of the hall. Spiders, great gigantic spiders out for blood. Instinctually she ran, galloping down the hall at full speed. The hall seemed to be unending, shifting and twisting at will. Eventually it split off, allowing her to escape the spider mass’s path.

Twilight took in several deep breaths, but the atmosphere of the room she found herself in only unsettled her more. The wreckage of an ancient civilization, one of their military bases destroyed by an unfathomable war. She could hear the alarms sounding as a Dalek hovered its way towards her. It wasn’t a Dalek that belonged her though, it was the one on Provia.

She tried to run again but she couldn’t move. She winced in pain as a Cybermat bit her, its venom paralyzing her where she stood. Her wings were gone, she was the same unicorn that thought she could run with Doctor, that could face the frights of the universe. She was doubting herself now like she doubted herself then. The Dalek raised its weapons, charging to fire. Twilight closed her eyes as a flash of light appeared before her.

She assumed that it was the Dalek’s blast but instead the Princess of the Night stood before her. Tall and regal, while holding back the Daleks blast. In one quick motion she banished away all of the monsters, leaving them in an empty room. Twilight sat down while catching her breath, the world of her dream shifting again. She was back in the TARDIS, back when she traveled regularly through the universe.

“I’ve been in this place many times before, but none with this room’s rendition. Is the Doctor in any danger?”

Twilight blinked with confusion.

“How’d you know he’s in trouble?”

“I didn’t, but dreams of his past foes, and with the life he lives, one gets used to assuming he’s in danger.”

Twilight chuckled. She knew from experience that she wasn't wrong.

"But I'm still just one mare, I've been doing everything I can. I've done everything I can think of... I don't think that I can do this anymore."

Luna trotted around the console and put hoof on her shoulder.

"He entrusted you, but I understand why you're so hesitant. You're one mare being given a task beyond your own comprehension. I've been in your place many a time. The Doctor is a strange being creating both chaos and order wherever and whenever he goes. But sometimes he forgets. He forgets to be Equestrian, to stick to his morals of being the kind Timepony that everypony needs. He needs us just as much as he needs you."

"But this's more than that... I'm a princess now, but I still have no idea what to do. I'm supposed to know what to do, but I don't. You can so easily raise the moon and defend the night, just like Celestia can raise the moon. But what can I do? I just..."

"Feel so useless? I know the feeling all too well. When I first met the Doctor I was but a filly, going through something similar to what you are going through now. Though you may be older than I was then, we were both inexperienced even after all we’d been through.”

Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. She hadn’t realized how long she’d been holding in her breath, how long she’d been shaking in fear.

“How… how did you meet him? It always just sort of happens, the right time, the right place. I'm guessing you've met him more times than I can imagine."

"Undoubtly so, but he wasn't as young as I was when we first met. Someone left him, and he was alone again. He was starting to go down a darker path... it's hard to forget that day."

---

The rain pitter-pattered down against the ground above the cave. It was the only shelter they had as the cold winds of potential war blew above. The Cockatrices were a fairly peaceful species, sure, but something had changed within them. To other ponies they were just primitive animals, occasionally vermin to be extinguished. Something about the surrounding area had changed, strange trees, plants, and animals having appeared overnight and was starting to overwhelm the local area.

Celestia and Luna didn’t have a choice to avoid it though, no home and no family other than each other. Celestia had prepared the fire this time while doing her best to keep the rampant vines and various viscous flora at bay. It was always cold no matter how hot the fire was. Celestia immediately got up, readying a spell as a strange sound eminated from nearby. The two of them swiftly dived into their hiding place behind the brush. It was a tall blue box, impossibly blue even.

The doors to the box opened, the ground caked in mud as the rain pitter pattered around them. The literal fires of the war zone were being extinguished, leaving the smoldering stink of death behind. Celestia put a protective hoof out in front of her sister as the strange stallion pulled out a flashing box. He was a small Earth pony, the color of the sky on a sunny day. He wore a dark brown jacket and a strange tan hat while carrying an umberella around.

"Sorry about the trouble, I know that these long trips are taking a toll on you, old girl, but I need to double check this before getting you serviced again."

Luna looked confused, nopony around him that he could be talking to. He must've been crazy if he was talking to the box.

"Let's see... it should've landed about twenty meters to the north."

Celestia stepped on a small twig, the stallion's ears twitching as he looked in their direction. He quickly stuffed the strange and noisy box back into his pocket before opening the umberella.

"Oh don't worry, I'm relatively harmless. It's just me... on my own."

There was a hint of sadness in his eyes as she the younger foal approached him against her elder sister's wishes. Celestia cried out for her, desperately trying to pull her away from him. Upon seeing her, the stallion's eyes changed, like he was seeing an old friend.

"Oh...would you happen to know what year it is? How terribly rude of me, I'm the Doctor."

Celestia looked at the Doctor stragely as he politely tipped his hat. He showed no malice, no weapons, not even any armor to shield himself.

"Are you absolutely mad? It's the 45th year of Lord Aquarious."

"I see, so this's the moment." The Doctor muttered to himself.

The two sisters were clearly frightened of him, taking a step back as he reached into his pocket again. He pulled out two silver spoons and began to shake and beat them against his hoof, making a quick rhythm. They started to laugh and smile, but Celestia didn't let her guard down.

"Why are you here? You trot into a warzone, pull out a magic box, and then start playing with spoons in front of us. Who...who are you?" Celestia asked.

"I told you, I'm the Doctor. I'm just passing through, here to collect something that doesn't belong."

"Did you come here to make the ponies not angry?" Luna asked adorably.

"Ponies are showing unusual signs of aggression? That's not good, I just hope I got here in time."

The Doctor started to wander off, looking down and poking at his little box from before. He seemed lost in a trance as he moved, narrowly stepping out of the way of a tree before he walked into it.

“Where are you going? You’re going to get yourself killed if you go in there.”

“Why?

"Everypony who goes there... they never come back the same. They say that their minds change and nopony knows why. Then after a few days... I told you what happens."

"It's worse than I thought then, whatever is in there I came to stop it once and for all." The Doctor said while rubbing his chin.

So he continued forwards, seemingly not concerned about the danger that he might be putting himself in. Throught the broken branches and brush there it stood, emmitting an almost angelic aura from it. The rock looked smooth and round, like a giant pillar, and it glowed like no fire either of the sisters had ever seen before. The Doctor's device was blaring and whirring before being shut off. Only then did they truly believe him, that this was what he was here for. He approached the stone, holding up the device to it before it quickly stuck to the smooth surface. Luna stared at the stone, tantalized by it, like it was calling to her. Before she knew it she reached out to touch it, the fur on her foreleg standing on it's end. The Doctor quickly pushed her back, preventing her from making contact. Celestia had hardly realized what had happened, she'd only taken her eyes off of her for a second. She held onto her younger sister tightly before looking back up at the short stallion.

"Don't touch it, that's what drives ponies mad. It's incredibly dangerous to be this close to it. It's residual energy alone caused any organic matter to become more wild and erratic. The effects on organic plant life might not dissipate for thousands of years, but anything sentient should be fine in a week or two."

"But why is it here? What is that-that... evil thing? How do we get rid of it?" Luna asked, while trying not to cry.

"It's a chunk of Varondinium. It's the waste material of Zeiton 7, very nasty. They were dumping them out of several different refineries across the galaxy. Thankfully the process has been outlawed and and this is disposed more carefully, but there's always some stragglers, cutting corners for the price of others. I'm just cleaning up a bit of the mess."

"I knew there were ponies out there in space! I told you Tia. Do you really travel to other stars?"

The Doctor chuckled and smiled at her warmly, brushing Luna's blue mane out of her face.

"Right indeed. It's a big universe, planets to save, places to go... ponies to meet."

"That sounds amazing. So you go around the galaxy blowing things up?"

Luna's eyes looked up at the Doctor while they sparkled with wonder and enjoyment. She always loved watching the beautiful wonders of the night, hoping that one day she'd get even closer to it.

"Oh no, this isn't my usual forte. Though I'm a little worried about the whole 'blowing it up' part."

"Why? It's just a giant rock isn't it?" Celestia asked as she got up.

"Unfortunately it's more than that. It'll release a massive psychic shockwave that'll likely force most ponies to go unconcious."

"But that's alright isn't it? The war will end and everyone can live in peace again, right... right?"

Celestia slowly went from hopeful to a sickening feeling of dread.

"No... the Cockatrices have weaker minds. It's rather likely... that they won't survive the blast wave. It's just another price to pay for the safety of the other ponies."

"But you can't! They're peaceful just like us, can't you do something? You've got a magic box, just throw it into space or something. Blow it up out there!"

"Then it'd only spread further to other planets. If it's destroyed here then it will eventually dissipate. But not anywhere else. I can't safely transport it either, even if I wanted to. I could take it somewhere safe but... I can't take it home. It has to stay here."

The Doctor's expression became more grim, the light and enjoying fading from his eyes. He turned back to his device, ignoring the cries of the two sisters. He pushed buttons and twisted knobs in silence, returning to the same trance as before. Celestia couldn't see it but Luna could, that he was avoiding telling them the truth.

"Doctor... what aren't you telling us? Are the stars evil? A-are the stars going to eat me!?" Luna quivered.

The Doctor finally broke from his trance and looked down at her. She was still just a young little foal, so innocent yet scared.

"No, it's just something else. I'm just a little lonely... a little tired. I've been putting off going home for awhile now."

"Why? Your home isn't a happy place? Is it really that bad that you would... you'd really do that to the copy-nieces?"

He turned around and got close to the two sisters, sitting down on the cold and barren Earth. He put is head into his hooves and looked at them sadly.

"Not quite... I've recently gotten a message about some... unfinished business. I've been putting it off for a long while, but my TARDIS, my ship, is getting old. I can keep travelling for a long while but eventually, I don't have a choice. If I go home, then I might not live to tell the tale. It's hard to understand, you're still young."

Luna left her sister's warm embrace and went to the Doctor, giving him a hug. His look softened, and that smile returned as he stroked Luna's back. His mind seemed so sure, so willing to sacrifice so much just so he would live. It would be a long time before Luna truly understood why he wanted to make such a decision. This wasn't the first time that this decidion had been made by him, he was so used to sacrificing others to save some. One life to save many, the species he saved to justify the one he might kill. It was in that moment that he realized that he was becoming no better than the monsters he was trying to face. With that he stood up, looking down at the young little Luna before him.

"I guess I had to face this eventually... Thank you for everything. You'll understand someday, when you see me again."

The Doctor trotted back to his box, the two sisters quickly following behind. With the tip of his hat, he said goodbye, and the box began to vanish. It made the exact same noise it did as it arrived, and only a few seconds later the sound came from the rock. The TARDIS materialized around the rock, only staying there for a minute before vanishing again. The rain began to subside and the sun finally shone down on them. Luna hoped that she'd see the strange stallion again, maybe one day.

---

"And of course I did. Living as long as I made that inevitable. He returned to his home planet, to transport an old friend. He never said why, but I had a feeling that he regenerated soon after. You see Twilight, that's why he entrusted you. Because he trusts you to know the right decisions, trusts us to make the right decisions. I understand your hesitancy, but I do have faith that you'll eventually succeed."

Twilight looked up at Princess Luna and smiled before giving her a hug too. She could feel that the dream would be ending soon, that it was time to return to the waking world and continue her work.

"Thank you... for everything. Do you think you could... tell me more stories of the Doctor after all of this is done?"

"Of course, I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about soon. Good luck Twilight, I have faith in you."

"I'll do my best, and that's all that matters."