The Timepony’s Journal

by Penny_Shavins109

Chapter 3 - Home Sweet Home

Author's Note:

If anything about the transitions between chapters seems off, it's because I've spent a long time writing up the two new chapters and am also in college classes. I'm working on improvements even almost five years later, though I'm still pretty busy. Either way, please enjoy the rest of TPJ and it's many chapters in the future!

- Penny 2022

Twilight had been very busy over the past three hours, taking small notes in a notebook on the side for reference. There was very little about the beginning and the Doctor’s origin, which was to be expected considering how dangerous those secrets were. There was no mention of his name, both a minor irritation and a relief. Most of what she’d read so far seemed to be in the past tense, just a few highlights written in after the journal was obtained. Using what she had, Twilight was prepared to make a short timeline of what had happened—staying organised and doing such things helped to pass the time and relieve the stress of the situation. It didn’t help though, as none of it was related to the Doctor’s situation in the present, only what had happened long in the past.

Looking over at the clock, Twilight didn’t even realise how long she’d stayed up. She was still riding the buzz of excitement from last night upon seeing the blue box at her doorstep. She still wasn’t ready to sleep again, just like after escaping from a bad dream. However, she was tired of the dreary new castle and desperately wanted to get out. Not only did it not feel like home, but it almost felt like sleeping in a haunted house. She didn’t belong here, not yet at least. She’d only been an alicorn for a few short months, not even able to call herself a princess just yet. Being a princess was a title that she didn’t believe she’d earned just yet. To be as high and mighty as Celestia was a bit too much in her mind. With a sigh she wondered if she just needed to walk around and get used to the place, stretch her hooves and relax.

There was really nothing she could do for the time being, she was still tired, bored, and a number of other adjectives to more professionally describe meh. The long and crystalline halls , combined with the lack of other ponies, wasn't settling her nerves. Pushing in the chair, she decided that now would be a good time for a break. Hopefully, her friends were available to try and hang out with her soon. After all, it would be the first time she'd seen them since the battle with Tirek and getting the new castle.

On her short walk she passed by the room containing the TARDIS, still hearing its light vibration. Despite its large size and rather heavy weight, she'd hauled it into a separate room to keep it close and for safekeeping. If what had happened last night was any indication, there was no telling who or what wanted their gritty mitts on the time and space machine. She contemplated walking around there, maybe trying to fly it for once, but that would likely mean more work, reading, and attempting to learn something with little progress.

Her mind wandered back to the battle with Tirek, how much destruction was caused in the fight. In the end the fight alone proved fruitless, just giving up her power to save all of her friends. It was a stroke of luck that she’d received the final key to unlock the box next to the Tree of Harmony. She felt like she’d failed everypony, that even with the strength of four alicorns she couldn’t do anything on her own.

“Was it worth it, was there anything that could’ve been done?” Twilight thought to herself.

The obvious answer was that there wasn’t, but she could still dream. Trotting down the halls she almost found herself getting lost, a new common occurrence she wasn’t fond of. It felt like yesterday that she became a princess, and now she had a castle to boot.

“Is this how Celestia and Luna feel? It must be even worse, just the two of them. At least with how small the library was it felt like a home. Everything’s so… empty. Am I overthinking things again?”

Twilight’s thoughts were cut short as she bumped into a wall, not looking where she was going. She opened the nearest door, seeing the new library surrounding the crystalline table. The table had its own sort of warm glow, similar to the TARDIS, but not as alive. She didn’t really know what lies within the center of the tree, but it somehow made her feel a bit of happiness, a spec of warmth within the cold and empty hallways. She pulled out her Tardis key, observing it before placing it down on the table. Something changed, a reaction to the key’s alien nature, but Twilight was too busy observing some of the books on the new shelves. The castle wasn’t just any mere structure, it was a direct link to the Tree of Harmony back underneath the Castle of the Two Sisters. Wispy tendrils of gold snaked out from where the key sat, absorbing into the table. That similar nature of warmth and aliveness, it was as if the Tree of Harmony was talking to the TARDIS.

---

Meanwhile inside the TARDIS, the console was starting to glow a much more vibrant green. It couldn’t touch the entity that had hitched a ride through the vortex, but the Tree was different. The entity sensed the great amount of strong energy, friendship energy, something that it could feed off of. The doors unlocked themselves, letting what was inside out with a low creaking noise as they opened. A large castle with plenty of room for hiding in, absolute perfection for the remains of what tagged along. Hitching a ride in the vortex had done a hefty toll on this entity, this creature regaining its sentience, and it needed a good long rest before it could continue with its plans.

Its skin was like a vast galaxy of unknowns, shining in small places like stars, but it was mostly just a black and inky void. It was the absence of something given physical form, both a spatial and temporal anomaly. The 'creatures' of this world were primitive in comparison to the organism, they likely wouldn’t be able to see it, let alone comprehend it. It could hide in the shadows, and none of them would be the wiser. When it thought the coast was clear, the creature shifted down the hallways slowly and into the lower levels of the structure.

It may have been imperceptible, but there was no telling if it was a true guarantee. It had no knowledge of the creatures of this world, and to underestimate the enemy would be a deadly folly. So it stuck with sneaking off, weaving in and out from the shadows until at last, it had made it to its planned destination. The table within the center of the library, right above the heart of the castle itself. The TARDIS key’s energy was merely a beacon, not holding nearly as much energy as the TARDIS itself. However, the artron energy emitting from the key only made the table stand out to the creature more, drawing it in deeper and deeper. With its animalistic mind, it snuck its way into the cracks underneath the table, seeping into any minute crevice possible.

The raw energy burned through it and it tried to back off, trying to run away from the pure energy. It had gotten what it had wanted, but it’d bitten off more than it could chew. The inky dark mass began to sparkle more and more, what once was the absence of everything finally having too much to contain. There was no telling exactly how long the creature was underneath the table or what was happening to it, all that it knew was that its purely negative emptiness was no match for the raw positive power of the Tree of Harmony.

---

Twilight grabbed several books off of the shelf with her magic, reorganisation not doing much good. By now she’d admitted to herself that she was avoiding the problem. She was the supposed Princess of Friendship, castle and all, but who did she go to when she had problems? She felt so alone now, now that everything was returning back to normal. No grand mysteries to solve, no letters to write to Celestia, just herself in a large castle. It felt like a weird limbo where she didn’t have any kind of goal anymore.Twilight continued pondering while climbing down the tall ladder, step by step, still unsure of the answer. When she reached the bottom of the ladder something just suddenly felt off, the air itself feeling more somber. Some kind of internal instinct was screaming at her: she needed to go, get out of here, now. But she was safe, wasn’t she? This castle was supposed to be her new constant home, but she couldn’t even enjoy it.

Upon looking behind her she saw the TARDIS key dully glowing, the glow dissipating almost immediately after she snatched it up. She put her hoof to the table again,the glow dissipating just as fast as the key’s. She hadn’t fully studied the castle yet, just the box that had created it. This table in particular was strange, right at the center of the castle. Twilight hadn’t even noticed how this room felt before, how it sparkled with a strange kind of energy when she first stepped inside. It almost felt alive in a way, but the castle couldn’t be alive. Then again, she once said the exact same thing about the TARDIS. She needed to see her friends to clear her head, this whole Doctor business was messing with her just as much as everything else.

The floor beneath her began to feel colder, like the crystal was being drained of any warmth or happiness. Holding onto the key again, she backed away, speeding up into a full fearful gallop. This only raised more questions, but now wasn’t the time. Time to get out, step away from those cold, dark halls. For a moment time seemed to slow down, her thoughts feeling fuzzy and unclear. The grand golden doors to her castle opened swiftly, allowing her to take in that fresh morning air. Time to get outside of her safe little box and out into the unknown again.