The Timepony’s Journal

Several Months Later

120 years Before Celestia, Somnambula

The Doctor combed through the market stalls, occasionally wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. The hot sun beamed down on him as the desert air was heavily dry. Cosmic stayed nearby, not as interested in the various dried fruits and wines the vendors were selling. The Doctor did his best to hide the small device in his pocket to hopefully reduce the amount of anomalies it was detecting. The TARDIS had hit a bit of a bump in the vortex, or rather fallen down a hole. There was no force dragging the TARDIS in particular but a small rift generated by time distortion. The Timeponies usually dealt with such small amounts that a TARDIS could slip through.

He didn’t like any of this, he could feel the hairs standing on the back of his neck. The odds were too high. Looking for a quick second the meter pointed towards the pyramid towering in the skyline. Whomever was doing this certainly liked to show off.

“Are we nearly there?” Cosmic asked quizzically.

“Yes, yes, very nearly. It’s the pyramid just ahead, positively radiating with temporal disturbances. Very unusual.”

“You don’t think it’s the Daleks, do you?”

“Perhaps. It has been some time, though I believe somepony by the name of Light Weight said that time is relative.”

“You said that they’d tracked you down before, what’s stopping them from doing so again?”

“Calm down, my colt. I’m sure everything will be fine. Go and fetch T-Tauri for me, please. Now where did she wander off to?”

“Something about an old fortune teller. I’ll go get her before she’s sold ancient snake oil.”

“That’s the spirit. I’ll be with you shortly.”

Beneath the surface the Doctor was deeply concerned. Cosmic had a point, though he’d tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. He just wanted a vacation, some time to rest his mind from everything. Not just the Daleks, but every day since he left Gallophrey. He felt tired, but he had to keep on pressing forwards.

Cosmic munched on a donut as the sun continued to blare down on them. The edges of the grand pyramid seemed to flux and ripple, the heat visually warping the massive shape. T-Tauri followed behind, instinctively reaching for a gun that wasn’t there. She’d somewhat insisted on bringing one just in case. The Doctor was starting to question if that feeling was right. Something about the inside of the pyramid filled them with a distinct sense of dread. This wasn’t a tomb yet, but rather a place of worship. The candles were freshly lit and the walls freshly painted. A faint clicking noise echoed the halls from all directions, beckoning them towards it. Continuing onwards they approached a large round room that forked into three hallways.

“Three corridors and three of us. Almost too perfect.” said the Doctor.

“Which one should we go down first? I can guard the front while Cosmic defends the back from any potential attackers.” T-Tauri asked, still instinctively following her training.

“I have a rather distinct feeling that we’re meant to go separate ways. Can you feel it? That sense of not belonging here. Not too intense to dissuade us yet prevalent enough to persuade us to press forwards.”

Almost as if on cue two stone slabs slammed down between them. They were cut off from one another immediately with only one way out.

“Doctor! Are you alright?” Cosmic asked.

“Yes, perfectly alright. Are you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m alright too.” T-Tauri chimed in.

“Hopefully these halls will meet back up again somewhere.”

“Alright you two. Keep safe, something is afoot here and I don’t like it one bit.”

The hallways seemed to go on forever, bending left, right and down several flights of stairs. He leaned against a wall to catch his breath after walking for what felt like an eternity. His ears shot upwards as he faintly heard a voice he recognized. It almost felt unreal, as if it were just his imagination. Turning around he saw her standing there, Frequency Wave, almost as if she were a ghost.

“Doctor!”

Frequency reached out for a hug as he rushed over to her. He stopped just short of her as she retracted her offer. He knew he left her not long before or after this time period, though he was still cautious.

“Dear me, my foal. What are you-”

“It was supposed to be a long con. Figured it was something nasty either way.”

The Doctor looked and her puzzled before his joy faded, realising what was going on. Her eyes didn’t entirely follow his position and she’d shifted ever so slightly between each time she spoke. Walking around her he saw the holoprojector on the ground. He faintly remembered what she was saying, though he couldn’t remember where from. Somehow he was glad that she wasn’t here, that she was safe from whatever alien menace was hunting him. Yet at the same time he felt a twinge of sadness. He still missed her greatly, though he’d never wish the fate he’d experienced upon her.

Suddenly several micro fluorescent lights illuminated the grand hall before him. This was where the pharaoh would be sealed for centuries to come. In the center were his two companions tied up next to a small black box covered in knobs and dials. It was a vortex shield resonator, mainly used for protection within the vortex. It created a large field of null time, effectively cutting its radius off from any ill effects the time winds had in the vortex.

“Surprised to see me?” said the Monk, walking into the center of the light.

“Ah, the Monk. Escaped from year 11 or have you just been waiting, hmm?”

That’s not my name and you know it. Still have my dimensional stabiliser do you?”

The Doctor was almost overjoyed that it was just him. The Monk he could deal with, especially when he’d be limited in terms of tricks and traps. He’d already beaten him before and he absolutely could again. He was already coming up with several plans excitedly just to thwart his pitiful attempt at revenge.

“Yes, whatever. Clearly you’ve come a long way just to spite little ole me, hmm? What’s the big scheme this time, eh?”

“Oh, Doctor, how naive you are. You and I both know that a vortex shield resonator does no real damage.”

“Then what is the point of all this nonsense? All of those illusions and emotions from before, the effects of your Tardis’s psychic circuits no doubt. But why, how does such fit in with your delusional ideas of grandeur, hmm? Certainly a lot of effort to continue your infernal meddling.”

“No. You can keep the dimensional stabiliser of my Tardis, I’ve found a suitable alternative. All I needed for it to be complete is you. I’m done being a villain in your story. You’re not worth my time.”

The Doctor looked puzzled until the Monk pulled his companions up onto their hooves. He hoped to never hear their wretched voices again, the Daleks rolling out from the shadows to the Monk’s side. The Monk was just another part of the trap, the cackling villain for the perfect adventure. He’d believed it too, his need to explore and protect history playing right into their favour. Both Cosmic and T-Tauri went wide eyed, their screams muffled by their gags and the metallic hum of the Dalek machines.

“Hand over the Taranium core. Your companions will be exterminated unless you comply.” the black dommed Dalek commanded.

“Very well, I’ll hand over the Taranium core. But on my terms.”

“We could exterminate you now.”

“Yes, indeed. Indeed you could, but then you’d never get back the Taranium core, would you now, hmm? Would you?”

The two Daleks looked at one another, weighing their options.

“What are your terms?”

“You will release my companions to me, then the shield resonator. Bring both to a place of rendezvous, and hand them over at the same time. One and only one Dalek at the west angle of the Great Pyramid. Then you will follow me to my ship where I’ll retrieve the core. Is that understood?”

The Daleks didn’t respond.

“Is that UNDERSTOOD?”

“Understood.”

“Excellent.”

The Doctor walked away somberly, he had no choice but to give up the real Taranium. However he did have a backup plan, he’d watched the Monk carefully as he’d exited the room. The Monk himself wouldn’t budge but neither would his TARDIS. If he was just as ignorant as before then the doors were wide open. The pyramid was much easier to navigate without the Monk’s influence guiding him down a single path. He’d remembered the way that he came and there were several new entrances and hallways.

Travelling down them led him to some kind of morgue, the mummies still being prepared. As plain as day was the Monk’s ship, still disguised as an ancient altar from another civilization. He probably had it carried all the way here somehow after their last meeting. He quickly hid as the Monk came in through a second entrance. The Monk waited patiently until two Daleks arrived holding part of a much more bulky but sufficient dimensional stabiliser. The Daleks were nowhere near as advanced as the Timeponies but it would work in a pinch.

“Where’s the rest of it? This isn’t what we agreed on.”

“The transaction will be completed once the Taranium Core is delivered. Only then will you receive the other half.”

“And how am I responsible for the Doctor’s dimwitted actions? Our deal was for the Doctor, not the core.”

“Our terms are not negotiable.”

The two Daleks then left. Even when not around, the Dalek’s presence lingered.

“Stupid tin pepper pots.” The Monk scoffed.

The Monk then scurried off to wherever, his ship vulnerable. Opening up the doors it was obvious why, the interior as small as the exterior. Picking up a tool to extract mummy’s organs the Doctor got to work. Carefully he moved the rod inside and opened up a panel at the console’s base. He plucked out a small circuit board with the precision of lifting the sails of a ship in a bottle. It was the Monk’s directional unit, the part of the TARDIS’s navigation system that was malfunctioning in the Doctor’s own ship.

It was still small but the dimensional dilation should wear off soon enough. Pocketing the device it was time to attend his meeting. At the corner of the pyramid his companions were no longer tied up but had two Dalek gunsticks in their backs instead.

“We agreed upon one Dalek and one Dalek only.”

“We have brought the device as you asked. They will be dismissed when it is retrieved.”

The Doctor took the resonator from the Dalek's mechanical plunger. He didn’t actually want the resonator, he just didn’t want the Monk to have it.

“Follow me to my ship.”

The Doctor led them down as many backroads and alleyways as he possibly could. He knew that the Daleks would kill neither him nor his friends but not innocent bystanders. The less trouble the locals caused the better. Cosmic and T-Tauri didn’t say a word as they knew the severity of this negotiation. Unlocking the TARDIS he went inside and grabbed the core, staring at it as he sighed. Was he really going to do this, to just hand it over after so much had happened? All that effort, all the lives lost just to keep them away from the core, just to give it back in the end. If his plan worked then he’d finally be free, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he should’ve done this in the first place.

All that he’d done was delay the inevitable. He felt the directional unit in his pocket now that it had returned to its original size. One chance, that’s all he had, and then he’d be done for good. He walked out of the console room while holding the core.

“Proceed.” the Dalek commanded.

The Daleks knew about the forcefield this time so they wouldn’t exterminate him on sight. He placed the core down at the same second that his companions were by his side again. He quickly rushed them into the TARDIS before galloping to the console. He went underneath the mint green console and opened the same panel he did in the Monk’s ship.

“Phew, glad they’re finally out of our hair again. Say Doctor, how many fake Taranium cores do you have back there?” Cosmic asked jokingly to lighten the mood.

The Doctor stopped and looked up at both of them. One look was all they needed to know what had happened.

“Doctor, you didn’t.” said T-Tauri with a mixture of disappointment and anger.

“I had no choice but to give them the Taranium Core.”

“WHAT”

“However! However, I confiscated the Monk’s directional unit. Now that it’s installed I should be able to steer the ship to a precise degree.”

“Then why don’t we just go now? Get there before the Daleks do and obliterate them once and for all?”

“You see, the unit may not be compatible with my Tardis. Worst case scenario…the time rotor is overloaded and the ship is destroyed, with all of us in it.”

There was a solemn second of silence as his words hung in the air. Neither of his friends hesitated with their response.

“Do it.” they said in unison.

“If it’s us or the Daleks destroying everything that you tried to save, to trade my Equestria’s dictatorship for another that is exponentially worse, then I’d gladly lay my life down on the line. I’ve followed orders my entire life, shot without thinking, but I know that this is right. You’ve helped me see that this is right.”

“This isn’t just for us, this is for Shining Star. This is for Lavender.”

The Doctor slightly teared up as he turned to the console. Upon pressing the dematerialization switch a flash of white light enveloped the console room. The console smouldered as the iconic wheezing and groaning sped up faster and faster. The room appeared blurry as the TARDIS flew faster and faster down the time vortex. Finally, it stopped.

They’d landed but where and when? The replacement circuit was either burnt out or had damaged other of the ship’s systems. Everypony coughed as they looked up at the scanner, confirming their suspicions. They’d truly made it back to Kembel and not a moment too soon. The Doctor didn’t even want to look out at the jungle, once he left the TARDIS he just kept on walking.

He didn’t want to look down and know if he was walking past any more corpses, Dalek or Equestrian. He was so stuck in his bubble of vile anger that he didn’t tell his friends to stay in the ship. He didn’t even register them going after him or that they were there. Little did he know that he was walking right into a Dalek ambush.

“You will follow us.” barked the Dalek patrol leader.

He didn’t dare turn around, he knew that the Daleks wouldn’t hesitate to take his friends hostage or worse. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cosmic and T-Tauri hiding in the brush. The Doctor still didn’t move, holding onto that breath of relief. If they knew who he’d seen, showed even the slightest change that they could detect, then they’d be entangled in this too. Following along silently and obediently the Doctor was led back down to the Grove, this time with no cover. Each of the Dalek’s eyestalks were pointed at him, practically digging into his skin.

Hopefully his friends would be sensible and return back to the TARDIS. This was something that he had to himself and he had to do it alone. Promptly locked in a cell, the Doctor began to think. They had the Taranium core so there had to be a reason that he wasn’t immediately exterminated on sight. It had to be something that only he knew about, something that he-

“Psst! Quickly, while we still have the chance.” whispered T-Tauri.

The Doctor’s hearts sank as he heard her voice.

“You should be in the ship, why are you here?”

“Cosmic is freeing the other delegates in another block, on the other side of the building. Opaline seems to be long gone so that’s a plus. Some of my access codes haven’t been cancelled yet, now come on.”

The Doctor was hoisted back up onto his hooves once T-Tauri opened the iron gate.

“The labs are just down this way. The Time Destructor is being stored in there, now let’s go.”

T-Tauri was already getting ahead of him much to the Doctor’s protests.

“I absolutely refuse that you put yourself in harm's way, even for my benefit. I have this handled perfectly.”

“You were stuck in a prison cell.”

“I would have had the Daleks deliver me right to the Time Destructor. They obviously still need me. Now that I’m free the security will be on high alert, you can’t fight the Daleks. Not even one!”

“Well I’m here now and there’s no turning back, alright? Now are you going to destroy that thing properly or do I need to do it myself?”

The Doctor glared daggers at her, only now realising that she’d led him to their target. He looked up at the lab doors and then back at T-Tauri. With a huff he angrily shoved the doors open and walked right in. The Time Destructor was on full display, a machine shaped like an atom with dozens of rotating facets within the nucleus. It had a low glow to it as energy radiated through the Taranium core. He recognized it in an instant, realising just why the Daleks still needed him. It wasn’t identical to the Gallophreyan design, obviously hundreds of times larger to the near microscopic counterpart, but it operated on the same principle.

Every piece of time technology that the Timeponies developed featured this nucleus, the link between the user and time itself. All Timepony technology, even close facimillies, required the nucleus to be synced with a Timepony’s biodata. His people were always so high and mighty, so infuriatingly superior to others that they didn’t dare let others have their own technology. It was perfectly fit that they’d engineer it so that they were the only ones to have access to time itself.

“What are you waiting for? Destroy it and we’re home free.”

“I can’t…the second I touch it I will be synced to the device. Only my people can operate such a weapon.”

“You will activate the device.”

The Doctor jumped back a few steps as a swarm of Daleks surrounded them. T-Tauri obviously picked up a new gun along the way considering how much she was swinging it around. At best if he continued to hold the device his biodata would constantly be registered, giving him a few minutes rather than a few seconds.

“Do it or the mare dies.”

The Doctor quickly picked up the Time Destrcutor, several cogs and components slowly sliding into place. The clock had started ticking.

“Stay right where you are!”

“Exterminate.”

“STOP. As ideal as exterminating me is to you, you wouldn’t dare to damage your equipment, hmm?”

Not a single Dalek moved. T-Tauri was quickly picking up on what the Doctor was doing, both of them running faster than they ever had in their lives. In the meantime, the Doctor continued to fiddle with the destructor as if it were the universe’s most deadly Rubik’s Cube.

“What are you doing?” T-Tauri asked.

“Reversing the effects of the device. Should overload within a short range and destroy it.”

“Making the Daleks revert to sludge?”

“Precisely!”

They were lucky with each fall of a two tonne steel plate restricting another part of the facility. The oxygen was likely being sucked out once it did, a precaution to easily stop fires. They were so close, the TARDIS just in sight. Cosmic was already holding the door open for them too. Just one last twist and the entire process would be complete. Then T-Tauri tripped. The Time Destructor burst with artron energy as it reached the halfway stage. The second the device left his hooves it primed immediately, time literally slowing down around them.

Everything after that was somewhat of a blur. The Daleks tried to reach the device but were caught up in its field. Cosmic’s voice echoed like it was underwater, calling out to him as if it were miles away. Everything on Kembel had aged to dust. The plants, the Daleks, each other. In her last moments she pushed the last panel in place. No last words, no goodbyes, just one last act before she too became dust. As time rewound around him even that dust became nothing as it ceased to exist. In that moment between accelerated forwards and backwards time, Cosmic dragged him back into the ship as they both screamed.

The Daleks like the planet around them were reduced to a primordial state, life having yet to exist. The device exploded in a plume of black smoke, overloading from the strain. The wind outside the TARDIS howled across the rocky plains that was once the lush Kembel. It was finally all over. The Doctor gasped for air as Cosmic covered his mouth in shock. Thankfully due to his unique relation to time and longer age he was weaker but relatively safe.

“T-Tauri…” Cosmic choked out while stifling a sob.

“The Daleks are finally defeated, but at a terrible cost. Such a waste. Such a terrible waste.”

Already the Doctor was plotting their next course. Obviously the directional unit needed some repairs, best to switch the original back. Good thing too, the positronic stabiliser was practically jelly. Ah well, best to use it for scrap in the future. Actually if he melded it with the isometric vortex router he could-

“Doctor…?”

The Doctor blinked, remembering that Cosmic had just been standing there for the past five minutes.

“Yes, yes, what is it?”

Cosmic winced at the Doctor’s words.

“You really are an alien… aren’t you?”

“Well I, uh-”

“You’re really just sauntering off as if nothing happened? As if everypony survived. Everypony on Kembel, every bit of life on that planet except us is dead. Not just the Daleks but the delegates. The DELEGATES. You think that you even have the right to speak to me?”

The Doctor raised a hoof to comfort him but Cosmic just stepped back.

“No! Just…don’t, alright? T-Tauri Star… Shining Star… Lavender Decor. All of them died because of our negligence. T-Tauri is just gone and you’re not even phased by it? You said that you travelled for scientific and moral curiosity. Well has your curiosity been satisfied? Maybe that’s all we are to you, like all other ponies and life in the universe, we’re nothing. You take us on adventures like we’re fictional characters that are a part of your grand story. But we’re all living beings, we have lives. I don’t care what you think, because I’m done travelling with you. The next place we land I don’t care, I’m getting off.”

The Doctor didn’t say a word, he’d already said enough. Even with what little he’d said to him it was already far too much. Equestria, Canterlot, 966. How oddly poetic, ironic and cruel. The doors opened and Cosmic just stared at him with disappointment and disgust.

“Goodbye Doctor.”

With that, he left. The console room was empty now for the first time in a very long time. It was just him now, all alone. All alone because nopony truly understood the things that he had to do. He never wanted any of this, but maybe Cosmic was right in a way. Not even Susan truly understood the reasons behind his actions. Not Spark or Berry, oh how eager they were just to return to the life that he’d stolen them from, even with the adventures they’d shared. Frequency Wave was young but maybe she did understand, that’s likely why she left him. Now Cosmic too, perhaps he understood more than he ever did.

Perhaps it was time to return home, back to his own time and place on Gallophrey. He couldn’t though, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t even explain to himself why he couldn’t, there were no words to express why. The Doctor didn’t even bother putting in any coordinates, he just had to get away. He needed to get as far away as he possibly could from this location. It oddly felt like he’d come full circle, arriving in Canterlot during the 960s. There was a commotion of some kind going on outside of the ship but he didn’t care. He didn’t feel like he deserved to care. Maybe he didn’t deserve to see the place he’d called home for several months with Susan.

Right before dematerialization a young earth pony orange mare with a short purple mane and tail burst into the console room. Cosmic quickly followed behind, clearly trying to prevent her from entering. She looked around, stunned by the massive interior dimensions.

“Who are you?” the Doctor asked.

“I…I was just looking for a…lost and looking for police.”

The Doctor desperately tried to stop the TARDIS from taking off but it was too late. He couldn’t do this again, not now. He never wanted to do this again, to accidentally kidnap somepony from their life against their will. Though he truly wouldn’t be coming full circle if he didn’t. Just like how it all started, it was happening again. Only this time, rather than joy, all he could feel was an overwhelming sense of dread.