The Timepony's Journal

Prologue

Another lovely day has gone by in the beautiful land of Equestria, not to mention an eventful one as well. Merely hours ago Twilight Sparkle had defeated Tirek, the escaped prisoner from Tartarus come back for vengeance.  Gone was the Golden Oaks Library and the magical box. In its place stood a new shimmering castle that she could call home. It wasn't exactly her choice to move in, but resting anywhere comfortable was a significant relief that she'd earned.

Some serious damage had been inflicted on the surrounding area of Ponyville, caused by a tremendous storm of arcane force. It'd take ages for it to be repaired but with a little bit of help, the Weather Team and the local farmers could surely restore some greenery to the scars on the land. It wasn't her proudest moment, but Twilight certainly wasn't going out with a fight.

Though it all felt wasted when she gave up her magic and relied on her friends. It hurt a little that she couldn't truly win a fight on her own. At least she would never be alone, and at least she had won.

"It's been a crazy day, Spike," she said through a yawn.

Spike followed behind her, equally as tired. It had also been a long day for him, even though he was just on the sidelines for most of the ordeal. He was often just a bystander most of the time, only next to Twilight because he felt secure. She was his family after all. At least they were able to tough out the trying time together even though Twilight had to seclude herself from her friends.

"It sure was, Twilight, but I'm gonna miss the old library."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually."

She turned out the lights as she cuddled up into her new bed. The blanket drifted over her while encased in a familiar purple aura, soft and warm as it should be.

"[i]I hope I will[/i]..." she thought to herself before drifting into a peaceful slumber.

For hours everything was peaceful. The relaxing whistle of the midnight wind, accompanied by the gentle ticking of the alarm clock, created the perfect environment for pure comfort. Sadly, Twilight wasn't able to finish her ideal nap. As if the air were cut with a hot knife, the wheezing and groaning noise of a particular blue box left a long-winding stain of dread in the no longer perfect night. Twilight just groaned and turned over, dismissing the sound as some early risers starting some loud work. She looked over at Spike, still snoring loudly, before looking back at the clock.

"Three AM? Nopony in their right mind should be up this early. So why am I awake?"

If she were like everyone else, she'd put a pillow over her head to clog out the noise. But this is Twilight Sparkle; her curiosity always got the better of her. So she got up and went straight to the nearest window. She was shocked by what she saw, striking so many old memories. She hadn't seen the TARDIS since the fiasco in the Canterlot Public School.

Looking back, she saw that Spike was thankfully still asleep and undisturbed by the commotion. He was always grumpy when it came to being disturbed during his naps. She tip-hoofed around him silently before galloping out of his earshot. She approached her boxes of miscellaneous items salvaged from the wreckage of her old home, stored in the main living area to be unpacked later. It had been there, a small alien object looking as if it hadn't been touched by a single flame. Placing the key chain around her neck for the first time in ages, she went outside and approached the wooden capsule.

There was a glimmer of hope that he'd be in there with a warm welcome. But there was nothing but a dim old coral console room. The round dome that once beamed with life,    giving off a warm orange and green glow, had been silenced. The tan pillars were coated with a light layer of dust and the grated flooring slightly creaked when her hooves touched it. There was an eerie vibe in the air that wasn't around the last time she had stepped inside. The only source of light came from the crystalline component within The Time Rotor. When she placed a hoof on the console it felt cold to the touch.

The room itself was a contrast to the original stark white room with the many roundels. It wasn't long before she stumbled upon something small on the console room floor. Picking up the item and dusting it off, Twilight observed the mysterious object. It was an old brown book with the words 900 Year Diary embroidered onto the cover in gold thread. A note attached to the front almost fell to the floor before she picked it up with her magic.

It read: "Dear Twilight, I'm in a bit of a pickle at the moment, and I need your help right now. You're a smart pony, so I'm certain you'll figure something out. The TARDIS has likely returned to your location if you're reading this, of course. In my diary are instructions on exactly what to do. Well, when I say 'instructions' I more or less mean 'suggestions' considering how strange the situation is. The book is rather hard to navigate through; it often folds over some details or rewrites the entries to hide some secrets.

Clever design really, picked it up from a market a long, long time ago. Anyway, I'm sure there's some indexing spell or special way around this. The Web of Time I think I told you has been mangled by an old beast I thought never existed or was long gone.

It doesn't follow the natural laws of time so it could easily attack you at any moment. Be cautious!

Once again, I'm sure you're capable of handling it with some help or even on your own if you're clever enough. You're one of my most trusted friends and I really need you. I'm running out of time so I'm sorry that I can't help much. Good luck, molto bene!

The Doctor"

There was a short pause as Twilight began to process all of the new information. He was in trouble again, which was just his typical behavior. Always getting in and out of scrapes was seemingly his forte after having it happen so many times. But he sent for her help specifically so it must be too much for him to handle. This was serious, he hadn't called out for help before.

She turned around quickly when a mallet fell on the ground from off the console. The hammer was either poorly placed or something else was there. Either way, she didn't want to find out which option it was. She dashed straight back to her bedroom inside and opened the book to the last entry. It was almost all jumbled or nonsensical in any form or fashion.

It was like when a textbook changes the page order if the student just wanted the answers in the back. That was a purely simple enchantment, but this book was as aliens as its author.  It had to be more in-depth and complex than that. Still, there were so many lists, names, and dates on every page. Peladon, Earth, Nimon, Ycranos, and so many more scattered the several pages.

All she knew for sure at the moment was that there had to be a possible way to bypass the scrambler and that the instructions were in there somewhere. There was no way of telling how, though. Trying the typical reorganization spells didn't work, so one after another she tried the classic to the slightly more advanced spells from her memory to decode it. Still no luck at all. She closed the book and just stared at the front cover in sorrow, letting out a final sigh. There wasn't anything she could do at the moment, it'd have to wait until morning.

"I'll figure out a way to save you, Doctor... somehow."