"I am intrigued, and also worried by what you have to say. Pray, continue." Celestia said, keeping the conversation going. As long as this pony was talking, he wasn't trying to escape... and he was also giving her valuable information.
"I don't know any more. That's why I came in through a... conveniently open back door. So I could find out what they are. And besides, there were some crying foals who were worried about their sires."
ā€¯Conveniently open back door"? This was all starting to sound like some rather questionable activity, Luna thought... Even Celestia herself seemed a bit confused by his presence. That would explain why the guards looked so unhappy, if this pony was a trespasser. Apparently not a dangerous trespasser, though, as Celestia was keeping her calm and seemed to have called off the guards.
Wait, crying foals? What was he on about now? Seemed like he'd completely changed the subject. His story seemed rather muddled, and becoming more so...
The Doctor grinned. "So, anyone who's coming for an adventure... we need to find the dankest, darkest, spookiest corner of the under-castle." He glanced at Celestia. "The sort of place you haven't seen used since you were a foal."
As he mentioned the deep parts of the castle, Luna suppressed a shudder... Remembering something from long long ago that took place in a deep dark part place the castle... or under it. Adventure indeed. It was dangerous down there... dangerous things happened down there. It wasn't the sort of place one went to for a simple "adventure."
Celestia continued to listen on she briefly offered a smile to her little sister with a soft nod, hair wafting slightly on the soft breeze as she commented absently, "Well, it appears we have an old friend if he knows my wanderings as a foal..."
Luna noticed that Celestia smiled at her, almost as if she were reading her thoughts, and remembering too, and reassuring her that things were now alright. Luna also noted Doctor Whooves' last comment, but thought that it was just something offhoof. That was, until Celestia acknowledged it.
She'd been down there? And as a FOAL? Luna had, on a couple of occasions... but she was a master of the night and darkness. She wasn't afraid of dark dungeons and old dusty rooms. There was nothing down there, nothing at all. But she had always gone alone. It wasn't a place that Luna was supposed to be. One, because she had been told it was dangerous, and two, there was always more to be studied and learned, she had been taught. But, when she could manage to skip out on her duties, the far reaches of the castle were her refuges. Whether below the castle or simply in some of the spare rooms... Anywhere lonely and maybe a bit dark would do.
But... he was an old friend? Certainly not... She and Celestia were well over a thousand years old. Nopony lived that long. Celestia must have simply misinterpreted his light comment. There was no way he had been around for so long. He was just a regular Earth pony. Right?
"This is all a bit muddling to me. I really can't follow exactly what you're talking about. First you say you're interested in History, then you seem to admit that you sneaked into the castle, then something about some distressed foals...and now you speak of adventure?"
She turned to Celestia. "How can you have known this pony since you were young? I surely do not remember him, and, at any rate, you know, sister, how old we are. It is not possible for a mere pony to live as long as us. Correct?"
That was...awkward. Blinking her large and slightly surprised eyes at the 'doctor' once more, she looked to her sister whilst her mind went on thinking. Could he have been....no.
He'd have passed on by now, surely. There was simply no way in....mind you...
Turning back to the Doctor, Luna said, "What, pray tell, exactly is your business in Canterlot Castle?"
The Doctor let out a wide-eyed grin, his mouth looking almost too big for his face. "Oh, no. I'm not nearly that old. That'd be ridiculous! No, no. I'm just saying... we're talking about stuff that's been locked away for centuries... they didn't just pop out of nowhere. So we need to find someplace that might have been lying deserted for over a thousand years..."
He laughed again, and patted Luna on the shoulder. "Me, over a thousand years old ... next you're going to tell me I came in through your window to babysit you while you were a foal, watching over you as you were in your jammies and had put your hair up while danced to your Mulezart Albums, or helping you with your homework while you were doodling hearts around little Autumnus' name on your school books ... "
Luna fought the urge to flinch away as the brown pony's hoof came in contact with her shoulder. She didn't feel very comfortable at all with this strange pony in such a close proximity. Perhaps it was a simple act of being...friendly, but it just didn't sit well. And now he was talking of sneaking into her bedroom as a child? What a creeper, a pervert perhaps, even. What was his problem?
"As for what I'm doing here, it's quite simple. I'm doing what I always do. I'm being clever! I think the more important question is, what are we still doing up here, instead of heading down below? Come on, now, lead the way!"
Oh, so he thought he was being clever, did he? Luna scoffed inwardly. He was actually being rather cheeky, dodging around questions like some little 'lie dance'.
As he went on about how they still remained up top, Princess Celestia felt compelled with her gut feeling to trust the pony. She glanced to the two guards still looking rather fierce with both their beloved princesses in their stead, and a strange pony here. A simple nod, however, eased them both, and Celestia delicately nudged her sister's cheek in a soft, affectionate gesture as she moved to a door leading further into the castle. If the stallion was correct, something would be going terribly wrong...and besides...there was an odd feeling of familiarity to the young pony.
Perhaps it was how in detail he went on about her younger sister, or acknowledging she indeed wandered into the bowels of the castle long ago, Celestia mused... She hadn't ventured there in a long, long time.
And to this day, something made her wary of going down still.
But why?
Looking to their guest, she offered a small smile and a nod for him and Luna to follow. She wanted to keep an eye on her sister in case anything was found... in case anything dangerous was found. A protective instinct was running very fiercely through her.
Still slightly confused and a bit skeptical, Luna was about to protest when Celestia turned and led the way. She stopped herself, knowing that it was futile to try and talk any sense with this 'Doctor'. But if Celestia trusted him...well, perhaps there was something she knew that she was not telling Luna. That bothered her. If something was wrong, why shouldn't she know too? And why did she have to come as well?
The deepest parts of the castle no longer brought Luna any lonely comfort as they once had. Something long ago had happened...the beginning and ending of it all...and Luna had not soon forgotten.
But she followed, anyway, wary and nervous, and keeping especially close to Celestia's side. She could feel her legs becoming wobbly and her throat tightening at the thought of venturing downward. Down old winding steps of old stone, into dusty realms that had never seen the light of day. At one time it had all been fascinating, but now it just filled Luna with dread.
First! I have never been first ever!
I like where this is going, the Doctor knows them, but they have forgotten him? Interesting.
this is awsome
314084 I think I imply later at some point(s) that she lost a lot of her memories from her time on the moon/trip back/transformation from NMM.
It kind of goes along with how she's experiencing a loss of magical power (as this is Season 1 Luna), so eventually she'll regain them when/as she transitions to Season 2 Luna.
347867 Haha, Bramble Rose wrote that part.
Dreadful monsters that lurk in the darkness, yet possess their own unearthly light... the Glow Worms...
348179 Strangely, I have one of those dolls in my closet. O_o
God, this is brilliant. It's like right out of the show!
The only thing that's killing me, as mentioned before, is the Doctor Whooves bit.
The Doctor always just goes by The Doctor, never Doctor Who. It's really just a small thing, but it would be great if you could fix it. Other than that minor issue though, this is flawless! Well done!
One word: Tracked
The only thing I'm not much of a fan of is the use of Doctor Hooves instead of The Doctor. Of course that is a matter of personal opinion.
Tiny things aside, you got your fic posted on the front page of EQD, and it's obvious you earned it. Hope we get to see an update soon.
For all those with comments about Doctor Whooves VS The Doctor... Well, I personally haven't delved into Doctor Who, and perhaps only the Brony writing the Doctor Whooves bits has... as this is a collaboration, I write for Luna, Bramble Rose writes for The Doctor, and Diomedes currently writes for Celestia, though it was formerly MudBug. I edit it together. Suffice it to say, I guess most of the writers are ignorant of the show (Doctor Who), but I will see about editing.
348218 I recall them because they were part of the MLP Gen 1 show. Their original multi-part quest wasn't bad, much like the first MLP special (which of course had a great villain, Tirek).
And then both segments quickly became lame afterward.
There was also a Mister Potato Head segment...
Anyway, I'm sure the Glow Worms are down there eating the guards as we speak. After all, real glow worms are canivorous!
Well. Interseting. Worth the track and doing well so far. Good work!
Congrats on getting featured in EQD
Welp, you've gotten me interested, and I'm reading this in the 10th doctor's voice (or should it be the 11th?) but anyway, hope to see more. :)
349600 I have no idea, and WHY CAN'T I EVER ACTUALLY REPLY WITHOUT RANDOM NUMBERS REPLACING SOMEONE'S NAME?
349651 Most likely because you're replying to someone on a different page.
349367 With an avatar like your's I'd read it in Ten's voice.
This story does seem to ramble on a bit, but I guess that is because it is a Doctor Whooves fic(and rambling is what he does best).
349696 Maybe, but not likely. I'm on Chapter 4, replying to you...and it's messing up again. Maybe I'm still not doing it right. But...if you get the usual notification about my reply, then please reply back. That way I'll know whether everything's working except the actual label. Thanks beforehoof.
349748 It comes up fine right now when you reply to me. Brohoof* /)
I'm enjoying this but I gotta say your portrayal of the doctor doesn't mesh well with my image of him. that's a personal quibble though. Overall very well done.
349651
are you replying from the table of contents or the chapter in which they actually commented?
I know everyone is in love with this and I usually like Dr. Whooves stories, but I can't get into this one.
>>MyLittlePonyTales I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, and using the name "Doctor Whooves" is driving me nuts. Please for the love of Celestia eventually have the Doctor say that "Whooves" is just an alias and that his proper name is the Doctor. Just the Doctor.
Great fic, otherwise. Tracking, definitely.
348342
being an avid follower of doctor who, you could simple pass off the name Doctor Whooves as one of his MANY aliases. While he IS "The Doctor" he could be going by Doctor Whooves simply because it happens to fit his situation while visiting equestria in such a clever way! kinda like a personal inside joke. Doctor who? but he's a horse, so its funny to him. lol. You could bring it up later perhaps just to clarify so that way you don't have to go back and edit.
I think it's safe to say that at least one or both of the guards are gonna get off-ed at this point. They already have zero personality; all you need to do by this point is throw 'em in a red jacket, have 'em whip out their family photo, and you'd have one ready-to-die pony (for the sake of good or otherwise).
Regardless, I am interested to see how this will play out, so i'm going to go ahead and track this story.
349874 /) Return brohoof! (\
_____/)*(\______ Squish! Oops. I think we squished my comment.
_-=^#--.
-- * -- _
Good stuff. Looking forward to more.
This particular Doctor's personality reminds me more of 9th than any of the other modern incarnations, so I'm reading it as his voice. Keep it up!
Possibly so, but, well, you know those Time Ponies. Don't know how to die properly, always forget to stop living. So unprofessional.
This story is giving me a serious Chris, David, and Matt moment. This is really getting me very, VERY interested.