//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Doctor Whooves Episode 5: Before the Chaos 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//


Doctor Whooves: Episode 5
Before the Chaos



Prologue


Courtyard, Castle of Equestria, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 146 P.C.E.

The mysterious mare continued to giggle as the TARDIS gave its usual final lurch. The Doctor and Twilight regained their balance and stood up to face the unexpected hitchhiker.
"Still falling over yourself, Doctor?" the mare asked with a seductive grin. "I do hope you grow out of that habit soon. You are the one who taught me how to stand still during travel after all."
"I don't meant to be rude here, or maybe I do, but...who the hell are you?" the Doctor asked bluntly. The mare simply giggled again and began walking around the interior of the control room. 
"Hardly looks any different from the control room I know. I guess some things don't change after all."
"Excuse me but the Doctor asked you a question!" Twilight snapped. The mare looked at Twilight and approached her.
"Twilight Sparkle. You're looking good. Let's see...smallish structure, shorter hair, a look of complete confusion. I say you're Twilight Sparkle, aged nineteen, currently on her first wild series of adventures with the stallion known as the Doctor."
Twilight was taken aback by the amount of information that this mare knew about her. Her eyes then trailed up towards the hat that was perched on the mare's head. The mare noticed that Twilight was eying her hat and she gave the unicorn a polite shove. 
"I see you've taken an interest in my hat," she said. Twilight then realized that she was staring and she quickly shook her head.
"Sorry," Twilight breathed. "It's just...something about your hat seems familiar to me."
"Probably just a coincidence. I know you haven't seen this hat before. I got it for my eighteenth birthday. My mother made it for me."
"Sorry to interrupt but I have a few questions to be answered," said the Doctor. The mare looked at the Doctor and patted one of his cheeks with her hoof.
"And they will all be answered in due time! What's the fun in telling you everything now? Why not let the mysteries...unfold as time progresses?" 
"Something about you certainly seems familiar to me in a sense."
"Is it the hat or just me in general?"
"It's just you in general."
"No surprise there."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let time answer the questions for you, Doctor. Right now, don't we have a new time and/or place to explore while the TARDIS heals itself?"
"How do you know-"
The mare put one of her hooves over the Doctor's mouth and shook her head.
"Now what did I just say?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"Let the mysteries unfold as time progresses," the Doctor replied with a groan.
"Exactly!"
The mare drew her hoof away from the Doctor's mouth and trotted towards the doors of the TARDIS.
"Can I at least get a name?" the Doctor asked.
"Matilda. That's my name," said the mare. The Doctor and Twilight turned to each other, shrugged their shoulders, and approached the doors. Matilda was about to open them when they flung open by themselves. A large, ugly head stuck through the threshold and examined the three ponies. The head resembled that of a horse but it definitely was no pony. It had a deer antler on the right of its head and a goat horn on the left, it had one long fang, two yellow eyes with pupils of different sizes, a snake tongue, and a goat beard. Twilight gasped at the sight of the creature and took three large steps back.
"Discord!" she shrieked with shock.