The Two Doctors

M/M Shipping Contest!77 stories ·164 members

Times are hard for Doctor Caballeron, forcing him to search for artifacts without a team. Just as he stumbles across something which might be his big break, a pony calling himself "Doctor Whooves" turns up. Just who is this pony? And why does he suddenly feel like this isn't going to be as simple as he originally thought?

Fourth place in the 2023 M/M shipping contest! (I highly recommend checking out the other stories there as well!)

Chapters (1)

Comments ( 10 )

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MagicalPony2099

MagicalPony2099 #1 · Nov 29th, 2023 · 3 · 2 ·

I love this story. Thank you for writing it. And I hope you do good in that contest. I also see a possible sequel in the future for this story to explore the romance between Caballeron and Turner and maybe even more.

Silver Needle

Silver Needle #2 · Nov 29th, 2023 · 3 · 2 ·

11762321
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it :)

Reily

Reily #3 · Nov 29th, 2023 · 2 · 2 ·

Very solid story. You also made Dr. Caballeron actually sympathetic and I didn't know that was possible.

Looking forward to any potential sequels.

Silver Needle

Silver Needle #4 · Nov 29th, 2023 · 1 · 2 ·

11762499
Thank you! :) I haven't got a sequel planned just yet but I did love writing their dynamic so its definitely something I'll consider.

AltruistArtist

AltruistArtist #5 · January 3rd · 1 · ·

This was such a fun and exciting story! The action scenes felt right out of the sort of adventure flick Caballeron's character was derived from. And, relatedly, this was a great touch:

“Of course. It had to be hoop snakes.”

Pairing Doctor Whooves and Doctor Caballeron was a fantastic concept. As was the framing of them going after the same artifact being what led to their meeting and classic tomb escape! I really enjoyed how you humanized (for lack of a more pony-based word) Doctor Caballeron without disregarding his role as an antagonistic force in Equestria. Doctor Whooves is certainly an intriguing yet grounding presence for Caballeron to make sense of, yet not one that's necessarily going to propel him toward being on the moral up-and-up. It was a great dynamic overall and I had a great time reading every moment of it. Especially the smooch at the end!

Silver Needle

Silver Needle #6 · January 3rd · 1 · ·

11789646
Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad it felt like an adventure flick, that was exactly the vibe I was going for :)

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #7 · January 15th · 1 · ·

Doctor Caballeron had not lived a life devoid of low points. On the contrary, many of the worst moments in his extensive career as a plundering archeologist had been published in popular fiction novels, much to his dismay.

oof, that really must suck when you think about it

He would find a marvellous artefact in a long forgotten temple, and kindly ‘liberate’ it, with the intention of selling it for a handsome price. She would interfere at the last second, swiping the prize for herself, and leaving him with nothing.

dang, how dare she!

A couple of tired rope bridges were the only things connecting it to where he stood, but he had seen his fair share of rope bridges in his time, and these were decidedly on the safer side. He crossed over with ease.

i love how over the years he must have encountered so many archaeologist adventure clichés that he can now make these judgments by sight

“Like I said, I’m not an expert in archaeology by any means, but I do have a particular interest in time and clocks. Not many ponies still use sundials of course, they’re rather unwieldy, but back in ancient times it was really all they had to go off of, short of asking Celestia herself.”

love that last bit as an option. ah, the world of ponies…

“Well, yes. In truth, the whole reason I came out here in the first place was to find it. The Princess comes across mentions of curios every now and then while researching, and those of us who work in Ponytown’s civil service are tasked with gathering them. Just in case they turn out to actually be a powerful magic tool that a villain might otherwise put to use.”

ahaha i love this! always love it when the Equestrian government or civil service is fleshed out, and this idea is very fitting with the spirit of the canon

They both turned to look at the curio in question, and Whooves chuckled. “Not that I think this is anything like that. Still, I’m afraid that my papers really do come from the highest authority, and give me full permission to retrieve this artifact. I really must apologise.”

Dr. Hooves is about to find out that he is in the wrong story genre isn’t he

But as he did so, he felt the ground shift beneath his hooves. He froze, twisting back to look at the platform. It was sinking into the ground, some hidden mechanism triggered when the sundial had been removed, and by the way the ground was shaking, something very bad was about to happen.

you’d think Caballeron would have figured out that is what tends to happen in these situations by now!

“Oh no. I understand perfectly. Without your help, I’m as good as dead. I just believe that most ponies wouldn’t walk away and leave someone else to their death.” He spoke remarkably calmly for a pony currently under a pile of rubble, Caballeron noticed, and there was a look in his eyes that sent a chill down his spine. “And if you happen to be one of the few that would, I have no interest in helping you out of here, with my life on the line or otherwise. I severely hope that you are in the former category.”

augh i love this! exactly the kind of speech i’d expect a pony to give a human if that makes sense

“Make no mistake. I would enjoy nothing more than to leave you here to rot,” He snapped, as Whooves swiftly extracted himself from the ruins. “It just so happens that escaping this place may require a second set of hooves. I still fully intend to find the sundial, and take it back with me. If you get in the way, I will not hesitate to leave you.”

tsundere!

He could think of worse company to be in, and it certainly didn’t hurt that his companion was rather easy on the eyes…

ehehe

“How can you tell? It’s pitch black down here.”
Whooves jerked his head back towards his flank. For a moment, Caballeron thought he had noticed his wandering eyes, until he realised he was indicating his cutie mark. An hourglass.

ahaha love this. looking at a cutie mark being the same thing as looking at a butt leads to very fun unaligned intentions when attraction is thrown into the mix

Supposed to take care of everything ‘Timey-wimey.’

nice

“Well…” Whooves gave a rather pointed glance towards Caballeron’s own cutie mark. A golden skull, with shining gemstones for eyes.

i gotta say, that is a pretty badass cutie mark

When you study the past, it really sets in, you know. Some ponies are remembered by history. The majority are forgotten. The way things were going, I would not even be remembered by the present. Not to mention, I was running out of money.”

oof, love this depth to the backstory here! and how it connects with Dr. Whooves’ background in science, augh that works os well

An archaeologist, but the kind who was reckless, heroic, darin-” he coughed, “er, bold.

ahaha

What had this pony seen? Who was he?”

hehe, “Who”

“That’s my name.” The other pony shrugged. “You told me so much about yourself, I figured I’d give something in return. Doctor Whooves is just a title. Not many ponies know my real name.”

always love it when stories figure out explanations for the many background ponies with multiple names

“So I’ve just agreed to join their bowling team for the sake of my suit- and for the record, I had never bowled once in my life before- when there’s an ear-splitting screech, and outside of the window is none other than a massive bug-bear hybrid creature! But the other players were dead focused on the game, and I needed that suit, so I just had to play like my life depended on it!”

oh hey we saw this one!

“Hoop snakes,” Caballeron replied, stiffly. His legs suddenly felt like jelly, and he didn’t think it was because of tiredness. “Of course. It had to be hoop snakes.”

hehe nice

“But…” Caballeron examined the structure sceptically. “By the looks of this thing, two ponies have to cross simultaneously, and these bridges are set to tilt unless balanced perfectly. If they do…” He looked down at the snakes and shuddered. “We can forget about ever getting out of here.”

always love how these archaeological ruins have traps that happen to line up with the character arcs of whoever is trying to escape them

He smiled back at Caballeron, a smile filled with a warmth that he had not seen in a long time, and he suddenly became aware of how close they were lying. Practically touching.

hoowee

“It was trapped beneath me, when I woke up,” Whooves said miserably. “You were still unconscious so… I just took it. We both wanted it, and I didn’t think you’d let me have it if you knew. So I didn’t say anything. It’s… what did you expect?”

ooh i love this twist! retroactively gives a different tint to Whooves’s openness, makes the two characters Not So Different After All, staunches the building flame of the ship so that it could be relit later, augh it is good

At some point, he became aware that he was ascending again, heading up a long, spiralling path that surely led to an exit. He would be free then. Free to… hire another team. Plunder another ruin. Was that what he wanted? He didn’t know.

love the moment when the villain realizes the emptiness of his goals

Of course there was some final obstacle standing in his way. Typical ancient ruins. And he was completely on his own.

ahaha yeah, love that Caballeron is genre-aware about this

“I came after you! I couldn’t just let you leave like that!”
Caballeron clutched the sundial tightly to himself, snarling.
“You mean you’re just after this? Well too bad! It’s mine!”

ahaha perfect

His eyes fell on the sundial, the clunky metal object still making him awkwardly run on three legs. Could he bring himself to do that? To give up the thing he had gone through all this effort for, that had brought him here in the first place, that could secure him a small fortune and his crew back once he got out of there?
To his surprise, he realised that he could.

yay character growth!

As the snake made a wailing noise of outrage one might understandably make if they had eaten a very hard metal object expected to be some kind of juicy prey, the two ponies made a break for the door, galloping like the wind.

that noise would indeed be understandable

“Well, for a life like yours?” Whooves gave as much of a shrug as was possible, lying where he was. “I figured it was worth it.”

auaugh

“Oh. Uh- yes. It does. Very much so,” Caballeron stuttered, trying to ignore the sudden urge in his knees to give way. The combined forces of mental and physical exhaustion caught up with him, and he stumbled, almost dropping Whooves in the process, which the pony in question found endlessly amusing.

augh adorbs

“I’ll go back to my world… and you’ll go back to yours. A civil worker and a tomb robber. I doubt we’ll meet again.”

noooooo their genres are too different :(

“Yes, I told you before, remember? It’s our job as civil workers in Ponyville to investigate possible magical artifacts, for Princess Twilight. Well, it just so happens that I’ve been tasked with investigating the Silver Falls temple over in the south. I’ve been meaning to do it for months. It would be some incredible coincidence if we both found ourselves there again at say… 11am, one week from Tomorrow?”

ahaha what a perfect way to ask Caballeron out on a date

just a lovely story all-around! you did such great work fleshing out Dr. Caballeron here, and i love how the entire story is self-aware of the clichés of the genre while also using them straightforwardly to build Caballeron’s arc. i really love the dynamic and chemistry of these two, and while i’m sure more stories with them would be great, this story by itself is also very satisfying as a complete tale. thank you for writing!

Silver Needle

Silver Needle #8 · January 15th · 1 · ·

11799582
Thank you very much for your review! I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to know that people look over (and hopefully enjoy!) my writing in this much detail :)

The Red Parade

The Red Parade #9 · 2 weeks ago · 1 · ·

Hello! Your story was referred to me through this group!

As a fan of background characters I think you really knocked it out of the park with this one. Caballeron's interpretations and motivations were wonderfully dissected here and really made him a compelling character. He's presented as someone we can sympathize with, which is always a bit of a challenge with characters like him. It was a fascinating read to see him actually propped up with a backstory, motivation, and reasoning which is so much more than we see of him in the show!

Time Turner was really well done too! He's not a character that I usually like, but you sold him pretty well here. I always appreciate stories that can prop him up on his own rather than having him just be the "Dr. Who reference" guy, and it was lovely to see him given so much more life beyond the little we saw of him in the show.

The story's pacing and timing were impeccable as well. This felt like it could have been an SOL style episode filled with actions, twists and turns. A fantastic read, great work!

Silver Needle

Silver Needle #10 · 2 weeks ago · · ·

11874160
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, I love stories around background characters too and I really wanted to do these two justice, so I'm so happy it worked out! :)

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