• Published 21st Dec 2012
  • 6,739 Views, 200 Comments

Doctor Whooves - A Hearth's Warming Tale - Loyal2Luna



Alone for the holidays, Scootaloo is drawn into a strange adventure with Spike and the Doctor as cheer and goodwill disappear from Ponyville's residents. Can they uncover the cause and fix the problem in time to save Hearth's Warming?

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Epilogue: The Doctor's Gift

Epilogue: The Doctor’s Gift

“...The end.”

Princess Luna smiled softly as she looked over the three fillies, who had succumbed to their weariness a short while ago. Try as they might, they simply couldn’t keep their eyes open as the Night Princess told of what happened at the Ponyville Train Depot that day, but she knew it did not matter. She knew what she said, and the lessons to be learned, would sink into their hearts regardless.

After all, being Princess of the Night, Equestria’s stewardess of dreams and the realm of sleep, had its perks.

With a gentle sigh, the dark blue alicorn leaned forward, her horn aglow as she tucked back the rumpled quilt under which the three fillies lay. In response to the movement, instinct took over, and the ponies’ small forms curled closer to each other in a way that warmed Luna’s heart more than any fire could.

With a single thought, the magical cobalt flame in the room’s hearth extinguished itself, leaving neither an ember nor a puff of smoke as evidence. And with the only light in the room coming from the hall outside, Luna finally took notice of the form casting a shadow across the floor, standing in the doorway as it had been for quite some time.

“How long have you been lurking there, sister?” the dark alicorn asked, not having to look behind her to recognize who had intruded upon the young ponies’ “story time.”

“Oh... not too long.” The Sun Princess smiled coyly. “I happened to come by just as Spike got spirited away.”

“Midnight has long since passed.” Luna shook her head, turning away from the fillies with a longing expression before she had to crane her neck slightly to look up towards the light magenta eyes of her sibling. “You should be asleep.”

Anypony present would have agreed with Luna’s statement; Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, hardly appeared to be at her best. Her usual glowing radiance was suppressed at this time of night, and her golden hoofcuffs and regalia were conspicuously absent, as was the crown that many could not say they had ever seen her not wearing. This combination of missing royal props gave her what most ponies would think an “inappropriate” level of casualness. Her mane and tail still flowed like water, as Luna’s did, but they also appeared unkempt and less-than-perfectly maintained, giving the white alicorn’s normally indescribable, unobtainable regal beauty a degree of messiness that would have made some of the stiffer nobles faint.

Luna found her current appearance far more to her liking than the image that she had to maintain for the common Equestrian. It almost made her seem like a “normal” pony.

“What can I say, Lu? It’s Hearth’s Warming. The anniversary of one of the proudest days of our lives. You know I’ve never been able to sleep well during the holidays; Too many memories.”

Luna huffed slightly, shaking her head as she tried to suppress her amusement at Celestia’s nostalgic interpretation of what had been a very turbulent, trying time for both of them.

“You have to raise the sun in four hours, Tia,” Luna reminded her sister.

“And you will have to go to sleep in six. I thought I would keep you company for the rest of the night.” Celestia nodded, turning a bit to allow her sister to exit the room the three usually-troublesome fillies were now sleeping soundly in. “You always did have trouble staying up during the day.”

Luna nodded in agreement.

In years past, she would have argued about her inability to remain awake during the daylight hours when most ponies had only just gotten through breakfast and started their days. But the years since her return had given her a bit more maturity than she once had, allowing her to accept that, in spite of what many of their subjects thought, both she and her sister had their share of flaws.

“Thank you, sister,” Luna sighed softly, grateful for the company as she would miss the festivities while most ponies were awake.

“I am curious, though...” Celestia fell into step beside her younger sister as they walked down the dimly lit corridor. “That story...”

Luna turned away slightly. She knew this was coming.

“I thought I knew them all. But that one’s not in the Journal.”

“Why would it be?” Luna responded. “Whatever else we may be, Tia, we are not omniscient.”

“And don’t I know it...” Celestia chuckled, the simple sound still managing to carry the kind of subtle grace and loveliness that the Night Princess loved to hear from her sister. “Still, I would like to hear it in full.”

Luna smirked playfully. “Sorry, Tia. I made a promise.”

“A promise? To whom?”

The Lunar Princess smiled as she thought back to a night years before...

————————

Stargazer Ridge
Ponyville, Everfree Province of Equestria
27th of Winter, 1002 C.R., 10:48 p.m.

Scootaloo the pegasus filly looked in awe at what now stood beside her, having spent the last half hour assembling the darn thing despite her hooves shaking from more than just the cold.

She had never told anypony about this.

Not Rainbow Dash. Not Spike. Not Apple Bloom. Not Sweetie Belle.

Not even her own father had known about her wanting this.

Scootaloo took in a breath, her heart racing slightly as she leaned forward, giving her last and most unexpected Hearth’s Warming gift a try.

Her mind had been racing as she followed the instructions by lantern light to set this thing up, remembering the events of just two days prior.

Her dad, Gus, and the Doctor got along well enough, although the brown stallion had tried to stay out from between the animated discussions of the entomologist and meteorologist who, surprisingly enough, happened to have quite a bit in common. Though, at certain points, he simply couldn’t resist throwing in an occasional jargon-laden correction or comment that flew way over her head (and sometimes over both the adults’ heads as well).

As for what they did for Hearth’s Warming, she had taken part in the sledding events with Doppler, which had won the pair a hefty bag of Bon Bon’s decadent salt-water taffies. And even though they didn’t win first place, she and Spike had tried their hooves (and claws, she supposed) at the snow sculptures.

She was still convinced they would have had a better chance at that Chocobee honey if Spike hadn’t sneezed halfway through and melted their first attempt.

But still, it had been fun, and although there had been some grumbling about a lack of gemstones during the dinner that the Doctor had prepared, it had been a very enjoyable experience for all involved. She didn’t know where the hay in Prance this “Paris” place was where he learned to cook, but if they ate like that all the time, she would seriously consider moving there.

As the sun started going down, Gus had excused himself after informing her father that he would certainly try to get back in touch with some of his old colleagues to see about starting up a new study. About what, she really had no idea, but apparently it was interesting enough for the no longer perpetually-gloomy pony to seriously consider coming out of retirement.

And then it was time for the customary Sharing of Gifts that had been a part of Hearth’s Warming tradition almost as long as the holiday had existed.

With Sweetie’s help, Scootaloo had gotten her dad a special ribbon setup to tie and wrap under his mane in order to prevent his glasses from sliding down his snout as they tended to do; something he clearly appreciated as he tended to lose them when flying at high altitude.

Her father had made special arrangements with a colleague of his in the Cloudsdale Weather Factory to test out a new cloud formation of condensed fog that was supposed to stay together even at lower altitudes. While this didn’t have many uses for the ECA (After all, who wanted to produce a rain cloud six inches off the ground?) it had “other” benefits.

Like making a cloud bed that stayed together at ground level.

That blessing alone was worth more than a dozen Hearth’s Warming gifts.

But what had been most unexpected was when Spike had approached her with a gift box that she had not noticed before, making her wonder when the Doctor had found the time to slip away and get it. It had also shocked her upon opening the present to find a jar filled to the brim with fresh Chocobee honey, labeled as having been jarred that very same day. How that was even possible was beyond Scootaloo, but the question flew from her mind the moment she bit down on a piece of toast liberally smothered in the decadent treat.

Also confusing to her, and something that she chose not to share with her father, was the strange message written in a card that came taped to the jar.

This isn’t your present. Your real present is under your bed. Thought you might want to open it in private. Some assembly will be required.

-The Doctor

What she found when she had gone to her room for the night had taken her breath away and opened up a thousand more questions that she still had no answer for.

It had taken two days of excruciating patience, but finally, she had been given the opportunity to try it out.

“Wow....”

It was all she could think to say as the orange filly kept one eye to the lens of what had to be the most elaborate telescope array she had ever seen.

The image was perfect, crystal clear as she adjusted the focus slightly, making out what must have been Maresia, the nearest planet to Equis and so often mistakenly referred to as “the Red Star.” With this telescope, she could clearly make out the craters on its surface.

No, scratch that. She could see the craters inside those craters with this thing.

Attached to the box in which it was kept had been a single card, the inside of which simply read:

Pick a star and make a wish.
Wish for the impossible.
And I promise it will come true.

-The Doctor

A wish?

Scootaloo nudged the telescope gently to the side, focusing on tiny patch of sky and twisting a knob on a panel set into the apparatus. With no effort at all, she managed to catch a sparkling blue star in the sights of her new toy, the magnification mind-bogglingly intense enough to show the glowing ball’s shifting surface. She marvelled at the sight for just a moment before drawing back... and looking up to the glowing full moon overhead before she swallowed.

What could it hurt?

“Once...” she managed, although she doubted this was a promise that could be kept. “Just once...”

“I must say...”

Scootaloo jumped several feet into the air as a new voice startled her, her wings buzzing loudly as she turned about, the fur on the back of her neck raised.

Her shock turned into awe a mere moment later as she realized who it was that had snuck up on her, now looking over her new telescope with an expression of interest.

“This is no common telescope, my young stargazer,” the dark blue alicorn commented, clearly impressed and taking no heed of the shock with which her appearance was met. “My understanding of the mechanics may be limited, but this could very well be more advanced than the ones used by Canterlot’s astronomy professors.”

Scootaloo stood shocked for a moment longer before she remembered herself, bowing down as low as she could bring herself.

“P...Princess Luna?” she stuttered out, although it was more of a realization than a question.

The last time she had seen the Princess of the Night had been at Nightmare Night the year before, although it seemed the ancient mare had managed to learn how to tone down her shouting, that only took the edge off of the intimidating nature presented by the Sovereign of the Lunar Court.

“Rise, dear Scootaloo.” The Princess shook her head, clearly amused.

“Y...you know my name?”

“Of course... I am well aware of the Cutie Mark Crusaders through my sister and the letters sent to us from yourself and your friends, the Elements.”

“And... I’m not in trouble?” Scootaloo asked, raising her head slightly when it dawned on her that the alicorn wasn’t about to do anything so drastic as to instigate a repeat of the Nightmare War. The question caused the Princess to turn her head.

“Is there some reason why you should be?”

“I don’t know, Your Highness,” Scootaloo managed as she stood to her hooves, trying to keep her legs from trembling. “I just thought... you know, with me being out late and by myself...”

“Is that all? That is hardly enough to warrant anypony being ‘in trouble.’” The alicorn shook her head, motioning to the telescope. “I merely took note of your interest in my night sky and thought I would grace the aspiring stargazer with my presence. But this...”

The Princess sounded intrigued as she moved towards the telescope, Scootaloo watching in amazement as she dipped her head down to look through it.

“Azure...”

“I’m sorry, Princess?”

“The star you are looking at... Azure.” The Princess drew back. “It has always been one of my favorites. But even I have never seen it in such marvelous detail.”

“You... know it’s name?” Scootaloo sounded impressed.

“I know all of their names. Every single one.” The Princess gave a soft sigh before turning again to Scootaloo, who managed not to cringe under her gaze. “How did you come by this device?”

“It was a Hearth’s Warming present,” Scootaloo explained, and although she didn’t know why, she added: “From Doctor Clockwork.”

Luna’s curiosity turned for a moment to mild shock... and then understanding.

“Ahh... I see. That explains it.”

Explains it? Scootaloo thought. Explains what?

“I... I’m sorry, Princess... do you know the Doctor?”

“Oh, yes.” Luna nodded. “And I’ve come to understand that when he happens to become involved with anypony, there is usually quite a story to come out of it.”

Scootaloo drew back slightly, and her hesitance was all of the proof that the Princess of the Night required.

“There is...” She smiled. “Oh, this is quite the unexpected treat.”

“Uhhh, I don’t think that I’m supposed to tell anypony about it,” Scootaloo said simply, feeling uneasy as the alicorn laid down across from her.

“Oh, but I’m not just anypony, wouldn’t you agree?” Luna gave the filly a mischievous grin, something that she would have never expected on such a proper and regal figure. “But I understand that there are times when secrets must be kept.”

“Well, it’s not so much a secret as... well... ummm... I don’t...” Scootaloo stumbled for a moment before she considered.

This wasn’t Apple Bloom or Sweetie or just anypony asking her.

This was a Princess.

And she was asking her to tell a story.

The filly took a breath.

“Alright...” she let out a small sigh. “Now, I’m only gonna tell this story one time. Could you promise me you’ll do the same?”

The Princess of the Night nodded, agreeing to the condition as the filly ran a nervous hoof over her purple mane.

“Well, it all started a couple of days before Hearth’s Warming... at the Ponyville Train Depot...”

Comments ( 63 )

1925912

I love you man :trollestia:

Woah, OK, er, too much?

1925936 I don't mind, just keep in mind that my husband has talons, a razorsharp beak, and a fascination for some show called 'Dexter'. . :twilightsmile:

That was truly an amazing story in many ways, I must say. Bravo!:yay:

The last portion, after the Doctor's note about making a wish, is all centered when I doubt it should be... unless you meant that to happen. In case you didn't, now you know.

I really enjoyed this story; it was short and to the point, but it was also very sweet and reminiscent of other Christmas Specials. Well done.

I (Possibly) said it last chapter (Darn this weird 3DS browser)
but I'll say it again
That. Was. Awesome!

You should end it with *Read from beginning*
That would keep you endlessly entertained! :D

Anyways, this was flippin' beautiful, and, if I may, was far more touching than most of the Doctor Who normal Christmas specials. More emotional instead of action-y. Loved it.

Excellent. Truly. I can't even describe how good your writing is, especially encompassing the Doctor's emotions, as well as Gus's, while being told from Scootaloo's perspective. Real talent. I loved the epilogue, and I guess my one complaint is we don't find out more about the next gen of crusaders, but, I suppose they'll come back into play eventually. Something to do with scootaloo's task in the future?

These two last chapters are as wonderful as expected. Awesome Heart's Warming story, with fun, suspense, action, deep feels,... everything good.

So...what was Scootaloo's wish? Does that come into play in the main storyline?

1927352 If there is demand enough for it, the Next Gen-CMC might make a comeback in their own spinoff. but that would have to be some pretty heavy demand.
1927409 Meeeeebbbiieeeee. But I can't tell you what the wish is. Spoilers.

1927483 You little River Song. You're doing this on purpose...

1927640 Why yes I am, and you all love it I think XD

Best. Christmas. Ever.:pinkiehappy::moustache::twilightsmile::yay::trollestia:

In the slightly altered words of William Hartnell:

And a Happy Hearthswarming to all of you at home.

1927483
Hmm, why do I get the strange feeling that the OG CMC are going to turn into pony Torchwood? And that CMC:TNG are going to turn into another Sarah Jane Adventures, with Dawn as K-9?

1928746 gah! Don't give anypony any ideas! Namely... me! :facehoof:

1928846
If I can give the best Whoovian on the site ideas, I must be doing something right. Now all we need to do is figure out who will become this universe's Capt. Jack Harkness. The concept of an unkillable formerly-mortal immortal does become a little more difficult when you have two immortal deities on the throne, I suppose.

ETA: Actually, the more I think about it, the better I like it. Heck, you can even call them Torched Wood. It fits with their nature of pyromancy and gives the Doctor a Gallopfreyan WTF moment. But please don't go as far overboard with the sexytimes as they did in Torchwood. I get that it was supposed to be a more mature take on the Doctor Who universe, but I think they overshot a little.

:pinkiehappy: So much yes! If you don't end up using the future generation for a spin off, you should definitely get someone to. They make for some wonderful characters :pinkiehappy:
Thank you for continuing to be an outstanding author, writing this amazing series, and continuing to actually produce your delicious pony words :twilightsmile:

Bravo, good sir. Quite emotional, and wonderfully written. A+. And I approve of this next gen CMC spinoff

“Oh, yes,” Luna nodded. “And I’ve come to understand that when he happens to become involved with anypony, there is usually quite a story to come out of it.”
Scootaloo drew back slightly, and her hesitance was all of the proof that the Princess of the Night required.
“There is...” She smiled. “Oh, this is quite the unexpected treat.”

:pinkiegasp:
Luna likes Doctor stories.
This just in: Whovian Princess is best princess.

Regarding this Torched Wood idea... hmm. Very interesting! Celestia doesn't seem to have quite the same attitude toward the Doctor as Queen Victoria did, but given that in this set of stories the Doctor has to keep tethered to a certain place and timeline and can't spend such a great proportion of his time running about, a Ponyville-based Doctor-monitoring agency would actually be much more effective than anything the Cardiff or London teams managed with regard to him in particular.

And who knows- maybe it turns out there's a rift in time and space running through the...

No.

Wait.

That would be telling.

:trollestia:

do you know’the Doctor?”

Missing a space in-between "know" and "the". You're also missing another ' in the sentence.

To quote the Ninth "you were fantastic, Absolutely Fantastic":twilightsmile: I love scootaloo or spike centered stories and this pushed both buttons to one degree or another:scootangel:

Hmm... I'm more curious who the CMC:TNG's parents are. I know the mothers are a bit obvious, but who are the dads? Unless this was bleeding obvious and I just didn't catch it, in which case somepony please help me out?

Either way, another fantastic Whooves adventure, Ms. Loyal2! Cannot wait for more!:twilightsmile:

1932141
If I've been told correctly, the fathers are left purposefully ambiguous, because these characters were created expressly for this story. This may change in the future, but for now, as the author focuses on the main series, the future CMC will not be further elaborated upon.

Hmm. Scoots has something important in the future, doesn't she?
I wonder if Lyra, could- nah.

Heh. MLP: the Next Generation. Cue epic music.

Man loved it from start to finish I don't read the Doctor crossovers but this one got me hook line and sinker:derpytongue2:

1941765
You should read the rest of them, they are crackerjack material.

1955526 in that same episode Rory died... and after that he was plastic... then the Doctor had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. :rainbowlaugh:

1955555 oh yeeeeeaaaaaah... i guess the whole universal reboot would account for that wouldn't it? oversight on my part. lol

the nearest planet to Equis and so often mistakenly referred to as “The Red Star.”

Equestria's not gonna get hit by Thread or anything, is it?

I've said it before, I'll say it again...

Holidays for the Doctor tend to suck. Until the end.

1929417
make it spike. think about it. One of the Doctor's best friends, hard to kill (v.s. unkillable), potential to live indefinably, also insert fanon ability to bang more ponies than Cloudkicker

1927483 well id love to see more of the next gen cmc

This was great :D:pinkiehappy:

Fantastic! Just like all of your Whooves crossovers you perfectly captured the spirit of... well both shows. And it was a wonderful Hearth's Warming Tale indeed! I don't know what I've been doing with my life to put off reading this until now... but I'm glad that I did get to it eventually!

I think even if Steven Moffat and Lauren Faust were to meet and do a crossover, it wouldn't even come close to approaching the level your Doctor stories are at, keep up the good work, and thanks! :pinkiehappy:

2201165 Oh, he didn't see the wrath of the doctor... he saw the fumes that came off the slightly loosened yet still corked bottle of the wrath of the Doctor.
Believe me, when that thing is unsealed... well, badddddd things happen that make this: :flutterrage: look like this: :raritycry:

BUT WHAT WAS THE WISH!?

2201549 of of the best examples of the doctors true wrath is best seen in the ending of the 10th doctor's episode The Family of Blood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxj33ZEtz34

i dont know how to imbed videos...

*wipes away a manly Whoovesian tear*
Man, dat was beautiful. Even a Whooves story, Squeak-Anon's or Pierce's, can have feels in it. I love this. Especially because Scootaloo and Whooves. And the nice feel it gives at the end.

You had me at humbug.

Your story makes me sad. And for some reason that makes me wish I could give you a hug.
reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sad_face.gif
Thanks for the story, it was Wonderful.
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmc52fY7jw1qe3vm8.gif

2201549
Exerpt from the 10th doctor turned human episode epilague (Family of Blood) just a few lines that this reminded me of
"The Fury of a time lord..."
"the worst part was that he never onced raised his voice.....
"we wanted to live forever.....so the Doctor made sure that we did":
Forever locked in the Event Horizon, Eternally trapped in a mirror, immortally chained, and a scarecrow Suspended in time."
THAT is A Time Lords Fury...or at least part of it any way :pinkiecrazy:

2686267
They are their direct children, just to alleviate your confusion.

2690159

Scootaloo: SSSSHHH!! DON'T TELL THEM THAT! :twilightoops:

2694793 It's in the name. Gorgeious... as in 'To Gorge' :rainbowwild:

2686897 Thank you. Buuuut I got that a few days ago when I read the second chapter.:pinkiesmile:

2694961
Aha! Of course! That's a fantastic name then :pinkiesmile: (Damn it brain why can't you remember how to do the pinkiegrin command! Edit: Wait...It's :pinkiehappy: isn't it? Edit2: Eeyup)

2690170 QUICK INTO THE TAR... Ummmm...RUUUUUUUN!

Finished reading this a second time (I didn't have an account back during Christmas, so I couldn't comment), and I have to say this is absolutely brilliant. You, L2L, have managed to build the characters of Scoots and Gus extremely well and the Doctor is his usual... Doctor-y self. The prose was also excellent, and your story telling skills really excel. The build up from the beginning to the climax kept me in suspense the whole time, even during my second readthrough. Hope to see more of your stories soon! :twilightsmile:

Geronimo!

Pega-Ace

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