Dr. Hooves

Dr. Hooves
Friendship is Magic character
Biographical information
Species	Pony  • Earth pony
Gender	Male
Nationality	Equestrian
Residence	Ponyville, Equestria
Real world
First Friendship is Magic (episode) Last —

Dr. Hooves is an Earth Pony who lives in Ponyville.

History

Early life

A stallion of reason and logic in a world of Magic, Dr. Hooves long pursued an interest in the subject of time travel. He scoffed at the notion of traveling back in time, believing that it would be preferable to make the past travel forward to him. Efforts to accomplish this feat evidently affected his body, or at least his sanity, as he claims to have spent centuries looking for the means to do so despite retaining the appearance of a youthful Pony. Alas, his efforts proved to be fruitless, not least because Starswirl the Bearded had already beaten him to the accomplishment through the use of magic.

If the account of Snowfall Frost as given in A Hearth's Warming Tail was indeed historical, and the imagery that appeared when Twilight Sparkle read it to Starlight Glimmer accurately reflects the appearances of various Ponies involved, Dr. Hooves' claims to longevity may have been accurate. Evidence of this was given by the fact that at least one of the ponies of yesteryear whom Snowfall Frost encountered, both in company of the Spirit of Hearth's Warming Past and the Spirit of Hearth's Warming Present, exactly resembled Dr. Hooves in appearance. Her excursion with the latter spirit even involved an encounter with a past Dr. Hooves who sported an overly long scarf, identical to-if not the very same-one that the present day Dr. Hooves is known to have in his possession. A younger Dr. Hooves or a similar doppelganger was also present at a Summer Sun Celebration that inspired a young Twilight Sparkle to study magic.

Ponyville citizen

At some point, Dr. Hooves took up residence in Ponyville, establishing himself in the Doctor's Quarters, which included a laboratory dedicated to his continued experimentation. Despite his passions, the doctor made a point of attending various events around town, including the Summer Sun Celebration that saw the return of Nightmare Moon to Equestria and the subsequent celebration of Princess Luna's redemption. He later attended a ceremony for Applejack Appreciation Day, and later was present for Trixie's arrival in Ponyville and her subsequent disgrace when Twilight averted the threat of an Ursa Minor while she failed to do so.

Dr. Hooves took part in Twilight Sparkle's first Winter Wrap Up, serving as a member of the plant team. On another occasion, he was pestered by Apple Bloom, who was attempting to sell apples, and finally agreed to buy one in order to get her to leave him alone. The doctor also was a spectator of the Iron Pony competitions held between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, including the Running of the Leaves. He would also attend a fashion show at which Hoity Toity made an appearance, and later attended the Ponyville Schoolhouse Talent Show.

Curiously, Dr. Hooves-or else an exact doppelganger of him-was involved in the settling of Appleloosa and the resulting strife between the settlers and the local Buffalo herd. He would later be among the witnesses and admirers of some of Rainbow Dash's heroics, before going on to play an ancient Earth Pony in Canterlot's Hearth's Warming Eve Pageant. On a later occasion, he noticed Granny Smith putting on an odd display on Ponyville market street, before later making curious appearances both at a rodeo Applejack competed in and in Dodge Junction when she traveled there. Even more bizarrely, two of the doctor were present when Flim and Flam showed off their Cider Machine, before a single Dr. Hooves sporting a collar and necktie appeared to serve as timekeeper for a competition between the Unicorn brothers and the Apple family.

On one Hearts and Hooves Day, Dr. Hooves was seen talking with Muffins; he was later among the possible candidates the Cutie Mark Crusaders considered for Cheerilee's Special Somepony, but was rejected after splashing mud all over Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. He would later be among the crowd looking on as Pinkie Pie led her friends in a large musical number. During one of Iron Will's Ponyville seminars, Dr. Hooves curiously appeared in triplicate in the audience. He would later appear among the ponies who were at first amused, and then alarmed, when Twilight arrived with an apparent message of dire warning from her time-traveling future self.

Dr. Hooves was present in Canterlot when the Changelings invaded, and later attended the Wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. He would later be among the Ponyville citizens terrorized by an army of Pinkie Pie clones, before visiting the Ponyville Theater with Cloud Kicker and taking part in the Summer Harvest Parade. On another day, he walked through Ponyville, unaware that it was in the process of being invaded by Changelings. The doctor was also present when Trixie returned to Ponyville to challenge Twilight using the Alicorn Amulet, and when Twilight returned for a rematch with the maddened mare.

Later, Dr. Hooves was among the citizens of Ponyville who worked together to thwart the invasion of the Nightmare Forces, though his Sonic screwdriver failed to operate properly. During the Summer Wrap Up Festival and Hoedown, he approached Muffins and insistently showed her a fob watch, much to her confusion. He was subsequently one of many attendees of the Coronation of Twilight Sparkle as Princess of Friendship. Some time afterwards, he would watch with Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch as the wall between their world and the Reflections universe broke down, unaware that their counterparts were watching the same event from the other side.

Trivia

Behind the scenes

The character was originally introduced as a background pony, but like several other such characters became a fan favorite character. In Dr. Hooves case, it was based on his resemblance to the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who, as portrayed by actor David Tennant. This led to fans dubbing him "Dr. Whooves" in tribute to the character, though he was officially dubbed Time Turner before eventually being given the name of Dr. Hooves.

It became common for creators of both the show and IDW Publishing comics to include references to Doctor Who involving the character.

References

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