Two figures stood at Ponyville Park, tensions high on both sides. The pony on the left portrayed an expression of intensity and bitterness. He shot a piercing glare at the pony in front of him, intent on hearing what he had to say.
This pony, on the other hoof, was practically the opposite. While his opponent showcased seriousness and confidence, he radiated meekness and insignificance. While one glared ferociously, the other hanged his head in depression. An aching pain consumed his chest, unable to handle the upcoming heartbreak.
A gruff voice with a slight accent ceased the silence. “Have you decided yet?”
“Yeah, I’ve decided… I’ll stop dating Derpy.”
-------
Derpy and Caramel had been dating for five months now. Ever since they first met at a party in Sweet Apple Acres, they really hit it off. Their first date went swimmingly, and they continued to see each other every day since then. This time, the couple decided to spend the entire day at the Ponyville Carnival, a place full of fun and excitement. Children would run around and try their hardest at the games, while adults would walk around and enjoy the sights.
Derpy decided to ride the rollercoaster.
“WOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO! Wasn’t that fun, Caramel?!” Derpy happily hopped up and down, still feeling the adrenaline of the ride.
Caramel looked like he was going to throw up. His eyes were slightly rattled, just like his marefriend’s. “It certainly was, but I think that’s enough for today, Derpy. I’m starting to feel a little woozy. How about we relax for a while?”
“Oh, okay then! Let’s just sit down for a bit,” Derpy pointed to an empty bench, a perfect fit for two ponies.
“Thanks,” uttered Caramel. The lovebirds trotted towards the bench, with Caramel occasionally stumbling.
With their hindquarters perched onto a seat, Derpy quickly started the conversation. “You know, this is a lot different compared to the last time we went to the carnival.”
Caramel panted heavily, “What do you mean?”
“Well last time, you didn’t even want to come close to the rollercoaster. Heck, even standing in line for it made you feel queasy. Your knees would get all wobbly and sweat would start pouring from your forehead. I mean, just the thought of riding it made you wanna hurl.”
Caramel let out a small giggle, “I guess you’re a bad influence on me.”
Derpy quizzically tilted her head, “What do you mean?”
The amber stallion wrapped his foreleg around his marefriend. “I mean, you’re right. A couple of months ago, I would do my best to stay as far away from that monstrosity as possible, but when I’m around you, nothing else matters. It doesn’t matter if I have to ride a rollercoaster, if an Ursa Major invaded, or even if all Tartarus broke loose. As long as you love me as much as I love you, nothing can stop me.” Caramel placed a small smooch on Derpy’s forehead, making her blush immensely.
“Oh, you didn’t have to say all that, you’re making me heat up.” Derpy began to fan herself with her wings, still blushing from Caramel’s sentiment.
“How about you get a bottle of water from the snack bar?” suggested Caramel.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Derpy lifted her flank from the bench and began trotting towards the concession stand.
Caramel’s stomach growled. “Ugh, better make that two bottles of water!”
“Okay!” yelled the pegasus, waving from the distance.
Caramel continued to stare at Derpy, now in a line of ponies. She bumped into some of them by accident. Derpy apologetically scratched her head, offering a hoofshake. The cotfriend chuckled, “That’s the mare I fell in love with.”
“You know, the two of you make a really cute couple.”
“Huh?!” Caramel stood up and turned towards the source of the mysterious voice, revealing an earth pony stallion. His coat was a soft shade of brown which nicely contrasted with his dark brown mane. His flank featured an hourglass cutie mark, representing his affinity for time, whatever that was. “Doctor Whooves?!”
The brown stallion regally raised his hoof and smiled arrogantly. “Yes, it is I, the one and only Doctor Whooves. After a long and tiresome eleven-and-a-half months, I have come back from parts unknown to claim what is rightfully mine.”
“And w-what would that be?!” questioned Caramel.
“Isn’t it obvious? I have returned to reclaim my beloved wife, Derpy. Surely, you are aware of our holy matrimony, are you not?”
Caramel raised his voice. “Don’t you remember?! You and Derpy got divorced last year! You kept on disappearing on her whenever she needed you most! She hated how you would never be there to support her! When she almost lost her job as mailmare, you weren’t there! When she endured that painful wing injury, you weren’t there! You were never there!”
“And where exactly did you obtain this information? If my resources are correct, you have never interacted with Derpy until about five months ago; therefore, you weren’t there either,” stated the Doctor.
“Everypony in town knew! I didn’t have to be there to know that you were a terrible husband! Why should you even be given the right to have another chance with Derpy?!” A vein started to throb on Caramel’s forehead.
“There! You hit it on the mark! You’re right, I was her husband!” exclaimed Doctor Whooves.
“So?!” Caramel’s anger kept on rising.
The Doctor’s voice became flat. “If I was her husband, then that means she once fell in love with me.”
Upon hearing that statement, Caramel settled down and ceased yelling. He was speechless.
Doctor Whooves continued. “If she once fell in love with me, then that means there is a chance that her love is still there. Of course, I left her, and I deeply regret that decision, but I’m back. I’ve returned to Ponyville to redeem myself and repair our broken marriage. If I’m fortunate enough, she’ll accept me and we can remarry within a month or two.”
Caramel sat there completely stunned. The words coming out of Doctor Whooves’ mouth dealt a huge blow on his self-esteem. He contemplated on what he should do. Doctor Whooves is right. Despite the wrong things he did, Derpy fell in love with him at one point. Does Derpy still love him? Should I step down from being her coltfriend? I love her, but this guy was her former husband. If I keep on dating her, I could potentially be ruining the chance of Derpy reclaiming her first and true love. What should I do? I can’t decide!
The Doctor interrupted Caramel’s internal argument. “Listen, I can see plain as day that you love Derpy very much, so I’ll give you an ultimatum. For your first option, you may choose to stay with Derpy and force her to suffer a life where she was never given the opportunity to reconcile with her true love, or you pick the correct option and let her go to someone far more superior than yourself. It’s your happiness, or Derpy’s. I’ll give you the rest of the day to decide our fate. Once you’ve chosen your answer, meet me at Ponyville Park tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. I await your decision, and hopefully, you’ll do the right thing.”
Caramel still said nothing, his mind full of doubt.
Doctor Whooves began to trot away, but immediately turned back. “Oh, and one more thing, don’t tell Derpy about our discussion. We wouldn’t want to worry her, now would we?” The overconfident stallion headed off, chuckling along the way.
Caramel finally escaped his daze. “Wait!” he yelled, but it was too late. Doctor Whooves was long gone, and he probably wouldn’t return until tomorrow morning.
“I’m back, Caramel!” Derpy appeared from behind with two water bottles resting atop her wings.
Caramel gasped, but immediately regained his composure. “Sorry Derpy, you scared me there.” The stallion snatched the bottle from his marefriend’s wing and quickly chugged it down. “Thanks for the water.”
Derpy concernedly placed her hoof on Caramel’s back. “Are you okay? I know the rollercoaster was kinda rough, but it wasn’t that bad.”
“No, it’s not that. I was just thirsty, that’s all,” answered Caramel.
“Oh okay, so what were you doing while I was in line? It was moving pretty slowly, you must’ve been bored out of your mind.”
A short pause of silence occurred between the two ponies.
“… Just talking to somepony.”
“Was he your friend?” asked the blonde mare.
“No… not even close.” Caramel rubbed his stomach, appearing to be in agony. “Derpy, I’m still not feeling good, so I’m just going to head home now, is that okay with you?”
Derpy beamed a bright smile. “Sure thing! I hope you get better soon!”
It warmed Caramel’s heart to see how much Derpy cared for him. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, see ya tomorr… see ya next time, Derpy.”
-------
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! What should I do?! What should I do?!” Caramel, now at home, screamed into his pillow. He kept on screaming until he found the solution. It didn’t work.
All Caramel could do now was talk to himself. “Well, screaming didn’t work. Maybe I should calm down instead and thoroughly analyze this predicament I’m in.” The stallion tapped his chin. “Yeah, that could work. Now let’s see, Doctor Whooves came back from Celestia knows where and wants Derpy back. I’d give anything to make Derpy happy, but would I give her up?”
Caramel slowly swished his head and sighed. “I know darn well that I would, but should I? Looking at it from Derpy’s point of view, she’ll end up with either Doctor Whooves or me. If she was put in the same situation as me, who would she pick? I’m shy, weak, a crier, and currently below average in terms of bits, not looking so good for me. On the other hoof, Doctor Whooves is… Doctor Whooves is… huh.”
Caramel realized that he knew nothing about his opponent. “Who is Doctor Whooves anyway? Sure, he was a bad husband, but everypony merely assumed that because he would keep on disappearing without notice. Clearly, Derpy didn’t like his disappearing acts, but was he really a bad guy?”
“Caramel, I’m home!” Caramel’s twin brother, Doctor Stable, had returned after a long day of work at the hospital. Stable looked exactly like his brother, the only difference being the horn on his head and his heart rate monitor cutie mark, showcasing his talent in the medical field. “Whoa, why so glum?”
Caramel jumped at the opportunity to talk to his brother. “Bro, you know all the doctors in Ponyville, right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” answered the unicorn.
“What can you tell me about Doctor Whooves?”
Stable sighed. “Actually, Whooves is the one doctor I don’t know anything about. I don’t know his likes, his dislikes, his personality, or even what field he specialized in. Why the sudden interest in him? I thought he left some time ago.”
Disappointed, Caramel slumped towards his bed and laid his head on the softest pillow he could find. “Doctor Whooves is back, and he wants to take Derpy away from me. I love Derpy, but I don’t want her to spend her entire life with the next best thing. Now that I think about it, I’m more like the next worst thing. If Doctor Whooves is the stallion she truly loves, then I just don’t know what to do.” He shifted his head towards his brother. “Stable, what do you think I should do?”
Doctor Stable began to softly rub the back of his brother’s head. “That’s quite the conundrum you have right there, Caramel. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what you should do. This is too big of a decision that can’t be solved by anypony else other than yourself.”
Caramel fell into a state of depression. He rolled to the other side of the bed, away from his twin. “Then I guess it’s hopeless for me. Even if I choose to stay with Derpy, she’ll eventually find out that Doctor Whooves returned and most likely go back to him, leaving me all alone.”
“Though I can’t decide which option you should choose, I can advise you on what to do during your confrontation with Whooves,” stated the medical pony.
“And what would that be?”
Doctor Stable proudly stood on his hind legs and placed his hoof on his chest. “Stand up for yourself. Throughout your entire life, you’ve been a pushover. When ponies would cut in front of you in line, you allowed them. When you were being bullied in high school, your friend, Big Macintosh, had to come and rescue you. And now, Whooves is pushing you around to give up Derpy. Now, I’m not saying whether or not you should give in to his demands, but if you truly love Derpy, then stand up for yourself and do what you think is best.”
“I don’t know if I can do that, Stable. I think I’ll just go to bed now. Maybe I can find the solution by having a good night’s sleep,” yawned Caramel. “All that screaming tired me out.”
“Very well, I hope for the best. Good night, Caramel,” comforted Doctor Stable.
“Good night, bro, or perhaps I should say bad night?”
------
The dreaded day finally arrived. Caramel trotted towards Ponyville Park, unprepared for the results of the discussion. Once he arrived, Caramel briefly paused and gazed upon the town’s clock tower.
“It’s 10:00 a.m.” To the left, Caramel spotted Doctor Whooves, who was apparently standing there the entire time.
Nopony said a word. Caramel glued his eyes to the ground, not wanting to look his opponent straight in the eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He made no attempt to wipe them off. He clenched his chest, his heartbeat steadily increasing.
Doctor Whooves smirked. He knew that by the end of this conversation, he would leave with a smile on his face. “Have you decided yet?”
“Yeah, I’ve decided… I’ll stop dating Derpy,” answered Caramel.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve made the right decision. I’m smart, sophisticated, and a successful doctor. You, on the other hoof, are just pathetic. You’re weak, useless, a nopony. Derpy deserves somepony better, somepony like me.”
Caramel gave no response.
“Then again, Derpy isn’t so great herself.”
The Doctor’s statement sparked Caramel’s interest. “What?”
Doctor Whooves continued. “Well, she really isn’t that great a mare. She’s air-headed, clueless, forgetful, and a hazard to everypony around her. If she isn’t chowing down muffins, she’s destroying town property or inflicting pain on innocent bystanders. And what is with her cutie mark? Bubbles, what in Celestia’s name does that represent?! Forgive me for my humor, but it clearly represents how both bubbles and her head have nothing inside! She should consider herself lucky that I came back to protect her and everypony else from herself.”
“That’s why you came back?! Not because you love her?!”
“Of course that’s why I came back, did I ever once say that I loved her? No, she fell in love with me. It’s not my fault that I am so dashing. I married her because I felt it was my responsibility to prevent her from wreaking havoc in society. Unfortunately, my career, which I shall not indulge in, prevented me from performing that responsibility,” stated the cold-hearted stallion.
Something in Caramel’s mind snapped. The thought of Derpy being married to a jerk like Doctor Whooves who didn’t even love her made him furious. “Shut up! You’re wrong! You’re wrong about everything! She’s not some kind of dangerous hazard! She’s an amazing, fun-loving mare! In fact, everypony in Ponyville loves Derpy! I love Derpy! I’m not going to give her up to an inconsiderate jerk like you!”
“Oh really, you love Derpy?! What about her eyes?!” yelled Doctor Whooves.
“What about her eyes?!”
“Can you really love a mare that can’t even see straight?! Wouldn’t you rather prefer somepony with beautiful, normal eyes?!”
“What kind of a stupid question is that?!” responded Caramel. “I don’t care if her eyes aren’t perfect! When I look at Derpy, I don’t see crossed eyes; I see the cute, thoughtful mare that everypony loves! Your eyes are the weird ones if you can’t see that!”
Silence engulfed the atmosphere. Doctor Whooves was shocked by Caramel’s sudden outburst. Caramel awaited his response.
This time, Doctor Whooves was the one that had nothing to say. He turned away from Caramel and steadily trotted away. He left with a smile on his face.
“Where are you going?! Are you just going to disappear again?! Come back!” shouted Caramel, confused by the Doctor’s actions.
“Hey there, Caramel!"
“GAH!” Caramel glanced behind him and surprisingly found Derpy carrying a note and a letter with her wings. “Derpy, you scared me again. What are you doing here?”
“You left a note saying that I should come to Ponyville Park at 10:10 a.m.” explained Derpy, pointing to the note in question.
“I did?”
“Uh-huh! By the way, the mailmare accidentally sent a letter addressed to you to my house. I hope the mail doesn’t always get mixed up when it’s my day off,” said Derpy.
“Really? The Ponyville Post Office never messes up when it comes to delivering mail. Let me see that letter,” demanded Caramel, holding out his hoof.
“Sure!” Derpy extended her right wing and handed the letter to her coltfriend.
Caramel tore the envelope with his teeth and began reading the sheet of paper inside.
Hello, Caramel. It’s me, Doctor Whooves. If you are reading this letter, then that means you passed the test. I’m sorry for the hurtful comments I made about you and Derpy, but I needed to make sure that you were the right stallion for her. Clearly, you’re a nice guy, but Derpy’s coltfriend can’t be a coward. He needs to be brave and stand up for himself, and today, you proved just that. I’ll be honest, I love Derpy with all my heart, but I can’t be there for her. My line of work is too dangerous, and every moment I disappeared on her because of work made the both of us suffer. We divorced so that she could live a better life with somepony else. That would be you, Caramel. Besides, I saw how happy Derpy was at the Ponyville Carnival. It is clear to me that she’s moved on to a new love. So farewell, Derpy, and farewell to you too, Caramel, I’m off to work. What is my job, you may ask? Ironically, I don’t have enough time to tell you.
Doctor Whooves left Caramel speechless one final time. All he could utter was one word. “Wow.”
“What does it say?” questioned Derpy.
Caramel rapidly shook his head to relieve himself from his daze. “Umm, it’s nothing that you should worry about.”
“Oh, well then, what were you doing here while waiting for me? You must have done something besides standing in a park all by yourself.”
Once again, a short pause of silence occurred between the two ponies.
“… Just talking to somepony.”
“Was he your friend?” asked the blonde mare.
“No… but he sure was a good guy.” Caramel looked up to the sky and silently wished Doctor Whooves the best of luck. “Hey, how about we go check out Sugarcube Corner? I heard that Pinkie Pie put a new flavor of muffins up for grabs.”
“That sounds great! I bet the muffins will be totally amazing!” screamed Derpy, now happily bouncing up and down.
“Yeah, I can’t wait!” Caramel beamed one of biggest smiles he ever made. Not because of the muffins, but because he was still able to spend time with Derpy, the mare he loved.