"Phew, good work." Joe wiped a hunk of Danish from his apron. "That was a bit larger than usual. Think those ads are working?"
"YOU HAVE ADS?" Tracker practically fell over but instead sat. "Why... dear Celestia, why? There’re so many ponies already..." He massaged his face with a double face-hoof.
He shrugged. "Bits are bits. Also, they’re permanent ads," he smiled, knowing Celestia placed them in a prime location, permanently advertising his shop in the castle, "because I know ponies who like what I make." He savoured the irony from his employee’s outburst.
Joe proceeded to clean up a few spills on the floor. "So what’s with you? Anything interesting happening?"
His comrade fell silent.
And even more silent.
They looked around, trying to mitigate the effects of an awkward silence.
"Ah right. I forgot to ask earlier, but I need a small cake. It’s my daughter’s birthday—"
"Congratulations." He patted Tracker on the back. "Come on, stand up. Cake’s on me today. A birthday for a great employee is as good as reason as any other." Joe walked to the opposite side of the counter. "We’ve got all kinds of cakes as you know, but maybe you’d like something more custom?"
"W-elll," Tracker scratched off a piece of wet dough that had crusted on this muzzle, "It shouldn’t be too large, I don’t want her to get sick after all."
"We have plenty of small cakes. Flavor?"
"Eh... not too sweet but savory?"
Donut Joe moved two steps to the left. "That leaves the angel food cakes, the sponge cakes, and the red velvet cakes. Any preference?"
"I think a flavor besides sugar would be good. I’ll take the velvet cake please." He went around from the backside to the front side of the counter. "Can you put her name on it please?"
Joe reached for a frosting tube, but decided to ask, "What’s her eye color? I think the name should be in that color."
"She has silver eyes with a tint of blue in them." He crossed his hooves in the countertop.
"Nervous about something?" He reached for a silver tube. "I Don’t get silver that often. Ah... What is her name?"
"Uhm, yeah. It’s Caedes. C-a-e-d-e-s."
Joe started writing, "You’re looking a little sweaty. Sick?"
"Nope. Just a little hot after all that baking." He smiled on the inside at his cleverness.
They said nothing as the diner was filled with sounds of paste coming out of a bag.
Insight, "It has occurred to me that you’ve never taken Caedes to my diner, Tracker."
Evasion, "Well, you never usually eat at where you work, right?"
Suspicion, "And during the three months of working here, I didn’t know her name. You’ve never mentioned her by name."
Nervous, "Well, I’m usually only here for an hour, so it’s not that unusual to talk just about the job."
Suspicious interest, "Well, we talk plenty during and after the late lunch rush. Including now."
Wanting to flee, "Sure. Okay. Can I have the cake? You finished a minute ago."
Irritation, "Fine, but I’m just concerned after all. You can’t just brush ponies off trying to help."
Except no one can help her. "Well. I’m not trying to. It’s just that I’m conflicted about some recent things, so I just want to spend a good day with her." Not knowing when it’ll all come crashing down doesn’t help either.
"I’ll just box this up real quick." A few things rustled underneath. "Okay, I’ll let you go for now, but I’d like to know more about her."
He levitated his cake, and with a nod, Tracker closed the door on his next stop.
"The Library, aaaaaannnnd Twilight. Why is it always her?" He had paused by the help desk, intent on asking for help until he saw an older unicorn filly, almost a mare. She was there all the time; heck he didn’t know if they were employing her by now.
"Sir, I can hear you. We’re in a library, so anything above a breath can be heard with ease." Tracker reddened. "So, how may I help you," she placed her book down on applied theoretical magic.
He coughed lightly, "I’m wondering if there’s any way to help a pony learn magic better? Like..." He trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what he wanted.
"Well, we have books on self-learning, the differences between innate magic and crafted magic, the principles of casting, and many guides to magic."
"You see—" A soft plodding of hooves interrupted his thoughts.
"Oh Twilight, thank you for taking over momentarily while I was busy." The matte librarian nudged Twilight out of her chair. "Now how can I help you, sir?"
"Well I was asking about magic, and—"
"Oh nope, nope, nope," the librarian waved her hooves. "Actually you were asking the self-read expert over there. Sorry to interrupt, but she practically lives in the magic section."
"I’m no expert," she mumbled.
He gained a sly smile. "I’d thought you would be embarrassed about living in the magic section."
"I wish! It’s be useful for all kinds of research! I could make hypothesis, make new theories, study for all my tests all the time! And.. You’re giving me a look. What’s that for mister? "
By this point he was trying to hold back a laugh. "Well, I’m a guard in the castle, and I’m always posted on the first floor, so I thought it was just a joke about how much you liked to study."
Twilight became flustered. "Studying is serious business. Now can we get back to magic please?"
"Oh right. Well, those sound like great options, but I’m looking along the lines of a magic—aid? Not for me but for another."
"Really," she deadpanned, "I hear that all the time and it just turns out to be a lie."
"Nope. See, I can levitate things just fine. Besides, I wouldn’t be a guard if I couldn’t pass the bar for magic, now could I?"
"Fine... Okay. Now then. Magical Aids are a bit tricky. However after reading through that section a few years ago, I can tell you that there are aids that range from trinkets to techniques to special sigil’s, or runes. The choice is yours, but of course you can read through several or all of them." Her pride swelled into a smile on her face.
"Wow. You sure do know your stuff it sounds like." He considered the options. Most sounded well off, but he wanted something fast and easy. "Hey, can you help me pick some of them? I really want to get home soon."
"Oh okay then. I’ll just get the simple guides of each then." She walked away.
Minutes later, shuffling sounds of books could be heard accompanied by annoyed groans. A large thump echoed into the main lobby of the library at which the librarian became amused and perturbed.