It was chilly morning in Ponyville, Winter Wrap up was still several weeks away, the pegasi had forecast warmer than normal temperatures for later in the day though as various couples would be out and about on this day, Hearts and Hooves day. In one of the many houses on the outskirts of the small town a stallion could be seen pacing back and forth in his bedroom rapidly, trying to make his mind up on something.
“Come on, Caramel! Just go over to the library on the other side of town and ask Twilight out for lunch, it can’t be that difficult!” The stallion told himself.
Caramel had been harboring a bit of a crush on the local librarian, Twilight Sparkle, for several months now. He had talked to her on several occasions since then, but he never really expressed his feelings to her, he was hoping to change all that today.
After managing to work up enough courage to at least go over to the library and talk to her, Caramel left his house and started on his way. The dirt streets of Ponyville were lined with shops and stalls getting ready to open; as he walked he spotted the three school fillies that were most commonly known around town as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and a small purple dragon that he recognized as Twilight’s assistant, Spike. He focused his ears on the direction of the conversation and managed to pick up a portion of it as he trotted by.
“You’re sure this’ll get me a date with Rarity this Hearts and Hooves day?” Said spike with both excitement and nervousness in his voice.
“Absolutely, if we manage to get the potion right this time my big sister is almost sure to go after you! Just give us the book we need from the library that we need to do it, you did bring it, didn’t you?” Replied Sweetie Belle.
That was all of the conversation he managed to pick up until his hooves carried him elsewhere. He wasn’t sure exactly what do about it, but he felt it best to leave the situation be.
After several more minutes of trotting at a steady pace Caramel found himself in front of a large oak tree that functioned as the town’s only library and the residency of the librarian herself, Twilight Sparkle. Caramel gave a short knock on the door before entering into the public portion of the library.
“Hello? Who’s there?” Twilights voice called down from somewhere on the upper level of the tree library.
“It’s me, Caramel.”
Twilight trotted down the stairs and greeted me with a smile as she entered the lower floor.
“Oh, hello Caramel, was there anything you needed help with?”
Caramel was having a massive argument in his head with himself; his brain seemed to have split into two halves, each having a different standpoint on the situation at hoof.
“Just ask her out for lunch you feather brain!” One half would reason
“Just check out a book or something and leave, you can ask her out on any other day of the year.” The other half would reply.
“Oh, I just came over to see if you wanted to, er, head over to the café in town square and have lunch with me maybe?” Caramel finally spat out, he sounded like a nervous wreck to himself; he just had to hope that he didn't sound the same to Twilight.
“Oh! Well, I’d love to, but I have a pretty important assignment from Celestia that she asked me to have completed by the end of this week, and with Spike gone helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders I don’t have much extra time today.”
Caramel was very disappointed to say the least, he had spent all day yesterday and a majority of this morning giving himself the courage to come over here and ask her to go to lunch with him, and now it was all for nothing.
“If you want, you can help me out around the Library a bit since Spike is gone.” Twilight continued.
Hope fluttered in Caramels heart at the news; maybe all that self prepping wouldn't go to waste after all!
“Sure’ I’d love to!” Caramel responded.
“Alright, that’s great; you can start by making us up some lunch.” And without another word, Twilight went back upstairs to work on her assignment from the princess.
The kitchen was a relatively small area in a room that branched off from the public part of the Library, but it served its purpose and that was all Caramel needed it to do. He quickly made up two sandwiches using various materials he found in the cabinets and put them on a platter to carry upstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs with the platter of sandwiches Caramel saw Twilight sitting at a desk in the corner of the room with her face in a book.
“Twilight, I finished lunch, I hope you’re okay with a regular old sandwich.”
“That will be fine, thank you.”
“So did you want anything else? I’m happy to help.”
“Oh, sure I guess, just keep an eye on the library downstairs for anyone coming in to check out a book.”
“Sure thing, Twi.”
Caramel was hoping that spending the day at the library with Twilight would bring them a bit closer together, but it seems she wasn't noticing his attempts in the slightest. Caramel trotted back down the stairs and stood around near a desk in the library waiting for somepony to walk in, this was highly unlikely anyone would come in though as no one really wanted to be at a Library on Hearts and Hooves day.
After about an hour of waiting around Caramel was startled by the main entrance door to the library swinging open and a pegasus known only as Rainbow Dash bolting in. She did a quick scan of the library, checking to make sure that no one she really knew was in sight before trotting up to Caramel.
“I take it you’re filling in for Twilight?” She asked.
Yes, she’s busy upstairs doing an assignment from princess Celestia, is there anything I can help you with?” Caramel responded.
“Yes, actually, you don’t happen to have any books on… how to pick up stallions… would you?” She spoke with quite a bit of embarrassment in her tone.
“I’d have to check, but can I ask what you’d need something like that for?”
She groaned slightly. “Well, the deal is, too many ponies in this town think I’m a filly-fooler and it’s starting to get to me, if I can find myself a date for Hearts and Hooves day maybe I can shut down those rumors.”
Caramel had heard the rumors about the Rainbow maned pegasus once or twice before, but he had mostly ignored it because he wanted nothing to do with the mean judgments other ponies had to make.
“Sure, let me see if I can find what you’re looking for.” Caramel looked at a book on the desk that Twilight used to catalog all of her books, quickly locating one that he thought would suit her needs. He pointed out the shelf it was on and she quickly went over to it, retrieved it, and went back out the door without a word. Caramel chuckled slightly at the situation and went back to standing around the table, waiting for more ponies to stop by the library.
Several hours passed and no one else ever walked into the library, which was to be expected though. The sun had just finished setting and Caramel was disappointed that the day didn't turn out as expected; he decided it was a good a time as any to flip the sign in front of the library from “open” to “closed” and head home. Once this was done he walked up the stairs to tell Twilight he was leaving only to find her asleep at her desk with her head resting in a book. He walked over to her sleeping form and nudged her should with a hoof, waking her up with a startle.
“Wah!” Twilight exclaimed, jumping what looked to several meters out of her seat, looking around she quickly noticed that it was just Caramel and calmed down.
“Sorry for waking you, the sun just finished setting so I closed up the library for you and was about to-. “ He was cut off by Twilight.
“What, the sun’s already set!?”
“Yea, about five minutes ago, why?”
“Luna introduces two new stars into the night sky every Hearts and Hooves day, and I wanted to take notes on it this year!”
She quickly picked up some parchment and a quill with her magic and rushed out to the balcony to try and witness the night’s tradition.
“ You've been waiting all day, go out there and tell her, now.”
“No, don’t, just go home and try again another day.”
Caramels brain had started arguing with him again, but this time he was going to pay attention to the side that wanted him to take action. Caramel followed Twilight out onto her balcony and stood next to her as she looked up at the sky with eager intent.
“Hey, Twilight.” Caramel started.
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to say thanks for letting me hang out here all day.”
“You’re really thanking me? I figured it would be pretty dull around here today.”
“It was, but it was worth it to be near you.”
Twilight blushed heavily and looked over at Caramel. “Well, thank you I guess, even though we never really talked at all.”
“That’s fine, maybe I can come over again sometime and we might actually get to talk a bit more?” Caramel asked as he stood a bit closer to her.
Twilight suddenly embraced Caramel in a hug, discarding her parchment and quill in the process. “Yes, I would love it if you came over again, Caramel.”
Meanwhile, up in Luna’s night sky, two brand new stars appeared, shining more brightly than any other stars in the sky that night.
