//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: The Approaching Calm // Story: Trial and Error // by Kiernan //------------------------------// Chapter 15: The Approaching Calm Akaitora spent the rest of his night in his workshop. There were only a few adjustments to be made to his set of wings. First, he had to realign the cords intended to be used as tendons, then lock them into place to keep them fed through and in the correct order. a tug at each of them to make sure they were properly attached, and it seemed they were ready to go. Second, one of his springs used to keep the wing open had popped off, bringing half of the wing out of commission. He made a note to set up a barrier to keep this from happening in the future. After all, if they couldn't stay together while perfectly still, they wouldn't hold up during a vigorous flight. The next day came all too soon, and about half an hour to sunrise, Akaitora marched through the doors of his castle, his mind ablaze with minuscule tasks left to be done. The biggest by far was to go visit the library and try to find books detailing flight patterns common of pegasi, as well as beginning flight, some interesting flips and tricks. Today was to be productive, to say the very least. At dawn, he had already completed the first on Fluttershy's list of chores, he was becoming rather good at them by now. He was always a fast learner. the rest of the tasks flew by about as fast. after a mere three hours, as compared to the first days seven, he was done with every task Fluttershy had given. He had decided at this point to go to Sugarcube Corner, the store he had walked into on accident two days prior. It had been a quick work day, with nothing out of the ordinary, aside from nothing out of the ordinary happening. He decided that, after brunch, he would go check to see that Twilight was okay, and maybe peruse her library a bit. She was bound to have some books on flight, and mayhap even some on mechanical works. At the very least, it was worth a shot. He entered the establishment he had set his destination as, and walked up to the counter behind two other customers. The stallion at the front was a gray earth pony with a black mane and tail, blue eyes, and three clovers for his cutie mark, the mare behind him a purple unicorn with neon green streaks in her dark blue mane and tail, eyes the same amethyst as Rainbows, and drama masks as her cutie mark. "There you are, Lucky. Two chocolate eclairs. That'll be four bits." The cashier said, the same stallion Akaitora had seen on his last visit. Lucky paid his four bits, thanked the cashier, and picked up the paper bag he had been given. The mare next in line said nothing as he approached the counter, only pulling out four bits herself. "Good to see you again, Scriptia!" was all the stallion said, producing a paper bag from beneath the counter. "Two long johns, ready to go!" After the mare left, Akaitora walked up to the counter. The glass shelves that surrounded him were laden with all manner of sweets, some the result of baking, others the pieces of a confectioner, and some seemed to be works made entirely of frosting. "I remember you." said the cashier with a jovial tone. "You came in here a few days ago." "Yeah, sorry about coming in before you were open..." "I blame myself, actually. I didn't check until later on that the sign read 'open for business'. So what can I get you?" "Hmm, how about two of those bear claws?" said Akaitora, pointing a hoof at a large pastry with hashed icing glazing the top. "Sure thing! Six bits." said the cashier, moving the pastries into a bag and setting them on the counter. Akaitora dropped the six bits onto the counter, and an extra two into a tip jar by the register before picking up his bag and making his way to the door. But before he could make it, a white unicorn called to him from one of the small tables nestled in the corner. "Excuse me! Sir with the cape! Would you mind a quick word?" "Well, if it's quick, why not?" he said, walking over to the table and setting his bag down. At the table were two ponies, both mares. The unicorn was white, with a spiraling purple mane and blue eyes, and the other, he couldn't ell if she was earth pony or unicorn, because a hat covered her head, was orange, with a yellow mane and green eyes. "I assure you, it will be quick." she said, sipping from a small cup in front of her. "We were just wondering, Applejack and myself, where you found that adorable cloak you possess?" "My cape?" asked Akaitora, sliding one of the semi-circular pastries out of his bag and biting off a small piece. "I've had it for years Twas made from some old drapes from my childhood bedroom." "Really? Well, you're a wonder with a needle and thread. I wouldn't think something like that would last for years." Akaitora took another bite of the bear claw. He had finished about half of it now. The butter pecan filling was absolutely wonderful when combined with the flavor of almonds. "Well, I recently had it gone over by a friend of mine, patched it right back up." "Is it useful, though?" asked the orange pony. "It looks all well and good, but does it serve any other purpose?" "Applejack, fashion is a purpose. Where would we be if we all looked like a bin of refuse?" "Actually, yes, it does serve a purpose," interrupted Akaitora, not wanting to see any squabbling. "For you see, inside of it are a series of pockets, filled with all manner of objects, making it easier to carry things without having to carry around saddlebags all the time." He lifted up his cape to reveal the front two pockets, and showing them a few of the contents, before placing them back in and lowering the cape. "That's quite ingenious. I'll have to make a line of clothing around that idea." "Maybe you can combine that with you lie of summer wear, Rarity," said Applejack. "Oh, so you're Rarity. Fluttershy mentioned that your work was wonderful," said Akaitora, popping the last of the first bear claw in his mouth. "I'll have to come see it before I leave." "You know Fluttershy? I haven't seen her in a few days. Do you know what's become of her?" asked Rarity, setting down her aforementioned cup. "Actually, she's been out of town for the last few days. She went to go visit a relative, and to take care of their sick pet. If all goes well, She'll be back in a few days. I'm taking care of her estate while she's gone." "I see. Well, I'd better get back to work. Come along, Applejack." The two walked out the door together, with Rarity leading, and Applejack following. With no one left to impress, Akaitora finished the second bear claw quickly, and disposed of the empty bag in the trash can as he left. It was time to check in on Twilight, and see how she was doing. He knew she worked at the library, so he decided to try there first. The route to the library was short, albeit longer than his first trip, due to the slower speed. One knock on the door, and it swung open. no one appeared to beat the door though, so he simply walked inside. The walls were lined with books, of all different colors and sizes. Near on of the walls, at the top of a very tall ladder, was a small purple dragon with green spines. 'That must be who I ran over the other day. If he recognizes me, I'll apologize, if not, no harm done.' "Excuse me?" Akaitora asked the dragon at the top of the ladder. He looked down, but didn't stop his task of storing the books. "I'm looking for Ms. Twilight Sparkle. Is she here?" "Yeah, but she looked like she was i a pretty bad way yesterday." he responded. "I suppose I'm partially at fault for that. I'd like to check up on her, and see that she's okay." "Alright. I'll go get her once I finish up here." "Wonderful. I wonder, should you have any books on flight?" "East wall, third column, rows four through eight." "Thank you." "No problem." Akaitora walked over to the designated area and pulled down a hoofful of books. he read through them quickly, jotting down important information on a notepad he had pulled from his pocket. He managed to go through six books before the dragon finished his task and slid down the ladder. He was putting away the seventh when he heard a shout from the top of the stairs, where the dragon had gone to collect Twilight. Authors notes: I'm finally getting my word count to raise up a bit. One thousand, five hundred ninety before this section of notes. I still want it to go up, but do't want to merge chapters. At least I'm near doubling the count from the first few chapters. That's progress. Even if it is slow. I'll be honest, if it weren't for the last part, this would have been a filler chapter. Buying pastries, meeting two characters who aren't going to show up again, probably (I don't quite know at this point, but they're not major characters).I almost dropped this cliffhanger too, but I read the comments when I did that last. You'll just have to wait for it. But then again, you probably enjoy that, based on what you've made clear to me. We're about to the depressant point, after which, there will be no buildup, only the climax, and a wind down. I even have the Epilogue written. I just have to write everything up to it. Other than that, no problems. Glucklich Neu Jahr!