Navigation 2, Part 1 -その忘れられない出会い... That Unforgettable Encounter...
I really do treasure the opportunity to share those wonderful things about our life to our friends.
Remember how we've first met, Akari-san?
Aika-chan turned you into her friend that day. It was wonderful, wasn't it?
It really was.
So history repeats itself in some ways?
Hahi! The more things change, the more they stay the same.
\-----/
The day after would start itself with the sensation of unnatural weight being pressed upon the unicorn's body.
Sweetie Belle did not enjoy that sensation. She had her share of being crushed after all.
She didn't have to bear the weight by herself... much of it fell to the human girl as the pony was still wrapped about the human's arms.
Ai woke herself as the blue skies heralded the new day. There were no piercing rays of light, as the sun was much further to Aqua than that of Manhome.
It turned out that President Aria, the Martian cat, was rather heavy.
Sweetie decided to wake up as well, while shuddering just slightly from the loss of the bed sheets.
"Morning, Sweetie-chan."
"Good morning, not that I really like waking up..." The alabaster unicorn muttered.
"One thing I like about Aqua comparing to Manhome is that the sun treats us here much more gently than it does to those on Manhome."
"Oh? Really?"
Ai rotated her neck a bit. "Well, you can take a look yourself!"
Sweetie made her way to the semi-spherical window that was next to the bed. She fumbled about over the soft mattress, and as the human wiggled her way out of the bed.
That blanket of azure blue below was shimmering as if it were made of Topaz. The flicker of light made the unicorn winced every now and then.
Turning to the heavens made Sweetie realize just how different this sky was. It was easy on the eyes, but the sun simply did not command that presence here.
Sweetie found this glowing orb in the sky. It was no bigger than her hoof. It was not pleasant to stare at the light coming off of this orb, but it didn't pierce into her retinas as readily as Celestia's sun did.
The unicorn chose not to stare upon it. Knowing that Iridium's light of death was a small-scale replicate of the sun was incentive enough to never study the ball with naked eyes.
"You know..."
Sweetie remarked listlessly.
"I've never actually gone next to the ocean like this."
"So Ponyville must be totally landlocked?" Ai questioned while changing into her uniform, just as the unicorn stuffed her head to a pillow.
"Yep." The unicorn snaked about on the bed. "Ponyville was rather close to the center of Equestria. The country does stretch from sea to sea, but I didn't get to see any of it. Most of what I've known about living next to the ocean came from Applejack, who spent some time living over this city called Manehattan, at the east coast of Equestria."
Ai was adjusting her one-piece dress. The sleeves exposed her forearms to the elements, and it allowed Sweetie a chance to see just how hairless the humans are.
"I guess not having any fur means that you really need to wear clothes."
Sweetie lazily commented as the girl started to comb her hair.
"So that makes your sister the only one in town that makes dresses?"
The unicorn summoned a bit more energy as she poked her head out of the pillow.
"More than that. Rarity was able to design whole ensembles, plan choreography for events, tailor suits and virtually every piece of clothing imaginable. She's a self-appointed art director for Ponyville. She also makes jewelry. I think that she's one of the most skilled artisan around."
"My sister craves recognition and adoration." The unicorn left the bed and started to tend to her mane. "She really wanted to share her works with ponies. She wants to be appreciated really. I guess that it's hard for ponies in general to appreciate it, with no need to wear any clothes and such."
Ai stood in front of the dressing mirror as she pivoted towards Sweetie.
"How colorful are the ponies? We never did ask about that..."
Sweetie's attention snapped back, as the filly churned her mental gears.
"Urr... very colorful. Rainbow Dash had this light cerulean coat that would've blended with the sky if not for her rainbow-colored mane."
"So Rainbow Dash has rainbow-colored mane. She must be very dashing, loves to run into trouble or be a hero, and runs very quickly right?"
Sweetie was fully awake. "How could you have possibly known that! She doesn't just gallop her way into trouble... she flies her way in. Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus. The fastest one there is."
This human girl was dead on when it comes to describing what the brash Pegasus with that multicolored-mane was like.
"Well... your names are all very meaningful to what you are. I was listening to you yesterday. Celestia is the sun, a celestial body, while Luna is an embodiment of your moon. This is why Rainbow Dash was very obvious to me."
Sweetie Belle decided to give Ai a challenge. "Alright, what can you tell me about Applejack the Apple farmer?"
Ai pulled out her computer and the first thing she did was to look for definition of "Jack". Sweetie Belle decided to let her do this, although she felt that the girl was cheating in a sense.
"Okay! Applejack. Apple farmer, laborer, just one of the Apples, and... makes a really mean cider?"
Sweetie fired a tirade in return. "I am speechless, dumbstruck, humbled, rendered mute, astonished, wordless, amazed, stunned..."
Ai tapped on Sweetie's shoulder. "Give me a minute while I put together a proper comeback."
Sweetie was slightly puzzled as the girl worked away at the clam shell-like apparatus.
The girl suddenly raised to her full height without any notice.
"Sweetie-chan, just what are you? A dictionary? A thesaurus? A census? A lexicon?"
Sweetie was a unable to comply, and the girl felt good about this.
I remember this all too well.
Sweetie thought of Scootaloo and Apple Bloom once more. Nostalgia seemed to love her company as of late.
"Ai-chan, Sweetie-chan, good morning!"
"Akari-san! I am sorry, I am coming right now!"
Sweetie was oblivious to the call while Ai quickly descended to the ground floor. The unicorn stood as her mind transported her to the comforts of Carousal Boutique...
Rarity would've been the first to wake up. She would have called me to get ready for school. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would show up at the door just as I am eating away at my breakfast...
"Pupui..."
Sweetie's mind came back to the attic when President Aria showed a look of concern through his azure eyes. The cat (completely different beast from Opalescence) had donned his beret and his stylized bow tie without Sweetie being ever the wiser.
"Aria-shachou, Sweetie-chan, did you sleep well?"
The melodic voice of Akari traveled their way to the attic. It was time to meet the new day.
"Good morning, Akari. I was just thinking to myself. I will come down with President Aria!"
Sweetie looked at the cat and got a little curious. Given her current frame, carrying the cat shouldn't be an issue...
"Do you want a ride, President Aria?"
The cat was terribly eager. In a rush, the white blob clumsily attempted to mount the pony, but his short stature ran up against the barrel of the unicorn and his hind legs couldn't really propel him to fully scale to the filly's back.
Sweetie was feeling rather irritated. She crouched down to allow the cat a lower clearance.
The flabby cat sagged around Sweetie's back, much like a heavy bag of flour with some sort of a back plate in the bag.
Sweetie found herself in a bit of a struggle as she summoned quite a bit of strength to get to a standing position.
"Okay. How can you possibly be as heavy as a pony?"
The Martian cat groaned shamefully.
I am going to have to use telekinesis to hang on for my dear life as I walk downstairs.
The unicorn took hold of the railings as Atlas would had done... with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
She felt the momentum from gravitational acceleration with each step of the stairs. It was manageable, but not comfortable by any measure.
Sweetie found that the ground floor was no longer inundated. This would have meant that it was time to clean the debris off of the littered floor. Akari and Ai were both involved with that task, while the filly took a few seconds to catch her breath.
"Aria-shachou, how was horseback riding?"
Ai asked while gathering the leaves and twigs that were swept into the house during the tide.
"Puipui-pui!" The President answered in high spirits.
Ai replied. "Pui-nyu~."
"You actually know how to speak to him?" Sweetie was visibly surprised.
"You kind of do after having been with him. All of us here could understand him. He can communicate to you by written words if you want."
Sweetie pointed to an interesting variation of the hoofwriter. There is no lever, and the keys were all laid out on a grid, as was with Ai's computer. The hoofwriter in comparison had a Gimbal to shift the orientation of the hoof to allow for character input, and the device would have been mechanical.
The President took a bow at the unicorn as he held onto her left foreleg, and kissed it with his lips. He then moved to his typewriter and proceeded to construct a message. The typewriter made an electronic hum as servomotors spun about, which was quite different from the mechanical actions of the hoofwriter.
Sweetie gazed in silence while Ai and Akari went about with the room cleaning.
The written text was held by President Aria. He moved it to Sweetie's field of focus, and the unicorn took the paper with telekinetic held.
Grazie per il passaggio. Centro equestre è doloroso. Indossi sella?
She knew that this wasn't Fancy or Germane, but once again, she simply 'understood' the contents.
Thank you for the ride. Horseback riding is painful. You wear saddle?
" Aria-shachou does talk that way. He's very cute and succinct." Akari was very cheerful.
"Some ponies do. It... can be... risqué. Yea. Risqué piece of clothing. Not always. But ponies don't just let anypony ride them."
"Hahi! I don't think you will let Maa-shachou ride on your back all the time either, Aria-shachou!"
”Puipui."
The unicorn made a curt smile as President Aria fetched a feather duster. She wasn't about to sit on laurel and not help with the clean-up.
"Akari, may I ask where's the garbage can?"
\---/
The lower floor of the company was in orderly fashion.
The water wasn't filthy, so there was minimal fuss in the wrap-up.
The ambiance was far better this time. Although the large shutter that served as the service counter on the side of the wall that faces the Canale di San Marco remained closed, the amount of light that had flooded into the building was terrifically empowering.
There was the smell of salt in the soft breeze, and a sense of lightness to one's heart and body. The weariness that plagued the unicorn in the day before was nowhere to be found.
The kettle boiled, and Akari gave a small chuckle to herself.
"What is it, Akari?"
Sweetie looked at the pink-haired Undine.
"The day really gets moving when you start to hear all kinds of noise, doesn't it?"
The unicorn swiveled her ears, as the sound of footsteps, splashing water, metal scratching against hard surfaces, grinding sound from hand rinsing, the ambient noise of the refrigerator and the sizzling noise coming from the oven made themselves known to her.
"You're right... although it's normally not this subdued for me."
Akari's face was bright. "Yep!"
Ai had a sagely tone. "Not the first time that Akari-san had noticed this little detail."
The President's stomach growled rather loudly. It was high time for breakfast.
Breakfast took place over the same table and the same set of chairs that the Undines and the unicorn dined in yesterday.
President Aria had a booster seat to better facilitate his frame. A cushion was placed on the chair that Sweetie sat upon to allow for greater comfort as the unicorn dined with the Undines and the Martian cat.
Sweetie noticed the presence of sausages that were dark brown in coloration. It was clear that those were meat sausages. It didn't upset the filly really, considering that cats are carnivores.
What was more bizarre about President Aria was the fact that he had little qualm with eating tomatoes, fruits and yogurts.
Well, it's not as if Spike doesn't eat typical pony food... but I've never seen a cat doing this.
"Ai-chan, the weather today is ideal. Where would you like to take us to?"
Akari was spreading butter on a piece of toast when she raised the question.
"I know that we normally would go through the Canałasso usually, but I think that we can do something more special than that!"
Akari looked at Ai with a puzzled expression, while Sweetie raised an eyebrow.
"I want to retrace the first gondola ride that I've ever taken by myself."
Sweetie's mind caught on. "So you are going to tell me about Akari by this gondola ride? And what is this Canałasso?"
Ai slapped her forehead. "The Grand Canal is the central artery for Neo-Venezia. This is the face of the city, and it's a must-see for tourists."
Akari paused for a good second, before she exclaimed. "Ehhhh!"
"That's right." Ai casually replied as she downed the milk. "The number one thing really is to enjoy and to have fun. Let your soul take in the city, one bit at a time."
Akari chuckled. "It is very easy to spill the water when you pour too fast into the cup. Pouring it gradually may take some time, but then you won't waste the prepared liquid that way."
The filly was having a yogurt.
"I wonder which is better when it comes to learning... by the books, or by hooves-on experience?" Sweetie had a bit of a sly facade when she posed this question.
Akari's soft gaze rested upon the unicorn.
"Whichever one that can truly reach your heart, Sweetie-chan. Some people close their heart when they have to face new situations, while others close their heart to that what haven't face. Learning is about being willing to accept new things, so what matters is to choose the best way for those lessons to reach your heart."
Ai looked on. "Both ways can and do work, as long as the heart is willing to accept."
The filly had been bested. I wonder if Twilight or Trixie can ever mount an apologetic against this?
Admitting defeat, the little unicorn continued to eat into her small bowl of yogurt.
\---/
Sweetie looked at the wall-mounted telephone intensely. It looked very familiar accent wise to the sole telephone in Ponyville, but it very remarkably different in the detailing.
The most notable were the absence of the hoof-cranked magneto and a total absence of wiring.
The unicorn looked at the wireless earphone, as she wondered about how the phone would have operated.
The phone rang as an orange glow came from one of the lights that was on the top right-hoof side of the unit. The phone then played the voice of Akari back.
A pre-recorded message? How was this done? An audio spell that will automatically activate when the phone call isn't picked up?
The message played itself out.
Hahi! This is Aria company! Thank you...
Sweetie was startled for a second, but she can imagine what the proper etiquette should be of incoming calls.
"Akari, telephone!"
"Coming!"
The Undine fumbled about as she reached the receiver.
The Undine had parked the receiver to her ear. Sweetie observed how that Akari wasn't even facing the phone to speak to the transmitter.
"Hello! Thank you for calling the Aria Company. We're closed-"
A projection was formed at about two hooves away from the transmitter. A male with ponytail could be seen holding on a receiver.
This is incredible! The transmitter here isn't used to transmit voices, but to project live images!
Ai made her way to the unicorn, and then she parked herself next to Sweetie Belle.
"Akari-san is speaking to Akatsuki-san, an old friend. You could call him the boyfriend, but he'll never admit it."
Akatsuki's voice came out.
"Oy. Why do you interrupt so much, Pigtails? I was almost about to press '5' so that I can record my message."
"I am not Pigtails..."
"You were, and still are Pigtails. You still have those Pigtails."
"Hairs are not Pigtails... and there's no booking today, so..."
"I'm very busy because of Acqua Alta. I don't have the time to talk to you. Bye."
The filly was very underwhelmed by the exchange.
"How long has this been going for?" Sweetie asked.
Ai took a breath. "Back when Akari was still a Single. It's been more or less the same story."
Sweetie really didn't know what to say about this. Just say 'Nice phone?'
\---/
"I was the one that called Akari-san. Chances are that I wasn't the first to call Akari-san that day. Alicia-san was fully booked that day, so Akari-san had to say that she can't take any customer to me."
Ai looked at Akari with adoration.
"I thanked her, and sneaked aboard her gondola. I then demanded her to get under way with me on board as 'a friend of hers'."
"I'll scream..."
Sweetie was highly amused when Akari froze up. "What...?"
"Kidnapper... somebody... save me..."
Odd sweat drops formed on Akari's face.
Sweetie pretended to take offense. The Crusaders were not above crying murder if it meant that they can have their way.
"Don't tell me that you actually screamed!" The filly's face then snapped to become perfectly level. "Not that I have any problem with it."
The startled Undine in pink was quivering a bit.
Ai shook her head. "Nope, it never came to that. She took me as a friend."
Akari looked somewhat stiff. "Ai-chan did mean well..."
Ai then pulled the unicorn aside. "Your shrill scared Akari-san, by the way."
"Akari really, really should meet with Fluttershy."
The little unicorn accidentally let loose her thoughts.
Ai pondered. "An awfully shy pony?"
"Yes, and that's an understatement. I will tell you about her after I say sorry to Akari."
\---/
The expensive azure sky was invigorating to behold.
When Akari and Ai took Sweetie to the platform, the filly was assaulted with the sheer grandeur of what laid before the company.
The pristine water and the cries of seagull reminded the filly that she was in no danger. The slight screeching noise from atop was not that of a sword connecting to another object, but merely that of the weather vane pointing itself toward the wind.
The tarp cover was removed from the ebony gondola by hand. it was soaked from the unpredictable weather during the day before. Sweetie found that the gondola's clearance from the water was only as tall as the platform's distance from the water.
"The water level isn't usually this high, Sweetie-chan." Akari said. "We normally have to take a couple of steps to get to the gondola." The Undine pointed to the head of the gondola as she continued her lecture. "The head would be about a step or two away from the platform level, depending on the tide!"
Ai went on. "We usually would have our guests wait over the ground floor as we prep the gondola. Akari-san doesn't always meet the guests from the company, but this is where the first appointment of the day always begin."
Sweetie nodded as she thought of the daily schedule. "How often does Akari have to return to the company? I imagine that you would plan your route as efficiently as possible, so that the gondola would be occupied in each point of call.
Ai lets loose a chuckle. "Sweetie-chan, it's hardly that efficient here! We would greet our guests and then set out on the itinerary, which can change while under way. The tour doesn't always end at the predetermined point, so we have to put some slack time in."
Sweetie felt that she really couldn't do without making observations on the go, but she had no quill, no inkwell and she didn't want to waste the precious pages in her notebook recklessly.
"Akari-san, Ai-chan, sorry for being selfish, but I need to grab a quill, some parchment and an inkwell..." The little unicorn pleaded.
Ai was very giddy. "Akari-san, Sweetie-chan really wanted to relive the renaissance! This might be the first time that any guest wanted less convenience!"
Akari got the gondola to the spiral staircase that led from the top level of the building to the gondola. "Hahi! Some guests would ask for a source of electrical power, remote-controlled drones and other tools when they board the gondola. Guests from Manhome are all very used to the convenience of technology!"
Ai then addressed Sweetie. "There should be shops that would carry parchment, quill and inkwells. If you just need to take notes though, we got paper and pen, or you can just use the computer!"
Sweetie immediately jumped with the mentioning of pen and paper. She remembered the remarkable ease that Alicia had with the use of the pen, and the unbelievable papers were simply sublime!
"Really?"
The filly allowed her puppy-eyes to do their magic.
Akari returned with a smile that could melt frozen blocks of ice.
"Hahi! As many as you need, Sweetie-chan!"
An Undine in the crimson red of Himeya, face flushed in pink, made her presence known with one single line.
"Embarrassing things are not allowed!"
The warning fell on deaf ears however. The Undine snuggled the unicorn as the filly nuzzled back in broad daylight, without a care of the world around them.
\---/
Sweetie Belle was hungry.
She wouldn't leave until having achieved an understanding about the operations of the ballpoint pen. Ai was more than happy to oblige, as Akari and Aika sat over the table at the ground floor, watching the young Undine indulging the unicorn's thirst for knowledge.
Akari was visibly excited as her breath was taken away.
Ai had just dissected a pen.
"Look at this!" The girl announced. "The tiny ball here keeps the ink from coming out of the tube reservoir by being in a socket. There is enough room for the ball to roll around when you put it against a sheet of paper-"
Ai made a pen stroke with another pen.
"and the ink comes out of the gap, carries itself along the surface of the ball, and then 'drips' onto the paper!"
Sweetie thought intensely. "And because it's a socket, the ball won't just sink into the reservoir! Genius!"
Ai wasn't done. "Pens can write upside-down if you find a way to pump the ink through the tube."
Sweetie was letting her imagination do the work. "Drinking straw! I can suck on the straw and it'll pull the water up!"
Akari got caught up with this. "Sweetie-chan, we can't suck on the reservoir tube! We have to make the ink go out of the ball!"
Aika S. Granzchesta, the heiress to Himeya and a personal friend of the Undines at Aria company, was really at a loss as to how she had managed to find herself in this fuss about something that was so mundane. The scary thing was that Akari was making the ballpoint pen look magical on her, by infecting her enthusiasm onto everyone in attendance.
"Pump the ink?" Sweetie mused as her head laid low and her right foreleg tapped against her cheek. "That's fiendishly difficult!"
Ai conceded. "We'll need to think about this problem later. Someone solved this a long time ago. There was this one guest that was using such a pen to write upside-down..."
Sweetie decided to move on. "Let's see. Spring. Arresting cog. Trigger." The unicorn listed the parts out as she studied them. This coil works like a pogo stick. The gear turns to the right... locks into two positions..."
Ai took out the completed pen to compare with the dissected pen. "So that way, you can retract the tip of the pen when not in use."
Sweetie studied the material. "Is this hoof... I meant hand crafted? No. It can't be... look at the precision on these threading..."
The pony was humbled. "We ponies are very, very behind. Just look at how simple, how neatly integrated this writing instrument is. Quills and inkwells are horribly antiquated!"
Akari had the look of gratitude on her face.
"Don't belittle the quill, Sweetie-chan. Our desire to record and to express ourselves have made us look for better ways to write. The pen is a product of all those innumerable works of the past."
Akari thought of the quill. "The quill and the fountain pens are no different from voice commands and stylus... they allow thoughts to be transmitted across boundaries. These things have allowed for knowledge, feelings and dreams to survive across space and time, thus enriching our lives."
She said slowly, as she reconstructed the pen and handed it to Sweetie Belle. "Let's use the pen to put our own thoughts down..."
Ai looked with appreciation. "For the pen is mightier than the sword."
Sweetie leaned back against the chair. "No wonder Twilight is so dangerously powerful..."
Aika tried to repeat her famous refrain, but she had no will to beat the dead horse.
Sweetie held onto the pen in her hooves with reverence... as if this was a timeless artifact that was entrusted to her for some sacred mission.
The four of them gazed out to the San Giorgio Maggiore in silence.
\---/
"Akari! You've done it again! Jeez..."
Aika was slightly fuming at her hapless friend.
"You started the day with one really embarrassing set of comments, and you didn't stop there."
"You went into embarrassment over-drive!"
Aika was busy chewing out her friend while Ai was telling Sweetie about what she was looking at.
The gondola was technically under way, but it was only starting to leave the company pier.
Ai was giving Sweetie the tour while Aika kept her mentor out of the picture.
"You are staring at the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. The spire would be the bell tower. That entire island was imported form Manhome. The island is still the headquarters of the Cultural Foundation which was instrumental in preserving Serenissima in a very real way."
Sweetie was in awe. "It's... you took whole islands across the universe...."
Ai looked at the bell tower. "It's really the buildings. Many buildings weren't transported. Only furnishing made it onto Aqua. A lot of the buildings had to be reconstructed from holographic diagrams."
The filly buried her face in her forelegs. "Holo... graphics..."
Ai looked sad. "The island is not a perfect replica, but it really makes no sense to simply copy. It hurts when guests would accuse of this city as an imperfect imitation of Venezia..."
Akari couldn't leave this wrong be. "I want to let others know that those feelings are real, and it is those feelings that give meaning to the things that are around us, for there is no understanding without love."
The little unicorn was beyond words. She wondered whether or not if ponies would go to such length to preserve their legacy and their way of life.
\---/
"This is a little different than what I've had expected..."
Sweetie leaned her head against the starboard side, and lazily glided her hoof across the water.
The gondola rocked a bit.
"I guess I can't help it, can I? It's rocking against the wind."
Sweetie didn't hear Ai's own admittance. She was too lost in her own thoughts.
Aika was done berating Akari, and was now joking with the Undine about Aria being the first gondola company to host an extraterrestrial.
"To think that the unicorn would be a free-rider."
Akari was in a bit of a bind. "Well.. you could say that."
"C'mon. Hurry up and get moving."
Just as Ai was about to propel the gondola, Sweetie looked at Aika and Akari.
"I wonder which one of the two is better?"
The question was meant for Ai, but both Akari and Aika heard it.
"Well, it'd be me if it comes to getting things done."
Ai saw her chance to repeat history. "Then would you row?"
"Huh? Why should I?"
"Because you're a friend."
"That's not it."
"Well, it's a friend so it's ok."
"That's not it."
"Then just ask Sweetie-chan and see what she thinks!"
"Wait. What do you mean?"
Akari came out swinging from the left field. "Well, we've already gotten to know her yesterday... right?"
"Why am I getting a serious case of déjà vu over this...?" The Undine of Himeya uttered to herself.
\---/
Sweetie started to mutter to herself.
"So it's been 150 years since humans turned this planet into this watery world..."
"156 years." Aika appended. "Just being accurate on this fun ride."
"Akari, why are you still stiff as a board?" Aika noted her friend sitting perfectly still after Sweetie's innocent question.
Ai looked on at the pensive Sweetie Belle.
"Do you like this city?"
Sweetie paused, as the two Prima gave their full attention to the unicorn.
"I think I do. I didn't choose to come here, but I think that like this world and Neo-Venezia. The sheer level of advancement and the gentle pacing of it all..."
Akari was reflective of herself. "This city is made of miracles, isn't it..."
Sweetie looked at Akari. "How was this planet like before the terraforming?"
Aika replied. "There was no air and water was locked up in ice caps. It was a freezing, orange world."
Ai whispered in an audible voice. "Miracles..."
Akari continued. "Those feelings from those people that wanted to make this city... gave birth to this miracle."
Akari, sitting at the bow of the gondola while facing Sweetie, Ai and Aika, had one more thing to say.
"Our meeting was definitely a miracle!"
Here it comes... Ai thought to herself.
The Undine with blue hair pointed accusatively at Akari.
"Embarrassing remarks aren't allowed!"
Ai had a beaming smile when Sweetie looked back at the Single.
"Aika-san said the exact same thing to Akari-san when I was in Akari-san's gondola. This is no coincidence."
Sweetie could only acknowledge Ai with a nod as Akari gave Aika "Ehhh" in reply.
\---/
"That butter potato stand should be coming up..."
Ai said to nobody in particular, but all of the passengers have heard the Single's monologue.
"Buttered potato..."
Sweetie shot a glance at the shore, and she found a floating stand on a bigger boat than the gondola that was docked to a small wooden pier.
"You want one?"
Akari asked.
Ai chimed in. "When Akari-san asked me of the very same question those years ago, I said no at first. These are much, much better than the ones on Manhome."
"But I don't have the bits to pay for one..."
Aika snorted. "Of course you won't! It's on us!"
Sweetie shyly shrunk to the bottom of the hull. "Thank you..."
The Undines would have none of it. Ai steered the gondola to the stand, and in less than a minute, the four of them found themselves sitting over cement stumps over a patch of grassland next to the pier.
"Ooo, Akari-chan. Looking good in the summer uniform as usual!"
"Hahi! We're finally getting close to summer again, Ojisan."
Just as Akari was about to buy the buttered potatoes, President Aria showed up in a small boat.
"Aria-shachou! Sorry about leaving you by yourself!"
Akari apologized to the cat as he appeared next to the crew.
The little boat looked like a miniature gondola, and there was a hole over the bow ornament. There was a fòrcola, but how the cat would have managed to row the boat was beyond Sweetie.
Sweetie was studying her bowl.
"This looks kind of hard to eat with hooves and snout..."
Ai took a long look at her own butter potato as well.
"Potatoes are always cut up on Manhome. It was quite a surprise when I first had this. It was the same exact spot at that."
Sweetie used her telekinetic skills to position the fork and dug into the potato, dipped a portion of the potato into the hot butter, allowing the steaming bits of food to cool as she blew upon it, and only then did she proceed to partake the dish.
The unicorn was able to dine with only the Undines and the cat staring at her, much to Sweetie Belle's relief.
\---/
"So the money here isn't made of gold. These coins are nickels and whatnot..."
Sweetie gazed at the Euro with fascination.
Ai chuckled happily. "These coins are a legacy of the past. Only Neo-Venezia and a few cities still use coinage."
Sweetie paused. "So they're all using paper tender?"
Ai shook her head. "No. We don't really use paper or coins for transactions anymore. It's all done by electronic account transactions."
The girl took out her wallet, and showed her a card. "This card allows for me to pay for things as it gives the access to my account. We can accept payments this way too."
Sweetie thought about this form of banking. She had imagined that the topic would be a highly theoretical one, restricted to big wigs in Canterlot that had nothing better to do but to play with other ponies' hard earned bits.
Seeing this in practice was incredible, but not earth-shattering.
The unicorn smacked her lips as her hunger was sated.
"Thank you very much!" Akari was the one that returned the bowls to the stand.
"Hai Hai! Thanks." The cook turned around to put the bowls away.
"Thank you! The food was delicious!" She gave acknowledgement to the seller.
The vendor didn't even look back at the unicorn when he was filing away the dirtied bowls. "Really? Thank you!"
Sweetie Belle felt at peace with herself. Her weariness was gone, and she felt that the world was more than willing to accept her, rather than treating her with skeptical eyes.
The scenery was picturesque, the mood was great, the food was delectable...
but something's amiss.
"Well then, we should get going." Aika declared rather energetically.
"Shachou, we're going!"
"Aria-shachou?" Akari repeated.
"Where did Aria-shachou go?" Thought Aika aloud. "Please don't tell me that this is actually happening again..."
Ai had a look of dread as she pointed at the canal.
"Umm... he's..."
President Aria was sailing away, to the mouth of the Canałasso, in his small boat. The President lost his oar, so he was helpless in the water.
Time suddenly stood still for the Undines and the unicorn.