Navigation 1, Part 1 -その素敵な奇跡を... That Wonderful Miracle...
Navigation 1, Part 1 -その素敵な奇跡を That Wonderful Miracle
It's very painful when you can't find a way forward, don't you think?
You become timid, flustered and discouraged.
I know! You need to find yourself first.
You have to let friends into your heart somehow. Let them explore what makes you smile!
Akari-san, doesn't this remind you of being lost in the meeting place of cats?
Yes it does! Maybe Aqua can help again with direction. Let's la-go!
Hehe. You never change, Akari-san...
\\------//
Sweetie Belle was not composed by any mean, but she was no longer curled up in a ball.
Akari held the unicorn in an embrace as she did what she could to soothe the traumatized filly.
Ai went back to the kitchen to fetch some chocolate for everyone upstairs.
"How did..." The thought of the loss of Altomare weighed heavily on Sweetie Belle.
"Shhhh..." Akari cooed the brooding mare.
"That's for another time, Sweetie-chan. It's a very beautiful and heart-wrenching story, but it didn't end in darkness. I promise that I will tell you about this story later on..."
Akari faced the despondent mare directly.
"But we need to take care of your wounded heart first."
Akari continued.
"I am only an Undine, but I am here for you through this sad moment. Ai-chan will also be here too."
Ai returned with a box of chocolate.
"We will do all that we can to understand your troubles, if you will let us into your heart." Ai softly remarked to Sweetie Belle.
The unicorn could only manage a nod at this point... she simply wasn't functional for the time being.
\\----//
The sun was making good ascent over the Aquatic skies.
The clouds still hung heavily over this city, but sunlight still shone through.
Neat rows of off-shore wind turbine spun about lazily, in concert with the slack dynamic of the entire city as a whole.
The blanket of water across the city seemed to blur the line between the water and the streets. The canals and the streets were merged... submerged into one pane of water, while street lights were no different from the piles next to the seawalls.
Perhaps... people didn't want to work while staring down at a mirror image of themselves.
\\----//
Akari looked at Sweetie Belle. She wanted to get Sweetie Belle to hold a conversation again.
"Sweetie-chan, do water spirits exist in your world?"
Sweetie Belle had a visible response.
"They do. Miss Mizunashi, undines exist, but I haven't encountered them yet. Are they mystical to your world?" The unicorn had a coarse response.
"Hahi! Sweetie-chan, unicorns and undines are fairy tales to us. By the way, you can just call me by my name."
So affable... Sweetie said mentally. There's something very special about this place...
"So, what sort of magic is in Neo-Venezia?" Sweetie quipped. "What is the magic that Akari is best at?"
Ai looked at Akari, who was trying to look away.
"Akari-san is a master in the magic of friendship!"
As if on cue, Sweetie stood and took a step backward. "You can't be serious!" She barked out in a shrill.
Ai pressed on. "Akari-san is a genius when it comes to making friends. She is a friend to even Cait Sith, who is the king of the cat kingdom!"
"Wait. A kingdom of cats?" Sweetie Belle found this to be incredulous.
Ai was grinning from ear to ear. "The cat kingdom is on Aqua, and we in Neo-Venezia live together with the cats in peace. They don't show themselves to human usually, but Akari-san is very special."
"You are not kidding..." Sweetie could not utter anything else.
Akari shyly muttered. "I don't do magic..."
Ai disagreed. "Akari-san, I have seen you practising your magic since the day I first met you. You are working your magic as we speak."
Akari countered. "It's not... that's not spells! Sweetie-chan's spells..."
Ai chuckled. "Akari-san... we both know that magic is not always obvious... "
Ai attended to Sweetie Belle.
"Akari-san had discovered all of her magic with her friends."
With an intent to placate her mentor, she shifted her course a little.
"I wouldn't say such embarrassing things to most of our guests, but I think that a magical being such as yourself would understand just how wonderful this magic of friendship really can be!"
Ai chuckled as she gently held onto Akari's twiddling left hand.
"If Aika-san were here, she'd be throwing her 'embarrassing remarks are not allowed' line at us again..."
At this point, it felt as if Ai was much more self-assured than her dear mentor.
Sweetie came to realize that what truly wounded her heart was a shortage of love. It was hard to admit that this nourishment was just as vital to a pony as it were with the Changeling, but the unicorn could do little, except to concede to the facts.
\\----//
Akari looked to the blue crystal that hung around her neck as when Ai told Sweetie Belle of Cait Sith. The last face-to-face meeting between the king of cats and the Undine came to her mind vividly, for this was a friend that would always be with her, even when they could no longer meet each other.
She thought that adults were not able to see the mystical realms, since their responsibilities to the realm of their own were all-encompassing. Aika-chan did say that you stop seeing these things as you become an adult.
But here was this mystical guest that had crossed space and time to be in this city.
Akari looked within the depths of her experience. If the dependable Aika-chan was correct, then Mizunashi Akari was still no adult. If the heiress to Himeya was wrong, then there is really nothing that would prevent adults from running into fairies.
Akari wasn't sure what to make of it. She and Ai had experienced some of the splendours in the city of water together in her days as a Single, but she had assumed that she could only act as a guide for her friend and junior now that she was an adult.
I am still able to see how magic affect the lives of everyone!
Akari's heart was sent racing by her line of thought. Maybe I will ride in Ai-chan's gondola on her voyage... to be able to find wonders new and old... be able to renew and create miracles of then and now...
"Wondermaking."
Ai stopped her initiative while Sweetie returned from her mental confines to the confines of Aria company.
Akari repeated. "Wondermaking is the magic of Neo-Venezia."
And here it is. Ai was relieved, yet boiling in anticipation of what the Aquamarine had to say on magic.
"I... said it before that Aqua is a hand-made planet. This planet was made with the feelings, aspirations and hopes of so many from Manhome... the physical manifestation of so many dreams from all walks of life. The planet became a cycle of miracles building upon miracles to create yet more miracles."
Akari saw an answer for Sweetie Belle.
"That is why I think that we can help you, Sweetie-chan. I don't know what is it that you are looking for, where you've come from, where you have been to, or where you will be... but I do know that you are now on a planet of miracles, in a city of miracles. Where else would you find your answer but in a place where magic and miracles are real?"
Ai was ecstatic.
"Akari-san, did you just spoil the whole story to Sweetie-chan? I thought that you only learn about the nature of things at the conclusion of the journey, don't you?"
This is when Akari replied with glee.
"But the nature of those things have been with us all this time! There is nothing that truly prevents you from realizing the nature of wonders, and it is never too early to find out the everyday wonders that have been with us, before we even set sail!"
Rays of hope were being reflected off of those enormous eyes that adorn the alabaster unicorn.
This was no coincidence... yet... she is... so unlike Twilight... she is not even a unicorn... not even a pony, but she wields the magic of friendship as her birthright. Is this Earth pony magic? Why is it this subtle and ever-present?
"Why... why are you so certain about this place? Why are you so certain about miracles and magic in this city, on this planet?"
Akari moved to the inquiring unicorn, and stroke her mane with her left hand.
"Because I have been discovering those miracles with my friends since I come to Neo-Venezia."
She turned to Ai, as the younger girl hugged the unicorn from behind.
"Because meeting you was yet another proof to the power of the everyday miracles that we've come to known in Aqua." The girl with fern green hair of neck length added.
Ai whispered into Sweetie Belle's left ear. "You should believe in miracles... since you are a miracle."
"So it... I was fated to be here..."
Ai nuzzled the unicorn. "I think that it was a miracle that bought you here."
"Pupui~nu!"
President Aria sat quietly by the side, nodding along with a sense of conviction.
Hot tears streamed from the emerald eyes of the unicorn once more. Not out of despair, but out of love.
Akari took to Sweetie's right ear. "Let us look for miracles and answers together, Sweetie-chan."
The unicorn uttered with some difficulty. "Thank you... really..."
\\----//
A bell of the Campanile could be heard across the flooded Piazza as it heralded the afternoon.
The other four bells were mute... the city did not go to work today, and that there was no council or Senate meeting to be had with Acqua Alta in full force.
One bell had remained in silence since the Campanile was built. Renghiera had no disaster to announce.
Two Undines in red emblems walked out the faded coral coloured façade of the Himeya Headquarters. One of them had straight, black hair that seemed to run forever, while the other with cobalt colour hair was following her colleague.
"Aika, you did get the walnut bread, didn't you?"
"I have them right here, Akira-san."
The blue-haired girl lifted a basket as she pointed to the her colleague.
"Good. I figured that Akari and Ai-chan won't be able to get bread today, so this would be helpful for them."
"O well, those two will just do things at their own leisurely pace..."
The older of the two shot a sharp glance at the younger. "Suwa!" Don't just let your mind wonder about! The entire shore is flooded right now."
The older Undine continued. "Sometimes I don't even know what to do with you..."
The younger made a retort. "The Great Crimson Rose at a loss?"
Akira shot yet another glance at Aika, and the girl pressed no further. Aria company was about a kilometre away, so the trek was quite manageable.
\\----//
The usual dining area at the lower floor wasn't used this time. Sweetie and Ai spent some time to set-up the table and grabbing chairs to host lunch at the upper floor of the company building.
It may be true that there was no hazard in dining downstairs, but the experience from the earlier breakfast had shown that eating while legs were submerged in water didn't make for the best of dining experience.
Ai had a clamshell-like machine like the hoof operated typewriters, except that they have many more keys, and they were laid flatly on the bottom part of the machine. Sweetie had not inquired about the apparatus, since the amount of revelation she had received all morning had pushed her intellect to the edge.
"There is a bad thing about being your pen-pal, Akari-san."
Akari casually placed a large plate of shrimp and calamari salad down on the table. She placed it next to a tray of fettuccine with tuna and lemon. She had more food to bring out from the kitchen for this lunch.
"Hohe?"
Ai turned her attention away from her console. "I can't just repeat your adventures! Your treasure hunt for one... only somebody that had never seen the quest can experience the thrill of a fresh discovery, so it's no-go for me~"
Ai shifted her angle to face Sweetie Belle. "There's shrimp and fish with these dishes. Are you ok with that?"
Sweetie Belle realized that the question was directed to her.
"Well..." Sweetie went on. "The Pegasi do eat fish and seafood, but it's an acquired taste. Most of us ponies are herbivores. I... I can try this. I have been good with trying new things before... so..."
Akari's curiosity was piqued. "Sweetie-chan, do you have pasta and panini back home?"
Sweetie answered. "Yep. We don't have meat in our food though. Do you eat all sorts of greens here?"
Akari thought for a moment as she placed the cutlery down. "Well... ur... we don't eat trees. We don't really eat grass... can you think of anything, Ai-chan?"
Ai motioned Sweetie to her side, as the girl showed the screen to the unicorn. "Human can't eat hay and grass. We are not horses. You can eat more than we can really. It says here that you can eat meat."
"Those are horses." Sweetie had a perturbed look when she took a glance at the display on the device. ”Eating animals... don't you have any problem with killing smart, living being and eat their flesh?"
Ai picked up on a detail. "So cows, pigs and chicken are smart in your world? Like Martian cats?"
Sweetie nodded. Both Ai and Akari were a little speechless.
"That's... wow..." Ai was trying to exit from this part of the conversation.
"Sweetie-chan, we will ask you about the dishes so that you won't eat anything by accident. Is that ok?"
Sweetie's expression was lightened somewhat by Akari's assurance.
"I can't thank you all enough."
Akari was all smiles. "Food is an expression of values. I think that those values are to be shared freely. You understand peoples' feelings by knowing about their values."
Akari went on. "Thank you for telling me about what ponies would eat, Sweetie-chan!"
Someone made a response before Sweetie can utter her gratitude to Akari.
"Embarrassing remarks are not allowed!"
"Ai... Aika-chan!" Sweetie saw Akari in a bit of a panic.
"Is this Aika a friend of yours?"
Ai scoffed. "Aika-san has been our friend back in Akari-san's days as a Pair. She's coming with her senior, the Demon Instructor Akira-san."
"Suwa! I heard that!"
The door to the company opened, and the Undine with cobalt colored hair entered first.
"So, Akari, who's the new friend this time around?"
Ai signalled to Sweetie to stay still as she casually walked to the kitchen.
"Hahi..."
Ai took out a flask filled with water and placed it off to the side of the table. She was waiting for her mentor to break the news.
"It's really hard to say and even harder to believe..."
Aika noticed Ai's shifty eyes. "Out with it, Ai-chan."
Ai gave the go-ahead to unicorn with the mulberry mane and greyish streaks.
"That would be me."
The little unicorn made her way to the Undines.
"I'm a talking unicorn! Nice to meet you two."
As an uncomfortable silence washed over the room, the unicorn cocked her head a little. Things are going exactly as planned.
"This is a really a shock!"
The remark didn't come from the two statues that had obstructed the doorway.
Another Undine in amber trimmed uniform and long, straight pastel green hair was standing by a side entrance.
"Alice-chan!" Akari exclaimed.
The Undine in orange had a bottle of sparkling wine with her. It's clear that she was an expected guest for the afternoon.
Ai moved to Sweetie's side and patted the unicorn's shoulder. "Sweetie-chan is our surprise visitor today!"
Surprise indeed.
\\----//
All of the guests at the table had this intense fascination over Sweetie's telekinetic abilities. The filly was not happy about being viewed as a specimen, but there was little that she could do about it. Sweetie had to shut off the world around her and focus on her appetizer before sanity took hold for the other Undines.
The filly felt much more natural after her first taste of calamari. The chewy squid was a delight for the unicorn, although she felt that her filly friends would have been abhorred by the idea of eating fried and battered squid.
"I can't believe this..."
Aika muttered as she was helping herself to some water.
"Aria company really run into mysterious things all the time." Alice quipped.
Sweetie felt that a retort was in order. "You are all mysterious creatures to me..."
Aika shot up from her chair, while salad bits flew from her mouth. "Creatures?!"
Akira was quick with her dressing down. "Suwa! Don't talk while eating, and don't stand up all of a sudden!"
Sweetie owed the blue-haired girl some explanation. "I don't think anypony have seen your specie at all. I may be wrong, but I am sure that most ponies have no clue about you. I don't remember any myth about your kind..."
Except a certain mint-green unicorn... but that's really besides the point.
Akira leaned an arm against her right cheek. "Whereas you are stuff of legends to us... well, you are taking all of this very well. I guess Akari and Ai already gave you the works."
Aika butted in. "Akira-san meant to say that Akari and Ai-chan gave you the embarrassment over-drive as they talk about the city and you. I don't know how Akari and Ai-chan can do what they do while keeping straight faces..."
Alice saw an opening. "You're really tactless, Aika-senpai." She went ahead to address Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie-san, you should know that Aika-senpai is really thin-skinned."
It was strange, but the lengthening shadows of the mind were powerful enough to conjure phantom images that overlap with Sweetie's field of vision...
Urgh, that sounds like something that grannies might talk about. No offence, Apple Bloom.
Granny never used dat tone. Figure dat' be what the Princess might say 'bout life.
I'm bored. When are we gonna finish the meal? We should be out getting our cutie marks!
Sweetie Belle, would ya take some sense into Scootaloo?
"Hello, Aqua to Sweetie Belle?"
Aika nudged the unicorn on her right shoulder. The little filly's suspended fork came crashing down on to her own plate.
"Ohh... Oh!" And Sweetie was pulled back to the tangible world.
Apparently, the Undines were talking about how Sweetie Belle showed up in the morning. The filly was lost in her thoughts and had failed to notice that she was the subject of the gossip.
"Sorry. I must have zoned out..."
"Sweetie-san really didn't notice that you were talking about her, Aika-senpai."
"Wha... hey! Don't get any idea! It's just... it's not like you get to see something like this every day!"
"Aika, Don't treat people as if they are objects! Miss Sweetie Belle, do forgive my junior for not thinking straight with her head."
Sweetie could recount many instances where she and her friends got chastised by those close to them. Hearing the banters of the two Undines from Himeya only exacerbated her reminiscence.
Alas, present reality awaits. Why turn away from this pleasant reality?
Alice stood up, and headed to Sweetie Belle.
"Sweetie-san, may I touch your mane and fur?"
Aika saw a chance to give a jab. "You did wash your hands, didn't you?"
Alice scoffed. "You're really nosy."
Sweetie nodded, and gentle strokes on the sides of her barrel along the filly's ribs were felt. The Undine from Orange Planet was giving a quick study to the symbol on the unicorn's flank as she moved her hand upwards so that she could feel the filly's curly, two-toned mane.
This petting was making Sweetie Belle somewhat sleepy, and then it promptly stopped.
"Ai-san and Akari-senpai were correct. The cutie marks are fur with different pigmentation."
"Hahi!" Akari was putting away some of the dirty dishes.
"Sorry about petting you so much, Sweetie-san." Alice said plainly. "It is really hard to resist adorableness."
Ai added this while petting President Aria. "Don't you agree, Aria-shachou?"
"Pupui-"
"I... I'm sorry!" The blue-haired girl apologized to Sweetie Belle. "I was being rude and didn't think about your feelings."
Sweetie craned her neck, then reoriented herself.
"It's all right, you can pet me if you like, Aika." Sweetie had a foreleg wave in a dismissal motion.
The young adult was all too eager, and her hands found themselves over the unicorn's foreleg.
"So soft and squishy..."
Akira looked at Sweetie Belle with resignation. "Sorry about this. She's still just a big kid inside..."
Sweetie Belle giggled over Aika's probing of her hoof. "It's ok... hehe... being curious is good..."
Akira bent down to give a soft stroke on the unicorn's head.
"You really do follow your namesake, little Miss Sweetie."
Sweetie turned demure.
Ai reflected. "There it is... the allure of the Crimson Rose."
\\----//
Sweetie found seafood to be compatible with her palette, much to the relief of her generous hosts.
The unicorn was pondering about the title that was used by some of the Undines, when the Undines came to realize that they did not even initiate a proper round of self-introduction to the unicorn.
As Akari and Ai were working away at the dishes, the rest of the guests had moved to congregate over the open patio, as they looked over the shimmering sea below. A couple of cushions were thrown on the ground to make kneeling and sitting more comfortable.
Akari and Ai returned with refreshments and some cookies, and the group sat on the floor to continue the lunch discussion.
Sweetie did some mental arithmetic about the length of time it took to train an Undine, and felt that four to five years would not be surprising for someone to go from total beginner to a professional gondolier.
Sweetie had concluded that Akari essentially was the manager of Aria company. It was easy to conclude this as Sweetie saw scheduling charts, itineraries and transaction logs on a desk that had Akari's photos with her friends, plus she saw the "work" that President Aria was occupied with.
The self-introduction had revealed that Akira E. Ferrari was the most senior Undine of them all, having trained Aika S. Granzchesta as an apprentice a few years back. Aika was a branch manager for the venerable Himeya Company, and carried the weight of her family enterprise on her back.
Alice Carroll had a double promotion by the end of her mandatory schooling, making her a unique case among Undines. Sweetie had estimated that it may have taken her two to three years for her, as she was promoted by the end of her primary schooling.
The mentor to Alice was a former Undine that turned to become a professional Opera singer, who was also known as the Siren. Akari's mentor was just as illustrious, being a board member to the Gondola Association (that was the equivalent of the board of transportation for Neo-Venezia.)
It turned out that the mentors of the three were also personal friends that trained together in the same fashion as were the case with Akari, Aika and Alice.
So these Undines were trying to become Prima as they train together... that's not any different from us Crusaders.
"Not so different... We work with our friends and closed ones to find our future."
Aika swung her head to the pony's abrupt pronouncement.
"Going on daily adventures and running into hijinks with great friends as you grow up together... what a precious thing really, almost magical. I think that all of you probably kept those days very close to your hearts"
I won't allow myself to ever let those memories go. They are all that I have now...
Akari and Ai were beaming as Alice was slightly blushing at the earnest statement. Aika was a volcano ready to explode on the other hoof. Akira looked very amused.
"Akari! Look what you've done now. Embarrassing remarks are NOT allowed! NOT allowed!" Aika was bright red.
"Heeee?"
Aika wasn't finished. "Aria Company always make people say these embarrassing things without them even realizing it!"
Ai decided to give Sweetie Belle a tidbit of information. "Alicia-san, the senior to Akari-san, used to drive Akira-san crazy with her habit of saying ara ara and chuckling away with ufufu. I still have the letter from Akari-san about this one time when Aika-san ran away from Himeya during Acqua Alta come to think of it...
"Wait! You actually wrote a letter to Ai-chan about that?" Aika was stymied while Akira suddenly turned defensive.
Ai said nonchalantly. "That's how I came to know Akira-san as the Demon Instructor."
"AIKA?" The look on Akira could kill.
Ai continued in a whisper to Sweetie's right ear as the filly swivelled her ear to face Ai. "Aika-san ran away from her company and wanted to join Aria company out of an angry fit with Akira-san. She really admired Alicia-san by the way. You'll get to meet her tonight."
Sweetie's mind flashed several scenes from her life episodes, but she brushed them aside as she turned to the Undine. "So let me guess, Alicia-san is soft-spoken, mature, graceful, intelligent, warm and kind?"
Ai gave Sweetie a hug. "They don't call her Snow White without a good reason. Her smile is almost mystical."
Aika was trying to get Akari to spell out the contents of the offending letter, while Akira pressed her junior on what sort of misinformation the girl had managed to convey to others behind her back. The scene left Alice rolling her eyes.
\\----//
Rainbow Dash can learn a thing or two from Akira Ferrari...
The dashing Crimson Rose and her former student had made their exit, albeit with a promise to come back at the earliest opportunity.
"Surely Alice didn't mean end of the world in the literal sense?" Sweetie Belle made an off-the-cusp remark about the Orange Princess to Ai.
"Alice-san is a bit childish at times, although she always means what she says." Ai gave a conflicted expression. "I don't think that the world will end if the three of them don't meet up, but metaphorically speaking she's right."
Ai had Sweetie's full attention. "They're that close?"
Ai nodded. "These three grew together at a very important point of their lives. They are irreplaceable to each other. A tripod needs all three legs to remain standing, at least that's how I see it."
Akari heard this discussion from a few feet away, and what came to her mind was how that Ai was very contemplative of events and people. Akari recalled that Ai was very observant starting from the time that they first met, and that the girl wouldn't shy away from character analysis.
Ai knew more of the facets of Aqua than Akari did at her age. The girl was deeply curious, and she loved to look for answers whenever she can. Akari felt that Ai's strength as a conversationalist came from her ability to incite curiosity and to obtain information in dialogues.
Her observation of Sweetie Belle was not on the obvious biological points of interest. Aquamarine was interested to know what were the things that the unicorn cherished and loved.
She did not sound much older than Ai, but Akari couldn't really be sure of the pony's actual age. The unicorn was deep hearted, and a little introverted. The unicorn was moody, but she suppressed them in the company of strangers. It was clear that the unicorn truly valued life, or she wouldn't have such an episode over the demise of Venezia.
More importantly, I want to know if she is all right at the moment...
Akari moved to her protégé and the little equine, who were sitting over the patio.
"Sweetie-chan." Akari asked. "Were you scared when you got here?"
Sweetie nodded.
"I don't like the feeling of waking up to a new place all of a sudden. Nopony knows you, and you're on your own again. So yea, I was scared."
Sweetie thought for a second.
"Although this is not so bad. I've had worse. Waking up to carnage all around you for one, then there's waking up to familiar scenery but nopony remembers you. That's torture. Make a friend, and the pony doesn't even know you by the next day... "
"Huh?" Akari didn't follow.
"Sweetie-san, are you saying that ponies forget about you as you go from one dimension to the next?"
The filly looked surprised.
"No! There was one dimension where I was stuck in an endless recursion of time, but that's something else." Sweetie paused momentarily.
"Basically, if there's a Sweetie Belle in the dimension that I end up in, I would take over their body, so ponies would know of Sweetie Belle, but not me. I have to tell those ponies that I am not their Sweetie Belle all the time."
Sweetie looked downcast.
"I guess I feel better here since I can be myself. There's no Sweetie Belle for me to take over. The usual dimensions that I've gone to would land me at where I live... I meant to say where Sweetie Belle lives. So I keep running into Rarity and Twilight that are actually strangers to me, with me being a stranger to them as well."
Ai noticed the mentioning of two names, but she decided to leave them in her head for the time being.
"Sweetie-chan, how old are you?"
Sweetie looked at Ai with a haunted expression.
"I don't really know how old I am. I started going to different dimensions when I was partway in elementary school. I guess from my body that I am not really an adult mare yet. I am bigger than I was when I started. I would still be a filly from the looks of it though."
Akari kneeled to bring her eyes to even level with Sweetie.
"Sweetie-chan, do you have any sisters or brothers? Are you now as old as they were?"
Sweetie looked at Akari and shook her head.
"I think that Rarity's still a hoof or two bigger than I am... she's my big sister. She's a grown mare. She's normal size for a mare..."
"So something like this?" Ai gestured at around 4 feet, and received a confirmation from the unicorn.
"I think that she would have loved to have met Aika and you, Akari. Rarity owns her own fashion boutique and she loves beautiful things. She would've been all over your uniforms, and she would have been really happy to talk about running a business with those that know about the labor of love that goes into it..."
"She would've begged for a chance to be a passenger on a gondola ride."
Fashion boutique? Sweetie's back-story was getting better and better for Ai.
Akari had a moment epiphany upon hearing about gondola ride.
"Sweetie-chan." The Undine gestured to the mouth of the Neo-Venetian lagoon before them. "I really want to show you this city, if you'd let me. Water should recede enough by tomorrow for us to navigate the canals, so I would like to invite you to come with us!"
Sweetie was stunned.
"Really? But that's..."
These Undines have to earn their livelihood. It's not right for me to have them bend over their backs to help me like this...
"There's nothing that I can offer you two! I..."
Akari placed a finger over Sweetie's muzzle.
"Sweetie-chan. You don't owe us anything. This is something that I want of you, so I am the one that is asking for your favor. Would you like to tour the city with me tomorrow?"
Sweetie's eyes were getting watery.
"I... how can I..."
Sweetie nuzzled Akari as Ai looked on. Ai had a sweet expression on her face.
"Akari-san! Can I come with you?"
Akari extended a hand to hold Ai.
"Ai-chan, we'll be in your care tomorrow! Will you think of a travel plan for us?"
Ai knew at that moment that Akari had meant to ride in her gondola for the tour.
Ai shuddered a little. It had been more than a month since she had conducted a tour for a guest. A Single cannot conduct any paid tour without Prima supervision, so aspiring Undines tend to do mock tour practices among themselves. Akari practiced with her as a when she was a Single, during their first meeting on Aqua for one.
Ai said resolutely. "Yes! I will think of something for tomorrow! Thank you, Akari-san, Sweetie-chan."
Akari stood up while the filly looked at the endless blue before the balcony.
Sweetie's heart had been a tidal wave of feelings, with this overflowing torrent of emotions that had pounded mercilessly at her psyche all morning; Seeing the tranquil sea was much welcomed for the battered unicorn.
"You were saying that Alicia, your mentor, was coming tonight..."
Sweetie wanted to know this so that she can gauge she should disclose in the scheduled social function.
"Hahi!" Akari hummed energetically. "She and grandma, my great-senior, are both going to visit us. Grandma can't return home due to Acqua Alta..."
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OH, GOD. YOU DIDN'T. YOU FUCKING DIDN'T.
I was waiting for this, like, forever.
2718920
I've watch a few episodes when it first showed up on this side of the Pacific (legally), and yes it is slow paced I do agree that is beautifully done.