//------------------------------// // Chapter Five // Story: A Heart Like The Sea // by Drunk Luna //------------------------------// Luna treaded water, staring in awe at the orcas that swam around her and Cassie. Domino nuzzled Cassie lovingly, and Cassie smiled down at the killer whale, stroking her back. "Aren't they gorgeous?" Cassie said, giggling as Aurora gave Luna a cheeky nudge, knocking the ruler of dreams slightly off-balance. Luna chuckled and rubbed the young orca's side, grinning as she regained her footing. "They are magnificent, Cass," Luna marveled. "They're so gentle and intelligent. I can see why you love them so much. Ah!" She shrieked as Aurora gave her a harder nudge, causing her to fall over completely. "Aurora, you little brat!" Cassie said, still grinning. Aurora replied with a stream of triumphant squeaks and clicks, clearly proud of herself. Luna chuckled as she resurfaced. "Push her back the next time she shoves you, then reward her with a rubdown," Cassie told Luna. "A little roughhousing won't hurt her; in fact, it's good for her. We should encourage her to do this, and we should also teach her that if she shoves us really hard, there will be some kind of reward. Orcas play with each other like this all the time. It will be like a game for all three of us." "What a brilliant idea, Cassie," Luna said. "Why don't we have a little shoving match with her? We can go into water that's just shallow enough for us to touch the bottom so that we can present her with a greater challenge." The two alicorns swam into slightly shallower water, and the whales followed. Cassie planted her hooves into the sandy bottom of the cove and began to gently tap at the surface to coax Aurora over. "Aurora," she cooed, "come here. Come push me as hard as you can, little one. Bring it!" Aurora dove under the water and shoved Cassie roughly, and Cassie returned the killer whale's playful push with a slightly harder shove of her own. Aurora squeaked with joy and nudged Cassie a little more forcefully in her side, promptly knocking the alicorn over. "What a good girl!" Cassie said, immediately rewarding the young orca by rubbing her back. "Ohhh, I know, you're so vicious, aren't you?" Aurora rolled over onto her side, clearly loving all the attention she was receiving. "Aurora, come here, sweetie," Luna called. "Give me your mightiest shove. I can take it. Come on, girl!" Aurora flipped over and sped towards Luna like a black and white bowling ball, knocking the alicorn over as effortlessly as if she were a bowling pin. Luna grunted as she fell backward, but she quickly regained her footing. "Good girl," Luna cooed, rubbing Aurora's side. "Whew!" she said, wrinkling her nose as Aurora took a breath, exhaling from her blowhole directly into Luna's face. "That is quite possibly the worst thing I have smelled in my thousands of years of life, Cassie; it smells even worse than any of the most disgusting diapers I had to change when you and your sister were little. How do you stand it?" She gagged as Aurora turned her attention to Cassie. "You'll get used to it eventually if you spend enough time with these guys," Cassie assured her mother. "It doesn't really bother me anymo--AH!" She gasped as Aurora delivered a paralyzing blow to her rib cage, momentarily knocking the air from her lungs. Cassie was unable to return the killer whale's powerful shove, so Luna did it for her. "Are you all right, Cass?" Luna called, swimming over to her daughter. Concern was written all over the lunar princess' face, and she reached out to gently push a few wet strands of mane out of Cassie's eyes. "Yeah, Mom... no," Cassie admitted sheepishly. Luna frowned and cast a spell that gave her X-ray vision, then looked at her youngest daughter. "You have two broken ribs," Luna said. "Here, let me help you." She cast a healing spell that immediately repaired the fractures and alleviated any pain in Cassie's body. "Thanks," Cassie said, then her eyes widened. "Mom, please don't try to keep me from swimming with the orcas because of this. They are like extended family to me. Please don't keep me away from them." Her voice became higher as she started to become visibly upset. "I would never do anything of the sort, Cassiopeia," Luna said soothingly. "I have no doubt that you can hold your own with your magic. You know how to cast the healing spell that I just used, do you not?" Cassie nodded, embarrassed. "I guess it just slipped my mind. I think I went into shock for a few seconds. Aurora has never been that rough with me before. At least her mom is telling her off, though." Cassie giggled softly as she looked out at Aurora, who was receiving several brutal shoves from her mother. The larger orca's rapid squeaks were so loud, sharp, and intense that they could be heard from the shore. The concerned look on the princess of the night's face was replaced by an amused grin as she followed Cassie's gaze. "Polaris is definitely giving the young one a taste of her own medicine," Luna said with a chuckle. "I can tell you from personal experience that the tone she's using is universally understood among moms of all species." When Aurora returned, she was much gentler with both Cassie and Luna, who rewarded her with long rubdowns and play sessions for the rest of the day. As dusk began to approach, the young orca grew tired, and the two princesses left the water to rest, eagerly anticipating the next day, when they would play with Cassie's "extended family" again.