//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven // Story: A Heart Like The Sea // by Drunk Luna //------------------------------// "'If you're lucky'?" Neoma squeaked, giggling as she and Cassie walked into the welcoming coolness of the palace. "I know that answer must have driven him wild, Cass! Does he surf every morning? Are you going back out tomorrow?" "Neoma, can you please calm down?" Cassie rolled her eyes at her sister's barrage of questions. "A stallion is the very last thing I want right now. I'm just enjoying life, going wherever the wind takes me. I don't want to be tied down." Neoma nodded understandingly, but felt that she had to share some wisdom with her little sister. "The right stallion will never tie you down," the turquoise thestral alicorn said with a smile. "Silver encouraged my dreams wholeheartedly." "That's because your dream was to play it safe," Cassie said, her voice lilting with concern. "No offense, Neoma, but you've never been the type of pony to bend any rules. You've always been the beautiful, poised, graceful, dutiful, perfect princess that everypony expects you to be. Whenever I tried to get you to sneak out to parties with me in high school, you always stayed behind. You never argued with Mom or caused any problems for our parents. You have always done exactly what was expected of you, and I'm happy that makes you happy, but I don't want my life to be like that. I want excitement, adventure, freedom." "Then abdicate," Neoma said. "I can assure you that I am far from perfect. Regardless of whether you like it or not, Cassie, we are princesses, and as princesses, we have responsibilities, one of which includes maintaining a pristine reputation. We have duties to our family and to our country. Do I ever feel like I missed out on having fun in college? Sure. Did I ever feel left out in high school? Absolutely, but high school shouldn't define the rest of our lives. I'm happier now with Silver and Della than I have ever been, and a lot of that happiness is due to the fact that Silver has opened my eyes to the world beyond the palace gates. I was born to be a wife and mother. I've always envied your free spirit, though, Cass. I'm in awe of the fact that you can communicate with the ocean's greatest apex predator. Next time you swim with the killer whales, can Della and I come with you? I'm not going to lie, the idea of doing it terrifies me, but it just sounds so exciting." "Of course you can come!" Cassie said, excited for her big sister to join her. "Let's go early tomorrow afternoon. The guys are going golfing tomorrow, so the ladies can all go enjoy the orcas." "Great idea," Neoma agreed. "I'm so excited! Mom hasn't stopped talking about the orcas since you introduced them to her. We're going to have a blast!" The next morning, everypony gathered on the dock to meet the orcas. "Don't worry, sister," Luna reassured Celestia, who was fidgeting nervously on the platform as Cassie summoned the orcas. "Cassie has a special rapport with these beautiful babies. We are in safe hooves." "They are not 'babies.' They're called 'killer whales' for a reason, Luna," Celestia replied flatly. "They're apex predators." "They’re smart enough to know what their food looks like. They don’t kill ponies,” Luna said. "Would you relax, sister? Cassie knows what she's doing." "There they are!" Neoma squealed as the orcas rushed over to the platform. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Polaris surfaced for air, then giggled as she wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell of the air from the massive animal’s blowhole. "Polaris!" Cassie called, crouching and reaching out to stroke the orca's back lovingly as she approached the platform. "Hello, gorgeous. How's my beautiful girl?" Polaris chirped happily and rolled over onto her side, lifting her flipper so that Cassie could rub it. 'Aww, you're such a good girl," Cassie said, smiling and obliging Polaris' request. "Where's the little terror?" As if on cue, Aurora poked her head out of the water, eliciting "aww's" from everypony. "Speak of the devil," Cassie chided with a giggle. "Come here, Aurora. Show everypony how cute you are." The young orca dipped underwater, then proceeded to spray Neoma in the face with a mouthful of water. Neoma gasped, then collapsed into a fit of laughter along with everypony else at Aurora's playful antics. "Yes, the young one is quite the troublemaker," Luna said, chuckling as she reached down to stroke Aurora's side. "She loves to shove me. We engaged in a fierce shoving battle yesterday." She laughed as Aurora leaned into her touch. "Oh, but 'tis so hard to say 'no' to one so cute," she cooed. “Auntie Tia, I can send the orcas away and summon some smaller dolphins if you’ll feel more comfortable swimming with them,” Cassie offered, noticing Celestia’s apprehension as the solar princess watched Polaris and Aurora. “Thank you, Cass,” Celestia said warmly, “but I’ve swum with dolphins many times, and each time was an amazing experience. I know I need to get past whatever anxiety I may feel right now and just take the plunge. I trust you to keep us all safe.” Cassie nodded, then turned and dove headfirst into the clear blue water. Aurora coasted near the platform, as if she was waiting for Neoma to join the other ponies in the water. "Well," Neoma said as she descended the swim ladder and eased herself into the warm ocean, "I knew these guys were big, but they seem so much bigger when you're actually in the water with them. Oh!" she squealed as Aurora butted her playfully in the stomach and knocked her over, then she began to laugh hysterically, returning the baby orca's shove. "She's so cheeky and naughty!" Neoma giggled, watching as Aurora disappeared underwater. "I love that you named her after my northern lights, Cassie. What a little spitfire she is!" Aurora resurfaced next to Elara, who was staying close to Polaris' side, clearly taken aback by the number of ponies in the water. "Awww, look at the little tiny one!" Summer squealed as Elara came up for air. "She's so small!" "I think little Elara might be my favorite," Luna said, smiling warmly as she reached out to gently trace the small white shamrock on the baby orca's back. "She has such a beautiful marking here." "Are you sure you aren't biased, mom?" Cassie teased. Luna smirked at Cassie, rolling her eyes as she continued to fuss over Elara. Polaris rolled over, relaxed; she clearly trusted Cassie enough to know that the alicorn would never allow anypony to harm her newborn daughter. As Elara swam over to Polaris' side and began to nurse, Cassie straightened up. "Neoma," she said, "why don't you and Silver bring Della to play with the dolphins? I can send these guys away for a bit. It'll be fun!" Neoma nodded eagerly. "Tomorrow, for sure," Neoma agreed. "Twilight, her parents, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Flurry Heart are arriving later today. Mom reminded me last night that they're going to stay with us for the next three months of our vacation. We should probably get things ready for them before we do anything else." "I can't believe all the princesses will be together under one roof for three months," Cassie giggled. "The guys are going to have so much fun fishing and golfing while we relax on the beach, go to the spa, maybe do a little shopping." "I know," Neoma said. "We're going to have a blast. This vacation is about to turn into a full-blown party!"