//------------------------------// // Gonna Swim Now // Story: Fluttershy's Fear of Water // by Crimson Valent Azure //------------------------------// Fluttershy arrived at the swimming pool, with her saddlebag ready. She looked around and headed to the change rooms. Once inside, she quickly put her swimsuit and water wings on, doing a few breathing exercises to ensure she was ready. Once she had completed the exercises, she headed out to meet her trainer for the day. Twilight Sparkle awaited her sitting on a bench beside the pool. Fluttershy sighed in relief that her trainer wasn't Rainbow Dash or Applejack as they might push her a little too hard. Twilight was sure to be a lot less strict. Twilight wore a purple bathing suit covering a good portion of her body and wore a whistle around her neck. "Hello, Fluttershy. Today we will be learning the front crawl or breaststroke." Twilight Sparkle explained. "Breaststroke?" Fluttershy asked. "All you have to do is follow what I do. It's very simple. Just place your front hooves in front of your head like so." Twilight spread her front hooves in front of her head and glanced back at Fluttershy, who shrank back. But she managed to raise her hooves and carefully place them in the water, letting out a little squeak as her hooves treaded water. "Don't worry about drowning. The floatation devices you are wearing will take care of that. All you need to do is learn." Twilight said. "Good. Next you need to place your back hooves behind your tail and make a running motion, using your front hooves in a rotary motion like this." Twilight demonstrated the move before Fluttershy and strongly swam around the pool. "Umm... Twilight?" Fluttershy meekly asked. "Yes, Fluttershy? If you want to quit, you can." Twilight regretted saying that as Fluttershy darted out of the pool with full speed. Thankfully, she managed to calm herself and go into the pool again. "I want you to do a few laps around the pool using the front crawl. It should be easy for you, being a pegasus and all." Twilight gently patted Fluttershy on the back, helped her into the water, and blew the whistle, signalling the start of the drill. Fluttershy padded slowly but surely, causing ripples through the water. As she swam, she felt confident and determined, feeling the water tickle her hooves. She slowed down as she turned the corner and sped up as she went on the straightaway. Twilight smiled as Fluttershy completed her first lap with very little issue, but noticed something coming towards her. "Fluttershy! Behind you!" Twilight called. Fluttershy turned and was struck with a kickboard, knocking her into the water. Twilight wasted no time in diving into the water and rescuing Fluttershy. She paddled back to the shallow end of the pool and gently petted Fluttershy's back until she woke up. "Fluttershy? Are you alright?" Twilight gently said. Fluttershy opened her eyes and saw her friend standing beside her in the water. Fluttershy backed away and darted back for the change room. "Fluttershy..." Twilight mumbled to herself before walking to the change room to get Fluttershy. "Listen, Fluttershy. I won't make you do this if you don't want me to, but you have to get over your fear of water somehow. What if Angel was drowning?" Twilight calmly said. "He fell into the bird bath one time and I had to pull him out." Fluttershy shuddered at the memory of Angel nearly drowning. "See? Now what if you were at the beach? You want to protect Angel, don't you?" Twilight asked. "Y-Yes. But what can I do?" Fluttershy responded. "You can come back and try again. You were doing great so far! I've never seen you look so determined. You have the tenacity to do this, you just need to forget you are in water. Don't think about it too much, just focus on keeping yourself afloat." Twilight assured her. Fluttershy headed back into the pool, ready to try swimming again. That night, she laying in her bed staring up at the ceiling. "Angel? Do you think I could ever learn to swim? I know my friends want to help me, but I don't think my nightmare will go away if I learn." Fluttershy softly said. As if he knew what Fluttershy was saying, Angel simply petted her hair and gently brushed it. Angel had gotten a lot kinder since Fluttershy had learned how to fly. He had always been there for her, through thick and thin. "Goodnight, Angel..." Fluttershy said and closed her eyes. The next day, she was awoken by a cheery pink pony who was bouncing around her room. "Come on, come on! It's time! It's time!" Pinkie Pie cheered. Fluttershy blinked sleep from her eyes and saw Pinkie Pie dancing around her room, firing blasts of confetti from her party cannon. "It's time for my lessons and you're my trainer today, right?" Fluttershy asked. "You got it! I'm gonna make sure you don't drown and swim super duper fast! Or maybe Rainbow Dash will. I'll just be there to keep you afloat." Pinkie Pie gave a happy eager bounce and Fluttershy carefully got out of bed. Pinkie Pie bounded around as Fluttershy walked to the pool. When the two had gotten ready, Fluttershy entered the pool area with Pinkie Pie looking eager to teach. "Teacher Pinkie Pie Prankster Extradinaire at your service, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie smiled and pulled out some rings. "What are those rings for?" Fluttershy asked. "It's a small little task for you, silly. All you have to do is collect the rings using the breast stroke you learned from Twilight. It's easy peasy!" Pinkie Pie explained. Fluttershy nervously looked at the water, but remembered Twilight's words of confidence and walked into the water. "Ready? Steady? GO!" Pinkie Pie shouted and Fluttershy swam towards the rings using the breaststroke, putting each ring around her front hooves. When each hoof had carried enough rings, she swam back to shore with the rings in tow. "Just as I told you! Was that easy peasy or what?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Yes... it was." Fluttershy admitted. "Well, that's all I'm instructed to teach you. Tomorrow you'll look two super cool techniques from Rainbow Dash. And I'll be watching and cheering you on." Pinkie Pie told her. "Thank you, Pinkie." Fluttershy said and headed back to the change room.