Being a creature from an extremely cold climate could have its disadvantages, and unfortunately for Yona one of them was extreme discomfort in the heat. At first the warmer temperatures of the pony's world hadn't been so bad, and when it came with such rare sights for a yak as flowers and grass, Yona didn't mind.
But as Spring gave way to Summer and the days grew longer, Yona found herself increasingly staying either indoors or in what precious shade she could find. But by far the worst thing that came with the Summer heat for Yona, was her inability to join her friends whenever they were in the water. It didn't matter if they were at an indoor pool, a creek, a river, or even just a small pond, Yona wouldn't set even one hoof into the water. By now her not so well kept secret was out, she was not a swimmer.
And for Silverstream that was a problem that needed to be rectified. How could anyone not know how to swim? Who in their right mind could possibly want to go through life without ever being able to enjoy a relax swim through a body of water on a hot Summer's day?
Well it didn't matter, because the seapony/hippogriff (depending on what she felt like at any given time of day) was going to give her friend and fellow student a crash course in swimming whether she liked it or not. And as anyone will tell you, when Silverstream got an idea in her head there was no stopping her from carrying it out.
So it was that late that night, when all others had gone to sleep, Silverstream stayed up to write a letter to her brother Terramar on Mount Aris.
His replay came sooner than Silverstream expected. It read as follows:
Dear Silverstream,
Ever since Princess Twilight showed up a few months back, I've been dying for a chance to see that school of hers. This sounds like it'll be the perfect opportunity.
I'll also finally get the chance to meet those friends you keep talking about. Or one of them at least.
I hope you have an actual plan in place for how we're gonna teach though, I've never taught another creature how to swim before.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Terramar
With phase one of her plan already in motion, Silverstream moved quickly to initiate phase two. Recalling that frightening experience on the field trip a few weeks ago, she pulled Ocellus aside after Professor Pinkie Pie's class for a one on one talk with her.
"You know how you turned into a seapony to help me save Yona's life?" Silverstream reminded the changeling.
"That was quite the frightening experience, but it's still fresh in my memory," Ocellus confirmed with a nod. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
Silverstream flashed a bright smile. "Well, you're gonna do it again! And the two of us are gonna teach Yona how to swim, with a little help of course."
"Help, from who?" Ocellus wondered aloud. "Are you really sure this is such a good idea, Silverstream? Shouldn't someone more qualified be the teacher?"
"There's no creatures more qualified than seaponies!" Silverstream boasted, making it clear she would hear of no dissent to her bold idea! "Besides, don't tell me you haven't longed to turn into a seapony again."
"Maybe for the fun of it, but I don't know about teaching," Ocellus nervously commented. "I'm more book smart than field smart."
But Silverstream only shook her head. "Come on, between the two of us we're more than qualified! And wouldn't it be nice to do something for Yona as her friends?"
"Well, yeah... but-" Ocellus trailed off.
The hippogriff/seapony shook her head, cutting her friend off. "But nothing, Ocellus. I'm sure we can pull this off easily. And when we're done, Yona's gonna be thanking us and hugging us, and everyone else is gonna be super jealous!"
Reluctantly, it appeared Ocellus' mind was made up for her. And just like that, phase two of Silverstream's plan was already in motion. Now there was just one more matter to take care of, and then Operation Swimming Yak would be a go. "I only hope she'll be available on such short notice." Silverstream thought to herself.
Yona suspected nothing when she received a hastily written (and quite sloppy) note from Silverstream the next day telling her to come down to the small pond near Professor Fluttershy's cottage. Maybe they were just going to meet up there, or maybe go fishing? Yona had heard of ice fishing before, but pony fishing was something she'd been itching to try.
However, when the young yak reached her destination, her mood was anything but cheerful. The hot Summer sun was relentless, and with her yak fur specifically designed to trap and hold heat she was already sweating and panting up a storm. Whatever activity her friend had planned for her, Yona was not sure she'd want any part of it. Not until things cooled down considerably at least. "Yaks not built for heat. How do ponies survive in such heat?" She thought to herself, plopping down in the comforting shade of a tall tree.
"Ah, there you are. You must be Yona." An unfamiliar but gentle voice suddenly called out, catching the unsuspecting yak's attention.
"Huh? Who there? Who call out for Yak?" Yona asked, as her braided pig tails swayed, momentarily obscuring her vision.
"Don't be afraid, it's only me. I'm Silverstream's brother," The voice called again, revealing itself to be what looked like a seapony with a strange greenish-white coat. The creature had moderate cyan eyes, as well as a moderate cyan mane (though it was also pale turquoise). "Name's Terramar, the official nephew of Queen Novo."
"Hippogriff has seapony for brother?" Yona remarked, her eyes reflecting confusion.
Terramar laughed as he swam up to Yona's position, and in a bright glow he sprouted wings and his fins became talons. "Everyone always gets confused at first. But I'm a little of both, and so's Silverstream. In fact, since our dad lives on Mount Aris, and our mom lives in Seaquesteria, we do a lot of back and forth between the two," He clutched what appeared to be a fragment of some sort as he landed in front of Yona and explained. "All of us carry a piece of the Pearl of Transformation, so we can change shape at will. Seems like my sister hasn't shown off her seapony side to you very often."
"Hey, Terramar, over here!" Silverstream energetically called out, as she and Ocellus (who had transformed into a seapony) came swimming up to the bank nearby. To Yona, she then eagerly declared. "Yona, this is my big brother, Terramar. But you've already met him it seems."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yona. I can see why my sister speaks so highly of you," Terramar complimented. "Makes me wish I was just here for a formal visit."
Yona found herself trembling slightly at those words, especially as she stared at the surface of the water that was only a few inches from her hooves. "Yak not like water, remember? Yak can't swim."
"Well, that's what Silverstream here is hoping to rectify," Ocellus explained, as she reverted back to her changeling form and came up on the bank to reassure her already clearly frightened friend. "I tried to talk her out of it, but it seems like there's no convincing her otherwise once she gets an idea in her head."
"Trust me, once you've learned how to swim you'll wonder how you ever managed to live without it!" Silverstream eagerly boasted. "It's the best thing that could ever happen to you!"
Yona still refused to move even an inch towards the pond. So who cared if the water wasn't that deep? For the yak, any water at all was too deep for her (unless it was in a glass). "Why other creatures think yak need to know how to swim? Swimming is stupid."
Terramar laughed ever so slightly. "Oh I wouldn't say that. Swimming is more important than you may realize, even if you've spent all your life in a place where it never gets above freezing," Then he bluntly remarked. "You never know when you may need to stay afloat. Knowing how to keep your head above water may be the most important thing you could ever learn in life."
"How so? Yaks not swim." Yona grumbled.
"Well, you said you like to skate and go ice fishing, right?" Ocellus asked Yona, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, let's say you're out on the ice and it breaks. If you fall through, you're gonna need to be able to get back onto dry ground fast. If you don't drown, you'll succumb to hypothermia."
Yona paused, she hadn't considered that possibility. She could remember hearing stories in her village about yaks that had fallen through ice and not made it out. Thankfully she'd never seen any such thing in real life, but she could well remember how those stories frightened her and terrified her. They seemed to have the same effect on the yaks telling the story if their faces were ever any indication.
"And if you're worried anything's gonna happen to you, you shouldn't," Silverstream proudly declared. "Professor Fluttershy says she's helped teach some of her animal friends how to swim. She's gonna be watching us."
"Where? Yak not see professor." The yak squinted her eyes, trying to look for the pegasus with a yellow coat.
Fluttershy waved a hoof, appearing in the distance. "I'm right here, Yona. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on you all. After all, whenever you're swimming it's always important to have someone around to watch you. Someone you can trust to get help if anything goes wrong."
"You gonna join us, professor? The water's nice and cold." Ocellus offered, splashing the surface of the pond with one of her legs.
Fluttershy shook her head. "I'd love to, but I just ate. You always want to wait at least an hour after eating before you go swimming. You should all remember that."
"Why wait after eating?" Yona pondered.
Terramar was quick to explain. "You'll get a cramp. I can't tell you how many times I've seen other creatures make that mistake. It never ends well."
"Enough chit chat!" Silverstream boldly declared. "Come on, you guys, Yona's not gonna learn about swimming if we just stand here and talk about it!" She and Terramar proceeded to transform into seaponies, and Ocellus did the same, all three of them splashing back into the pond together.
"Go on, Yona," Fluttershy encouraged the still reluctant yak. "I know the water must look scary to you, but you're never going to overcome your fear if you don't face it head on. Remember, I'm right here if you need me. I won't let anything bad happen to you on my watch, I promise."
Despite that reassurance, the yak was still incredibly reluctant to go anyway near the water. But all the same, as much as she hated to admit it, that water looked so inviting on such a hot day. Maybe just a quick dip of her hooves wouldn't hurt?
Hesitantly, Yona made her way down to the pond's banks. She nervously dipped her front left hoof into the very edge of the water. It took every bit of will power she had not to turn and run. The water was cold, not as cold as it was in the Frozen North, but still cold. But on a hot day like this, it was the kind of cold that felt tempting and refreshing.
Yona moved to submerge the rest of her hooves one by one despite her better judgement telling her not to do so. She tried to whistle like Ocellus had taught her to do when she got scared. It didn't really help.
The moment all four of Yona's hooves were in the water, she started to regret her decision. What had she been thinking?! "Help! Yak drowning! Someone save yak!" She cried out, flailing her hooves about in desperation.
"Yona, relax, you're fine," Ocellus reassured the frightened yak, swimming over to her. "Look, your hooves are touching the bottom. It's not that deep."
Yona looked down and saw that Ocellus was right, the water barely came up to her legs. The yak blushed faintly in embarrassment. Fortunately her fur obscured it. "Oh." Was all she could bring herself to say.
Silverstream and Terramar simply clapped their fins together. "Congratulations, Yona, you've taken your first steps towards becoming an awesome simmer!" Silverstream encouraged.
"What creatures want yak to do now?" Yona nervously asked as she slowly got used to the feel of her hooves beneath the pond's waters.
"Just swim towards us. It's not that far." Terramar encouraged.
The submerged yak slowly did so, though her movements were more akin to walking on the bottom of the river than actually trying to swim. The surface did start to get just a little bit deeper as she neared the two seaponies, but Yona tried not to worry about that. Her friends wouldn't expect her to cross somewhere that was out of her depth, right?
Terramar and Silverstream held out their fins, grabbing Yona just as the yak felt her hooves no longer able to touch the bottom of the river. Yona felt much safer in their grasp.
Silverstream soon looked across to Terramar, however, and winked at him. He nodded back. "Ready, Yona?" Silverstream asked her friend. "We're gonna take you out a little further so you learn how to really swim."
"What?!" Yona exclaimed. But before she could say anything else, she felt herself be pulled along by the seapony siblings. Ocellus was not far behind.
It wasn't long before Yona found herself out a considerable distance from the shore. Her hooves had long since stopped touching the bottom, which made the already tense yak all the more anxious. Whistling helped very little.
"It's okay, Yona, we've got you," Terramar reassured her. "Just kick your legs."
"Go on, Yona, try it out!" Silverstream happily declared. "The best I can do is flip my fins."
"It's great fun, Yona. You'll love it," Ocellus added. "And I'll be right here."
Yona reluctantly obeyed, only because she felt comfortable in the safety of her friends (it felt weird to consider Terramar that when they'd just met). She expected to find the whole thing uncomfortable and unpleasant, but she actually found that she kind of liked it. Was this what she'd been missing out on by not being able to swim?
Unfortunately, the young yak had little time to think about this. Because just as she was starting to get used to the feeling of kicking her hooves, Silverstream informed her. "We're going to have you swim to us now, Yona. You can totally do it! Just kick those legs!"
"But, yak still can't swim yet!" Yona protested.
Terramar tried to reassure his frightened new friend. "This is how you learn. Remember, just focus on keeping your head above the water. What you were doing earlier is called treading water, it's helpful when you just need to stay afloat because you don't have to use up a lot of energy. Just tread your way across at whatever pace you feel comfortable."
"Ready?" Ocellus asked her friend. "It's okay if you're not, we can spend more time on the treading water part. Even I didn't become a swimmer overnight."
However, Ocellus' words touched off something deep inside Yona, her yak pride. Yaks never backed down from a challenge, no matter what it might be. Yaks never showed weakness if they could help it. "Learning how to tread water was easy enough. Actually swimming will even easier!" Yona thought, and she firmly insisted. "Yak is ready. Yak shall swim." She shoved off from Ocellus, making her way towards Silverstream and Terramar at once.
That was a mistake. Yona had barely gone three inches before she found herself struggling to move her hooves. She began to flail about in desperation! "Yak was wrong! Yak not ready! Help!" She frantically splashed about again! And this time, it ended up causing her head to briefly dip below the surface!
Fortunately, Fluttershy, along with Ocellus, Silverstream, and Terramar, all quickly sprang into action and brought Yona back up. She had luckily not inhaled much water. "Are you alright, Yona?" Fluttershy asked the water logged yak. When Yona nodded, the pegasus began to stroke her fur and reassured the frightened yak. "It's okay. Everyone learns at their own pace. Learning how to swim is important, but you shouldn't try to jump into the deep end without mastering the basics."
"You did okay at first, Yona," Terramar encouraged. "But then you started to panic. If you think you're not going to make it, your body's going to react and is going to give up trying. If you let yourself believe you can make it, you will."
"If it helps, don't think about how you're swimming, think about something else. Something you like to do," Silverstream encouraged. "Like how when I first came on land, I tried to imagine I was walking about underwater. And that helped me get used to my hippogriff form."
"But it all depends on if you think you're ready," Fluttershy chimed in. "It's important to not try to rush headlong into something just because you feel you have to. Take it from someone who struggled with her own problems, there's nothing wrong with taking your time. As long as you make progress every time you try, that's all that matters. And if you keep trying, eventually you'll be able to do what you previously couldn't. It's all up to you, learn at the pace you think is best."
"So, what do you think, Yona? Shall we call it a day?" Ocellus asked her friend. "You've already made some progress. I'm sure I can convince Silverstream and Terramar to stop."
But to the surprise of everyone, Yona firmly insisted. "Yak wants to try again, one last time. Yak can do it!"
"Well.... if you're sure. Let's see if you can pull it off," Terramar encouraged. "Silverstream and I will be in the same place as before."
"Come on, Yona, I KNOW you can do it!" Silverstream cheered.
Yona narrowed her eyes, taking several deep breaths. This was it, do or die, sink or swim! All her friends seemed to think she could do it, and they all made it look so easy. Why should she be any different? That thought was what propelled the yak forward, even as a part of her mind kept screaming that she was out of her depth.
Everyone else in the water was amazed, Yona seemed to be moving through the water with relative ease. She wasn't setting any speed records, but she seemed to have no trouble using her hooves to propel her.
All of a sudden, Yona felt her fur brush up against fin. Realization hit her. "Yak did it? Yak did it! Yak can swim!" She cheered, splashing all about.
"Amazing job, Yona!" Fluttershy encouraged, clapping her hooves.
"I knew you could do it if you just put your mind to it!" Ocellus chimed in.
"Isn't swimming just the best thing ever?!" Silverstream said to Yona.
"It sure is! Yak LOVES swimming!" Yona eagerly declared, splashing all about.
Meanwhile, Terramar was sniffing the air. "Uh, Yona, does yak fur smell when it gets wet?"
Yona blushed as the young yak became aware of the scent surrounding her. "Yak fur does," She admitted. "But maybe yak fur dries fast too?"