Fluttershy's Fear of Water

Chapters

The Phobia
Gonna Swim Now
The Exam

The Phobia

Fluttershy was tending to her animals. She wasn't a very social pony as aside from her six friends and Spike, her animals were the only friends she needed.

"Sleep tight, little weasels. Tomorrow is a big day." Fluttershy whispered and the ferrets closed their eyes.

Fluttershy herself went back into her cottage where she headed up to her bedroom. Angel usually slept with her on the bed so Fluttershy could soothe him if he had nightmares. Unfortunately, she wasn't prepared to have the same reoccurring dream she had a few nights before.

As Fluttershy shut her eyes, she woke up in an ocean. She shivered as the waves caressed her body. The water was ice cold, and she paddled her way to shore.

...Except shore wasn't there. Shore wasn't for miles. Fluttershy was alone in the middle of the ocean.

"I'm okay... this is only a dream, and besides a dolphin will come and save me." Fluttershy reassured herself.

But no dolphin came. No ponies came. Fluttershy called out, praying to Celestia to aid her.

Neither Luna not Celestia came. She was all alone in the water.

Fluttershy felt something tickle her feet, and she longed to dive into the water to find out what it was. But she couldn't swim, and she didn't want to learn how.

Fluttershy tried opening her eyes, in a vain attempt to wake herself up, hoping to see herself in her cottage bed. But sadly, she wouldn't wake up.

Fluttershy then called the names of her friends hoping to the very end that one of them would find her and rescue her.

"Twilight!"

"Applejack!"

"Pinkie Pie!"

"Rarity!"

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Crimson!"

"Spike!"

She called the names again, this time much louder, in a pleading shout.

"Have they... forgotten about me?" Fluttershy whimpered.

Fluttershy dog paddled around trying to get a better viewing point in case she spot a ship or sea ponies that would rescue her. She waited longer still, but nothing came.

Tears dropped from her eyes as she stared into the horizon.

"I'm all alone... Nopony is coming to rescue me. Angel?" Fluttershy called.

She heard the sound of fast moving water and looked behind herself to see a massive wave headed straight for her.

Desperately, she paddled at the water trying to get away, but the wave was faster and swallowed her up. She struggled against the water as it pushed her underneath and into the depths.

Fluttershy opened her eyes, spat out seawater, and looked around. She was back in her cottage with her friends beside her.

"Fluttershy? Are you alright, sugarcube? We were worried sick!" Applejack's tone was concerned.

"When you didn't come to the park for a picnic, I was worried something happened. So I called the rest of us and we came as soon as we could. You look feverish... And is that seawater you spat out?" Crimson Azure had a worried, yet quizzical expression on his face. Beside him, Rainbow Dash had a strange look of fear in her eyes.

"I'm alright... I guess I drank some salt water before I went to bed and forgot to swallow." Fluttershy admitted.

"Ah would never accuse you of lyin' or anything, but that's not possible, Fluttershy." Applejack said. "Twi found no traces of sea water near you aside from what you spat out."

"I didn't find any sodium chloride or H20 besides a glass of a normal substance." Twilight Sparkle said.

"Sodia-what? Twilight, ya gotta stop speakin' in that there fancy language. I can't understand a darn word yer sayin'." Applejack said completely puzzled.

"It's not fancy. I'm just stating that we didn't find any salt or water near Fluttershy aside from what she spat out." Twilight Sparkle said simply.

"Either way, that's a dreadfully large amount of water you spat out all over your sheets. There's even a tacky green hue to this water, too." Rarity said.

"Uhh... Rarity? I think that's seaweed." Rainbow Dash said and snickered.

"Seaweed? Why in Equestria would you have that near your bed?" Rarity asked.

"I'm trying a new diet of seaweed and salt water. I know you all want to help, but let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go to the park and have our picnic." Fluttershy quickly made up an excuse.

"Fluttershy, this is serious! Most ponies don't drink salt water and eat seaweed. That's reserved for sea ponies." Twilight Sparkle said with a seriously worried expression on her face. "Come on, tell us what's really going on."

"Well... only if you promise not to laugh." Fluttershy said meekly.

Fluttershy cleared her throat of salt water and began to speak.

"I'm afraid of water. At least being in it. I have this reoccurring dream that I'm drowning and nopony comes to save me. Oh Twilight! What should I do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, you've come to the right ponies. We're here to help you. We'll get rid of your aquaphobia." Twilight Sparkle said with a determined expression.

"Aqua-what? Twi, could ya do us a favor and stop speakin' in fancy?" Applejack complained.

"We're going to teach her how to swim." Twilight Sparkle explained.

"I don't know... what if it doesn't work?" Rainbow Dash fretted. It was a rarity to see Rainbow Dash fretting over anypony.

"Don't worry. We'll all take turns. Each of us will teach her one move at a time." Twilight Sparkle said confidently. "Well Fluttershy, we'll see you at the swimming pool."

Fluttershy was about to object, but the six other ponies had already left her cottage.

"Well Angel, I don't know what I'm going to do." Fluttershy lamented. "They're going to teach me how to swim and I don't think I have the confidence to learn."

Angel gently petted her hair and her animal friends surrounded her.

"You're right! If I learn how to swim, I'll stop having that dream. I can do it! I will do it!" Fluttershy beamed and the animals all made cute little squeaks as Fluttershy got herself ready, placing her swimsuit in a saddlebag along with a towel and a pair of water wings.

She opened her door and confidently walked towards the pool.

Today, she was going to swim!

Author's Note

This is my first fic, so go easy on me!
I posted this on deviantart first and people seemed to like it, so I'm putting it here.

Gonna Swim Now

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.

The Exam

The next day, Fluttershy arrived at the pool, ready for her next lesson, and saw Rainbow Dash wearing shades, a red lifeguard-like swimsuit and her red whistle around her neck. She was laying down next to the pool reading a Daring Do book in a lawnchair.

"Hello Rainbow Dash... Are we going to get started?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash looked up from her book and noticed Fluttershy didn't have her water wings on.

"You forgot to put on your floats. Lemme give you a hoof." Rainbow Dash offered, putting her book down.

Rainbow Dash blew up Fluttershy's water wings and then stood ready to begin their training, adjusting her shades a bit.

"Today we're going to learn the back crawl and butterfly kick which is very similar to what you learned from Twilight. All you have to is get on your back first and I'll guide you through it." Rainbow Dash instructed.

Fluttershy obeyed and Rainbow Dash adjusted her position so that she would be able to swim properly with her back hooves. Rainbow Dash laid down beside her, stretching her wings out.

"We're also going to be learning how to use your wings to glide more gracefully through the water." Rainbow Dash explained.

This time, Fluttershy noticed Rainbow Dash was not alone. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom had joined the lesson, all wearing cute pairs of water wings matching their colors: Yellow and red for Apple Bloom, Orange and Purple for Scootaloo, and Pink and White for Sweetie Belle.

I was sitting down next to the pool. I was also wearing a matching red swimsuit, which felt appropriate since I was dating Rainbow Dash.

He jumped into the water and paddled next to Fluttershy and helped Rainbow Dash adjust her wings. Pinkie Pie was relaxing on a pool float sipping some kind of tropical lemonade.

"I'll be here if you two need me. Don't fight!" Pinkie Pie teased. I chuckled at Pinkie Pie's remark, and winked at Rainbow Dash.

I wasn't a very strong swimmer, but I did know the basics and I was more than willing to help out my childhood friend and my fillyfriend.

After her position had been adjusted, Fluttershy looked eager to begin her lesson.

Rainbow Dash then backed away so Fluttershy could have enough room and got herself into the same position that Fluttershy was in. She stretched her wings out and waited for me to help Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom into their swimming positions.

"So! Today we're going to be practicing the back crawl and butterfly kick as I've said before. First, I'll demonstrate this maneuver." Rainbow Dash said.

Rainbow Dash spread her back hooves and used her front hooves in a rotary motion kicking with her back hoofs, and keeping her head turned so she could see behind her. Once she had turned around the pool, she brought her back hooves up forty five degrees and kicked her legs in a scissor-like motion and used her wings to add momentum and velocity until she reached the other side of the pool.

"The first move I demonstrated was the back crawl. The second move I demonstrated was the butterfly kick which is sometimes referred to as the scissor kick. Just copy what I did and make sure your head is turned so you can see where you need to turn. I have set up an obstacle course for you all to attempt. You must use the back crawl, front crawl, and the butterfly kick to go through it. When I blow my whistle, you will begin the course. I will blow it again after everypony has completed the course to signal everypony to turn back and come through the course. If you crash into any obstacles or get stuck, Crimson Azure will aid you. Everypony got it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes!" Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle cheered, Fluttershy cheering a little less enthusiastically.

Rainbow Dash noticed this, swam over to Fluttershy and whispered encouraging words into her ears. I couldn't quite hear what she said, but I could tell by Fluttershy's face lightening up that it did some good.

Rainbow Dash swam to the side, raised her whistle to her lips in one hoof, and the other hoof up high.

"Three... Two... One... Begin!" After Rainbow Dash said that, the whistle blew and the swimming ponies sped off on their backs. Fluttershy was making sure she was going at a speed that she could easily turn past the obstacles and swam to the left under a rope.

Eventually, the four ponies had finished the obstacle course and Rainbow Dash blew her whistle again to get them to come back. Scootaloo seemed to have zero issue with swimming, and was beaming at the thought of impressing her new big sister.

After they had completed the course, Rainbow Dash had them do some exercises in the water. Fluttershy was struggling to keep up, but she could feel her confidence rising.

Rainbow Dash noticed Fluttershy take off her water wings.

"Huh? What're you doing, Flutters?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't need these anymore. I can swim fine without them now." Fluttershy said with confidence.

"Well... okay, but if you start sinking, I'm gonna rescue you." Rainbow Dash was unsure whether or not to let her friend swim without her swimming aid, especially since Fluttershy's fear might bubble up again.

"Now then! I'll pass the lesson on to Rarity." Rainbow Dash said and stepped aside to let Rarity jump into the pool.

"I didn't think Rarity liked getting wet." Scootaloo shrugged.

"You'd be surprised. She might be a better swimmer than Rainbow Dash." Sweetie Belle said, proud of her older sister.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle had really bonded since Rarity had saved Sweetie Belle from a crocodile in a swamp. She was now much less hesitant to get dirty and even enjoyed it.

"Now then, darlings. Today we will be learning how to rescue someone from a dangerous situation. After this, you will be ready to complete your final exam with Applejack using all the skills you have learned." Rarity explained. "Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Diamond Tiara, and Pipsqueak have volunteered to be rescued by you."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to object, but Rarity cut her off.

"All you need to do is rescue your designated pony from the dangerous whirlpools." Rarity explained. "To do that, you simply must untie their front and back hooves from the buoy before they are pulled underwater."

Whirlpools suddenly formed in the water and Fluttershy shivered, but told herself she had to do this for her friends.

The four ponies got ready. Apple Bloom was to rescue Diamond Tiara, Sweetie Belle was to rescue Pipsqueak, Scootaloo was to rescue Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy was to rescue Rainbow Dash.

"You're lucky." Scootaloo said. "You get to rescue Rainbow Dash. I wanted to show her how heroic I am."

Since Scootaloo had become Rainbow Dash's adopted sister, she tried her hardest to impress Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash constantly tried to explain to Scootaloo that it was unnecessary, but Scootaloo wouldn't listen. Now, Scootaloo could finally prove to her big sister how heroic she was.

There was a sad story that really linked the two though. It was because of this especially that I took interest in Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was an orphan and Scootaloo's parents were never around. Rainbow Dash dropped out of flight school because she had no real guidance and the coach even said she could have made the Wonderbolts. She still finished high school though.

But I knew deep down that Rainbow Dash's wish more than being in the Wonderbolts was to have an actual family. And I could give that to her. Then she wouldn't be so out to prove herself the best.

I stood on the pool deck watching the four swimming ponies regain their composure. Suddenly, I saw Spike creep up behind Rarity and he tickled her back hooves.

"Spike? I told you not to sneak up on me. Now behave and I'll give you a nice massage after this." Rarity scolded.

Spike's crush on Rarity was so obvious, everypony in Ponyville knew about it. But Pinkie Pie had forbidden us to discuss it with anypony with the threat of "Foreveeeeer!". Since I had come to Ponyville before Nightmare Night, I had no idea about what that meant, but I knew nopony should break a Pinky Promise. Rarity actually fond the crush quite cute and she gave Spike some gems whenever he got hungry.

Anyway, Rarity let out a small burst of magic from her horn and the three fillies and Fluttershy began swimming towards the whirlpools.

Apple Bloom got there first and dove underwater, using her teeth to undo the knots around Diamond Tiara's back hooves. Once she had undone them all, she moved on to the top knots around Diamond Tiara's front hooves.

Scootaloo had got there second and was already undoing Twilight Sparkle's front hooves from the buoy. Scootaloo glanced at Rainbow Dash who simply responded with a wink giving Scootaloo some kind of hidden power, allowing her to undo both knots on the top.

Sweetie Belle got there third and seemed quite happy to be undoing the knots for Pipsqueak. The two seemed to have a cute friendship between them which Rarity really supported, hence why he was chosen to be rescued.

Rainbow Dash gazed in Fluttershy's direction willing her to come. But Fluttershy was struggling herself and Rainbow Dash slowly began sinking.

"Fluttershy! Don't think about the water, just think about rescuing Rainbow Dash." I called.

Fluttershy finally managed to get there after everypony else had been untied. Fluttershy immediately focused on Rainbow Dash's back hooves to keep her afloat. After she had untied Rainbow Dash from the buoy, Rainbow Dash gave her a hug.

"You saved me..." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"I had to. I couldn't bear to lose a friend." Fluttershy said.

"Thanks, Flutters." Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy a hoof bump and the two got out of the water.

"That was really brave." Scootaloo admitted. "I wish I had been the one to save Rainbow Dash, but you did great!"

"You may not have done it the fastest, but you did do it the most efficiently." Apple Bloom added.

"Thank you!" Fluttershy smiled and hugged the three crusaders. Applejack came out from the small office which had a panel to control the whirlpools and smiled.

"Ah'll be danged, girl. You did very well. So well that ah don't even want you to take the test. You have successfully overcome your fear of water." Applejack congratulated.

"It was only because of all of you that I did it. Thank you for teaching me." Fluttershy burst into tears and we all shared a group hug.

The End