With the sun beating down on it, the surface of the Ponyville lake was practically glistening right now, creating a beautiful and calm image for all to see. That is, it was calm, until that surface broke with the sudden leaping up of a certain pink Seapony. Silverstream giggled loudly as she rose high above the water, doing a quick backflip, before once more tumbling down into that cool blue below. And she wasn't alone here today, as a second Seapony emerged not long after her, doing a similar move and joining her back in the water within moments. Though water was not her natural habitat, with this imitated form, Ocellus proved to be an adept swimmer, much like Silverstream herself. The two laughed together, racing against one another around the edge of the lake for a time, before finally stopping, coming to the edge of the place and resting their fins against it. Panting briefly, Silverstream smiled widely as she looked on to the one who stood beside the lake nearby.

"Come on in, Yona! The water's great!"

Sure enough, their Yak friend was indeed close by. However, rather than the confident figure she usually was, Yona was instead looking to the water with nervousness and uncertainty. What's more, she was clearly dressed to go in there, having foregone her usual garb, like her shawl, and was instead wearing a pair of floaties around her forelegs. Taking a step forward, the young Yak took a gulp, before slowly raising a single hoof and dipping it in the water before her. Immediately, she pulled it out, shaking her head rapidly.

"Yona no think this good idea. Yona no good with water."

Ocellus tilted her head.

"But you're the one who asked us to help you."

Yona nodded.

"That true. But Yona still no like this."

Though sympathising, Silverstream's tone was nevertheless just as bubbly as it usually was as she responded to that.

"You're going to have to learn to do this sooner or later, Yona. And don't you worry. Ocellus and I are here to help!"

Ocellus nodded in confirmation of that, which did a little to ease Yona's fear, though not by much. Again, the Yak took a step forward, and again, she was struck by nerves.

"Pony lands...have so much...water."

Ocellus poked the end of her own chin with her fin, then smiled to her friend.

"Well...think of it this way. Yaks are surrounded by water all the time back in Yakyakistan, right?"

Yona frowned to that.

"Yak water all frozen! We surrounded by snow and ice! Not...this!"

She again poked the water with her hoof, never actually putting it in all the way. Ocellus, rather than be deterred by her friend's words, simply smiled once more.

"Just think of it like walking through a whole bunch of snow. Other creatures have difficulty doing it, but Yaks find it easy. This is sort of like that."

Yona still seemed uncertain, and here, Silverstream gasped, as if having just thought of something.

"Oh! I've got it!"

Her friends both looked to her, just in time to see her place her fin upon the magical pearl necklace she always wore.

"We Hippogriffs have the power to change not just ourselves into Seaponies, but other creatures too!"

She then gestured to Yona.

"Maybe, if I use that power on you, Yona, it'll make swimming easier?"

Yona was, understandably, not quite sure of the idea of being transformed into some other creature. But, as she pondered this offer, Ocellus sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, Silverstream."

The pink Seapony looked to her with confusion.

"What? Why?"

Ocellus took a moment to get her thoughts in order, then began to explain herself.

"True, Yona may be better at swimming if she takes on an aquatic form, but that doesn't change the fact that she still needs to learn how to swim as a Yak. They're two different creatures and two different styles of swimming, and helping her swim as one won't necessarily translate to teaching her how to swim as the other."

Silverstream opened her mouth to reply, only to have her friend's words truly sink in for her, creating a moment of brief dejection.

"Oh...right...silly me."

But, as with many down-feelings, it lasted very little time with her, and within moments she was back to her usual perky self.

"Well, we can still help her."

Ocellus nodded.

"We can. But..."

Slowly, she turned again to face Yona.

"...we can't force you in here, Yona. That first step? You have to take that yourself."

Yona nodded, appreciating her Changeling colleague's words. As before, she stared at the water, at her own reflection, which rippled every time the wind blew a gentle breeze. Her friends were here, and they wouldn't let anything happen to her. That was what she kept trying to tell herself, over and over, hoping it might do the trick. And soon after, it seemed as though that was indeed the case, as Ocellus and Silverstream watched their larger friend take that very first step. There was hesitation at first, but then, at the end of it, Yona finally put her hoof into the water in earnest. It was a step into the shallow end, but it was a step all the same, leading to smiles on the faces of the others.

"There you go!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"One step at a time, Yona," Ocellus added.

Yona nodded back to that, and then started to take another step into the water. Her movements were slow, nervous and hesitant, as they all knew they would be. But even so, the young Yak was truly working her way in. The feel of water rising up and over her fur seemed strange to her. Something she didn't like in the slightest. However, she powered through, though her expression made it clear that this was all still an unwelcome experience for her. But, then again, given what happened the last time she was deep in water, her friends could hardly blame her for that. After a while, the water was up high enough to have reached her chin, and it was here that she stopped, looking to Ocellus.

"What Yona do now?"

Smiling, the Changeling female gave a nod to her, swimming gently over to her and taking hold of Yona's right forehoof. Silverstream mirrored her actions, moving over to the other side of Yona and holding onto her left. After pondering what to do, Ocellus began to calmly explain.

"Okay now...Silverstream and I are going to hold you here, and we want you to use your back legs like paddles."

Yona practically froze at that, but again, Ocellus spoke in her reassuring tone.

"It's okay, we're here. We won't let you go under. No matter what you do here today, we're going to help you."

Her expression softened.

"We're your friends, Yona...trust us."

Yona did trust them, and she let them know with a single nod. Then, after taking one or two calming breaths, Yona did as instructed, lifting up one of her hind legs, and then the other. Immediately, it felt as though she was going to go under the water, and panic nearly set it. But, just as they'd promised, Ocellus and Silverstream held her forelegs firmly, keeping her up and giving her support. Yona's breathing was rapid, and the fear of going under was all over her face. But as she did this, it was Silverstream's turn to speak to her reassuringly.

"It's okay! We've got you! Now...paddle!"

Yona, who had shut her eyes tightly during this, kept on breathing heavily, but she had put her trust in her friends, and so she did indeed start to use her back legs as she'd bee asked to. She moved them slowly at first, and it felt strange. She'd never once used her hind legs this way. But, after trying a few times, she started to get into a slow but steady rhythm. Ocellus and Silverstream smiled to this, watching as she became faster and faster with her movements back there. Yona herself, though clearly still new about all this and feeling a great deal of uncertainty about it, slowly found herself getting more and more into it. Her friends still supported her at the front, and her back legs were paddling just fast enough so that her back end was starting to rise up through the water.

"Is...is Yona doing it?" she asked.

Giggling, Silverstream nodded.

"Yes! You're doing it!"

With trepidation, Yona cracked one eye open, seeing her two friends smiling warmly to her. She could feel her body floating, not only through the floaties or her friends holding her, but through her own efforts. It was an unfamiliar and strange feeling, but also one that she, rather surprisingly, found herself starting to enjoy. Though still clearly nervous about this situation, she actually started to break out into a smile. Her movements in her hind legs were becoming more used to the pattern she'd fallen into, moving faster and with greater thrust, and after a while, though her breathing remained heavy, Yona started to feel as though she was actually doing something great here.

"Y...Yona doing it? Yona doing it! Yona swimming!"

The others widened their smiles at her, and Ocellus gave a nod.

"Yes, Yona! You're doing it!"

"How does it feel?" Silverstream asked.

Yona laughed heartily.

"It...it feel good! Swimming good!"

Silverstream giggled to that.

"I know, right?!"

Ocellus too laughed, but then, after casting a quick look over to Yona's back legs, still paddling away, she calmed down somewhat, letting out a deep sigh before speaking up to her friend again.

"Okay now, Yona...we're going to take you a bit further along now, into slightly deeper water. If you like, we can stop right here for today. But if you do want to go on, I promise you, we'll be right there all the way."

Yona, just for a moment, showed hesitation. But that moment was short-lived, and she looked out onto the water of the rest of the lake with a smile, showing confidence and defiance towards it.

"No! Yona go on! Yona no scared of silly water! Yona swim now! Yona no afraid of water!"

Silverstream cheered loudly.

"Yeah! That's the spirit!"

Again, Ocellus joined in on the laugh, though she was sure to keep her exuberance a bit more controlled than her friends.

"Alright then, onwards it is. Silverstream, keep a steady hold on her. And Yona? Be sure to keep up the pace back there with your back legs."

But Yona looked completely unconcerned now, continuing to smile at her companion.

"Thank you, Ocellus. And thank you too, Silverstream. Yona no worried. Yona has friends with her."

The Changeling and Seapony exchanged smiles of their own, with Ocellus looked back to Yona soon afterwards.

"Yes you do, Yona...yes you do."

Next Chapter: A Bad Lesson? Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 13 Minutes