"Are you sure you want to do this, Derpy? This doesn't seem like the best way to learn how to swim..." Roseheart, a light pink unicorn filly, watched Derpy cheerfully stretch her gray legs by the side of the lake.

"Well, my cutie mark is a bunch of bubbles, so maybe that means I'm destined to be a great swimmer!" Derpy shook her untidy blonde mane out of her eyes and grinned at her friend.

"Maybe," said Roseheart, still apprehensive about Derpy's plan.

Oblivious to Roseheart's skepticism, Derpy turned toward the water and tested the temperature with a hoof. Shivering slightly, she stepped further into the lake. "Alright, wish me luck!"

Roseheart was tempted to look away, but felt she should probably keep watching to make sure Derpy was safe. If it wasn't for Roseheart, Derpy would've had even more injuries in her young life than she'd already experienced. It pays to have a level-headed friend around when you're as adventurous and clumsy as Derpy.

Derpy continued walking until the water was nearly up to her chin. The water wasn't terribly deep by the standards of a normal pony, but it was deep enough for a filly to start feeling nervous. Well, most fillies. Derpy, on the other hoof, never seemed to be scared of anything.

Excitedly, Derpy looked back at Roseheart, who was still watching from the shore several feet away. Seeing her friend's encouraging smile (and not seeing the concern hiding underneath it), Derpy took a deep breath and propelled herself forward with a leap. Once her hooves left the bottom of the lake, they started moving as if she was trying to run. For a moment, that worked. Derpy opened her mouth to shout something to Roseheart, but water rushed in before any sound came out.

Derpy thrashed her legs and beat her wings furiously in an attempt to get her head back above the surface. She popped up briefly, coughed, and breathed in as much air as she could before her nose went back under the water. Feeling the tremendous terror that generally accompanies drowning, she struggled to get back to the surface. Panic overwhelmed her mind and caused her to use her precious moments above the water to scream rather than to get more air. She was quickly running out of stamina and couldn't manage to kick her way back to the surface this time.

[hr]

The next thing Derpy saw was the very worried face of Roseheart against the background of the sky. She rolled onto her side and coughed violently, spewing water on the ground. Once the coughing had stopped, she turned back to face Roseheart, whose expression had become one of relief.

"Thank Celestia you're alive!" cried Roseheart. "It took me a few seconds to work up enough magic to lift you out of the water and by the time I got you over here, you weren't breathing anymore!"

"I-" Derpy started to respond, but stopped suddenly and winced. All the coughs had made her throat feel a little hoarse. "Mmph. Thank you."

"Talking probably doesn't feel very good, does it? That's alright, you should go home and rest now anyway. And, uh, maybe ask one of your parents to teach you how to swim instead of trying that again, okay?" Roseheart smiled and helped Derpy to her feet.

Derpy nodded, realizing how exhausted she felt. "Today has been awful," she groaned quietly.

"Well, some good came out of it," said Roseheart. She turned slightly, revealing her brand new stethoscope cutie mark.

Derpy's mood brightened considerably. "I guess not everything went wrong!"