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"You know, you're so pale I can't even tell how scared you are," Knots gave a little laugh, in hopes to lighten the mood. "C'mon, don't you know the one rule about fear?"

Knots knew what fear was, especially when reading about adventures on the high seas. She knew people drowned at sea, that some were never seen or heard from again, and yet that didn't stop her ambition to attempt to conquer it on her own.

((And now, story time with Knots the phony. XDD ))

"Fear isn't real," Knots said, her face turning as serious as Cirrus'. She blinked at him thoughtfully. "Fear is created by you. Fear makes you lose your clear thinking, see. When you're too scared, you won't be able to use that time to figure out what to do next. Do you like stories? I got a good one."

"There was a little foal who was being taught by his master in the art of fighting, see," Knots tugged at the oars in circles as they went along. "One day his master gives him a test. There's a large pool of clear liquid, when the colt looked down he could see the bones of dead animals at the bottom. His master says 'This is a pool of acid, if you fall into it your flesh will be eaten away and only your bones will sink to the bottom. Cross this beam to get to the other side of the pool and you will have passed your final test.'"

Knots looked down into the water and stopped rowing to admire a little school of minnows happening by just beneath the surface.

"So the colt is terrified, his whole body is shaking," Knots said, putting one hoof over the water's surface. "If she falls," she splashed her hoof down. "Bam! He'd get hit with the acid and it'd be all over for him. But he must prove himself worth to his master, so he starts to cross. He's so riddled with fear that he's inching across the board so slowly and he's shaking so hard he risks making himself fall in all the quicker."

Knots leaned back into the canoe and let them float along at the water's pace. She pulled out her pack full of sandwiches and two cans of lemonade.

"He had practiced walking on planks, beams, poles... tall things of all sorts and the colt had done them with ease since he'd practiced on them all his life," she went on. "When he did those, he did them without fear. There wasn't anything to be scared of save for landing on soft grass or sand below. So he had practiced walking over beams a hundred times before, but never with terrible acid beneath him. So he was so terrified that the beam began to shake, he was beginning to lose footing, and then... SPLASH!"

Knots threw her forelegs up in the air, "He flailed and kicked and screamed for his master to help him, but his master didn't do a thing to help but laugh at him. The colt was too busy being frightened to realize that not only was he not being eaten alive, but that it was just clean, cool water splashing over him. After a while he realized that it was his own fear that had pushed him down. His master had made him cross a pool of clear water and the bones had been thrown in to fool him."

Knots took a mouthful of sandwich, swallowed and then said,"Moral of the story: Don't fear something, respect it and be wary of it."

(( TL;DR: Knots says "Fear is in your mind. Don't have fear, have respect." ))

"What kinda life is that, though?" Knots said, unaware of the reality Cirrus' situation. "To spend the rest of your days scared? No one needs to be scared all the time, Cirrus. What good is that going to do to you or anyone else?"

Knots sipped on her lemonade and watched the same family work together to right the boat and one clambered back on with a bucket to dump out the water that remained on the inside.

"No, fear isn't what you need to respect," Knots realized. "What you respect is the fact that something may come along that means to do you harm, but what you do with your time left should not be being afraid. When the captain goes down with a ship, you know what she does? She uses that time to make sure everyone has left the boat in safety, she finishes her last log entry, and she bids farewell to her family."

Knots moved over and sat down beside Cirrus, offering him some lemonade. "I'd say thinking fondly of family before you shove off is a better use of time than just sitting there in a panic. I'm not afraid of the water, I'll be brave for you."

"Friends like you help give me strength," Knots said with a smile. "I can't do it without you."

And it was true. Without the help of her new found friends (and even her family), she would have never learned what it was like to help, comfort, and be there for other people.

From then on, she learned that it wasn't so bad to admit to things rather than keeping them bottled up where no one can offer help. If Cirrus hadn't have told her about his troubles, she would have never known he would like a little help and comfort.