The Rise of Passion

The lights flashed twice, then dimmed. The display was about to begin, and the students, minus Yona, rushed to their seats. Yona was in the back, helping Pinkie into her suit.

"You have to suck in that gut, Pinkie," scolded Rarity. "What in Equestria were you thinking?"

"I was imagining what it's like to be Fluttershy, and so very afraid of the stage, so I did when I always do when I'm afraid of the stage and ate some corn cakes, but that made me feel fat, and I knew that everyone was going to comment on how bloated I was, and how that would ruin your fashion show and that made me nervous, so I ate even more corn cakes and then I ran out of corn cakes, and I was worried that I'd eaten the whole school's supply of corn cakes so I made two dozen more and--"

"Pinkie, take a breath!"

Pinkie took a deep breath in, then out. As she exhaled, Yona squeezed in her gut a bit while Rarity pulled up the zipper. "Thanks, girls," she wheezed.

"Honestly, you could have picked a less obtrusive way of dealing with your stress. Couldn't you have just taken a bubble bath, or something?"

"Great idea, Rarity! I'll go do that now!"

Before Pinkie could bounce off, Rarity closed the door. "There's no time, now. You're on in less than five minutes!"

Pinkie turned to Yona. "Hug for luck?"

As Yona stretched out her hooves, Rarity secured the dive mask. "No! No hugs! You'll smudge the makeup!"

Pinkie's hair flopped down dejectedly. "Okay..."

"You can hug after the show," sighed Rarity. "Just not right now."

As the music started playing, Yona grabbed Pinkie's hoof, reinflating her mane and ushering her out onto the stage. As Pinkie continued, Rarity stayed behind the curtain, and Yona stepped off to the side to read her cue cards.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the star of our show, Miss Pinkie Pie!"

"It's a one-pony show," whispered Gallus. "And she only has the one outfit. Can this really be called a show?"

"We're all going to be trying on our own outfits after the show," answered Sandbar. "Except me and Silverstream, because Pinkie's wearing mine, and Silverstream neither needs nor wants a dive suit."

"Yeah, but she can turn into a seapony," argued Gallus. "She has a less restrictive outfit already. That's like trying to disguise yourself as somecreature that needs to go to prison, and she happens to already have a guard outfit. Why would she even consider wearing hoofcuffs?"

"SHH!!" growled Smolder, turning around and baring her fangs behind her claw. "Some of us are trying to watch!"

As Pinkie swapped between poses, Yona went over the material and its properties. Some of the stances Pinkie was taking were ridiculous. First was standing up straight, followed by bouncing as if about to dive, then covering her nose and shimmying to the floor as if sinking. Those were fine poses, but other poses she took were far from typical. Sure, suspending herself in the air and swimming in place were sufficiently Pinkie, but Parcheesi? That was not a common underwater activity. Nor was playing hopscotch. And who could have guessed that she had a marshmallow on a stick hidden just offstage to pantomime roasting over a fire. How would they even light a fire underwater?

"Pinkie will now demonstrate the accessories that come with this set," continued Yona. "The dive mask is very important to the outfit, as that's what allows the wearer to avoid drowning. First, the goggles. The water in Aquestria is saltwater, and thus can sting your eyes if you aren't used to it. These goggles provide a clean hermetic seal around your eyes that will keep them dry, unless you begin to cry, in which case goggles will not help. But they are durable, and made of a scratch-resistant material, to keep your vision unclouded and clear."

As Yona spoke, Pinkie pointed out the different sections of the goggles, and even wiped a pretend tear from her eye.

"Covering your mouth and nose is a mask. The tubes leading in and out of that mask supply you with oxygen. At the other end of the tube is an oxygen tank, which you will wear on your back. The tanks Pinkie is wearing are empty right now to account for their weight, something you are more likely to notice on land than you will under the water."

Pinkie turned the knobs on her tanks, finding that one was not quite empty as it jetted her back behind the curtain.

Yona hastily flipped through a few more cards until she found the one to read when Pinkie made her exit. "And that's how the flippers work. Any questions?"

After the show, Everyone except Yona and Silverstream had slipped into their suits to make sure they fit properly. Yona's wasn't complete because they had run out of the black material. At one point, Yona pointed out that they had the black neoprene, but Rarity was quick to point out that the colours they had in stock right then were onyx, jet and pitch, not raven.

"These fit pretty nice," congratulated Sandbar, wearing the suit that Pinkie had just removed. "Very nicely done, Yona."

"She did a wonderful job, didn't she?" smiled Rarity. "Truly, a well-educated student. I certainly have a future competitor to look out for."

"It's a little snug in the tail," complained Gallus. "If I were to lean too far forward, I fear I would rip it."

"Afraid of a dive suit, Gallus?" teased Smolder, elbowing his ribs.

"That's by design," interjected Rarity. "You'll hardly notice it at all when you're in the water. Your back legs will be behind you, much like when you fly. You've noticed the same thing on flight suits, correct?"

"That's the way it is on the Wonderbolt's outfit," agreed Smolder. "Of course, I stand upright, so I hardly notice."

"I just thought it was an oversight," said Ocellus. "I shrank down my hindquarters to make sure I fit."

"Well, we wanted to thank you both, anyway," smiled Sandbar, pulling out a box with two cupcakes. "I mean this honestly; we could not have done any of this without both of your help. On behalf of all of us, we'd like to offer you this small token of our appreciation. It doesn't accurately represent our gratitude, but we would like you to know how much we care."

Pinkie eyed the cupcakes hungrily. "Are those triple-layer banana cream cheese and fudge?! I'm starving!"

"You just ate three dozen corn cakes!" scolded Rarity. "Right before the show!"

"Yeah, but I have a hollow leg just for cupcakes!"

Rarity approached. "They do look marvelous. Oh, why not?"