Post by Lancewing on May 10, 2014 23:30:26 GMT -5
Model Image
Heartbeat was going through some designs of the clothes she plans to show off on Saturday. One of the models she had hired called in sick, so she had to figure out which ones she couldn’t use. It wasn’t easy. In addition, she was not feeling well for some reason. Must’ve been a stomach bug or something.
Suddenly, Heartbeat heard a knock at the door. “Who is it?” She asked.
“Lancer.” Her son’s voice responded.
“Oh, come in!”
Lancer opened the door and smiled at Heartbeat. “Hey...just thought I’d see how you were doing.”
“Well, if I can find a new model, I’ll be good at the least.”
Lancer raised an eyebrow. “You need a model?”
“Yeah, one of them called in sick, and if I can’t find a new line for my autumn line of children’s clothes, I’m going to have to leave some of the outfits out.”
“Hmm…” Lancer pondered before, “Let me take a look at the designs.”
Heartbeat handed the notebook to Lancer.
Lancer looked over them for a bit, before. “Mom? Do you remember my friend Bon Bon?”
She scratched her head. “Which one was that? I’m pretty bad with names.”
“The yellow pony that loves baking and fashion.”
“Oh...well what about her?”
“Well...She wants to be a model when she grows up...and since you’re missing a model...maybe she could replace the sick one?”
“Hm… I guess, but I need to see how she looks before I can decide whether or not to let her into the fashion show.”
“Okay. I’ll call her right now.”
“Okay, thanks.” Heartbeat grinned.
Lancer smiled back, before heading out of his parents’ room.
Bon Bon was laying in her bed, reading a romance novel. She was in the middle of reading a very suspenseful chapter when the phone rang. She quickly got up and answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey, Bon Bon. It’s Lancer.”
“Oh hey Lancer. What’s up?”
“Remember when I said that Mom was planning on unveiling a new line this Saturday?”
“Yeah?”
“Well one of her models called in sick.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, you might not be for too long. I told my mom about you, and she’d like to see you.”
“Oh. Um… When would she like me to meet her?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Okay… I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Okay, my mom will call you.”
“Alright.” With that, Bon Bon hung up… Then promptly screamed her head off in excitement.
Bon Bon’s mother burst into the room alarmed. “What happened?! Are you hurt?!”
Bon Bon blushed. “Uh...no… A friend of mine told me I might be able to do...something.”
“That being?”
“Uh...doing some...modeling work.”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Mrs. Heartbeat had one of her models calling in sick, and she needed a replacement.”
“I see… I may have to look over these clothes to make sure they’re appropriate.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Fine…”
The following day after school, Bon Bon and her mother were walking up to Lancer’s mansion. They came to the two large doors and Bon Bon's mother knocked.
After a minute, Hard Drive answered the door. “Yes?”
"Hello." Bon Bon's mother greeted. "My daughter was informed that a Mrs. Heartbeat needed a young model for some work."
“Ah, this must be Bon Bon. Come on in. I’ll let my wife know you’re here.”
Bon Bon and her mother entered the mansion while Hard Drive went upstairs. After some chatter, Heartbeat walked down the stairs, though she already looked exhausted.
“Are you okay?” Bon Bon’s mother asked.
“Yeah,” Heartbeat said, “Just been pretty busy, plus I seem to be coming down with something. I arranged an appointment for tomorrow before the show.”
“Okay. Anyway, this is my daughter, Bon Bon. She’ll be your model given she’s what you’re looking for and the outfits are appropriate.”
“Mom…” Bon Bon groaned.
Heartbeat chuckled. "Don't worry, I try to make sure all my clothes are something I would allow my children to wear. If I wouldn’t let my children wear it, why make others, right?"
“True.”
“But if you have any constructive criticism, let me know.”
"Understood."
“Okay then.” Heartbeat then proceeded to examine Bon Bon. “Yes… I think you could be what I’m looking for. I just need you to try on some things.”
“Let me walk you to the studio and I’ll have you try on some things before we give you a walkthrough of what to expe-” Heartbeat held a hoof to her head. “Ow…”
"Are you alright?" Bon Bon's mom asked.
“Yes, I’m alright. Like I said, I plan to go to a doctor tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Heartbeat led them into a room that had once served as a bedroom, but was turned into Heartbeat's design room. "Now… Which one to try first…” She looked over a rack of clothes before finally picking a modest outfit. "Try this on..." Heartbeat handed the clothes to Bon Bon. "You can change in the dressing room over there." Heartbeat pointed to a white door at the opposite end of the room.
Bon Bon went over to the room, and in a few moments came out with the clothes on. Heartbeat looked Bon Bon over. “Hmm…” She continued to examine Bon Bon, then she looked to the girl’s mother. “Is this modest enough, Mrs…?”
“Lemon Drop...And yes… For the most part.”
Heartbeat raised an eyebrow. “What would you change?”
“Well... I think the skirt could be a few inches longer. The necklace, however, is too small. It could choke her.”
“I see...but I’d be afraid if it were any longer she’d trip over it...but I see what you mean about the necklace…”
"Yes, so just a few more beads should help."
"Okay." Heartbeat immediately wrote a note on her notepad. “Anything else?”
“No...I think that’s it.”
“Okay… Let me get something else…” Heartbeat went over to the rack of clothes and pulled off a dress and gave it to Bon Bon.
Bon Bon took the dress and went back to the dressing room.
Lemon Drop looked over at Heartbeat. “So you’re Lancer’s mother, correct?”
“Yes, I am.”
“And is he your only child?”
“Yes, never really found the time to have another child yet.”
“Ah… But would you if you did?”
“I would.”
“I see…”
“Is Bon Bon your only child?”
“Oh no, I have five other kids.”
Heartbeat’s eyes widened. “Well… I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little jealous…”
“That’s a first.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are some parents who think I have too many. One even asked if I was on welfare.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I mean how inconsiderate is that? My husband and I both work hard, and we both make a decent amount of money.”
“Well… Some ponies just think there are more important things than children...I’m not one of those ponies though.”
“Good. I could use a break. Besides, my oldest will be going to college soon.”
“Oh really?”
“She’ll be studying fine arts.”
“Interesting, has she found a school?”
“She has.”
“What school?”
“The Ponyland Art Institute.”
"Ah...I've heard that's a good school."
“That’s what I heard too.”
Bon Bon walks out of the dressing room in a different outfit. This one was more of a formal design; something more appropriate for church.
“No changes needed on this one,” Lemon Drop declared, “She looks fine.”
“Glad to hear it. Now we need to slip you into one more outfit, and there is one more outfit that you should wear in the show. One warning though, there is a zipper that you might have trouble with.”
“Okay.”
Heartbeat gets up to grab the outfit, but her knees had it! Before she knew it, she found herself laying on the floor with a frantic mother and daughter running toward her. Lemon Drop looked to her daughter. “Bon Bon, get Lancer’s father now!”
Bon Bon nodded and ran out of the design studio. Seconds later, Lancer walks in to find his mother on the floor. “Mom,” he yelled as he ran up to her. “What happened?!”
“I think she fainted, she mentioned she was sick earlier but this is serious. We need to call an ambulance.”
“I’m on it.” Lancer immediately took the phone and dialed “911.”
Lancer was pacing outside Heartbeat's her hospital room. It felt like an hour from the time she was admitted into the clinic to this point. Hard Drive had gone into the room a while ago, but he never came out.
Bon Bon was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, almost as nervous as Lancer. She took off the outfit while waiting for the ambulance thinking that it would be a good idea not to reveal one of her outfits before the show. "Lancer?"
Lancer looked at her. “Yes?”
"I'm...sorry."
"It’s not your fault..."
"I guess...it just felt like the right thing to say, though."
“Just don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Besides, why wouldn’t she be?” Lancer was feeling even more nervous.
Bon Bon stood up and placed a hoof on Lancer's shoulder. "She'll be okay."
“I hope you’re right.”
As if on cue, Sweetheart, Teddy, Fare, Ace, Starlight, and Bright Eyes entered the hallway. Bright Eyes put her forelegs around Lancer in a hug. "Lancer! How's your mom doing?"
“I don’t know. She’s been in there a long time.”
Bright Eyes bit her lip. "What happened? All I heard was that she fainted.”
“Bon Bon might be able to explain it better than I can.”
Bon Bon cleared her throat. "W-well...I was trying on some clothes for Lancer's mom...and when I came back...she was on the floor."
“Oh… I bet that was terrifying.”
“More than you know.”
"It still is." Lancer pointed out, “and I walked in after the fact.”
"I really, truly hope she gets better, Lancer." Sweetheart attempted to comfort her friend.
"Me too..." Teddy half grinned.
Lancer looked over at Flare. She was obviously scared, and Scout’s nuzzles were hardly helping. He put a hoof on her shoulder. She gasped at his touch, but relaxed once she realized who it was. "Flare? Are you okay?"
Flare simply nodded.
“Just don’t worry about it. Hopefully, she’ll be out any minute now.”
"Do you know how long has it been?" Starlight asked.
“Too long,” Bon Bon said.
"That's how it felt when my dad broke one of his legs," Ace finally said.
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
“You never told us that,” Lancer said.
"Oh… I kinda like to forget about it..."
“Just like I would like to forget about this…”
Hard Drive poked his head out of the room. “Lancer,” he said, “Your mother and I need to discuss what the doctor found.”
“Oh. Okay.” He walked in.
Now it was Bright Eyes’s turn to feel uneasy. “It’s going to happen again. I know it.”
Everyone looked at her. “What do you mean?” Bon Bon asked.
“The doctors are going to say that she has cancer and it’ll be possible that she could die.”
Lancer grew pale after hearing her from inside the room. ‘Please don't say that...please?’
Tonight is the night of the show. Heartbeat was doing some last-minute preparations for all of the models keeping a cheerful face. Actually, she was so happy that she was practically glowing. Only Lancer, Bon Bon, and Hard Drive know why, but it was a complete mystery to everyone else, especially since Bright Eyes was thoroughly convinced that Heartbeat was going to share her mother’s fate.
Finally, Heartbeat walked onto the stage and up to the microphone. "Good evening every pony. Thank you all for coming. Before we begin, a lot of you have heard about what happened yesterday, but I want to put everypony’s minds at ease by saying that it is nothing deadly." She signaled for Lancer and Hard Drive to walk onto the stage next to her. “About a few weeks ago, my husband, son, and I have begun spending more time as a family, and I was excited to learn yesterday that we will be adding another pony to our family in a few months.”
The crowd erupted into a cheerful applause. After hearing the news, Bright Eyes tried to resist the urge to run onto the stage and hug Lancer on the spot. The fact of the matter was that Lancer will be able to be with his mother a little longer and have someone else to share that joy with.
“I will, however, be taking a break from making the actual dresses. I will still be sketching ideas when the inspiration comes, but I do need to take a break from actually creating the dresses until I can adjust to raising my new baby. Until then, here is something for you to enjoy for this season and possibly generations to come.”
With that, the Lancer and Hard Drive stepped off of the stage while Heartbeat stood on the side where she could be seen, yet out of the way of the models about to walk out toward the audience. The first model on stage was Bon Bon. As Bon Bon showed off the dress, Heartbeat commented, “Our first model, Bon Bon, is wearing a cute, yet stylish dress perfect for a walk around the park or even a bold first day back in school. One favorite childhood activity of mine is to be able to jump in the leaves, but the only problem is that smaller pieces catch onto clothes and become a pain to remove. Thanks to technology, we can now knit this entire line in a way where they can be resistant to leaves yet comfortable to the wearer.”
However, Heartbeat’s words faded from Bon Bon’s ears. All she did notice was the applause of the audience, her friends, and her family. For once in her life, she was living the dream.
Once the show ended, Bright Eyes walked over to Lancer. "Well...that worked out..." She smiled.
“Yep,” Lancer sighed, “but I’m still nervous.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what if my parents stop paying attention to me because of the baby, or what if I turn out to be a terrible big brother?”
"Well...they may need to give the foal a little more attention, but they'll still love you just as much. As far as your being a good big brother, I’ve seen the way you treated Flare, Bon Bon, and Sweetheart. I’d say you’re ready for this.”
Lancer blushed. “You really think so?”
“I know for a fact that you are.”
"Thanks..." Lancer smiled.
“No problem.” Bright Eyes smiled back.
Heartbeat walked up to Lancer. “It’s time to go,” she said.
Lancer looked at his mother and nodded.
Heartbeat looked at Bright Eyes. “I understand that you feared that I had cancer.”
Bright Eyes sighed, “Yes ma’am, I did.”
“What would give you that idea?”
“Because that was exactly how I lost my mother. My parents told me about it in private before she died months later.”
“Oh. Well don’t worry, I won’t be leaving until both of my kids are ready to leave.”
Hard Drive came over and kissed Heartbeat's cheek while putting a hoof on her ribs. "Ditto for me."
“Well, I guess I better be going,” Bright Eyes said, “my dad would kill me if I’m late again.”
“Okay,” Hard Drive said, “Do you want us to drive you home?”
“No, I need to walk more often. Besides, I think you three need the night alone after receiving news as exciting as this.”
“Okay, take care.”
“You too. If you need anything, let me know.”
“We will,” Heartbeat said, “Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think you’d be able to handle babysitting?”
“Well, I don’t really have any prior experience, but I can work on that. Just need to find a few babysitting jobs.”
"Well...just so you know, we may need your services in about ten months."
“Okay. I should be more experienced by then."
Heartbeat nodded with a smile.
With that, Bright Eyes started her trek home anticipating what would happen in the distant future.
