//------------------------------// // Attempts of Restoration // Story: The Story of a Powerful Thief // by TaylorTheFailure //------------------------------// It's been almost two weeks since Dad left us. Every time I think of him, I can hear Mom's voice echoing in my head, "He's NEVER coming back!" I don't know if that's true, but I do know that Mom's been acting a lot differently ever since that day. She's always sulking around the house, and her face has produced bags under her eyes. She's even become so sedentary that she refuses to go outside. Rider and I are really worried about her. I always think about asking what's wrong, but deep down I know why: the mare she loved and started a family with just left her. I know that talking about Dad leaving won't help, so I haven't made an effort to mention it. Rider told me that she just needs time. But how much? A few days passed and Mom's condition was getting worse. She barely came out of her room, and if she did, her movements were even more sluggish and dispirited. "We need to get her outside" I told Rider. "I can't stand seeing her in so much pain. Maybe we could take Mom somewhere that would get her mind off the whole thing." Rider, as always, was very supportive of my idea. So, we went into our room and laid in our beds, deciding on a place to take her. "How about Sugar Cube Corner?" asked Rider. "Nah. I think all the pastries would remind her of Dad" I said. Dad is, or I guess, was one of the few bakers in Ponyville. I'm just worried that if Mom sees all those baked goods, it'll bring back memories of him. "What if we took her to the park?" I enquired. "No" said Rider immediately. "Why not?" I asked, with a puzzled look on my face. "Well, that's where Dad asked Mom to marry him." "Oh" I said. "Yeah, definitely not the park then." We stayed quiet for a while, deep in thought. And then Rider exerted an "Ah-ha!" "What?" I asked. "Why don't we take her to the Ponyville Day Spa!" he said with a grin on his face. "Eww, are you serious?" "Not for us hay-brain! We'd just take her there. It's always been her favorite place" noted Rider. I agreed to his proposition before we left our room. We went down the hall and made our way to the entrance of Mom's room. Rider gave several firm knocks on the nice wooden door to get Mom's attention. It was silent for a moment until movement could be heard from the opposite side of the door. The noise got louder and closer until it stopped and the silence from before reinvited itself. It didn't stay long though, as the door creaked open and Mom's face peered from behind it. Mom's face reeked of despair and heartache. She seemed very pale and colorless as she attempted to give a subtle smile at our presence. "Hey mom" Rider began. "We were wondering if we could take you to the spa." When the words left my brother's mouth, Mom paused as her faced exemplified the deep thought augmenting in her head. She was obviously thinking about it, and I was starting to get worried that she would reject the offer. Once she made up her mind, she looked back at both of us. "Okay. Just give me a moment to get ready" she said in a very soft tone. Rider and I immediately began jumping around in joy, as Mom gave a quick chuckle before closing her door to get ready. My brother and I waited in the living room for Mom. We kept giggling and talking about how great it was going to be for Mom. A half hour passed before we could hear the sound of her door open. She came around the corner and we were both stunned as soon as she came into our vision. She looked like her old self! The color of her face had returned, the bags under her eyes had disappeared, and her hair wasn't matted or greasy anymore. She looked at us, with a wide grin radiating from her face. I almost broke down into tears after seeing Mom look so happy and rejuvenated. "Are you guys ready?" she asked. We were both so amazed that we couldn't utter a response. We just nodded. All three of us made our way to the front door. Rider and I kept looking at each other with smiles that took up half of our face as we walked behind Mom. When we finally arrived at the entrance of our house, Mom reached for the door, but halted her hoof when the door bell rang. The house fell noiseless as the same possibility of who could've just rang the door bell ran into all of our minds. Dad?! I knew that Dad would come back! I could tell that everypony else knew it was Dad, by the shared tears that fell from our eyes. Mom slowly reached for the door, but opened it much faster. And there, stood disappointment. It wasn't Dad. It was our mailman. All three of us took a deep and distressed sigh. "Are you all okay?" he asked when he saw us wipe our eyes. "Yes. Thank you" Mom replied. "That's good to hear. I've got your mail for the week!" he said, handing over a stack of envelopes and papers. "Thank you" Mom said. "No problem. You three have a good day!" said the mailman, tipping his hat before trotting off. Mom took the stack of mail, and quickly sifted through it, but stopped on a single envelope that had a red stamp on it. I couldn't exactly see what it said, but I could tell Mom recognized what it meant. Her joyous face fell apart, as her hooves dropped the stack of mail and made their way to her instantly sobbing eyes. The papers and envelopes scattered around the floor once the stack hit the ground. One sleeve of paper that landed only a few paces away from me caught my attention. It was the red-stamped envelope that Mom was looking at. I examined it and read the stamp, "Eviction". I don't know what that means, but it definitely doesn't seem good if it made Mom cry. I turned my gaze away from the envelope and back to my mother. Rider had gone over and tried comforting her, so I decided to do the same. When I arrived to her, she hugged Rider and I as hard as she could, but didn't say anything as the tears poured down her face. My mom doesn't deserve this! She's deserves a happy life, not this hell that she's living! But, as long as she has me, I will do everything in my power to take care of her.