"Happy birthday, Viola!"

"Thank you, Mother!" Viola cried, a big and toothy smile on her face. "This is the best birthday ever!"

"Of course, honey," Mother said, smiling like a big bowl of sunshine at her daughter. "Six years old! You're becoming a big girl now." She walked away for just a second. Then she came back with a weird shape wrapped in brown paper. "And now I think it's time for our big girl to—"

"Presents!" Viola cheered. She started hopping around the room, bubbling with want for whatever was hiding in that package.

Mother giggled and put the present down on the floor. Viola didn't ask permission. She rushed up to the package and tore off the wrapping. After that was gone, she saw a black case with the same shape that Mother had in her room, just smaller. "You got me a one just like yours?" Viola said, eyes glittering.

Mother said, "I think you're old enough to have your own, don't you?" She took off the latches on the front of the case and opened it. A brown violin was inside.

"Wow . . ." Viola looked at the instrument with wide eyes. Mother had been teaching her how to play the violin for a little while, but it was always on the scratched-up too-big trainer she had in the basement that sounded bad and always went out-of-tune. This one was smaller, had shiny pegs, and looked brand new. "Is this mine?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the shiny violin.

"It's yours. You're an Amati, Viola, and I think it's time that you owned a stake in the craft that our family has nurtured for generations."

"Ooh . . ." Viola leaned a little closer, seeing herself in the shiny wood. She didn't know what "nurtured" meant, but what Mother probably said was that she could play her new and shiny violin all day long. Looking away from the violin for just a second, she went up to Mother and hugged her leg. "Thank you, Mother. You're the best mom in the world."

Mother leaned down and hugged Viola back with her other leg, pushing Viola's face into her breast. "Of course. Anything for my little songbird."

"I want to be like you and Father when I grow up," Viola said into Mother's fur.

Mother's hooves hugged a little tighter. "Yes. Yes, of course. You will become a wonderful musician someday."

"Guess what I got for my birthday last week?" Viola asked her friend.

Octavia didn't say anything, but she made a few sounds that weren't words. Viola was one of the biggest foals in the weekend daycare, but Octavia was still little. She didn't go to kindergarten and she didn't know how to talk in big girl sentences yet. But it kind of sounded like she was curious.

"I got a violin! A new one, and it's all shiny and sounds so pretty!" Viola answered with a grin she couldn't wipe off her face. "I wanted to play it today and show it to everyone, but Mother wouldn't let me bring it. She said I might break it, but I won't break it!"

Octavia bubbled a few more sounds before wandering off to the blocks. She went there lots of the time, even though there was drawing, and xylophones, and lots of other things to play with. But Viola followed after her friend to the building blocks.

There were lots of other foals around in the daycare, but Viola liked Octavia the most. Mother and Father didn't want a babysitter, so Viola went to the daycare. The first day Viola came, she didn't know any of the other foals and didn't really want to play with them. She started practicing (why did all the teachers call it banging?) on the xylophones by herself. But then Octavia went up to her and started practicing on the xylophones, too! And she was really good at it!

The other foals were nice, too, but Octavia was the nicest. She didn't try to push her off the xylophones like the other foals sometimes did. They just practiced together!

Viola followed Octavia to the blocks, where she started trying to stack them. Octavia couldn't stack them very high yet, but she was getting better. Viola picked up her own blocks and helped her with the tower. She kept talking about her new instrument.

"The violin is so shiny and it sounds so good. It's just the right size, too! The practice one is a little too big, and Mother's violin is even bigger. I played on it all night yesterday until Mother told me to stop and go to bed."

"Daddy?" Octavia asked. It was one of the words she knew how to say, and she said it a lot.

Viola screwed her face up in thought. "Oh. Father wasn't home that day. He said he was busy and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. He's really busy. He doesn't pick me up from school because he's too busy. He comes home late. Father used to bring me here on the weekends, but then he got busy, so Mother brings me here, instead. I don't know. Father has been really busy." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I kind of miss him."

Octavia's mouth made the shape of an "o," and then she started building her tower again. It was almost as tall as her, now. She grabbed an orange block and tried to stand up on her hind hooves to put it on top, but she lost her balance and fell. Blocks went everywhere as she fell on the tower. She hit the ground with a loud thud.

Viola's eyes got big and scared. "Oh no!" She pushed the blocks that landed on Octavia off and looked at her friend's face. Her eyes were big and scared, too, but they also looked a little bit wet. Then they closed up tight, and Octavia started to cry.

Now even more scared, Viola got up and ran to the nearest adult. "Mrs. Dandelion, please help! I think Octavia is hurt!"

Mrs. Dandelion got up and quickly walked over to Octavia. She crouched down and looked at her to make sure she wasn't hurt too bad. Then she picked her up and started rocking her.

Viola kept staring at Octavia, still worried. "We were playing blocks, and she fell and started crying."

Mrs. Dandelion rubbed at some spots on Octavia, probably where it hurt the most. "I know, Viola. I saw what happened. I think she just took a little bump in the rump. Give her ten minutes, and she'll feel better, okay? Then you can go play again!" She smiled at Viola, which made her feel a little bit less scared.

It was nice that Mrs. Dandelion said Octavia would be better, but she was still a little worried. She didn't want to go back and play when her friend was still hurt. "Can I stay here and wait until she feels better?" she asked.

"Of course, Vio—"

Mrs. Dandelion was interrupted by the creak of the front door. Viola turned around to see who came in. It was Mother.

"Or, why don't you go home with your mom, and I'll make sure your playmate feels better, okay? She'll be right as rain when you see her again next week!" Mrs. Dandelion said with a smile.

"Oh. Okay . . ." Slowly, she walked to Mother. Before going out the door, she turned around and said, "Bye, Octavia." She was still sitting in Mrs. Dandelion's arms, but she was just sniffling now. Maybe she didn't hurt anymore and she was feeling better. That made Viola feel a little better, too. She turned around again and started the walk home with Mother.

"Are you alright? You look worried," Mother asked.

"I'm okay," she said quietly. "Octavia just got hurt today, but Mrs. Dandelion is taking care of her."

"Octavia is that little playmate of yours, right? I wouldn't worry about her. Karen Dandelion is a very good caretaker."

Viola nodded. A grown-up was taking care of Octavia, and Mother trusted Mrs. Dandelion. That meant that Octavia would be okay for sure. She nodded again and stopped looking at the ground, not dragging her hooves as much.

Mother smiled. "That's better! I hope you had fun with her."

A smile grew on Viola's face as she remembered. "Octavia is really fun to play with! We didn't practice the xylophones today, but we played blocks instead. And then we talked about my violin and—" Viola stopped as she remembered her other worry for the day. She slowed down a little again. "When is Father going to be back?" Viola asked.

"I'm sure he'll be home tomorrow, dear."

Viola frowned. "But you said that yesterday, and he isn't back yet!"

"Oh. Well, ah . . ." Mother didn't say anything for a long time. "Well, I'm extra sure today, Viola. I'm extra sure that Father will be home by the time you come back from school tomorrow!"

"Oh. Um, okay!" Viola's smile came back, and she started bouncing a little. Maybe Mother was wrong once, but she was extra sure this time. She wouldn't be wrong if she was extra sure.

Viola sat in her room, head down. Mother said she was throwing a temper tantrum, but she wasn't doing that! She was just in a bad mood. It was Monday night, and Father still wasn't home yet. Mother said she was super sure that he would be back home today, but he wasn't! Mother was here, instead!

"I'm extra super sure that Father will be here tomorrow."

Viola looked up at Mother, frowning. "But you said that yesterday, and yesterday-yesterday!"

"But I wasn't extra super sure, dear. This time I am extra super sure that Father will be back tomorrow, and he will be here, bright and early, to make you breakfast."

Viola snorted and looked back to the ground. Viola loved Mother, but how sure did she need to be before Father would come back? It didn't seem like "super sure" was really that "super sure." She was smart enough to know that "extra super sure" wasn't that much more sure than "super sure."

"But why is he so busy that he can't come home? I want to see Father again! I want to see him now!" Viola stomped her hoof on the ground, mad.

"Don't stomp, or you'll put holes in the floor. I'm sure that Father is simply caught up with a few projects at work that he has to work on. He'll be back home when he finishes everything up, okay?"

Viola shook her head. "But why isn't he back yet? He's never gone for this long!" She crossed her hooves in front of her and pouted.

"I . . ." Mother bit her lip, and she didn't say anything for a long time again. She did that a lot, now. "Your father is simply out relaxing with his friends, and he wanted to stay with one of them for the night. That's why he hasn't been back, dear. He will be back soon. I'm sure of it."

Viola was still frowning. "Do you promise?" Maybe her Mother wasn't that sure about some things, but nopony broke a promise. If Mother promised that Father would be back, he would be back.

Mother nodded. "Yes, I promise that Father will be back soon. He'll probably come back late tonight, when you're sleeping. So why don't you go on to bed, now, and Father will be here to make breakfast for you when you wake up?"

Viola kept pouting for a little bit, but then she bounced up and grinned again. "Okay!" Mother promised, so she really couldn't be wrong this time. Nopony breaks a promise, especially not Mother! "But can I still practice my violin?" she asked.

"Of course you can, but don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow, and you need to be ready for it." Mother got up and closed the door to her bedroom. "Goodnight, Viola. I love you."

"I love you, Mother," Viola said back. Then when she heard Mother's hoofsteps go away, she got out her violin and bow from its case, sat on the bed, and started playing some Paganini. She fibbed a little when she said she wanted to practice. She did want to practice a little bit, but she really just wanted to stay up late. She was tired, but she wanted to keep playing until she could see Father come back home.

Viola woke up slowly. She was curled up on her bed like a snail, and her violin was on the bed next to her. She might have been a little too tired to stay up late, after all. The sun was bright and shining through her window. She might be a little late for school now. But that didn't matter now because Father was back home!

Viola hopped off her bed and walked around the house, not brushing her teeth or her mane or anything. Mother probably wouldn't be very happy, but she really wanted to see Father first. She looked in the kitchen, the hallway, the bathroom, the basement, but she didn't find Father anywhere.

Frowning, Viola walked to Father's room. If he wasn't anywhere else, he must be there. She was a little mad that Mother fibbed when she said father would make breakfast. He made great pancakes, but he wasn't in the kitchen. Nopony was there. So Viola went to Father's room instead, and pushed open the door.

Nothing but an empty bed.

Viola's eyes got big but not scared. They were surprised, and really sad, but really really mad. Mother promised that Father would be back today! She promised! She stormed off to Mother's room to tell her she broke a promise. If Mother told her that she could never break one, why could she do it herself?

What she saw made her forget about all everything she planned to do.

Mother's room was a mess. She was normally really organized, but right now, things were everywhere. Some pictures were missing from the walls. There was even some broken glass in the corner of the room, which Viola was extra careful not to step on. The blankets on the bed were thrown off. The only thing on it was Mother, curled up like a snail.

But why was she crying?

"Mother!" Viola screamed. She ran up to Mother and climbed on to the bed, getting right next to her. "What's wrong?" Viola was scared again. Mother never cried. Crying wasn't a grown-up thing to do. But Mother didn't say anything. She just opened her eyes and saw Viola. Then she closed her eyes again and curled up tighter.

"Mommy!!" Viola cried, trying to hug her with her small hooves. She wanted to know why Mother was crying. But she really wanted Mother to stop crying. Viola didn't have anything to be sad about, but she started crying too because Mother was crying. Why was she crying? She wished Father was here. He would help.

Over on the side of the bed, Viola saw a crumpled newspaper. Newspapers were too hard for her to read. But Viola looked at it closer because the picture on it didn't look right. It was a picture of two ponies, one who looked almost exactly like Father. It didn't look right because the other pony wasn't Mother. It was a mare she didn't know.

She didn't think long about the picture. Mother started crying harder, and Viola started hugging harder, hoping it would help. Viola was confused, mad, and sad at the same time. But she would be better if Mother just stopped crying.

Viola was still sad and mad, but only a little. She was really confused. She didn't go to school the day Mother cried, but she went the day after. Mother took her to school. She talked to the teacher a little bit, and the teacher didn't ask her why she didn't come in yesterday. But Mother was still quiet and didn't talk to her at all on the way back.

Then yesterday night, she was home alone. Viola was never home alone before, but Mother said she would be out for just a few hours. She was a big enough girl to stay home and be safe, she said. Viola just practiced on her violin a little until Mother came back home.

Mother did come back a little after the sun went down, but she smelled a little funny and acted weird. She walked wobbly, too. Viola couldn't even talk to Mother or ask her if she found Father or where he was. She just went straight to bed.

Now, it was morning again. Viola woke up early, but not that early. She wasn't late for school yet, but she would be if Mother didn't make breakfast and bring her to school soon. She walked to Mother's room to see if she was awake. She wasn't yet, so she pushed her side a little to try and wake her up.

"Mother?" Viola said. Mother groaned and rolled over. She tried again from the other side, pushing a little harder. "I need to go to school."

Mother groaned again and opened her eyes. They looked a little bit mad. But she needed to go to school every day. Why would she be mad? She groaned again, louder. Then she rolled off the bed and stood up.

Mother didn't look so good. Her mane was messy. She looked like she got no sleep even though she did. And she still looked mad.

"Mother? Are you sick?" Viola asked, worried.

Mother didn't say anything and just walked out of her room. Really slow. She didn't go to the bathroom or the kitchen. She just went straight to the front door. "Well? You need to go to school, so let's go to school," she said. Her voice was really low and quiet, and not happy.

"But . . . but I didn't eat breakfast yet. And everypony needs to start the day with breakfast." That was what Mother said about breakfast one time before. Why wasn't she listening to herself?

Mother groaned again, then walked to the kitchen. Really slow. Then she started making some food for both of them. Really slow again.

Viola stopped. What happened to Mother? She was always so nice, but then that newspaper happened. Then Mother wasn't as nice anymore. She didn't talk as much, and she slept more. She even forgot to say "good night" last night! Viola decided that she didn't like newspapers.

"Um . . . if Father was here, he could make his pancakes and take me to school. And then you could sleep more," Viola said, trying to be helpful.

It didn't really work, because Mother seemed to get even more mad. She was just getting a pan out, but then she stopped. She grumbled, "If Father was here. Ha. Perhaps you could just stop talking about your Father for one second?"

Viola's eyes got big again, but she wasn't scared or surprised. She was just confused again. "Why-why should we stop talking about Father? I love him, and I want him to come back! He's been gone for so long, and his room is empty all the time. I miss him!"

Mother snorted. Viola stepped back a little. Mother never snorted like that. "You miss him, perhaps. I say good riddance with him. He's not welcome in my home anymore."

"Mother!" Viola cried. Now she was just being mean, and Viola knew that it wasn't a good thing to be mean. Mother told her that! "But Father is family, and we should want him back! I want him back! Where did he go?"

"Urgh . . ." Mother stopped cooking again and put a hoof on her face. "Could you please stop talking?"

Viola stepped back again. This wasn't like Mother at all! It was like she was a different pony, now! "Mommy! Why are you so different today?" She went up to Mother and started pulling on her hoof. "Mother, what's wrong? Why don't you want Father—"

It only took a half-second for Viola to forget everything she planned to say. Quicker than she could react, Mother spun around and struck Viola with the back of her hoof. The half-second after that, Viola was collapsed on the ground, dazed. It only took two more half-seconds for her to realize what just happened.

Viola looked up at her mother. She was staring at her hoof, eyes big and wide, but that didn't matter. She was a different pony, and she didn't like that pony at all. She curled up into a little ball and started crying.

Hooves came from both sides to hug her tightly, but she didn't know whose they were. She kept crying for what she lost, and what she didn't understand. She loved her father, but after almost a week missing, she didn't know what to feel. If he was gone for so long, and he could spend time with another pony she didn't know, did her father love her anymore?

Her mother, too. She loved her mother and trusted her, but no mother would hit their daughter. She didn't know why her mother hit her, and she didn't know why she changed. But she did. Viola didn't know if the old Mother would ever come back. But now that she saw this mean mother, Viola didn't know if she could trust either one again.

So Viola cried alone in her ball. A foal who just had her world fall apart around her and was trying to make sense of what remained.