Street [w/ Story]  
Two years.  
It’s surprising how quickly things can go from good to bad. Just that long ago I was living happily with my lovely boyfriend, in a house with actual friends.  
But then one day, it was just gone.  
I was no longer a Tanuki, I was no longer at home, and I was no longer with him.  
It didn’t take me long to actually find my way back to where I was supposed to be, but something was off. Something was…different.  
I found the window to our room and I see him, but everything inside was completely different.  
The ball that he uses to play fetch with me wasn’t on the nightstand like it was supposed to, there was a laptop on the desk where it wasn’t supposed to be, and the photo on the desk…  
The one with him and I together, smiling at the camera…  
Was exactly the same as it always was, except I wasn’t in the picture. In my place was a completely different mare. A brown mare with a weird looking tail.  
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was like he had never met me.  
Like I never existed…  
I could tell you how my life just seemed to change overnight, if I actually knew. I would’ve suspected the mare took me out of their lives using some kind of magic and inserted herself in my place, but after stalking her for about a week, I knew it wasn’t the case.  
She has unicorn magic, despite not having a horn, but she can’t do much outside of the basic telekenesis spell all unicorns can use. She even passes out after using teleportation once. And besides, she doesn’t know who I am.  
sigh  
And here we are now, desperately trying to make enough money through any means necessary, despite the result of that soundly sleeping beside me.  
At least it’s pretty warm out tonight. Hopefully it stays that way through morning. Celestia knows we need more old bed sheets.  
“Mama…?”  
I look down to his baby blue eyes, still droopy from waking up. “What is it, sweetheart?”  
“Do we have any food left…?”  
Shit, he’s still hungry and we barely have enough for a snack. Just perfect. “Only a very little bit. Are you starving?”  
His growling stomach answered for him, and I knew that I’m gonna have to rake in more bits tomorrow. Or at least scavenge for more scraps.  
I reached into the beaten bucket and pulled out the only bit of food we have: a half-eaten cupcake left over from some kid’s birthday party at the park.  
At least it’s better than nothing.  
He ate it up in no time and went back to sleep. Hopefully that cupcake will last him through the rest of the night.  
He can’t sleep when he’s hungry, and kids cry if they get too hungry. It’s always a pleasant experience trying to calm your kid down for an entire night.  
I sound like I hate him, I’m not gonna deny that, but the truth is that I love him dearly, like any mother should.  
It’s just that I wish he was born in a better time. When I’m not out here and I’m actually able to afford food every day.  
But at the same time, in dark times such as this, when I have literally nothing to lose…  
He’s the only reason why I’m still here and not in a grave, right now.  
%%%%~  
This drawing took me nearly a week to finish (but that’s just because I took my time and worked on it a little bit each day), but I had this idea of a drawing coupled with the story for a while, now, and I wanted to give it a shot.  
Also I wanted to revive Bling (you know, my first persona on this sight before she got replaced by Em?) in the form of a new character named Mel.  
She’s still (kind of) the same Bling we all knew, the only thing that’s changed is her appearance and name (and personality because of what’s been going on in her life).