Maud Pie was considered an oddity by her few friends, some had dubbed her 'special' and others 'weird'. She preferred 'reserved' personally, it took alot to impress her or drag her from her studies. Geology was serious business in her mind, yet even so she still managed to make time for her overtly exuberant sister and her little circle of friends, they tried so hard to include her and it was honestly sweet. Still, parties and sleepovers were more of Pinkies forte so here she sat, nestled in an armchair glancing at her smart-phone every few minutes for an eagerly awaited update on the BGS (some said that a new form of Quartz had been discovered, a wry smile forming at the thought) whilst surrounded by her sisters friends.

Said friends were in an interesting way at the moment, Rainbow Dash particularly. Applejack had managed to sneak half a crate of her families home brewed alcoholic cider out of the house for this little shin-dig --mostly due to Rainbows persistent whining-- and the poor athlete was currently five drinks in and being rather loud. She'd be feeling it in the morning if her quick estimates of the girls height and weight were correct, you couldn't just pack that much  alcohol into such a small frame without it having a nasty after effect. Sighing at the lack of an update at her most recent check the 'responsible one' as their Step-Father referred to her decided to stretch her legs, a slice of cake also looked rather manageable at the moment.

Dodging past a flailing Twilight Sparkle --the girl had the most unusual dance moves she'd ever seen-- she divied up a small slice from the large chocolate confection, baked both with love and effort by her sister. She idly tried to remember the reason for this bash, was it a  reunion or a farewell for Twilight ? Shaking her head slightly she giggled to herself, Pinkie would use any occasion as an excuse. Leaning against the table she began a favorite past time of hers, people watching.

Besides the awkwardly dancing form of Twilight there was Fluttershy, the meek girl in an animated conversation with Rarity regarding some kind of animal based fashion line, the now arguing Rainbow Dash and Applejack --the self confessed 'country gal' attempting to pry Rainbow Dashes sixth cider out of her hands-- and her Sister with Sunset Shimmer. Her feelings on the girl were difficult to say the least. On the one hand she had clearly reformed from her school-yard villainy and was actively aiding her sister in combating the unusual events going on if the giant 'Sky Horse' she'd seen during the Battle of the bands was anything  to go by (as was her sisters corroborating claims) but even so she still harbored a slight grudge against the girl for how hard she'd made both hers and Pinkies early years at CHS hard.

Thankfully she'd backed off from both herself and her sister to a lesser degree after The Incident. It helped when the perpetrator was in a cast for half the school year, kept things fresh in peoples mind. Another smile worked its way to her face, she wasn't much of one for revenge but oh it had been sweet.  The seventeen year old was drawn out of her reverie by a click at the back door, most of the girls couldn't notice it over the music but she did, it was distinctive and indicative of one person, the only person she knew who would willingly ignore the neatly cared for garden and inviting front door to jump over a fence and enter via the back.

"Father's home !"

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Two days at the damn factory, two achingly long days. Who honestly thought cardboard required so much management ? The cot in his office had been calling to him but he knew better. Family time was important, Cloudy would kill him when they finally met up again if she knew he was ignoring their family in favor of an easy bed. He'd never done things the easy way, be it convoluted plots against his life, fighting nuclear death-machines or getting his youngest step-daughter to calm down and focus on her studies. The last had been the most difficult by far. Though he was rapidly re-considering its difficulty compared to this fenc-

"Dammit!" he growled as he awkwardly fell into the bushes adorning his back garden, he hated his body sometimes. Forty five years  of age yet he looked and felt like he'd hit the early part of sixty. The last two years he'd been training trying to regain some of his youthful strength and stamina, it was a work in progress.

Grumbling to himself the 'Man who made the impossible possible' slowly stood up before holding his twinging back with a  pronounced grimace, the old man then dusted himself off and procured his key from the dark, drab suit he wore when on the job. Staring at it for a moment he recalled how his younger self had often refuted the idea of being 'a family man', not so much out of selfishness but more to do with the thought of what kind of parent he'd be. A man who had been stuck in a bottle for two years, isolated, 'barely human' and with a joy for the battlefield was not ideal parent material. Yet here he was, living in the suburbs with two teenage daughters (step, even with his 'miraculous' recovery from both FOX-DIE and his bodies advanced aging he was still sterile) and holding down a job that required more combat with numbers then people.

Approaching the back door he entered with his usual ritual in mind.

"Kept you wait-"

He was agog at the sight. Girls, many of them. Giggly teenage girls drinking and partying in his home. He knew this day would come at some point....still sometime he wished Liquid had stepped on him in Rex. Next Chapter: Calling To The Night Estimated time remaining: 56 Minutes