About The Pie Sisters: Slice Of Life 199X Part (Late90s)


                                            >That same old droning, screeching sound of your alarm forces you awake and out of bed.

                                            >You manually reach over and hit the button, almost breaking the damn thing.

                                            >It sucks having to get up again after the weekend.

                                            >If you miss the bus again, you’ll just skateboard to school like in that movie, see how that plays out.

                                            >Which probably won’t be very well, but you’re going to try it anyway.

                                            >Slip into some school clothes.

                                            >Ripped jeans, t-shirt, flannel overshirt.

                                            >Your long messy hair tangles itself in your face; was this really worth growing it out this long?

                                            >You can already hear your mom yelling up the stairs that the bus is arriving down the street.

                                            >Okay, so…

                                            >Do you brush your teeth and have pearly whites in your mouth at school so the girls won’t be grossed out?

                                            >Or do you stuff a quick bagel or something into your mouth and take a Capri-Sun pouch with you so you aren’t starving during math lectures?

                                            >Decide that you’ll just go ahead and give both a try.

                                            >The quick, rushed taste of lingering toothpaste residue in your mouth screams at the fruity taste of the juice getting sucked out of the thin yellow straw.

                                            >FUCK, why did you do this?

                                            >You already figured that eating a bagel would defeat the whole point of having brushed your teeth but drinking this stuff right after haphazardly brushing your teeth makes you want to die as soon as you possibly can.

                                            >The next thing that assaults your tastebuds is the perceived taste of soot or whatever that came from you breathing the fumes that came out of the bus’s exhaust pipe that faces you.

                                            >”Wait!” You run with your untied shoelaces threatening to give you a face full of asphalt.

                                            >Mom can’t drive you because she has to go to work.

                                            >Dad is already at work right now.

                                            >As much as you would love to play hooky, the repercussions means no more playing on your Nintendo 64 for a week.

                                            >Mom already saw you miss the bus, which means she expects you to march yourself to school if you don’t catch up to it at the next stop.

                                            >Either that or hitch a ride with either Flash Sentry or Shining Armor, assuming they didn’t also take the bus today.

                                            >Your ribs hurt as you walk up to the big yellow capsule of laughing high schoolers, all of them finding entertainment of your misfortunate morning.

                                            >”Well you’re practicing early!” Val chuckles at you. ”Mile run’s next week, Anon! Not this one.”

                                            “Yeah yeah, fuck you too.” You hobble your way towards the doors of the bus as they open back up specifically for you.

                                            >He makes a bunch of dramatic wheezing noises in response to your gasping voice.

                                            >Everyone chuckles under their breath as you walk down the aisle, and you make faces at them, soon sitting alongside Val in his denim vest and tattered black t-shirt.

                                            >”Dude do you even have an alarm clock?” He pries.

                                            >You lightly punch him in the arm with a grin.

                                            >He lightly punches your arm back.

                                            >And lo and behold, not even ten minutes later, another one of the students is also running after the bus.

                                            >Everyone has already forgotten about you, and they’re now giggling like idiots at the next guy almost missing the bus.

                                            >And you have joined along with them, finding it especially funny knowing how annoying this definitely is for Micro Chips holding up his glasses trying to skydive off of his face.

                                            >The lady driving the bus rolls her eyes and stops for another one.

                                            >Micro Chips steps up the same steep stairs you had to climb your way up and finds the nearest empty seat past a few chuckling students.

                                            >”At this rate, you’re all gonna be late!” The bus driver jokes around.

                                            >That was the only interesting thing to happen all morning.

                                            >You walk past the doors of CHS and everything becomes the same old boring repeating groundhog day once again.

                                            >Sit in class after class, listen to a bunch of bullshit you don’t care about, you know the drill.

                                            >There’s a freshman girl with her long hair draped over one side of her face covering one of her eyes who keeps glancing over at you as you pass her in the hallways, and you recognize her from when she was glancing over at you back on Friday too, but she never says anything.

                                            >She’s almost like Fluttershy, but younger.

                                            >But your mind’s somewhere else right now.

                                            >That capri-sun you drank half of does little to nothing to quell your need for sustenance.

                                            >You’d eat your lime green eraser cap if it were edible, that thing is too torn around the rim to stay on the edge of your pencil anyway.

                                            >Sitting next to you in science class is that loud and hyper pink sophomore girl.

                                            >Her puffy hair sways back and forth as she turns her head to talk to her friend.

                                            >You notice a bunch of candies and other junk food in a bag inside of her open backpack.

                                            >She probably shouldn’t make them obvious to the teacher by bringing them out, since that’d get her in trouble for bringing food into class.

                                            >She just happily sits there writing down her notes in marker, most likely not even understanding what is being lectured just like 90% of every other student in this room.

                                            >Hell, maybe not even the teacher.

                                            >All around her notes, the pink girl plasters a bunch of tiny little hearts and stars all over the sides of the lines paper with her built-in-stamp markers, creating a little collage of those things.

                                            >There’s not a lot you can do to get her attention without getting called out by the teacher.

                                            >But there is a good chance she’s gonna look your way.

                                            >”What’s up?” She saw you staring straight at her, still remembering to whisper.

                                            >You silently point at the candies in her backpack, hoping she understands that you want some.

                                            >She looks back and forth between you and her candies in her backpack.

                                            >She seems rather willing to help you out after you’ve gotten the message across to her, but the maneuver has to be stealthy.

                                            >So what she does is stuff something inside of a bright-lidded plastic pencil box and sneaks it over to you after the lights turn off.

                                            >Right as the teacher is busy fiddling with the clear plastic sheet trying to align it properly to fully display from the overhead projector.

                                            >You peer inside to barely make out what looks like a sandwich.

                                            >She brought a sandwich with her.

                                            >You don’t even question it, you just silently thank her as clearly as you are able to.

                                            >…

                                            >That sandwich tasted kind of stale but you don’t care.

                                            >Not only that, but it didn’t really seem like a homemade sandwich, and instead was more like the kind you’d get from in town or at the mall or something.

                                            >You were too hungry to question that for long; just eat the tasty-ish sandwich and shut up.

                                            >Obviously, the pink girl expects you to give her the pencil box back to her by the end of the day.

                                            >It sits there after lunch period is halfway through, empty aside a few crumbs with its rounded corners promising an easy slip back into your book bag.

                                            >It wouldn’t be hard to remember the girl’s name from when you heard it before: Pinkie.

                                            >But her name being written in big letters in marker really helps with that anyway.

                                            >With all sorts of little marker stamps, stickers and other things to help everyone in the world identify that it’s her pencil box.

                                            >She doesn’t eat lunch at the same time as you, apparently.

                                            >Probably next period.

                                            >When you finally get through the final class of the day, you wander around the hallways looking for her, since she’d be easy to spot regardless.

                                            >But you can’t wander around too long; your bus is gonna be puling out any minute now.

                                            >Missing it in the morning is one thing, missing it in the afternoon spells trouble for two new reasons.

                                            >All of the bus stops are far away from the school.

                                            >And you definitely do NOT want to stay after school, because this place is fucking lame.

                                            >Eventually figure you’re better off just taking the rounded rectangular pencil box home with you and then handing it back to Pinkie tomorrow in science class.

                                            >So off you go.

                                            >Riding the bus back home goes normally.

                                            >Decide to pull out the pencil box and show it to Val.

                                            >Start joking around with him about it, pretending that you’re either gay or a girl with the vibrant colors on the empty container and snapping it back open and shut again like a wide little alligator mouth.

                                            >He doesn’t even ask where you got it, not really even that interested.

                                            >But across the bus aisle, and up a couple of rows at the very back of the bus where the coolest seniors are allowed to sit, one of the girls there starts glaring at you.

                                            >You ignore her, but she’s 100% not ignoring you.

                                            >She flicks her short-ish hair to the side and keeps giving you some kind of angry eye.

                                            >Damn, what’s her problem?

                                            >Maybe she just doesn’t like Val due to his rather misogynistic comments?

                                            >But even after Val gets off before your stop is reached, that girl is still glaring at particularly you.

                                            >She frowns at you, looking over at your now zipped up backpack.

                                            “Can I help you?”

                                            >She looks over at the bus driver then back over at you.

                                            “You want something?” You shrug and spread your arms.

                                            >Your stop is coming up anyway, screw it.

                                            >But the very instant you get off of the bus, you notice her get up and follow you.

                                            >She rarely rides this bus aside a few times, but she never gets off at this stop, something’s up.

                                            >”Hey Limestone!” One of her friends calls over to her. “Where you going?”

                                            >”I’ll catch up to you later!” She says, following you all the way off of the bus.

                                            >Wanting to avoid any confrontation with this girl, you’re already hurrying back in the direction of your house.

                                            >Though, you might want to throw her off in case she follows yo-

                                            >”Get the fuck over here!”

                                            >The bus wasn’t even far enough away to keep the other students from hearing her threatening tone.

                                            “You want something?” You repeat, spreading your arms and almost shrugging under the weight of your backpack straps on your shoulders.

                                            >”Open your backpack, bitch!”

                                            “What the fuck is your problem?!”

                                            >She stomps over and shoves you.

                                            >Holy fucking shit she’s strong.

                                            >You stumble backwards and already know you’re gonna fall onto your ass on the sidewalk before it happens.

                                            >The concrete slaps against your palms and wrists upon your landing.

                                            >That’s gonna bleed, you know it.

                                            >A couple of the other students almost walk over to help you but back away in the face of Limestone’s glare.

                                            “Gah, you fucking…” You stand yourself up.

                                            >She’s already a foot or two away from you by the time you’re on your feet and checking your hands for blood.

                                            >You back away and start trying to run.

                                            >She grabs your backpack and yanks it right off of you.

                                            >Unzips it right open and pours everything out onto the nearby grass.

                                            >The deep pink lid of Pinkie’s pencil box catches your eye, as it does Limestone’s eye.

                                            >”That shit’s not yours, fucker!”

                                            “She gave it to me!”

                                            >”No she fucking didn’t!”

                                            >You cautiously step over to collect all of your things that spilled out of your bag, hoping Limestone will just fuck off with the pencil box she thinks you stole.

                                            >Nope, she punches you in the chest harder than Val ever has in your arm.

                                            “Ahhh, get the fuck away from me you bitch!”

                                            >You take a swing and miss, momentarily feeling her shoe stomp directly onto your toes through your shoe.

                                            >”You’re the bitch!” She snarls like an angry wolf.

                                            >You double over like a drunkard after midnight, wailing out loud and clamping your hands around your wounded foot.

                                            “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! I DIDN’T STEAL IT!”

                                            >Limestone kicks you while you’re down, and you realize why she waited until she waited until the two of you were off of the bus to do this.

                                            >”Touch my sister’s shit again and I’ll fucking rape you!”

                                            >What the fuck is her problem?

                                            >She’s gone before you stand back up.

                                            >Gather your sprawled out things from the nearby house’s side-lawn and limp home in a flurry of shame and rage.

                                            >…

                                            >It took you another twenty or so minutes of going over the traumatizing event in your head to realize that this Limestone girl is Pinkie’s older sister.

                                            >The reason it took you so long to piece this together is the fact that you:

                                            >A: Got beat up by a girl in front of at least three students who will undoubtably spread the rumor.

                                            >B: Got told straight to your face by said girl that she’s gonna “fucking rape” you if you anger her again.

                                            >She called you a bitch, humiliated you, beat you up and threatened to rape you… and there’s still some kind of uncertainty somewhere in there regarding how this made you feel?

                                            >You’re gonna have a hard time explaining this to Val, who’s gonna have a field day lampooning you about this once he catches wind of the whole thing.

                                            >Valhallen always mocked you for not being a tough or manly as he is.

                                            >You have spent all these years trying to one-up him and then this fucking shit happens.

                                            >Out of the two of you, he’s never been beat up by anyone, let alone by a girl.

                                            >You dare not tell your parents about this, and desperately hope they never find out from anyone else either.

                                            >But anyway, back to the realization you just had.

                                            >Pinkie and Limestone are sisters, and Limestone apparently didn’t get the memo that Pinkie voluntarily gave you her plastic pencil box after you asked for her permission.

                                            >But even then, that reaction to this misunderstanding was uncalled for.

                                            >Limestone must have had a really bad day and took it out on you.

                                            >But you’re too angry to care, you want to throw something at her for this, maybe do a few violent things back at her somehow.

                                            >You punch the air a few times with tears in your eyes like that guy from Boyz In The Hood, not even hungry anymore and it’s not because you ate that turkey sandwich.

                                            >There’s a little voice in your head that whispers: “That was actually kind of hot…”

                                            >And you hate that voice, you tell it to shut the fuck up.

                                            >Your masculinity was not only threatened, but it was shattered, by a girl.

                                            >It’s a good thing no one had a video camera with them, maybe no one will believe any of the three students who saw.

                                            >Maybe they won’t even bother telling, out of some sort of empathetic respect for you… or pity, pity works too in this case.

                                            >Anything that doesn’t ruin your reputation.

                                            >Hopefully Limestone herself won’t tell anyone once she gives the pencil box back to Pinkie and has it explained to her how it really got into your hands.

                                            >You hope it makes her feel like shit for what she said and did to you.

                                            ~

                                            >The night before.

                                            >The Pie house is usually quiet at this time of night, as everyone has to go to bed at a certain time.

                                            >A strict schedule is absolutely necessary, in order to keep everyone awake and alert enough during the weekends to do what they usually do.

                                            >Which is… farming rocks.

                                            >Yup, farming rocks, basically mining but above ground.

                                            >This household has two parents and four daughters.

                                            >Igneous Rock Pie, the man of the house, runs a small informal business to help keep the bills paid.

                                            >He farms rocks from out in the fields far behind the house and sells them to those places that sell gravel and mulch and whatever the fuck else those places sell.

                                            >He knows of a few secret spots either no one else knows about, or more often, spots that are technically owned by his family.

                                            >He’ll sell the land to whichever company that is the first to give him a high enough amount of money to equal three times as much as the amount someone pays him in a year, but that whole thing’s another complicated story.

                                            >He technically owns the land and makes his four daughters help with the mining since they’re more young and able than his wife Cloudy Quartz.

                                            >The two oldest sisters, Limestone and Maud Pie, are already regularly helping their dad make his money on their family’s rock farm, mining and “farming” rocks every single weekend from sun-up to sun-down.

                                            >Limestone fucking hates it, hoping she can just join a grunge band and move the fuck out as soon as she graduates high school in a few months.

                                            >On the other hand, Maud is excessively obsessed and passionate about her informal rock farming “job”, and outpaces her older sister in labor by almost tenfold.

                                            >She’s the reason why her father has raked in so much money recently and is ready to sell the land whenever he gets the chance so he doesn’t have to put his family through this the same way anymore.

                                            >Limestone is thrilled about that prospect, but Maud repeatedly stated that she will join whichever company that buys the land so she can continue her dream job.

                                            >The third sister down the age ranks is Pinkie Pie, who just doesn’t seem to get it when it comes to the family business.

                                            >She’s unlike Limestone in that she enjoys “playing in her backyard’s backyard”, but never does anything properly like Maud does, and does dumb things like have tea parties with the rocks she’s supposed to pick apart after they’re sometimes dug up.

                                            >It’s all about having fun as far as Pinkie Pie is concerned, instead of hard work.

                                            >The concept of hard work doesn’t even really exist to the girl, it’s all just different ways to have fun.

                                            >Her parents have been trying to get her to start “having fun the right way”, but it’s been to no avail.

                                            >And since Maud has been doing such a good job, the parents have finally decided to give their daughters a break from all of the hard labor for the entire weekend.

                                            >Instead of working outside the entire day for both Saturday and most of Sunday, the Pie sisters had all been allowed to take a trip to the mall on each day this weekend as their parents have to go on a business trip anyway.

                                            >All of them except one of them, the youngest Pie sister, Marble Pie.

                                            >Marble is not yet strong enough to pull the same weight her sisters can.

                                            >Not only this, but Marble is very socially awkward and sheepish in social situations.

                                            >Because of these two traits that define her ability and demeanor, her parents rule that she’s not allowed to go to the mall yet, but it’s fine because she’s barely been allowed to do a whole lot in the rock farms as of yet anyway due to her lack of physical strength.

                                            >So she was required to stay home while her three older sisters went to the mall together.

                                            >It had not been Limestone’s first time at the mall, unbeknownst to her parents, as she has become an expert at sneaking out on school day afternoons and evenings and hanging out with the other “cool kids” there.

                                            >The stricter the parent, the more savvy and/or rebellious the teen at times.

                                            >It’s just how it happens sometimes.

                                            >Limestone would sometimes take a different bus home after telling Maud she was going to go study with friends during the week so no homework would spill over into the weekend.

                                            >Maud, whose mind is always completely somewhere other than her sister’s thinly-veiled lies, eats it right up and relays it to her parents every day Limestone wanted to hang out with her cool friends instead of her lame family.

                                            >Maud’s never been to the mall before, but would certainly go back after having seen all of the different minerals and such in the jewelry sections and large rocks around the fountain where everyone throws pennies into the water to make a wish.

                                            >She automatically told her parents about how she only paid attention to the rocks there to make them proud, and that she didn’t get any food at the food court there or anything else other than did rock related things.

                                            >Pinkie’s already been to the mall with her friends, but she’s more (kind of) well-behaved than her older sister Limestone, so her parents allowed her to go a few times so long as she was accompanied by friends her parents trust.

                                            >The Pie Parents trust Pinkie’s friends but not Limestone’s friends.

                                            >But they trust Pinkie and Limestone and Maud all going to the together in a group, under the assumption that Pinkie will show the other two around which is only half true.

                                            >And now…

                                            >The weekend is over, and the three Pie sisters who went to the mall had a great time.

                                            >Except… it was more than three…

                                            >It was all four of the Pie sisters.

                                            >And this fact is somethin that Marble Pie has in her mind as she enters Maud’s room.

                                            >Limestone’s too annoyed by the fun being over right now and is extremely irritable as she’s going to bed, not looking forward to the next weekend where it’ll be back to farming rocks the entire time to compare to the great weekend she just had.

                                            >At least that’s what Marble assumes when she finds that Limestone is not in her room.

                                            >Pinkie will almost certainly blab to mom and dad about it, even if she doesn’t mean to.

                                            >With this, Maud Pie is the only option left.

                                            >Marble creeps into Maud’s room with a half of a turkey subway sandwich in her hand, one she bought at the mall but couldn’t finish all the way.

                                            >She can’t put it into the fridge, as her parents will discover it with Limestone not knowing to lie about it being hers to cover for her sister, and Pinkie not knowing to keep her mouth shut.

                                            >”What is it, Marble?” Asks Maud as she sits at her desk, looking at a few pebbles she took from the mall under a microscope.

                                            >”Um… c-can… you…” Marble begins.

                                            >Maud patiently waits for her younger sister to inevitably continue what she’s trying to say.

                                            >”C-can you hold on to this for me?”

                                            >Maud glances down at the half of the sandwich that hasn’t been eaten yet.

                                            >”I-I swear I didn’t touch it. O-or bite it.” Stammers Marble.

                                            >”You got that at the mall?” Asks Maud.

                                            >Marble nods.

                                            >”Why don’t you just put it in the fridge and eat it tommor-… oh.” Maud realizes the situation here.

                                            >Marble stands there with the sandwich in hand, letting her poise and sad puppy eyes do all the talking for her.

                                            >Maud blankly stares at her for several seconds straight.

                                            >”I suppose you can’t give it to Pinkie. Right?” Says Maud.

                                            >Marble shakes her head.

                                            >”I suppose you can’t give it to Limestone. Right?”

                                            >Marble shakes her head again.

                                            >”I suppose you’ll get in trouble if Mom or Dad finds it in the fridge. Right?”

                                            >Marble nods her head.

                                            >”Maybe I should have told them I ate at the food court so your sandwich has an alibi.” States Maud. “But I’m not psychic, so I could not have known this.”

                                            >”W-will you…”

                                            >”I’m not hungry. I’m busy.” Maud looks over at the stolen pebbles on her desk.

                                            >Marble’s heart begins to sink.

                                            >”But I will hold on to it for you. Because you’re my sister, and I love you. And you deserved your day at the mall just like the rest of us did.” Maud then clarifies.

                                            >Marble lets out a sigh of relief and hands the sandwich over to her industrious older sister.

                                            >”I’ll have boulder guard over this sandwich so it’s safe for the entire night.” Maud informs Marble, then looks over at her pet rock. “Right, Boulder?”

                                            >Boulder rests atop Maud’s room desk right next to the microscope, facing the mall’s pebbles that are taped down under the desk lamp.

                                            >Like a live shrimp looking at a bowl of fried shrimp.

                                            >”Boulder says it will be no problem.” Maud tells Marble.

                                            >The deal is sealed and Marble is sent back to her own room.

                                            >Marble hops into bed and giggles giddily at the fact that she now went to the MALL today… just like her cool oldest sister Limestone… and got away with it too!

                                            >With absolutely no meddling kids.

                                            >She smiles up at the ceiling and kicks her feet up and down under the covers, ready for a good night’s sleep before school tomorrow.

                                            >Her excitement keeps her up for a little while.

                                            >Maud and Pinkie must have gone to sleep already, leaving her the only one still awake unless Limestone snuck out again and is elsewhere.

                                            >And it turns out this in fact was the case.

                                            >The master bedroom where her parents sleep is on the opposite side of the house of the second floor bedrooms where the four Pie sisters have their bedrooms.

                                            >Marble recognizes the sounds of her eldest sister Limestone scaling the side of the house.

                                            >Mom and dad usually check Limestone’s window for signs of her sneaking out and back in, but they never check Maud’s window, out of trust for her.

                                            >Limestone knew this and makes her way up to Maud’s bedroom window, waking her sister up.

                                            >Maud opens her window and looks down at her older sister hanging off the edge of the gutter by her clamping hands.

                                            >”Help me up, will ya?” Grunts Limestone.

                                            >”What are you doing? Where have you been?” Asks Maud.

                                            >”I got lost, okay? I didn’t want mom and dad to freak out, so I’m climbing into your room then going to bed.”

                                            >”You got lost?”

                                            >”A friend driving me lost the map to the town and we had to guess where we had to go!”

                                            >”…I see.”

                                            >”Will you just… fricken help me already?!” Growls Limestone.

                                            >Maud obliges and helps her older sister through the bedroom window.

                                            >”Listen, you didn’t see me here, alright?” Says Limestone.

                                            >”Okay.” Maud replies.

                                            >Limestone glances over at Maud’s nightstand.

                                            >Immediately sees a sandwich sitting there on the surface, right next to Boulder who is “guarding” it.

                                            >”You gonna finish that?” She points at it.

                                            >Maud nonverbally communicated with Boulder and immediately switches to defense mode.

                                            >”Yes. The sandwich is mine.” Maud tells Limestone.

                                            >”God fucking damn it, I’m hungry.”

                                            >”…Too bad.” Maud responds after the longest pause.

                                            >Even if the two did break out into a catfight, Maud’s history of being the by-far harder worker on the rock farm would earn her a victory over her slacking older sister.

                                            >But Limestone already stops caring and sneaks out to return to her bedroom.

                                            >It is only several minutes after this encounter does Maud realize that she can’t eat the sandwich tomorrow morning without something to drink.

                                            >But giving the sandwich to Limestone would have made Boulder sad he couldn’t finish fulfilling his guard duties for the entire night.

                                            >Maud gets back into bed trying to figure out how she can bring something to drink up to her room tomorrow morning so she can finish the sandwich without her parents knowing.

                                            >Since they already know she didn’t get anything to eat at the mall.

                                            >…

                                            >Whatever plan she could come up with can’t come into fruition on Monday morning.

                                            >Once she’s downstairs, she has to eat breakfast with her sisters then head straight out the door, no going back upstairs.

                                            >Everyone always gets ready first and then goes downstairs for breakfast.

                                            >Taking a glass of water back up and THEN having it with the sandwich AFTER already eating breakfast would be too much of an ordeal.

                                            >Why couldn’t Maud just allow herself to give the sandwich to Limestone?

                                            >Who literally wanted to eat the sandwich.

                                            >Everyone’s in a rush as usual in the morning.

                                            >Waiting for someone to finish brushing their teeth and get out of the bathroom so they can get in and do their hair.

                                            >Marble and Limestone don’t have to take as long doing their hair.

                                            >They have already gone downstairs for breakfast, backpacks and lunch boxes in hand.

                                            >As Pinkie is done fixing up her hair, she is approached by Maud.

                                            >Maud doesn’t have any room in her own backpack to take the sandwich with her, but Pinkie is so messy and disorganized that the sandwich wouldn’t even seem out of place in this sense.

                                            >”Limestone couldn’t finish her sandwich from the mall. And I don’t want it. Do you want to take it to school for lunch?” Says Maud.

                                            >Pinkie Pie’s eyes light up and she hops around in glee. “Of course I would! Thanks, Maud! You’re the best!”

                                            ~

                                            >Rewind back to Saturday evening.

                                            >Pinkie Pie is bouncing and floating around the department stores with shopping bags of clothing in hand, saying hi to her sisters whenever she passes by them.

                                            >Maud nonchalantly waves back with a blank expression then goes back to staring at all of the rings and necklaces, correctly identifying how each of the shiny parts were formed in the Earth, and which methods would be the most efficient ways to cut them into the shapes they are in now as they sit there on display.

                                            >Limestone cringes and turns away, pretending not to know Pinkie and hopes her own cool friends do not notice.

                                            >Marble is not currently at the mall, though, she absolutely wanted to go.

                                            >And Limestone knew this very well, and deep inside, she wanted to at least give Marble a chance to live a little bit after being cooped up inside with this lame ass family and their… rock farm.

                                            >Every weekend, day in and day out, Limestone’s free time had been robbed from her, and she’s now getting some of it given back to her as she is at the mall on the weekend for once when more people go.

                                            >She dressed up in her rad tattered shirt and baggy jeans, an outfit her parents absolutely would not approve of had she left the house in that.

                                            >Good, she wants to wear something her parents don’t like.

                                            >Whatever her parents don’t like, Limestone likes.

                                            >Her parents like Classical, Blues, and Folk Music, Limestone likes Metal, Punk Rock, and Grunge.

                                            >Her parents like suits and ties and long thick tunic-like dresses and ball dresses for special occasions, Limestone likes denim jackets, ripped holes in her jeans and sneakers.

                                            >Her parents like to watch films like Gone With The Wind and I Love Lucy when they actually allow television and movie entertainment, Limestone likes Trainspotting and other films with a similar vibe.

                                            >Whatever, you get the idea.

                                            >Limestone Pie follows her friends Cherry Crash, Mystery Mint and Crimson Napalm back and forth between the mall and the nearby skate park as the sky gets darker and darker.

                                            >They hang out, shittalk a lot of the popular movies currently coming out, argue over who the best skateboarder is, listen to the latest Sonic Youth album on a portable CD player, and so on…

                                            >All while sipping Capri-Sun pouches and slurping Go-Gurts and munching on Airheads.

                                            >And people-watching, mocking all the cringy looking mall-goers behind their back when they’re not looking and can’t hear.

                                            >”Excuse me.” One of the employees of the mall’s furniture store walks up to the group of friends. “You’re not allowed to have food and beverages here.”

                                            >”No food AND drinks? Okay, well…” Crimson Napalm walks over to a nearby trash can, sipping the last of his Capri-Sun pouch dry then tossing the empty pouch into the can. “Now it’s only food. No drinks.”

                                            >The three girls of the group chuckle.

                                            >”No food OR drinks, wise guy!” The employee clarifies, lidding his eyes and putting his hands on his hips.

                                            >”Yeesh, okay fine! Didn’t know you guys were so uptight about food around here.”

                                            >”When we sell these couches, we don’t want stains on them, thank you very much!” The employee continues. “Also please keep the profane language to a minimum. There are children here.”

                                            >”Aw, you heard all that?” Cherry Crash joins in, using a joking tone. “We’re sorry. Say you’re sorry, everyone!”

                                            >”Isn’t it late for kids to be here anyway? Don’t they have like, bedtimes or something?” Pries Crimson Napalm.

                                            >”Sir, please don’t argue with me about it.”

                                            >”Well you, sir, just lost a customer!” Crimson suddenly ‘flips the script’ on the employee with a tactical retreat. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

                                            >”Sir, I just work here.”

                                            >”Cool, dude.” Cherry Crash giggles. “Maybe I’ll apply to here for my summer job. Liven the place up a bit.”

                                            >”We’ll uh, we’ll see about that.” The employee sarcastically watches the group of friends leave and take their snacks and nicknacks with them.

                                            >He waits until they’re out of earshot.

                                            >”Fuckin’ teenagers these days.” He mutters under his breath.

                                            >The four friends continue to do their own thing until Crimson Napalm and Cherry Crash have to leave to catch a flight for an Incubus concert tomorrow they have tickets to.

                                            >That just leaves Limestone and Mystery to wander around the mall together with Pinkie Pie occasionally popping by and annoying them with her desire to show them what clothes she bought.

                                            >And then there’s Maud.

                                            >Maud is now climbing up on the rocks next to the mall’s fountain and leaning her face super close to the surface, trying to verify the authenticity of them or whatever it was she said she was doing.

                                            >She’s told to step down off of the public property immediately.

                                            >The later it gets, the more Limestone and Mystery have fun vibing together.

                                            >They fool around in one of the department stores, trying on all these different coats and scarves and hats and such.

                                            >Just having fun being goofy together in their own ways, which is something Limestone needed more than just a couple of hours of for once.

                                            >No, not just one or two hours, but the entire day of hanging out with her friends, even if two of them had to leave.

                                            >She listens to more nu-metal on her CD player and finishes the last Go-Gurt, wondering how much her youngest sister Marble would have loved to be here.

                                            >Limestone Pie and Mystery Mint now HAVE to leave as the mall is closing up for the night.

                                            >”I gotta go now, my parents are expecting me to be back.” Says Mystery Mint.

                                            >”Yeah mine probably are too. See ya.”

                                            >Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie are also waiting outside of the closing up mall for their sister to drive them back home.

                                            >…

                                            >”Hey Maud?” Asks Limestone to the back seat.

                                            >”Yeah?”

                                            >”Do you wanna drive next time?”

                                            >”Sure.”

                                            >It is decided that Limestone is going to get picked up by Mystery Mint tomorrow for the second day of mall-fun.

                                            >And tagging along with her is going to be Marble.

                                            >Up in her room, Marble Pie lies on her bed thinking back to her previous week of school.

                                            >There’s this upperclassman she thinks she’s starting to like a little bit, his name’s Anon, but she doesn’t think he ever notices her nor does she have the courage to talk to him.

                                            >If Limestone ever saw her with some boy, she’d immediately get protective of her little sister, that much she knows for sure.

                                            >If only there was a way Marble could become cool like all those kids who hang out at the mall and do fun stuff there.

                                            >Like the ones she saw skateboarding and rollerblading at the skate park that one time.

                                            >She’d not only convinced Limestone that she’s ready to be cool on her own but would also be brave enough to talk to people more and maybe get Anon to notice her.

                                            >Would be kind of weird for a freshman to date an upperclassman, though.

                                            >That only makes this even more of a hurdle in Marble’s mind.

                                            >”Hey.” Limestone suddenly enters Marble’s room. “How was today?”

                                            >Marble hesitates before answering her eldest sister. “…Boring.”

                                            >Limestone sits next to her. “Yeah, I bet. It really sucks being cooped up in here like a flock of chickens, right?”

                                            >”Mmm hmm.” Nods Marble.

                                            >”So um, I’ve been thinking, since it’s really fun to get to go to the mall whenever I can, and you’ve never really gotten to go there yet, what do you say you come along next time?”

                                            >Marble looks over at her sister with wide eyes.

                                            >”Don’t tell mom or dad I said this. We gotta keep this secret if you wanna do this and make it work.”

                                            >Marble’s eyes light up with excitement. “R-really? I can come to the mall with you?’

                                            >Limestone smiles and nods at her youngest sister.

                                            >The night ends with the two of them sharing a hug together and planning out how they’re going to pull this off without their parents finding out.

                                            >Luckily, mom and dad are going to be on a business trip for the family business as their daughters enjoy themselves at the mall, with the exception of Marble being home alone all day.

                                            >They trust Maud enough to tell her to make sure Marble stays home and then say she herself is free to go to the mall herself if she wants to since she revealed she’s the one driving next time.

                                            >But when Maud heard Limestone’s side of the story, talking about how Marble wants to be like the cool kids, Maud couldn’t help but agree to be in on being part of the scheme, for the sake of making her younger sister happy.

                                            >This whole “Marble can’t go with you” thing did kind of rub her the wrong way, as it didn’t really feel fair since the girls will be traveling in a group.

                                            >Marble just wants to have fun, which is really the only talking point it took to get Pinkie on board.

                                            >It does take a little bit more convincing Marble that she’s not going to get in trouble, and that people at the mall are just regular people like anyone else, and she can just stick by Limestone in case she might run into trouble or if she fears she might get lost.

                                            >…

                                            >By Mid Sunday afternoon, Mr. And Mrs. Pie have already left, leaving Maud in charge of the house for the day.

                                            >The rest of it happens quickly, simply and smoothly.

                                            >Marble is directed into the car and she’s driven with the rest of her sisters to the mall to hang out.

                                            >The door closes with her inside, leaving her nervous but excited that she’s finally going to be doing something cool in her life.

                                            >Maud gets in the drivers seat with Pinkie in the passenger’s seat.

                                            >”Eeeee! I’m so excited! Are you excited?!” Pinkie looks back at Marble.

                                            >Marble shyly nods and gives her sister a smile and thumbs up.

                                            >Maud looks back from the driver’s seat. “Are you ready for your life to rock for a day?” She says in the most monotone voice you’ve ever heard.

                                            >Marble nods even faster.

                                            >With Mystery Mint and Limestone Pie leading in the other car, Maud drives her two sisters over to the mall to have fun on Sunday.

                                            >It was kind of a late night last night, but she’s ready to do it again just for the heck of it.

                                            >Marble happily glances out the window at all the other cars on the road, and then at the mall building slowly approaching.

                                            >The parking space is pulled in to and the girls step out.

                                            >Marble Pie is visibly nervous, but still can’t wait to go inside the mall and see what it’s like in there.

                                            >Pinkie Pie is the first one to go in, skipping all the way with her wallet out.

                                            >”I’m gonna buy all of my friends new clothes! And then Rarity’s gonna tailor them so they fit!” She exclaims while rebounding on her heels and darting around on her toes.

                                            >Maud is next to enter, and she immediately looks for anything nature related in a wing of shops and stores she hasn’t explored yet.

                                            >Maybe there’s something related to rocks and minerals in there along with whatever nature things they’ll show, it could be like the museum.

                                            >A hesitant Marble Pie and a reassuring Limestone Pie are the last to enter the building.

                                            >The first thing Marble sees is the fountain, looking at how it towers over her head like an all-direction waterfall flowing down into a pool of clear glistening water with its floor lined with thousands of copper pennies.

                                            >The rushing water nearly resembles the sound of TV static, which could accurately depict the state of Marble Pie’s usual apprehension.

                                            >”Look at how high it goes!” Marble points upward toward the top of the mall fountain.

                                            >”It is pretty cool, I guess.” Limestone scoffs, trying to hold back a smile.

                                            >Part of her wishes she brought a camera to take photos with, but that’d probably ruin the moment of actually enjoying all of this and taking it in.

                                            >”Your sister’s really never been here before?” Asks Mystery Mint.

                                            >”Our parents are, uh… weird.” Replies Limestone.

                                            >”Wow. C’mon, let’s go get something to eat.” Exclaims Mystery.

                                            >Marble has never seen an escalator in action before.

                                            >A weird looking metal set of stairs with all these cool looking grooves in the steps that integrate with grooves in the plates at the top and bottom of the flights like they’re a kind of aesthetically pleasing puzzle.

                                            >”What happens if I step on that?” Marble points to the spot where the steps go under the metal plate people stand on at the top. “Will I get sucked in?”

                                            >”Nah that doesn’t happen here.” Replies Limestone.

                                            >The three make it to the food court where everyone gets a couple of pretzels and drinks.

                                            >Limestone tells Marble about the skate park that’s just a minute or two’s walk away from the mall, and that they could walk over there and check it out really quickly if she wants.

                                            >Marble shows a lot of enthusiasm to see the skate park, hoping she’ll see some of the kids there doing really sick skateboard tricks there.

                                            >Limestone is just happy to see her youngest sister excited for something like this.

                                            >She doesn’t want the world or home life to bear down on her little sis.

                                            >If any part of the world Limestone doesn’t like tries something with Marble Pie, Limestone Pie will be there and waiting, as edgy and ill-behaved she herself can be sometimes.

                                            >The same goes for any of her sisters, but it especially goes for Marble; she’s even more innocent than Pinkie by a little bit.

                                            >As the three walk out the doors and head over to the skatepark, Limestone fights the urge to hold her sister closer to her.

                                            >It’s hard because she wants to let her run free at the same time, despite also not wanting anything bad happening to her.

                                            >Limestone never thought such a sappy internal conflict could happen with her, inside of her own head.

                                            >But the shy yet ecstatic smile on Marble’s face is one that absolutely must be protected at all costs.

                                            >A smile that’s not only protected, yet given more reason to widen.

                                            >One day, Marble is going to grow up and start taking in all of the naughty and dirty things about being a young adult, and that’s okay.

                                            >She’s enjoying herself now and that’s all that truly matters in this world right now.

                                            >Limestone sips down another Capri-Sun, watching the skateboarders do their really cool tricks in front of her younger sister Marble.

                                            >Between this and the cool things she’s seen so far at the mall, Marble has never been so taken aback by something before.

                                            >”Do you come here and hang out all the time?” Asks Marble.

                                            >”On and off. Mom and dad wouldn’t want me to, so it’s alright with me.” Limestone tells her with a smirk.

                                            >Marble giggles and asks for her own Capri-Sun packet and Go-Gurt from out of the tiny portable cooler.

                                            >She is given her own of those things immediately loves the taste of cool kid food.

                                            >As per the usual pattern of movement Limestone and her friends do, the three go back into the mall and make their way to the furniture store, looking out for that employee from before, just in case he’s gonna preemptively kick them out this time.

                                            >”Pinkie’s friend has a lot of those things.” Limestone points to the mannequins behind the large glass windows on the way over. “I hear they get really creepy at night.”

                                            >That offhand comment led to Mystery, Limestone and Marble going back and forth about what was turning into obviously fake and made up ghost stories they came up with on the spot.

                                            >They all sit on the sample couch, snuggling up to the pillows and grabbing a few prop blankets from the furniture set, continuing to talk to one another.

                                            >Yeah they know it’s all made up on the spot, but that’s part of what makes it fun anyway.

                                            >They’re already pretending the fake cardboard flames in the model fireplace is a campfire as they “stay warm” inside the blankets and make up more silly ghost stories to eachother.

                                            >Shoppers walk by giving them weird looks but none of the girls could possibly care less.

                                            >Just two sisters and their punk rocker friend in the late 90’s hanging out in the furniture department store pretending the model couch is a soft cushiony log and the fake fireplace is a campfire as they sit there bundled up in the sample blankets munching on Airheads, slurping Go-Gurts and sipping Capri-Suns, telling comically fake ghost stories and laughing about it as the sky outside the mall gets darker and darker blue then black on a Sunday night.

                                            >At some point, everything gets so comfy that Limestone allows Marble to go venture out on her own when she gets hungry, pretending the rest of the mall is the spooky wilderness in which Marble must find food (by buying something with money Limestone gave her before she herself heads back to the skatepark).

                                            >While this is the case, Marble Pie is fixing to head back home with Pinkie and Maud for her own safety as Limestone and Mystery stay behind to “brave the wilderness”.

                                            >The mall lights are also shutting off as the place is closing, adding to the spooky atmosphere.

                                            >Pinkie Pie is just about done shopping for various items including clothes for the SECOND time now, and Maud is done checking out all of the rocks in the display/scenic areas and jewelry stores.

                                            >Marble finds a sandwich joint still open that is cheap enough for her to afford, so she goes there and buys a long turkey sandwich for herself, feeling absolutely famished.

                                            >She sees Maud and Pinkie catch up to her in a rushed hurry after she gives up trying to eat the whole thing as the mall is closing anyway.

                                            >Everyone has to leave now, it’s time to go home.

                                            >Three Pie sisters hop into the same car they stepped out of at the front of the mall.

                                            >It takes off.

                                            >At the back of the mall that faces the skate park, one Pie sister and her friend lean against the concrete and stucco exterior of the building.

                                            >”If we go back to my place now, we’ll have time to watch a movie.” Says Mystery Mint. “I finally got the VCR working again.”

                                            >”I think I’ll stay behind for now. Kinda tired.” Responds Limestone Pie.

                                            >”Alright, I gotcha.”

                                            >”It’s Sunday night, and I kinda wanna hang out at the skate park a little bit longer.” Says Limestone, caring mostly only about Marble’s newfound happiness. “I’ll find my way back, I know my way around town. I’ll be down for a movie if we ever get to have a sleepover again if that works.”

                                            >”Sounds like a plan, Limey!”

                                            >”Awesome.”

                                            >”I’ll catch ya later!”

                                            >”See ya.”

                                            >Mystery Mint heads home.

                                            >Just like Pinkie and Maud have, as well as Marble, who hopes she’ll be able to be more social now that she kind of got got a taste of it.

                                            >Along with a taste of a big turkey sandwich which was a little more than she could chew that she bit off.

                                            >She hopes she can hide it from her parents after they get back from their business trip in about 30 minutes, which is luckily more than the 10 minute drive it’ll take to get back to the house.

                                            >Meanwhile…

                                            >Limestone is far less concerned about whether she gets in trouble or not, at least for the time being.

                                            >She’s a free spirit right now, striding along the outside of the closed mall as the exterior lights shine down upon her on her way to the still lit up skate park.

                                            >She takes deep relaxing breaths, ready to get mad later on that she’s gonna miss this during future weekends.

                                            >But for the next hour or two, Limestone is going to chill at the skate park and be herself for a little bit.

                                            >Listen to the sounds of the night until she’s tired enough to go home and go to bed.