Twelve

The sun'd rays warmed the land, letting the plants shine and blossom. Sweat fell from the foreheads of the ponies who worked the earth, using their magic to grow their food. It was tough, never ending work. This notion particularly applied to the Apple family, who treated their land like their baby, working on it with care, love and dedication.

So when Taurus was pretty much making a trench with the plough, horror was a drastic understatement when trying to describe what their faces looked like.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down partner! You want to work the land, not have your merry way with it!" Applejack said.

"Excuse me. I though work the land meant making this big enough for seeding." Taurus said politely.

"Well, yeah, but just, you know, a bit easier to dig! We're not planting a tree out of the blue!"

"We are not?"

"What kind of farming do you do back in your home?" Big Mac asked.

"We plant the halley seeds in the trenches, wait a couple of hours and harvest the result."

"You have trees that grow in hours." Applejack repeated, to which Taurus nodded. Maybe the sun was hitting too hard or she had been working to hard, or hell, she had been sleeping to hard, but Applejack could feel herself become a little faint. Trees that grew in hours. The very concept alone was enough to get her mind spinning.

"Ah' expected him to be more...gruff..." Apple Bloom mentioned, siting on the porch of the house. Pisces sat besides her, humming a small melody.

"Taurus is the bulkiest of us, but don't let his size mistake you. His heart is pure gold."  she said calmly.

"Apple Bloom!"

The filly's attention was grabbed by the shout. Her eyes glowed when she saw Sweetie Belle running towards her, cheerful as can be.  She was visibly tired from running all the way from the boutique, but her spirit kept her going. She had a glin in her eyes, a glint that Apple Bloom knew too well. It was a crusading glint!

"Sweetie! What happened?!" she asked.

"Aqua told me a way to get our cute marks! Painting!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.Apple Bloom grinned at the suggestion. It was perfect.

"We need to find Scootaloo though..." Sweetie Belle said.

"No problems. Ah' think Ah' know just where to find here." Apple Bloom said. And withnthat, both fillies were gone, dust trailing behind them. Pisces gave a chuckle athe sight. Children always had new ideas. It was just a questions of giving them the right push.

"Quite a handful aren't they?"

Piscies turned her head, finding Granny Smith standing besides her. The older mare was visibly tired, but her eyes still had that sparkle that filled the living.

"I think it's rather heartwarming. Young friends go on daily adventures. I admire the ability to let your imagination go free." she replied.

"Oh yeas. That is indeed true. But you should see them when they get really creative. Those girls  are willing to go to any lengths to get their cutie marks. Ah' remember once when they tried to harvest the zap apples by themselves. Boy was that a show."

"Zap apples? What do you mean?" Pisces asked.

"You haven't heard? We have a special kind of fruit. It'll shock the heebie-jeebies out of ya' if ya' aren't careful!"

"Sounds like quite a hazardous occupation. Who is charge of collecting them?" Pisces asked.

"Big Mac and Applejack take turns in doin' it. Those two could use a break every now and then though."

"They must work hard."

"Oh you betcha. Those two break their backs working here, specially Applejack. Ah' wished she didn't took it so personal sometimes...she can get carried away sometimes." Granny said as she laid back on her chair, watching Taurus trying to follow Applejack's instructions without tearing the plough apart.

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked through the town on their way to the library. Knowing Rainbow Dash, she was probably reading there, and knowing Scootaloo, she was probably there too, doing her best to imitate her idol.

"Going somewhere?" Where?"

The two fillies stopped, confused as to where the voices came from. A few second of silence passed.

"Up here" "Look up!"

Above them, from one of the upper windows of the sugarcube corner, they could see two foals. They were slightly greenish in color.

"Who are you?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I'm Gem." the colt said.

"I'm Minnie:" the filly said.

"What are you doing up there?" Apple Bloom asked. Both twins looked at each other for a second, as if they had been asked if the sun was coming up.

"Were down there, right behind you." Gem said from above.

"No you're not." Apple Bloom said.

"Yes we are." Minnie said from behind them, making both fillies jump in fright. Looking up, they saw the empty window, no colt or filly in sight.

"Told you." Gem said from besides her sister. Both of them were grinning as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom went through increasing levels of madness. It was a good thing that Twilight wasn't here. If they were freaking out, Twilight would probably call them Discord's spawn and promptly incinerate them!

"You're...your'e zodiacs too right?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Gemini" "At your service."

Both fillies sighed. At least that explained the freaky powers.

"So, uh, what are you guys doing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Nothing." "We're bored."

"Oh...want to come with us?" Apple Bloom asked, making the twins light up with excitement.

"Yes!" They both answered. And so, the four foals were on their way, searching for the third crusader. Reaching the library, screams and shouts could be heard.

"Whats happening?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Ah' don't know. Let's find out!" Apple Bloom said a she pushed the door ajar. Spike was climbed on a shelve, throwing books at Capricorn, who simply watched with an amused stare as Twilight grabbed all the books while Leo tried to climb her way towards the dragon. Scootaloo was no where to be seen. Apple Bloom slowly closed the door. Somethings were better left alone.