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                          Twelve                           
                     -by TheSuperpony-                     
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                     Wakey wakey time.                     
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Wakey wakey time.
Pain.
Lots and lots of pain.
Darkness.
Lots and lots of darkness.
Wait. The pain was receding. And so was the darkness. Her senses were slowly returning one by one, the first one being smell. Giving a short sniff, her brain recognized a scent. A delicious scent. She slowly opened her big, golden eyes. The room was big and made of wood. Since when was wood a construction material? Her golden eyes explored the room. Almost everything was made of wood or had it in some way. A drawer, a vanity, a table, the stairs. Even the bed she laid on! That explained the creaking tough. Who could possibly sleep at all with the noise it made? The light of the sun entered through the windows, signaling the end of midday and making her squint a little.
What was this? Prehistory?
The tasty smell once again reached her nostrils. Drawn by it, she jumped out of bed. Ignoring the slight pain that came with brusque raise, she walked down the stairs. Predictably, the entire first floor was made of wood and earthly construction materials. But that wasn't what caught her attention. Her mind was focused on the absurd amount of animals that were eyeing her as she walked down. A couple of squirrels, a few birds that hovered around, three turtles, a few ferrets and even an ursa! A single rabbit seemed to have some sort of authority, as he stood in head of the ursa with no fear whatsoever. How did they even manage to fit?
"Now now my dears, don't stare at the guest. It's not polite."
The soft voice was barely heard, but all the animals immediately left her alone. Except for the rabbit. It was still giving her an ugly look. She responded with the same anger in her eyes.
"Please have a seat. I prepared some lunch. I bet you must be starving after your, eh, trip." the owner of the voice. To her surprise, it was a pegasus. A yellow pegasus. How could a pegasus be here? And living like this? Warily, she walked to the table and sat on a stool made of, of course, wood. In front of her was a plate with a green leaves and a couple of flowers. She raised an eyebrow as the pegasi sat opposite to her, immediately starting her own lunch. She gave a glance at her plate.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! My name is Fluttershy, what is yours?" the other pegasi asked. Fluttershy. What kind of name was that? She doubted a few seconds before answering.
"Leo." she answered, short and strongly. Fluttershy recoiled a little from the tone, but recovered immediately. Leo dropped her guard a little. This Fluttershy pegasi didn't seem very dangerous. And even then, she probably was no match for her. It was good to know she still had her skills with her.
"Uhm...how is your salad? I hope you like it. I'm afraid I didn't knew what you liked so I kept it simple." she said, her tone dropping at the end. Leo looked at her plate, filled with said salad. With a hoof, she carefully poked a leaf. Nothing happened. Closer inspection revealed it was just that. A plain green salad.
"Is...is there something wrong with it?" Fluttershy asked as Leo poked it a bit more.
"I have a complain..." Leo said. Fluttershy gulped, expecting the worst. Leo stared at her, her eyes digging into her. Fluttershy felt herself getting smaller under the predatory sight.
"Where is the meat?"
Meanwhile, not far from there, two ponies worked in digging the ship out of the hole it made. Or at least, one of them did. The other pony was flying around, spewing excited nonsense.
"Can you believe it?! An alien! A real alien! Just like in the Daring Do book! Do you think she's gonna conquer the planet or reveal ancient knowledge? Or maybe both! Oh this is so awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Applejack shoveled, pushing dirt out of the way.
"RD, if Ah' hear the words Daring Do one more time, Ah' swear Ah'm gonna shove this thing so far up your rear, you're gonna spit dirt." Applejack threatened. Progress on digging the damn thing out had been between little and non existing, mostly because she was doing all the work, while Rainbow Dash did nothing. Good things they were friends right? Because friends helped each other, right? Dash, being the rebel without a cause she was, responded to the threat as anypony would.
"Daring Do."
Next thing she knew, a shovel passed right above her, shaving a few strands of her mane. She didn't even manage to reply before Applejack had tumbled her to the ground, ready to fulfill hear threat. Just as she was about to bring on the pain, a loud crash was heard. Peering over the edge of the hole, both ponies had to duck a little as critters of all kind ran and flew in horror. Birds, dogs, chickens and the occasional deer, all of them leaving as fast as they could.
"Wow...look at all those animals..." Dash said.
"Yeah. Wonder where they came from?" Applejack added.
Didn't take long before the logic answer came up.
"Fluttershy!" both of the shouted before blasting off.
Meanwhile, back at the shed, Discord would be proud at the mayhem that reigned. Tables were smashed and rugs where torn as Leo and the bear tumbled through the room, Fluttershy vainly trying to calm them down. Leo drove a well placed punch on his stomach, followed by a buck on his leg, bringing him down. Flutershy immediately tended to him
"You are big...fought bigger." Leo said with a smirk.
"What in tarnation is going on here?!" Applejack asked after bucking the door open. Leo took a fighting stance, as if the earlier fight had been but a warm up.
"If you wish to do battle with me as well, I warn you: you wont fare better than the ursa." She threatened. Rainbow Dash was about to step up to the challenge, but Applejack stopped her.
"She took down Fluttershy's bear RD. Let's stop this for now."
"Why did you attack Mr.Bear!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Me?! I merely asked a question before that mewling quim there sent her beasts upon me!"
"Hey! Nopony calls Fluttershy a quim!" Rainbow shouted before turning to Applejack. "What's a quim?"
Applejack ignored her, focused on the issue at hand. She doubted her next course of action. Any wrong word could star the whole thing all over again.
"Look. Nopony here wants to, eh, do battle with you..so just..stand down and come with us." she said, trying her best to be diplomatic.
"I will do no such thing until some explanations are done." Leo ordered. Applejack groaned in frustration. Not only was this mare an alien, she was a jerk too! This would be tougher than she thought.
"It was just a misunderstanding! She didn't really mean it!" Fluttershy said, wanting to end the conflict. Tense silence invaded the room. After a couple of minutes, Leo dropped her guard, though she was still visibly tense. These alien creatures would not catch her by surprise.
"What do you propose?" Leo asked.
"Come with us to the library. We have a friend there who's good at dealing with...ponies like you..." Applejack said. Leo hesitated for a few moments.
"I will comply for now, but know this: I will not hesitate to use force should the need arise." Leo warned. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Yeah yeah whatever, can we go now?" Dash said, flying out the door, followed by Applejack. Leo reached the door before giving one last look to Fluttershy, who was to busy helping the poor bear. Without a word, she left after the other two. It wasn't long before they arrived in Ponyville. A few sights were drawn as Applejack and Rainbow Dash strolled in with this new pony in tow.
"Such a rustic village. Nebula is nothing like this." Leo mentioned, looking around.
"Is that your home planet?" Dash asked brashly, receiving a glare from Applejack.
"It is the city where I was born." Leo answered sternly.
The library was soon in sight. Tall as always, it was oddly quiet, given the usual business that went about inside. Knocking on the door, Applejack waited.
"Why would a library be inside a tree?" Leo asked.
"That is something that we ask ourselves too..." Dash answered. Soon enough, the door creaked open, a very dirty Spike. Dust covered him from head to tail.
"A dragon? I have not seen of your kin in a long time." Leo commented.
"Spike? What happened to you?" Applejack asked.
"Twilight fell asleep after an pulling an all-night session. You wouldn't believe the mess she made that I, being the assistant, had to clean up..." he grumbled, letting them inside. Just as he said, Twilight laid on a table, a small pool of saliva around her mouth. Books and scrolls were scattered around her, a few of them slightly wet. Spike poked her nose, making her wrinkle it for a second waking up violently, falling on her back with a loud smack.
"You ok Twilight?" Spike asked. Twilight grumbled something before getting up.  She cracked her neck and noticed Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and the alien.
"The alien!" She nearly shouted.
"Alien?" Leo repeated.
"How long as she been awake?" she asked.
"Alien?"
"We don't know! We found her having a grudge match with Mr.Bear!" Applejack answered.
"Alien?!" Leo nearly shouted.
"She nearly tore down the house!" Rainbow Dash said.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CALLING ME AN ALIEN!?" Leo roared, effectively shutting everypony up. Spike faceclawed. He could already feel the headache coming.
This was not going to be a good day.

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                           Mew.                            
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Mew.
Twilight gulped, not really sure what to do. For years she had wondered if there was life out there. She had spent nights thinking what wonders did they have. Hours were used in thinking what could she possibly ask this alien life form should it arrive to Equestria. To her surprise, it happened. An intelligent, alien being had arrived at Equestria and was currently sitting inside the library. Her library! All those years, all those nights, all those hours! The time for knowledge had arrived! Many of the greatest questions of all time would finally be answered by this immigrant from the stars!
If she could keep Leo and her friends from murdering each other that is.
"Well...I guess welcome to Equestria is a bit late at this point." she thought. Applejack was currently restraining Rainbow Dash by her tail, trying to stop the pegasi from assaulting Leo, who was on a battle stance herself, ready to come to blows if necessary. First contact from outer space, a moment that would never be repeated. And it was about to be bashed in pieces.
"Not on my watch." Twilight growled, her horn starting to glow.
Rainbow was covered in purple magic, forcibly seated on the floor, away from Leo, who watched with astonished eyes as the magic happened. Applejack was suddenly teleported besides Rainbow Dash in order to keep her under control. As a last act, Twilight teleported herself in front of Leo, who backed away a little from the sudden appearance.
"Now then...let's try this again. I am Twilight Sparkle." she introduced herself.
Leo blinked a few times before returning to her stern position.
"My name is Leonia Goldenmane, and I come from the realm of Regulo of the Zodiac Cluster and I am most certainly not an alien. Now, can you please tell me: Where am I?" She asked. Twilight wasn't sure if to be stunned by the information or taken aback by her unfriendly tone. It sure sounded more like a demand than an actual question.
"This is the land of Equestria, under the rule of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I apologize for calling you alien before. I didn't want to offend you." Twilight answered. Leo didn't say anything, but she relaxed her stance. Twilight smiled, happy that the apology had been accepted, as she pointed a hoof to her friends.
"These are Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The little guy is Spike. You met Fluttershy earlier." Twilight explained. Fluttershy. She was the pegasi that was the owner of the ursa.
"Why did her animals attack me?" Leo asked. Twilight cringed. So much for starting over.
"That...I'm afraid I don't know. Why don't you tell me your side of the story?"
Leo began telling her share of experience, from the moment she woke to when the animals snapped, making sure to put an emphasize on how they were glaring at her from the get go. Twilight listened the tale with attention, allowing nothing to distract her. Until Leo mentioned the question.
"Meat? You eat meat?" Twilight asked, sounding rather unsure.
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Leo asked. Now that it was pointed out, Leo's teeth did seem a lot more pointy than usual whenever she spoke. Imagine that.
"But you're a pony." Spike said.
"No, I am not. I am a zodiac. What is a pony?" she asked. Another double take from Twilight. The gears on her mind were already spinning wildly. She had expected this alien to be, well, alien, but not that alien, and there was a nagging feeling telling her it was going to get worse. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl. The entire room went quiet as Leo barely managed to hide her embarrassment.
"I, uh, I need food...please." she asked, murmuring the last part. Rainbow Dash hid a snicker before being elbowed by Applejack. Spike went on to prepare something, coming back with a salad, much to Leo's horror. She tried giving Twilight a stern look, but the effect had been broken. Curse her three stomachs and their rumbling.
"Salad is all I have I'm afraid." Twilight said with a smile. Leo's lips trembled for a few seconds before she grudgingly took a bite, slowly chewing the leafs. It felt weird and it tasted bad.
"I can't believe Taurus enjoys this..." she murmured as she ate.
"Taurus? Who's Taurus?" Applejack asked.
"My brother..." Leo started before covering her mouth. But the damage was done.
"Brother? How many of you the are?" Twilight asked, her interest growing bigger and bigger by the second. Leo nearly choked on a leaf as she frantically tried to fix her mistake.
"I lied! I have no brother! I demand you stop asking stupid questions!" Leo ordered. A small stain of dressing on her cheek reduced the effect of the order. Her earlier image of a stern and tough warrior was crumbling, and she was to blame for it.
"Do they all go in those weird ships?" Dash asked. Leo immediately snapped back to her old self.
"My ship?! You have my ship?!" she asked, pressing on Twillight, all but forgetting her salad. It would fallen to the ground had Spike not catch it in the last second.
"Y-yes, but-"
"Take me to it. Now."
The ship was right where they had carelessly left it. Even the shovel Applejack had thrown was still impaled on the ground. To their surprise, nopony had found it yet. Twilight thanked Celestia for that. Explaining this to the public was the farthest thing on her mind right now. Leo jumped inside, noisily inspecting whatever damage that may have happened during the crash. After a few minutes, she came out, visibly unhappy.
"It's busted right?" Dash said.
"It is repairable, but I do not have the knowledge or the tools to do so." Leo explained.
"So, what are you going to do?" Spike asked. Leo thought for a few moments, before pointing a hoof at Twilight.
"You there, Twilight Sparkle." she started.
"Uhm, yes?"
"I need accommodations for my stay. Where is that possible?" she questioned. Twilight was a little stunned for a few seconds before gathering her bearings.
"Well, you slept at Fluttershy's cottage last night..." Leo cringed "...but It don't think its a good idea right now."
"Ah' can't keep her. We're too busy with the farming to be worrying about her." Applejack said. Leo frowned. Twilight put a hoof on her chin. Applejack couldn't have her, and unless she could walk on clouds, Rainbow Dash was not an option. She didn't want to force Rarity to have her when they hadn't even met yet, and leaving her with Pinkie Pie would be asking for problems.
"You'll be staying with me." Twilight said, doing her best to hide her excitement. A whole night of her and an alien! The perfect time to find out everything about her! Leo hid a small shiver when she noticed the grin that Twilight had. Something told her that sleeping wasn't exactly on the mind of the horned pony.
"What about my ship? I cannot just leave it here!" Leo complained. Twilight light her horn for a few seconds. The entire ship glowed for a few seconds before vanishing, leaving no trace behind.
"You could have done that from the get go and yet you had us digging it out." Applejack said.
"I was out of ideas! And I wanted to get a head start on it." Twilight replied.
"Remind me to charge you double next time you buy some apples."
"My ship! What have you done with my ship!?" Leo shouted as she grabbed Twilight by the shoulders, prompting Applejack and Dash to prepare to fight. Mr.Bear was just below their level. Between the two of them, Leo didn't stand a chance.
"Relax Leo! I just teleported it to my basement." Twilight said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Leo just stared in shock and worry, her mind still trying to accept the fact that her ship vanished into thin air.
"Witchcraft..." she murmured.
"Nope, Just magic. Shall we go and get your room ready?" Twilight replied sweetly before walking away, Spike grinning smugly on her back. Leo stared at her then back at the empty hole and then back at Twilight. She stammered a few words before finally following Twilight back to the library. Applejack and Rainbow Dash waited until they were out ear shot before starting laugh until they could laugh no more.
"Did you see her face?! She was blown!" Dash said.
"Oh my, my insides hurt!" Applejack said as she rolled on the ground.
"Guess little miss I'm-an-alien-you-must-obey-me isn't so tough after all!" Dash laughed.
"You remember lunch? It was like she was trying so hard!" Applejack added.
Unknown to them, a small light started glowing from where the ship had stood. It slowly increased it's power before shooting up to the sky, flying at breakneck speed. Applejack barely noticed, her laugh slowly dying out.
"You heard that?" she asked.
"Heard what?" Dash asked, still snickering a little. Applejack strained her ears a little, but no sound came except for the slight rustling of the wind.
"Probably nothing. Come on Dash, let's go." Applejack said, pulling the shovel free. Both friends left the field, ignorant to what had just transpired right besides them.
Meanwhile, far, far up in the sky, the glowing light travelled, it's message of vital importance. One that had to be delivered no matter what. Eleven minds waited for that message. It was a simple signal, but by no means did that diminish it's meaning. The light, stopping after traveling thousands upon thousands of miles, gave a short pulse of energy before fading away. Eleven beings cried in joy, for the message had been received, and it was of glad tidings.
She did it.

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                      Scaly morning.                       
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Scaly morning.
Leo yawned, sleep clearly floating around her head.
Twilight was still talking.
She had been talking for three hours.
How could she say so little in so much words?
It was past four in the morning in the morning by now. The dragon had long since gone to bed. Leo wanted to follow his example. Twilight's rambling had become a monotonous sound that she was doing her best to block. It was working. Partially at least. How could a simple scholar stay awake for so long?! Trying to be polite, she closed her for a few seconds. Just  few seconds.
"So astrology was made an official duty for the royals in the year 500 and...Leo?"
Leo had fallen to the side, profoundly asleep. She was as quiet as a mouse. Twilight stared for a fews seconds before smiling. Carrying her with magic, she gently placed her on the spare bed that Spike had set up in their room, covering her with the blanket. Now that she looked closer at the sleeping mare, she realized she was visibly younger than her. Heck she probably was the same age as Amethyst Star! Between all the excitement and questions, she had let that fact go past her.
"How come I didn't notice that before?"
She yawned. The clock on the wall signaled that it was four thirty in the morning. Had they really been awake for that long? No wonder Leo fell asleep. She should probably go to bed soon and get some rest. Today was probably going to be a long day too.
Four hours later, green eyes opened. Spike yawned. To her surprise, the library was not a mess after the night. That was a new one. Twilight slept soundly on her bed, snoring too. Peering over the edge of the room, he could see Leo sleeping on the spare bed, purring softly. It was downright adorable.
"Okay, what now?" he asked himself as he laid back on his basket. Twilight was fast asleep, so there wasn't any actual need to get up. He could just kick back and relax for once. And Twilight would wear a vest made with his scales when she discovered he had ignored his duties. He could already see the letter .
Dear Princess Celestia
Today Spike proved himself to be a spoiled, lazy-tailed, incompetent lizard, so I had Rarity skin him alive with a door knob. Would you like the tail as a tea spoon? It can also work as a fork and a knife!
Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.
"Where did I put the milk?" he murmured as he seemingly teleported from his bed to the kitchen. He set the table for three. Twilight and Leo wouldn't be up for hours probably, if the snores coming from above were any indication. Still, he could have breakfast himself. Pouring milk on a bowl, he started putting gem cereal on it.
But not even a few shiny crumbs fell out. Spike groaned.
The storage room was filled to the brim. Not surprising, given how many times Twilight brought everypony to the library. However, he could not see any of his Captain DD's crunchy gem cereal. He was about to slam the door when he heard a soft lapping sound coming from the table. Peering over the door of the kitchen, he nearly dropped the empty box of cereal from the surprise.
Leo was inclined over the table, licking the milk from the bowl with her eyes closed. Was she sleepwalking?
"You gotta be kidding me..." Spike murmured. After having her drink, Leo dragged herself back to her bed, where she simply plopped on top if it. Spike grinned evilly. This little piece of information could prove useful in the future. A soft grumble brought him back to reality and to the problem at hand.
"Guess I gotta go buy some..."
Being summer, the sun was out already, it's warm rays bathing the land. Spike enjoyed the warmth as he walked through town, a bag of small crystals on his claw. A few ponies waved their hooves as they saw him walk. Spike smiled. He loved this town. Finally arriving at the market, he passed in front of many tents, most of them barely opening for the day. His target however, was at the end of the market zone. In a separate dark tent, was a heavily covered stallion. All of his features were covered in dirty blankets and rugs, his green eyes being the only exception. The ten was as dirty as the rugs he wore, ragged at many spots.
"Good morning good sir!" Spike greeted.
"Good morning yes. Come to buy yes?" the pony asked in a surprisingly raspy voice. Spike couldn't help but feel like he knew that voice, but cast it aside as too much trouble.
"I would like a box of Captain DD's crunchy gem cereal please." Spike asked. A box was shoved in his claws.
"Payment of crystals yes? Crystals..." the stallion demnanded, greed dripping from his mouth.
"Sure! Here you go." Spike said as he placed the bag on the counter. The stallion waited until the young dragon left before grabbing the bag with a paw, dirty claws opening the bag. A canine grin spread under the covers.
Back at the library, Spike hummed contently as he ate his cereal. It was quiet, peaceful and tasty. Just perfect. His mind wandered to the day before. All but Rarity and Pinkie Pie had met Leo, with mixed results. Rarity would probably call her rude, thoughshe could understand her on that one. Pinkie would throw a party like always.
"Hi Spike!"
Speak of the devil.
Spike didn't even blink as Pinkie burst out of the cereal bowl, splattering milk and jewels all over him.
"You look like a snowman with cupcakes on it! It must be a tasty snowman. Like chocolate. I love chocolate! Do you love chocolate? I know I do! Specially with milk. Its great that way! Speaking of milk why are you covered in milk? You're supposed to drink it, not bathe in it."
If there was a way to kill with a look, Spike would have discovered it at the moment. Pinkie had began rambling again, sputing nonsense about predictions and future telling. Using his rather long tongue, all the milk and gems were quickly swallowed.
"Oh I love when you do that! Its so cool! Wonder what else can you do with your tongue..." Pinkie said, giving Spike wink.
"As funny as you can be Pinkie, you can be really loud, and as you can see, some ponies are trying to sleep." Spike, pointing a finger at the sleeping Leo, who was hugging her pillow.
"You're trying to be quiet so you don't bother the alien pony? That's so nice of you!" Pinkie said. Spike grinned, keeping to himself that he stayed quiet so that Twilight wouldn't wake up and give him work. Why ruin Pinkie's illusion?
"So, what's going on?" Pinkie asked. Spike told her of yesterdays events, adding a remark or a sarcastic quip when necessary. Of course, Pinkie's attention quickly got destroyed whenever a sound came, forcing Spike to began again and again, turning a five minute talk into a half hour long story.
"...and that's about it."
"That's it?"
"You expected more?"
"Well, duh, yeah, you know, cause she's an alien from outer space from who knows where. She probably has a gazillion stories to tell! Maybe we can make a small party for story tellers! She would beat them all I bet! We should-" Spike closed her mouth with  claw. At this rate, silence wouldn't be an option. A knock on the door got his attention. He had to open the door, but that would mean releasing Pinkie, which meant more noise. The door knocked again, this time with more insistence. Spike was still debating then the door opened by itself.
"Excuse me Twilight, but I need to speak with you about...oh, hello Spike." Rarity said with her angelic voice. Spike released Pinkie Pie, planting himself in front of his crush.
"My dear Rarity. What can I possibly do to please you in this beautiful morning?" Spike said, bowing down in front of her.
"Hey Rarity!" Pinkie shouted.
"Why good morning Spikey, Pinkie Pie. I need to speak with Twilight about our... visitor." Rarity answered. Spike froze. Twilight was sleeping. He could say the truth and prepare for a day of work. Or he could tell Rarity she was busy, Rarity would go away for a while hopefully taking Pinkie Pie with her, and he could relax some more.
Had Rarity skin him alive...the tail as a tea spoon?
"She's sleeping upstairs. Leo too." he said hastily.
"They are both sleeping upstairs?" Rarity asked warily, not liking where this was going.
"Yes. No. They are both asleep. Twilight is upstairs, Leo is-"
"Here."
Three heads snapped at the guest bed where Leo was sitting. Her mane was messy and ruffled. Stains of milk were still on her muzzle. Rarity gasped in horror while Pinkie Pie stifled a laugh.
"There is more of you?" Leo asked, a slight tone of annoyance.
"Oh. My. Heavens. What is thing on your head?!" Rarity shrieked. Spike could swear he heard a grumble coming from upstairs.
"My head?" Leo asked patting her mane.
"It looks like a silver spider! I bet its part of her alien powers! Pinkie exclaimed.
"I cannot let this aberration exist! Come on dear! We are going to get you all cleaned up. Bein a foreginer is no excuse for being messy." Rarity said as she lifted a struggling Leo with magic, leaving the library in a huff.
"Yay! Bath party!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she hopped behind Rarity, slamming the door behind her.
Spike was left alone, trying to process what the hay had happened. His breakfast laid a mess, milk dripping from the table. Leo's bed was a mess too from the struggling when Rarity lifted her. He could probably clean it up before Twilight woke up. He could probably even make up an excuse about the now missing Leo! He just had to-
"Spike? What happened here?"
He froze again. Painfully slowly, he looked up, finding a rather irritated Twilight staring him from above.
"Oh, eh, hey Twilight, uhm, good...morning?"
"What. Happened?" Twilight asked again. Spike gulped.
"Well, ah, you see..."
"And where is Leo?"
Here came the skinning. If he had known this would happen, he would like to have a first kiss at least. With Rarity preferably, though Sweetie Belle wasn't a bad option. Maybe a little young though.
"She...left...with Rarity?" he answered.
Twilight's horn began glowing. Ponyville's inhabitants knew how a dragon could roar like a monster.
Now they knew they could scream like a little girl.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                      Kitty in town.                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Kitty in town.
Leo didn't like water.
Correction. Leo hated water.
Correction of the correction. Leo despised water.
"Stay still dear! I'll be over soon!"
Rarity was a delicate, high class lady, dignified in every occasion. That didn't mean that she wasn't above using force if necessary, like having to restrain Leo in the tub while using magic to try and clean her hair. She had done before with Sweetie Belle before. Of course, Sweetie Belle was half her size. Leo was nearly twice as big as the little filly. The trashing and struggle had Rarity drenched. But she couldn't give up. Not now!
"Release me you fiend! I demand that you let me go!" Leo howled and raged.
"Not until I fix that mane!" Rarity countered.
The battle raged on for a little longer, both combatants giving their all. Eventually Rarity decided it was enough and pulled Leo out of the tub. By now the young zodiac was too exhausted to continue the struggle, resigning herself to her wet fate. Rarity was panting as she placed Leo in front of the mirror. With expert hoofs and pinpoint magical skills, she tackled the grey sludge that called itself a mane.
"A little trim there, a bit of combing there and...voilà!"
Leo stared at her new mane cut. It was curved and shaped in a ridiculous fashion. Tall, wavy and falling on her back. She could swear this new haircut had more hair than she actually had! How could have this...pony? Was it? How did this pony managed it?
"So? How is it? Beautiful? Chic? Dazzling?" Rarity said, admiring her hoofwork.
Many words came to Leo's mind. None of them were actually flattering.
"Hey Rarity! Are you done yet!?" Pinkie shouted through the door. Rarity mumbled a few un-lady like words. Leo smirked a little at her reaction.
"No Pinkie. For the fifteenth time, no." Rarity said.
"Actually..." Leo said before shaking her head vigorously, completely destroying the combing and returning her mane to her natural style. She smirked when she noticed Rarity's horrified stare.
"I believe we are finished here. Now, if you excuse me, I believe I shall return to the library." Leo said, walking to the door.
"NO!" Pinkie screamed, slamming the door open, missing Leo's face by a hair's breath.
"No?" Leo repeated.
"No! We have to show you around first! You know, so you don't get lost getting to the party is!"
"Party?"
A few minutes later, Leo was being dragged through town, flanked on both sides by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, the latter taking the lead.
"This is the town hall, where all he important stuff happens. And parties."
A few minutes later.
"This is the Sugarcube corner, where I work and make aaaaaalllll the candies you can eat. And parties."
A few more minutes later.
"This is the hospital, were sick ponies get better and smily. And parties."
Passing in front of every major landmark in Ponyville, Leo discovered that in Pinkie Pie's vocabulary there was a single constant.
"You already know the library, so we're gonna skip it, but here's the market where we buy stuff..."
"And let me guess...parties?" Leo said.
"Yes! How did you know?! Do you have psychic powers or something?" Pinkie gasped.
"Lucky guess..." Leo muttered.
Suddenly, Pinkie's ear twitched, followed by her tail, her back leg and small tingle on her entire body. Everypony around her had immediately either ran away or hid under something.
"Wow, what a doozy." Pinkie said.
"What was that?" Leo asked, curious at the weird reaction.
"It's her pinkie sense. It activates every time stuff happens. So, what was it now dear?" Rarity asked.
"Mmm...I don't know, either Twilight discovered a new use for a door knob....or I left a cupcake in the counter, be right back!" Pinkie said before darting off. Leo stared at the trail of dust. She had never seen any zodiac run so fast for food. The again, this planet had already showed that it was not ordinary. Steps were heard as she turned her head, seeing Rarity continuing the stroll.
"Are you not going to wait for your friend?" Leo asked.
"Oh, if you only knew Pinkie like I do. She'll catch up with us." Rarity answered. Leo hesitated before deciding to follow her. Rarity continued Pinkie's mission of showing Leo around, albeit a lot more focused on the task at hoof. They passed in front of places such as the spa, the restaurant, the Quills and Sofas store and finally back at the library. Knocking on the door, a few seconds passed before a roughed up Spike opened the door. There was a small bruise on his head.
"Spike?! What happened to you?!" Rarity asked.
"A door knob bucking irresponsibility out of me." he snarked. Leo raised an eyebrow. For being a scholar, the mare named Twilight sure had some interesting ways of punishing subordinates. Maybe they did have something in common.
"Oh my. Did Twilight do this? I'm gonna have to speak with that mare." Rarity said.
"She's looking for you two now." Spike said.
With that said, both mares started looking for the unicorn. Actually, it was Rarity who was looking for Twilight, Leo simply walked behind her. They searched everywhere. The town square, the town hall, the town market. Pretty much everyplace where Twilight would usually be.
"Oh I give up. We'll never find her at this rate." Rarity sighed.
"She is over there." Leo said pointing a hoof.
Indeed, there she was, walking with a decided trot, though visibly weighted by a large back on her side. Rarity blinked a few times before running towards her, Leo right after her. Twilight didn't even notice them, forcing Rarity to stop in front of her. Twilight skidded to a stop, the extra weight straining her a little.
"Twilight Sparkle. I can't believe you did that to poor Spikey-wikey. No matter what he did, your idea of punishment was uncalled for." Rarity chastised.
"I know. That's why I got this..." she said, motioning to the bag, pulling out a large dusty book.
"You're gonna bring him a book to make up things." Rarity said with a sarcastic tone. Spike wasn't dumb, but he certainly didn't enjoy books.
"No, I got him this..." she replied, bringing out a green jade. It wasn't very big, but it didn't really matter. Rarity knew jade wasn't exactly easy to get. Twilight probably had to make it herself if she had gotten it in such short notice.
"Isn't that a bit much?" Leo said.
"Maybe. I haven't been very nice to him lately. I wanna make things right."
"And what is the book for?"
"Oh it's just an old collection of star maps and such, nothing fancy."
Back at the library, Twilight and Spike quickly made up with each other with a hug, promising to try and treat each other better. Rarity smiled at the scene. Looking at the side, the noticed Leo. She wasn't smiling. Her golden eyes were focused on the couple. Rarity could see something in them. Anger. Determination.
Envy?
"Leo, something's been going on with your ship." Spike said after leaving the hug. That caught everypony's attention. Twilight immediately guided the zodiac to the basement. Right at the center laid the fallen ship. A quiet beeping could be heard. Leo nearly jumped down the stairs in her haste to get inside her transport. Something wasn't right. It was working. The ship was working.
But it wasn't supposed to.
"It was a lot slower earlier. That beeping is getting faster." Spike noted.
Speeding marker.
Working ship.
The signs were clear.
"They are coming..." Leo muttered to herself.
"You said something dear?" Rarity asked. Leo simply bolted out of the ship and ran up the stairs. She was about to exit the library when was lifted over the air, covered in purple magic. Twilight was immediately in front of her. Teleportation probably. But she had no time for this. She had to go now.
"Something set you off. What happened?" Twilight asked with concerned eyes.
"Nothing of your business pony. Release at once." Leo ordered. Twilight's magic didn't even flicker for a second. If anything, her grip on the zodiac intensified.
"I am warning you..." Leo growled, her eyes glowing slightly. Twilight simply added a shield around her, Spike and Rarity.
"I won't let you down until you tell us what is going on." Twilight said. Leo grumbled in response. She grudgingly nodded after a few seconds. Twilight hesitated before letting her go, not before placing a barrier on the door. Better be safe that sorry. Leo gave Twilight a glare before beginning.
"They are coming." She started.
"Who is?" Rarity asked.
Leo sighed. No point in hiding it anymore.
"My siblings."
"The ones you mentioned earlier?" Twilight asked. Leo cringed slightly at the memory of being flustered like that.
"Yes. They will arrive in Equestria shortly."
"Shortly? How shortly?" Spike asked. Leo strained her ear a little. The beeping could be heard from the basement, already going faster. It wouldn't be long now.
"Tonight."
The entire library went silent. The fact that it was lunch time was completely forgotten. Merely two days ago, Equestria had received, for the first time in history, the visit of an alien being who was surprisingly pony like. Now an entire family of them was coming. It would be minutes before anypony said anything.
"Where will they land? Do you know?" Twilight asked.
"Probably on the same place where I crashed. They have me on their sensors already." Leo explained. The room went understandably silent again silent again. Leo shifted a little on her hooves. She was starting to get a little antsy with the silence.
"So...what now Twilight?" Spike asked. Twilight didn't say anything for a few seconds, her gifted brain already coming up with a plan.
"Rarity. Go and find the others and tell them to meet me back at the crash site at sundown." Twilight ordered Rarity, who nodded before running out of the library.
"Spike, I want you to write a letter to the princess explaining everything that has happened so far, but don't send it. Not yet at least." she continued. Spike immediately jumped to the desk, grabbing a quill and a scroll. If Leo wasn't busy worried about the impending family reunion, she would have been amazed at how easily Twilight took command of the situation.
"What...what do I do?" Leo asked, trying her best to hide her growing worry.
"You and I...we're gonna have a chat." Twilight sentenced.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     In attendance...                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
In attendance...
Spike chomped on his ruby. It was tasty, sweet and felt like strawberry. What better way to relax the nerves than a nice rocky treat. Too bad the others couldn't eat diamonds. They would love it.
"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD! MAH' FAMILY IS IN DANGER!"
"ALIENS ARE COMING! DARING DO WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"I'M SCREAMING BECAUSE EVERYPONY IS SCREAMING!"
Spike chomped on his ruby. It was tasty, sweet and felt like strawberry. Yep. There was no better way to calm the nerves.
"This is it. Are you sure they are coming?" Twilight asked as installed the telescope. The last rays of the sun were disappearing over the horizon. A few stars could already bee seen on the sky. Were they actual stars or not was anypony's guess.
"Yes. They will be arriving soon. The signal had already been sent by the time the dragon noticed it." Leo answered.
"Are they, uhm, nice zodiacs?" Fluttershy whispered, the memory of the brawl still fresh. Leo didn't answer. So far, interactions with Fluttershy had been...less than perfect.
"How exciting! Life from beyond the stars. I wonder if they will be into the beauty of the universe. I could show them what we call fashion here in Equestria." Rarity commented.
"I don't think fashion is on the top of their lists Rarity..." Twilight said as she adjusted the telescope.
"Why not? They have been traveling for Celestia knows how long. If I were to meet a new race on a foreign land, I would do my best effort to look as dazzling as possible. First impression do matter after all."
"Why would fashion even be on their lists?j"
"Why wouldn't it?"
Twilight decided it would be pointless to continue. Her mind was more focused on the matter at hand and what Leo had told her yesterday. Eleven siblings. All of them with different skills and powers. How would they behave? Would be friendly? Would they be violent? Would Leo stop them if they tried anything? Would she join them? Leo had refused to comment on that point, arguing that her opinion wouldn't be fair to the reality. What was that supposed to mean?
"Our only option is to roll the dice and hope for the best..." Twilight thought. Their only real defense would be the letter he had Spike write and send in case of emergency, and the hope for that the princess could stop them.
The screaming of her friends didn't help at all.
"Girls..." Twilight said. The shrieking didn't stop.
"Girls." Twilight repeated louder.
"GIRLS!"
Even Leo was stunned when she heard the roar. Who knew Fluttershy had such a voice?
"Please...be calm." she squeaked. All shock in Leo evaporated. Everypony sat down on the blanket that Spike had brought. Pinkie had, once again, brought cupcakes. Leo had tasted the pastry, only to spit it out, much to the pink mare's horror. It was like eating clay. Further attempts to eat anything she prepared were met with similar results.
"We're not gonna have to worry about the sky fallin' on top of our heads right?" Applejack asked as the lasts rays of the sun disappeared.
"Absolutely not. They are...better are it than me..." Leo muttered.
Hours passed with no sign of activity. Applejack yawned while Rainbow Dash napped, using Rarity as a pillow. The rest weren't faring much better in the battle against sleep.
"I don't want to sound rude but, are you sure they are coming?" Rarity asked while pushing Rainbow's head from her.
"The scouting light only activates when the rest of the ships are nearby. They are close, of that I am certain." Leo answered. Meanwhile, Twilight continued to observe through the telescope, jotting down on a scroll every few minutes. Spike had fallen asleep besides her.
"Well, I hope you are, because I've looking around for a while and there's no sign of them..." Twilight replied. Leo didn't say anything.
A couple more hours passed. All but Twilight and Leo had fallen asleep. The shy was as peaceful as always, with sing of falling stars. Twilight was laying down on the blanket, reading a book, while Leo sat on the grass, staring at the sky. She hadn't said anything.
"Leo. I...don't want to ruin it but-"
"They will come." Leo said sternly.
"But we've been here for hours!" Twilight said.
"They will come. They have to come." Leo said. Twilight sighted. What was expected to be an amazing night was turning out be a total bust. It really sucked. She was expecting to-
"Look up!" Leo exclaimed.  Twilight looked up.
Lights were on the sky. Not stars. Lights. Growing lights. Moving lights! She was right! They were here! With a quick spell, all her friends rolled off the blanket, waking up in the process.
"Hey Twi', Ah' know you're excited and all but-"
"They're here! Look!" Twilight said pointing a hoof to the sky, showing her friends the spectacle. Indeed, bright lights were descending upon them fast. Really fast. As in I'm-a-flatterer-and-not-in-the-good-way fast.
"Uh, Twilight?" Rainbow said. The lights were almost upon them.
"Twilight.." Applejack said. Almost there.
"Twilight!" Spike said before pushing her out of the way. A single ship landed right where she stood, all but squashing the telescope.
"Hey! I bought that three days ago!" Twilight shouted.
"They are attacking us! It's an invasion! RUN FOR THE HILLS!" Pinkie screamed.
Another ship fell, this time besides Applejack, who had to be pulled away by Rainbow before it tumbled upon her. Two more fell a few feet away. Another five fell besides Leo, who didn't even budge. A couple fell besides Pinkie Pie, who simply stared in amazement. Silence returned as all eleven ships stopped moving, smoke coming from them.
"You said they would't squash us like a bug!" Applejack shouted.
"I said they were better than me, not that they were perfect." Leo replied.
The first pod's door fizzled and opened. Crawling out slowly, a blue stallion jumped out. He was pretty normal too. Except for his horn. Both of his horns. They were big! And they twirled around his head like a goat! His cutie mark was weird too. A single, sharply curved line.
"That...was not pleasant.." he said muttered as he rubbed his head.
"I almost thought you were not going to come." Leo said while Twilight walked besides her.
"Leo! What a pleasure! I cannot believe you arrived here first. Go you!" the stallion said as he brought her into a big hug.
"I-its alright! Let me go! Aries, let go!" Leo stammered as a scarlet blush covered her cheeks. The light of the moon provided an excellent light.
"Why would he let go of our little sister? Leo, you know he can't help it." A female voice said. A mare with a mane of the purest white walked near them. Her cyan color had a light green tone. Her cutie mark consisted of two wavy lines.
"And you are?" Dash asked rather brashly.
"My name is Aquarius, though you may call me Aqua." the mare answered.
"And who's this lady here?" Aries asked as he walked towards Rainbow.
"I'm Rainbow Dash, element of loyalty, future wonderbolt and best pony ever." Dash answered with a smirk.
"You have spice in you. I like that." Aries said cooly, prompting Dash to blush slightly.
"Stop wooing the natives and help me here Aries." another female voice said. Aries walked to one of the pods, pulling out a magenta colored hoof. Soon, a stern looking mare joined Aquarius. She was pretty normal looking. Her tail looked kinda funny though.
"Oh Scorpio, what would you do without me?" Aries said. Scorpio simply frowned. Slowly but surely, more and more zodiacs left their pods and joined their place in front of Leo. There were a couple of pegasus even! Most of them were pretty normal looking though.
Except three of them.
One of them was a huge red stallion. He was probably even bigger than Big Mac! His two horns reminded Fluttershy of Iron Will a lot. She would have said something if she wasn't too busy cowering behind Pinkie Pie.
"Wow, it's so shiny, even in the middle of the night!" a purple mare said. All the elements gaped at her. Specially at her hoofs. Her red hoofs. Hoofs that weren't hoofs, but pincers! How could she even walk with those?! She even had to sit besides Aries with her hoo-pincers raised.
The third exception was a mare, who, just like Aries, had to large horns that grew to the back. Her green tail was odd too. It was tied like Applejack's, but it was somehow split at the end. She didn't say anything as she joined the rest of her brothers and sisters. There was something odd in the way she walked.
"Where are the twins?" Leo asked.
"Here." A delicate voice said. A very elegantly dressed mare carried two little unicorn foals on her back. Rarity couldn't help but think back at Fleur-de-Lis. She was gorgeous! Actually, all of them were spotless in their appearance. Polished and clean, not single trail of dust or bruise was on them.
"Told they would be fashionable..." Rarity whispered to Twilight.
All of them stood there, right in front of Leo, who was at loss as to what to say. She shook her head before turning to Twilight.
"Well...here they are..." she said. Twilight couldn't close her mouth from the shock, her brain having stopped a while ago from the sheer excitement.
"In attendance: The Twelve Zodiacs." Leo finished.
Twelve zodiacs.
Twelve aliens.
Twelve sources of cosmic knowledge.
Twilight looked at them. Then at her friends. She took a deep breath...
And she fainted.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                    What just happened?                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
What just happened?
"That was..quite...out.."
"Are..sure..us?"
Mumbling voices were around here.
"Maybe...here?"
"We...her."
They were unfamiliar. Robbers, kidnappers?
"Do you think she's alright?"
"I could make her feel alright."
"Shut up Aries."
Aries? Where had she heard that? Did she knew these voices?
"Party time!"
She knew that voice.
"NO!" she bolted awake. She recognized her surroundings now. She was in the library. All of her friends were at the library, along with the zodiacs, crowding the entire place. Good thing she asked Celestia to magically make the interior bigger. Otherwise none of them would have fit!
"No! No parties!"
"Aw but why not?" Pinkie whined.
"Because I say so!" Twilight shouted. Inside the library was chaos. All of them were talking. All of them were making noise. A few of them were shouting even. Her head still hurt from the fainting. Twilight lit her horn, trapping everypony in magical bubbles. Of course, her friends, being used to it, got the message and remained quiet, along with Leo, who was trying to avoid looking annoyed. The zodiacs however, never having been in a situation like this, reacted accordingly.
"What is this?!" Aries shouted.
"Oh my..." Aquarius whispered as he floated insides the bubble. Scorpio tried punching it, then bucking it. Seeing it didn't work, she growled before stabbing it with the tip of her tail, making the bubble pop like water. The surprise distracted Twilight enough to release all the other zodiacs, who slammed on the ground.
"You...popped my magical shield..." Twilight murmured.
"My sting is a disruptor. No force can stay together when pierced by it. That includes your magic." Scorpio explained. The rest huddled together, distancing themselves from Twilight. Tension slowly rose until only Leo stood in the middle. The elements of one side, surprised about the power of Scorpio, and the zodiac on the other, fearful the strange magic of Twilight.
"What are you doing?" Leo asked irritated.
"What do you mean what are we doing?! What are you doing close to them?!" the one with pincers asked.
"Cancer. I can tell you by experience that they are mostly harmless. Specially the yellow one. Now stop this. All of you." Leo commanded. Fluttershy hid further behind Rarity.
"How de we now you have not been enchanted by that which?" the large red stallion asked.
"Witch!?" Twilight thought angrily.
"Taurus, you are being just as childish as Cancer. Drop it."
"But-"
"Now."
Reluctantly, the twelve siblings separated from each other a bit, allowing Twilight and her friends to relax a little. However, Twilight's mind still harbored some worries. The mare named Scorpio had dissipated her shield. Did all of them have similarly strange powers? If so, in which way. Her mind was divided between giddiness at the prospect of experiment and discovery and the fact there twelve apparently powerful aliens on Equestria. Her mind was distracted when Spike yawned. She gave the clock a glance.
It was four in the morning!
"Well, Ah' don't know about you, but Ah'm ready to hit the hay...." Applejack yawned.
"I'm afraid I'm tired as well..." A mare with two circles for a cutie mark said. As on cue, the two zodiac foals yawned as well. As cute as it was, Twilight didn't let it distract her from the situation at hand. There was no way in tartarus that they would fit on the library and be comfortable. She would have to split them, but would they agree?
"Okay, I have an idea..." she started.
"I say we split among the natives!" Aries said.
"I agree." Taurus replied.
"I don't trust them, but it doesn't look like we have any other choice." Scorpio grumbled. One by one, the zodiacs agreed with each other. Twilight hadn't even said a word!
"We have decided to stay with you all. For the moment at least." Leo answered. Twilight stammered incoherently.
"I'll take these two!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew towards only pegasi zodiacs. One of them, a stallion, had a bow and arrow cutie mark, while other one, this time a mare, a weird symbol on her flank.
"Take us? What does she mean by that Sag?" the mare said.
"Just go with it Libra."
Aquarius, followed by the beautiful mare, walked towards Rarity, who backed away a little.
"Do not worry. We will not harm you. Right Virgo?" Aqua assured. Virgo nodded in agreement. Pinkie immediately went for the foals.
"I'll take care of these little fellas! I'm an expert at it!" she said proudly.
"I like you! Let's be friends!" Cancer said as walked beside her.
"Of course! I'll be most delightedliscious to be your friend!" Pinkie replied.
Meanwhile, Scorpio was pulled by Aries, who planted her in front of Fluttershy.
"Scorpio and Aries, at your service!"
Fluttershy muttered something.
"Excuse me?" Aries asked as he leaned closer. Fluttershy tried again.
"Come again?" Aries asked again. Fluttershy barely managed to whisper.
"Louder mare!" Scorpio growled.
"S-sure! No problem!" Fluttershy meeped. Aries gave Scorpio a disapproving glare as Fluttershy ran besides the door of the kitchen.
"We could use a big like you on the farm. Interested?" Applejack offered Taurus, who nodded in agreement. Another mare, this one with a two connected circles for a cutie mark approached them.
"May I also join him? My name is Pisces." she explained.
"Eh, sure, no problem. The more the merrier right?" Applejack answered.
Twilight simply stared in amazement at how her friends easily mixed the zodiacs. She shouldn't be that surprised actually. Ponies in Ponyville had an almost pathological easiness for making friends, as she could personally attest. Leo approached her, followed by the last mare.
"Capricorn and I shall stay with you Twilight." Leo decided, pretty much ignoring the decision of the actual owner of the library. Soon enough, only Twilight, Spike and the two zodiacs remained in the library. Twilight had not moved from her spot, her mind still putting itself together after the whammy that the last couple of hours were. Needless to say, the library was a mess. Books were on the floor. Leo's bed was all but destroyed. The kitchen was a disaster. And they would have to clean it spotless.
"It can wait until tomorrow...Spike, can you please set a bed for Capricorn? I'll take care of Leo's." Twilight asked. Spike nodded before leading Capricorn away.
"I must say. I did not expect such hospitality from your friends." Leo said as she helped picking the blankets while Twilight used her magic to put the bed together.
"It surprised me too when I first arrived here. They can be an odd bunch, but I wouldn't change them for anything in the world." Twilight answered, making Leo stare at her for a few seconds.
"Well, this is it. I hope you like it." Spike said as he finished the bed, right besides Leo's. Capricorn nodded in thanks. Spike couldn't help but to notice the mane and tail of the zodiac. It was beautiful, in it's own, sea-like way. It reminded him of the see. If Rarity was stunning, and nopony could come close to her, but Capricorn could be a close second. Watching how she moved on top of the bed, Spike did what he did best with a mare.
"So, Capricorn uh? Need a guide for tomorrow? I could show things that Twilight wouldn't even dream about." he said smugly. Capricorn smiled. It was beautiful smile. She made a signal for him to come closer. He did. She did again. Spike leaned close enough that their faces were almost touching. She leaned one of his ears and whispered.
"I'm a boy."
Spike froze. He stared at her, no him. No, her! Wait a minute, him! She was a he!? How could that be?! He was almost prettier than Rarity! He had just flirted with a guy?! The thought sank inside of him. He had flirted with a stallion. Spike spasmed for half a second before passing out.
"I love doing that." Capricorn said as he smirked.
Leo sighed when she saw Spike pass out. Capricorn had done it again. She would have to talk with about this sense of humor of his. But right now, she wanted to sleep. Twilight had levitated Spike to bed before climbing the stairs.
"Twilight?"
"Yes Leo?"
Leo hesitated for a few seconds.
"Thank you for taking us."
"No problem. That's what friends do after all!" Twilight said with a smile before climbing the stairs. Leo blushed a little before walking to the bed, a goofy grin on her face. Capricorn raised an eyebrow.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
"Be quiet." Leo replied.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       Good morning!                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Good morning!
Twilight opened her eyes. Not the rays of the sun though, nor the her nearly perfect biological clock. No, what woke her up was a smell. A very intense smell. A very raw, powerful smell. She had only smelt it once when she and the princess had visited a griffin city. It had been in a restaurant.
"Oh no." she said as she bolted out of bed and ran down the stairs. Leo and Capricorn were eating on their beds. Rarity would have a fit if she saw that. That oily substance that dripped from the cooked fish. It would stain the beds for years.
"Fish..." she murmured.
"Good morning Twilight. There was no fish around, so I went and hunt one myself." Leo explained.
"I have to say, this is a very tasty fish." Capricorn said. Twilight had to mentally buck herself back to reality when she heard that Capricorn was male.
"You, the fish, how....where did you get it?"
"There was a few fish in fountain of water not far from here. I saw a few of them swimming so I took one out." she answered. A fountain of water. He probably meant the town square, that was filled with carps. Mayor Mare's carps. As on cue, a short but loud, horrible scream was heard.
"Pray do tell, what was that?" Capricorn asked calmly. Twilight could swear there was hint of amusement in his voice. It wasn't long before the door banged. Somepony was behind it. Somepony who would rip Twilight to shreds if she said the wrong thing. Mayor Mare was known for two things: Her unquestionable loyalty to her duty and her absolute love of carps, which she treated like royalty. Twilight shakily opened the door.
"Why, Mayor Mare! What a, eh, unexpected surprise! I wasn't aware you would be visiting!" Twilight said with the best poker face she had.
"Where. Is. She."
"Uh, where is who?" Twilight asked, a single drop of sweat running down her head.
"Where?"
Twilight would have passed out if not for the eldritch stare she was getting from the monster that called itself Mayor Mare. A single cling was heard. Leo had placed her plate on the table. A few crumbs were left.
"You monster!"
"Pardon?" Leo questioned, not sure what was happening.
"You misbegotten abomination! You knife teethed monstrosity!" Mayor Mare shouted as she walked up to Leo, who flinched a little.
"I should banish you from Ponyville!, I should have you arrested for murder! I should-" the rest of the insults are too graphic to be put on words. Needless to say, Twilight went from purple, to pink, to white as she saw the mayor tore into Leo. Meanwhile, Capricorn sat on his bed, an amused grin on his face. After a few more seconds of swearing, he decided to step in.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow this to continue."
"Who they hay are you?!" the mayor questioned.
"My name is Saturn, and I am the older brother of this poor girl." He said as he pointed a hoof at Leo.
"Poor...girl?" Leo repeated.
"Poor girl?! She ate my fish!"
"Yes. The poor thing. She can barely go to the bathroom on her own!" Capricorn said as he hugged the infuriated Leo, who vainly attempted to break free from the hugs of her brother.
"You see, she was born with some issues, she can't control herself. Like a little kitty. She needs to make a mess." Capricorn explained, somewhat calming Mayor Mare.
"But what about my carp?" she complained.
"Oh, I am sure you can come to an arrangement with dear old Twilight Sparkle there."
"Excuse me?!" Twilight exclaimed. Mayor Mare stared at Twilight, then at Leo and finally and Capricorn.
"Alright. I will let it go. But keep her under watch and away fro my carps!" Mayor Mare ordered.
"I swear, she will not even consider going near of them." Capricorn swore. Satisfied, Mayor Mare left the library, giving Twilight the evil eye on her way out. After slamming the door shut, Twilight slid to the floor, feeling like if she had survived a buffalo stampede. Leo was shouting something to Capricorn, who calmly helped himself to some bread.
"Where...where is Spike?" she asked with a shaky voice.
"The dragon locked himself in the bathroom as soon as he woke up." Capricorn answered, still ignoring his furious sister.
Twilight walked up the stairs. Indeed, the bathroom was lock from the inside.
"Come on Spike, I could really use a cold shower..." Twilight mumbled.
"Not until the he-she leaves! I will not abandon my safe haven until the he-she leaves!"
Twilight sighed. This was going to be a long morning.
Meanwhile, far from there, near the entrance to the feared Everfree forest, was a cottage. There lived a pegasus. It wasn't a dirty, smelly cottage, nor an old, run down castle. It was a pony cottage, and that means comfort.
At least until Aries and Scorpio woke up. Then, all tartarus broke lose in the cottage. Again.
"Foul beats, don't you dare try to scratch me again!" Scorpio roared as she swished her tail defensively, her sting ready to attack. She was surrounded by a dog, an elk and Mr.Bear, who still had some bandages from his earlier tumble with Leo. Aries cheered from the window, edging her sister on. Poor Fluttershy flew around, trying once again to end the conflict.
Let's backtrack a little.
Aries, Fluttershy and Scorpio sat at the table, ready to eat breakfast. This time, Flutteshy asked before hand if they were meat-eaters. To her pleasure, both of them were not. Fluttershy trusted them as soon as they said that. Her animals however, did not. Who could blame them though.
"Here you are. A good healthy salad." Fluttershy said as she placed the plates in front of them. Aries started immediately. Scorpio however, remained skeptical. She eyed the salad. Nothing seemed wrong with it, but you could never be too sure.
"There is nothing wrong with. I promise you'll like it." Fluttershy said softly.
"She's right Scorpio. This is delicious!" Aries said, his mouth filled to the brim. Scorpio hesitated for a few seconds before eating a leaf. She chewed, slowly but surely, and swallowed. And her mind exploded. It wasn't good at all, or delicious.
It was perfect!
She started eating freely. Any mistrust disappeared with each bit. Her tail twitched with pleasure. Another bite, another twitch. Suddenly, she bit her tongue. Hard. The pain, combined with the sauce, sent a wave through her body, culminating in her shooting up from the pain, her sting pinching Mr.Bear's leg, making him swat a bird cage by accident, making the birds fly in fright through the room, making the small critters run in fear, leading to the current situation.
"P-please! Everypony calm down!" Fluttershy said as she tried to calm the birds and critters down. Meanwhile, Scorpio was surrounded. But she would not go down without a fight.
"I can assure you three, you will regret the day you challenged the stinger of the stars!" she said as she whipped her stung to the elk, barely missing by an inch. Mr.Bear tried to grab her, but Scorpio was too fast. She jumped back, dodging the claws, before ramming forward, crashing into the bear and sending them down. She placed the stinger on his throat.
"NO!"
Scorpio turned in anger at the voice, her stinger ready. And stopped. And froze. Eyes. Big. Green. Eyes. She didn't move. She couldn't move. The Eyes. They stared at her. They stared at her very soul! She backed away a little. The Eyes pressed on. She backed some more. The Eyes continued forward. Scorpio stumbled back until she hit the wall, her tail between her legs.
"Wow..." Aries whispered as he saw his tough sister being driven to a wall by a yellow marsh mellow turned pony.
Once Scorpio was frozen against the wall, Fluttershy turned her attention to Mr.Bear. He was knocked out on the floor.
Fluttershy whimpered. This was going to be a long morning.
"Alright apples, let's get to work! Applejack said as Big Mac and Apple Bloom followed her. Except they didn't no steps were heard behind her. Turning around, she found herself along in the orchid.
"What in tarnation?"
Meanwhile, back inside, Big Macintosh stared at Taurus, who stared back. The tension between the two males could be cut with a knife.
"Shouldn't be split them or something?" Apple Bloom asked."
"Do not worry child. Taurus wouldn't harm a fly." Pisces said calmly. Applejack ran back into the house, visibly irritated.
"When Ah' say lets get to work, Ah' mean it!" she said as she entered. But nopony listened to her. And she could understand why. Taurus and Big Macintosh were having a hoof wrestling match on the table, which was visibly on the verge of snapping from the pressure. So far, no side had a clear advantage.
"What are you two doin'?! You'll break the table!"
But the pair ignored her, continuing their battle. Eventually, the table snapped, sending both contestants smashing into each other. Big Mac was immedately knocked out, while Taurus groggily stood up. Both apple sisters stared in amazement and worry, while Pisces simply sipped from her glass of water. The strongest member of the apple family had been knocked out, leaving half the work of the farm without it's worker.
Applejack groaned. This was going to be a long morning.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                           Ouch.                           
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Ouch.
Mr.Cake was a good stallion.
He loved his family, he worked hard and made sure to be full of integrity, honesty and patience. Whenever life got difficult, he thought of his wife and kids, both natural and adopted. The rest was easy. If there was anything that life of a cake cooker had taught him, it was that life was to short be sour. A sweet kiss in the morning and a warm shower and he was ready to face the day, no matter what it threw in his direction!
"Careful!"
"Got it!"
"Go sis!"
So when he entered the kitchen saw Pinkie juggling plates with another mare who had red pincers on her hooves, while two nearly identical foals giggled, he did what any rational, down to earth stallion would do.
He freaked out.
"Pinkie! The plates!" he shouted, already sweating from the sight.
"Hi Mr.Cake!"
"Hi native pony!"
More giggles.
The inevitable happened and a plate crashed, making Mr.Cake cringe, followed by another, and another. A fourth one was on the way down, but Cancer grabbed it with her pincers, but she pressed to hard and snapped the plate in half, both pieces crashing on the floor. Nopony said anything. Not even the twins were giggling anymore.
"I'll clean it up!" Pinkie said as she smiled nervously before snapping into action. Grabbing a broom, she started gathering the broken pieces. Cancer grabbed another broom and followed her new friend's example, only to snap the broom in three. The twins started giggling again.
"Gem! Minnie! Stop that!" Cancer said.
"Dear? Is there something wrong?"
"GOOD MORNING MRS.CAKE!" Pinkie shouted.
"GOOD MORNING NATIVE PONY WIFE!" Cancer shouted. The twins giggled before screaming in response, making the hole kitchen tremble. A free more plates rattled on their positions on the stands before falling as well. The entire kitchen floor soon became white all the broken plates. Nopony said anything for a while.
"I'll...clean it up?" Pinkie smiled sheepishly. The three extra ponies said nothing.
"Pinkie? Who are these?" Mr.Cake asked.
"This are, eh, new friends! And they needed a place to stay! So I brought them here." Pinkie answered.
"Brought who?...oh dear..." Mrs Cake muttered as she entered the kitchen and saw the mess. For one of the few times in her life, Pinkie didn't know what to say, or how to even begin explaining.
"Uhm...surprise?"
"Pinkie?" Can we talk to you?" Mrs.Cake said. Pinkie gulped as she followed the couple out of the kitchen, leaving the three zodiacs alone in the kitchen.
"I hope she's alright." Cancer said.
"She will." "We're sure of it." the twins said.
"How can you be sure?" she asked.
"Gut instinct." "Intuition."
Cancer tried to not think too much of her younger siblings odd answers. They were always cryptical when they felt in a good mood. Or when they wanted to mess with the world, which was amazingly often. Sometimes she wondered if they knew more than they actually let on.
"I should really start being mroe careful with this things..." she thought as she glared her pincers. Why couldn't equestrian things be more sturdy? she didn't have this problem back in Altarf!
"Eh, Cancer, was it?" Mr.Cake asked. The Cakes had returned to the kitchen, with Pinkie besides them.
"I think we have to talk." Mrs.Cake said, her tone sweet but stern.
This was going to be hard.
Meanwhile, high in the sky, two pegasus sat on a cloud couch. Both of them were sleepy. Both of them were tired. Rainbow Dash was not one of them. She was too busy asking questions to be tired. For once in her life, she had willingly  gotten up early. All just to start shooting questions and cheers left and right. Libra and Sagittarius had been flattered at first. Then they became slightly annoyed. Now they were just tired, even though it was barely ten in the morning!
"Oh what would Daring Do say?! Aliens! Here in my house! This is so awesome! It's almost as cool as winning the Young Flyers competition! Ever heard of the wonder bolts? I'm gonna be one!"
"And I thought the twins were hyperactive..." Libra said.
"Could be worse." Sagittarius replied.
"What was that?" Dash asked.
"Oh nothihg. You just remind remind of a couple of my siblings. They can get a bit hyperactive too."
"Really? Cool! Which one? The one with the stinger? No! The one with the horns! No no no! The one with the stinger! Scorpio right? Her!" Dash said excitedly.
"Actually...I meant one of my younger siblings...you know, the twins?"
Dash froze.
"The...foals?" she whispered.
"Well, not if you put that way..." Sagittarius replied. Libra placed a hoof on her forehead. This was not going to end well. It never did.
"You're comparing me to a kid?!" Dash shouted. Sag recoiled.
"No! I just thought you two were similar!"
"So you ARE comparing me!"
Screams and shout echoed from the cloud house as the two argued with each other. Libra simply stood and went for a glass of water. Sagittarius always managed to do this. Every time. Everywhere. It never failed.
"I just said something. You're not that childish!"
"I'm not childish at all!"
"Of course not! You're not like a child, just a little bit excitable!" Sagittarius argued, digging himself deeper. Libra sighed. Maybe it was time she stepped in.
"Look...Rainbow Dash?" she started.
"Yes?!" Dash semi-shouted. Her temper was flaring now, and any wrong word would set off the bomb that she could be.
"I think that was Sagittarius meant was that you were full of energy." Libra explained. Dash stood in front of her.
"Oh yeah? How so?" she growled.
"I can see that you are very fit. You must be some sort of athlete. I believe you said you were going to be a....thunderbolt?"
"Wonderbolt."
"Yes, that. You must be bursting with anticipation. Am I correct?" Libra said. Dash's earlier anger was replaced with a smirk, which told Libra everything she needed to know about Equestria's fastest flier, like how defuse any situation involving her.
This was going to be easy.
"Oh my, are they really like that?" Rarity asked.
"I am afraid so. Quite a lovely bunch I have to say." Virgo explained. She and Rarity had been chatting for the past hour. It had been a lovely experience for the zodiac, who had to put up with the antics of her siblings. Make no mistake though. She loved them dearly, but a change of scenery was always good as they said.
Who would have thought that equestrian tea could be so tasty?
"Why, my friends are also capable of being quite the ruffians if needed. Can't say I enjoy it that much though." Rarity replied.
"You seem to be close though." Virgo mentioned.
"Oh yes. They may be a little too rude for my standards, but they are my most dearest friends. I wouldn't change them for the world..."
"Guuoood moornnnnng..."
Sweetie Belle stood on the entrance to the kitchen, pretty much sleep walking. Mornings had never been friendly with her. Her ruffled mane was proof of it.
"Sweetie Belle. Let me introduce you to Virgo. She is going to stay with us for a while." Rarity explained.
"Good Morning little one." Virgo said politely. Sweetie Belle half nodded before she set to make her own breakfast, leaving the two mares to their own devices.
"Is Aquarius stills sleeping?" Rarity asked.
"Aquarius usually sleeps in. She says it helps with creativity." Virgo answered. A slightly burnt smell could be felt across the kitchen. Sweetie Belle had put a bread on the toaster. Celestia help them all.
"Eh, dear? I'm afraid your toast is burning." Rarity warned. Sweetie Belle, now a bit more awake, immediately set herself to fix her mistake. Sounds of hammering and cutting could be heard as the little filly worked on her food.
"Is she always so...enthusiastic about breakfast?" Virgo asked.
"Oh yes. She's always trying to improve her cooking, though her results are less than stellar..."
"Here!"
A small plate of smelly, round, perfectly made cookies was on the table. They weren't anything special though. Just plain old brown wheat cookies. They actually seemed quite tasty, much to Rarity's surprise. Given Sweetie's record with the juice, the fact that she had managed to make something without burning, melting or just plain vaporizing anything was an accomplishment in itself!
"Here! Try one! I made them extra carefully this time." she said with a grin, which Virgo responded with a warm smile.
"Of course. Thank you." she said as she ate one. Rarity smiled. Who would have thought that Sweetie could cook brown wheat cookies. Brown. Wait a minute. Wheat cookies were yellow. Not brown. Yellow.
Uh oh.
Crack.
Something broke.
And it wasn't the cookie.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                           Chak.                           
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Chak.
Sugarcube Corner was quiet. Odd thing, considering just who lived there. The store was closed for the day. That wasn't so odd, considering who had just arrived there. Normally, the entire house/store/giant diabetes machine was busting with life and energy, making sure any and all costumers were satisfied with cavity-inducing treats, making them long time enemies of Colgate, the local dentist. But right now, that didn't matter at all.
Pinkie had had brought three extra ponies to the house. She had offered them a place to stay, food and hospitality. The fact  Pinkie had offered all this with a smile to aliens was nothing out of the ordinary. She was Pinkie Pie.The mare's existence was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma for physics and logic in general. But right now, that didn't matter at all either.
Of these aliens, two were foals with a disturbing knack of complementing each other's words. The third had perfectly functional pincers instead of hooves. Together, the three of them defied everything the cakes had been taught in school. But that also didn't matter right now.
No. What mattered, right now, was that somehow, even by Pinkie's standards, all the plates of the Sugarcube corner now rested in peace inside various trash bags. No matter how many sweets they produced, they now had no way of serving or transporting them. And that was bad for business.
And Mrs.Cake was a business mare.
And a business mare is always ready to deal with any situation.
"Pinkie Pie. You have your orders. Ten stacks of plates. All white. No painting on them." Mrs.Cake ordered.
"Yes ma'm!" Pinkie accepted before trotting out the door.
"Dear. Take the babies for a walk. Make sure to give them milk." she said to her husband, who walked out with the babies on bags on his side, leaving the mare with the three aliens.
"Cancer, please put your brother and sister in the twins's room. Then come to the kitchen." she said to Cancer, who did as told. Soon, both mares were in the kitchen.
"What now?" Cancer asked.
"Now...we cook." Mrs.Cake answered.
"But I don't I can. I might break stuff."
"I will teach you."
Mrs.Cake had taught her husband how to cook. That was how they met. She had taught Pinkie how to cook. That's how they convinced her to let them adopt her. So when Cancer grabbed a wodden spoon, only to snap it in half, Mrs.Cake didn't see a problem. She saw a challenge.
"Careful dear. Try not snapping your...pincers every time."
Snap. There went another spoon.
"Open them less..."
And a fork.
"Go slower."
And a knife.
"Maybe we should try something else."
And so they went for preparing dough. The short story would be: Cancer made as much effort as she could in putting the eggs, the flour and the water together in the bowl. The long story would involve explaining how Cancer broke thirteen eggs, splashed water everywhere and somehow managed to completely shred three flour bags, leaving the entire kitchen white. Again.
Mrs.Cake considered changing her strategy.
"It's useless...back in Altarf, our society makes things out of sturdier materials, but here..." Cancer moaned as Mrs.Cake finished cleaning the kitchen.
"Its okay dear. I remember Pinkie's firsts attempts at making a cupcake. They were worse. The whole kitchen covered in frosting. Oh, those days..." Mrs.Cake said nostalgically.
"Good for her." Cancer mumbled as she sat on a stool besides the table, burying her head in her hoove-, eh, pincers.
"How about you watch how I do it. Maybe you can learn from it?" Mrs.Cake suggested.
To Cancer's credit, when she was told to focus, nothing could snap her out of it. She intently observed how Mrs.Cake cracked the eggs, poured the water, mixed the flour and prepared cooking dough. After a few minutes, Mrs.Cake dropped the clay like dough in the table in front of Cancer, massaging and softening with her hooves.
"So, Pinkie said you're an alien. Is that true?" Mrs.Cake asked as she worked.
"Yes it is. Though we prefer not being called aliens." Cancer answered politely.
"And Pinkie offered you a place to stay. How nice of her!"
"Oh yes. She was very friendly with-"
CHAK.
Mrs.Cake had cut the dough. With a butcher knife. A really sharp butcher knife.
"Sorry dear. I guess I got a little to emotional. Pinkie Pie, who I love as a daughter, offered a free home to a stranger in need."
Chak. Chak. Chak. Chak. Chak.
"She did so, of her own free will. No pushing, no threats, nomind control..." Mrs.Cake said happilly as she chopped away. Cancer could have called her out on the obvious threat, or on how ridiculous it was to see her chop dough with a butcher knife. But she didn't. Her mind was couldn't register any of those things. It was too busy focusing on how easy it cleaved through the dough. Dough that for strange coincidence, it was the same red as her pincers.
"Pinkie is such an angel." Mrs.Cake said as she finished, putting the knife away.
"Y-yes. An angel..." Cancer stammered, placing her pincers under the table, lest Mrs.Cake chopped a pincer by mistake. Assuming it was a mistake.
"I'm back!"
"Pinkie dear! Just in time. Can you help Cancer with the lobby? I think a few chairs are out of place." Mrs.Cake asked.
"No problemo! Come on Cancer!" Pinkie said as she jumped away, with a pale Cancer in tow.
"And I thought Scorpio was scary."
Luckily, moving the chairs and tables meant pushing them, with no real need to lift them, giving Cancer the chance to be an aid instead of a disaster. Sugarcube corner was known for tidiness and presentation in front of the clients. Having an extra pony was no excuse.
"I've never seen so many broken plates in one spot. Well, maybe at a the gala, but i'll tell you about it later. How was Mrs.Cake? Was she fun? I love her, she's like a mother to me. She always takes care of me." Pinkie said.
"I noticed..." Cancer said, shivering at the memory of the knife.
"Anyways. We are the twins? We should play with them! Do a party for them!" Pinkie said exclaimed.
"I think they are sleeping right now. Those two get tired easily." Cancer said.
"Boo. That sucks. Then we gotta go do a party for another of you guys! How about Scorpio? Or Virgo? Or both!"
"They aren't much for celebration. Leo likes them though."
"Leo? But she was all mopey and downy before!" Pinkie said.
"She has a hard time opening to new face. But she can be quite friendly once you get to know her." Cancer explained. Pinkie shined happiness at the answer.
"The its decided. We are to throw party to Leo! But Twilight said no. How do we do it?"
"Let's bring her here! This place hosts parties too right?" Cancer asked, receiving a nod from Pinkie. "Then lets bring Leo here. She'll be so happy!"
And so, the two mares began planning their secret party, their objective being the complete and utter cheering of the first zodiac.
Meanwhile, far from there, inside the Carousel Boutique, an Aquarius tried to console a distraught Sweetie Belle. Rarity had take Virgo to the dentist after she spit three broken teeth and the unfazed cookie. Success had been...decent.
"Virgo is not going to hate you. It was an accident." Aquarius said.
"But I made the cookie! Now she'll never eat my food!" Sweetie cried. Aqua sighed. Virgo usually managed to eat anything. It had been a while since she saw her younger sister reject something, or being rejected by it apparently. Who knew a mere cookie could be so hard?
"Young one. Have you tried other ways of art?"
"What do you mean?" Sweetie asked between sniffs.
"Cooking as proved unsuccessful, am I correct?" Sweetie Belle nodded. "Then why not pursue other paths? Painting, drawing, singing. There are many ways of producing art." Aqua said. Sweetie's eyes were filled with light, evaporating any sadness that lived there.
"You're right! I should go do that! Excuse me Aqua. I've got some crusading to do!" Sweetie cheered before blasting out the door. Aqua smiled as she saw the diminishing figure of the filly disappear on the distance. That filly would go far with that attitude.
"She's a lot like you Leo..." she thought as she walked to the kitchen, giving a glare to the concrete cookies that innocently laid on the plate, waiting for another sucker to take a bite and follow Virgo's fate.
"Guess this goes to the garbage..." she said as she left to find a trash can. Then it happened.
She saw it.
It.
A purple dress. Nothing fancy. Pretty empty. Probably a half made job.
But Aquarius saw another thing.
She saw a canvas.
And she was an artist.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                        Grunt work.                        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Grunt work.
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.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  Dear Princess Celestia.                  
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Dear Princess Celestia.
Twilight sighed.
After many hours, the library was finally quiet, but still a mess. Spike had, somehow, agreed to calm down and take Leo and Capricorn out for a lunch, a lunch that would not involve meat, followed by a tour of Ponyville, so that they wouldn't need anypony guiding them all the time. That give Twilight about two or three hours to herself. While she was in the bathroom, she had managed to make a checklist about the things she had to do today.
1. *Shut. Spike. Up.** Check.*
2. Get Leo and Capricorn out of the library by lunch time. Check.
3. Instruct Spike to take them for lunch. No fish. Check.
4. Fix her not-OCD mane. She did not have an OCD. Check.
5. Remind herself that she didn't have an OCD while cleaning up the library. Double Check. Can't be too careful.
6. Write a letter to Princess Celestia, explaining everything.
7. Await for answer.
8. Act depending on said answer.
"Let's see about that letter..." Twilight thought as she gathered ink, a quill and a scroll, her mind trying to think the best way to put the events of the last days on words. It was surprisingly hard. How could you write down the first contact with intelligent alien lifeforms?
Dear Princess Celestia.
I've just met twelve alien ponies. They are really, really nice!"
Twilight
"Too short..." she said as she threw the scroll to the garbage.
Dear Princess Celestia.
Twelve creatures from the deep reaches of space have arrived in our land. So far they appear to be well intentioned and bearers of glad tidings. I decided to withhold the information in case of unexpected developments, but since it would seem that since the events of today shall be the routine, I have chosen to inform you.
Eternally yours...Twilight.
"That sounds like something the lovechild of Rarity and Princess Luna would write...would that even be possible?" Twilight chuckled before crumpling the letter as well. This was harder that usual.
Princess Celestia
Aliens have arrived from outer space! One of them even laid eggs in my stomach! I'm going to be the mother of the first alien-pony hybrid is history!
Love Twilight.
"Gah! That's something Spike would write!" Twilight growled as she burned the letter into oblivion. She needed to focus, dangit! This was important! Taking another letter, she took a deep breath before starting to write her message.
Dear Princess Celestia.
Nearly three days ago, an strange pony crashed in Equestria, going by the name of Leo. She says to be something called a zodiac, but I have no idea what she means. A night later, eleven more of them landed here, calling themselves her brothers and sisters. They are currently staying with me and my friends, though I can't say for how long. I hope that you could give your opinion on the matter?
Your most faithful student Twilight Sparkle
"There! All done." Twilight said satisfied as she rolled the scroll and tied it up. This would be enough to inform her teacher without giving to much information. If it landed on the wrong hooves, all it would it would be create some funny rumors, but nothing more. All she had to do know was give Spike the letter so he could send it immediately.
If he hadn't gone for lunch with the zodiacs.
Twilight groaned with frustration. This days was not going well.
She huffed out of the house, scroll trailing after her. She looked over the restaurant, but they weren't there. Sugarcube corner was closed, so she could forget about it for now. However, her efforts were met with frustration. They weren't anywhere. Not even the Quills and Sofa store! Where the hay was he?!
"Are you looking for Spike?"
Twilight behind her. Scootaloo was on her scooter, patiently eyeing her. Twilight blinked a couple of times. A hair stuck out of her mane.
"Yes I am. Have you seen him?"
"Your mane looks funny."
Twilight fixed in a second.
"Have you seen him?" Twilight asked, doing her best to keep her temper in check.
"Yeah." Scootaloo answered.
Another hair stuck out.
"Where?" Twilight asked.
"He's at the bell tower. Have you seen Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? I can't find them anywhere." Scootaloo said. Twilight sighed. Finally a lead.
"I think I heard her earlier around the library. You should check there."
"Thanks Twilight!" Scootaloo said before scooting away at her usual dangerous speed. Meanwhile, Twilight made her way to the bell tower. Lo behold, there he was, Spike, along Leo, Capricorn.
"And this the bell tower. We use i for the festivals. Makes a great warning sign too." Spike explained.
"It looks rather old. Is it safe to ring it?" Capricorn asked.
"Of course it is. Go and test if you want." Spike said. Leo picked a rock with a hoof and threw it at the bell, making a clear, loud banging sound that echoed through the land. Silence followed before a loud crack was heard and the bell plummeted inside the tower, crushing everything inside. A small cloud of dust floated outside.
"Good thing it was safe." Capricorn said.
"It was faulty! Why didn't you tell me it was faulty!" Leo complained as she walked up to Spike, making him stumble to the ground,only to be immediately picked by Twilight's magic.
"Twilight! Am I glad to see you!"
Twilight set him on the ground before stepping on his tail. Hard. Spike burped a flame, which Twilight threw the scroll into, burning it to a crisp.
"You two. Library. Now. Spike, I want you to gather the rest and bring them too." Twilight ordered.
"I do not believe you have the authority to command us." Leo said. Twilight gave her a glare that could freeze Tartarus in a second, her mane starting to get messy again. Spike recognized the signs immediately, and knew exactly what was going to happen. And it was not going to be pretty.
"Now." Twilight said as she horn lit up. A second later, all four of them were in the library. Spike was all scorched, while Capricorn and Leo stumbled a few seconds before falling on their backs, completely disoriented and nauseated. Twilight huffed a few seconds. It seemed that using her magic on zodiacs was more taxing than usual. Maybe they were magic resistant, or perhaps she was unused to their anatomy. Right now she didn't care.
"Go."
Spike shakily nodded before scampering out of the library. He knew when to listen to Twilight, when not to listen to Twilight, and when to obey Twilight.
"Wha...what just happened?" Leo asked as she shakily stood up. Capricorn still laid on his back, the world still spinning.
"I teleported you. First timers always get some nausea. You'll get over it soon." Twilight said as she started cleaning up the landing site.
"W-why do you need all of us?" Leo asked, shaking off the last bit of nausea. Twilight once again fixed her mane, now calmer, before answering.
"I'm probably going to have a very important visitor coming, and I would like it if you could all be there."
Leo sat, her mind still spinning a bit while Capricorn slowly got up. It was then when they felt it. It happened. That happened.
"What is it?" Twilight asked after seeing Leo and Capricorn freeze in place.
"Something happened." Leo said.
"What happened? How do you know something happened." Twilight asked.
"We zodiacs can sense when one of us is using a large portion of their powers..." Capriconr explained. The door of the library blasted open.
"Twilight we have a problem!" Spike shouted as she ran inside, alerting all three of them.
"The zodiac twins and the cutie mark crusaders are missing!"

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                           Yay!                            
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Yay!
A few hours earlier, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked away from the library, followed by Gem and Minnie. The library was noisy, messy, and possibly hazardous to enter at the moment. But most importantly, Scootaloo wasn't there, which meant that the whole trip there had been pointless. Perfect.
"We'll never find her like this," Sweetie Belle sighed. "She could be anywhere!"
"Have faith Sweetie! We'll find her!"
The twins hadn't said anything since they joined their quest. It creeped Sweetie Belle a little but she nothing on it. Gabby gums was in the past, and she had learned from it.
But they were still creepy.
"How does your friend look like?" one of twins asked.
"She's orange with purple. And a blank flank like us." Apple Bloom pointed to her bare flank.
"What do your cutie marks mean?" Sweetie asked. The twins stared at her in confusion. Cutie mark? What was she talking about? What was a cutie mark? Both fillies seemed appalled when they voiced their questions.
"You don't know what a cutie mark is?!" Apple Bloom gasped. The twins nodded.
"How can this be?! Apple Bloom, we have to do something!"
"Agreed. Twins prepare yourselves for a crash course on crusading!" Apple Bloom decided.
"What's crusading?"
"You're about to find out."
The search for Scootaloo was postponed for the moment. They had an emergency on their little hooves, and fixing it was the outmost priority! They headed straight to the clubhouse.
"Alright new crusaders. First of all. What is a cutie mark? Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked. sweetie Belle lifted a paper with a messily drawn pony. On what seemed to be its flank was a circle, though it seemed more like something a dragon had chewed, spit and chewed again.
"A cutie mark is the sig of ones special talent. What you're good at." Apple Bloom explained, pointing a hoof at the paper. The twins nodded in understanding. She pointed a hoof at her bare flank.
"Unfortunately, we haven't found ours yet. Our mission is to find our special talent and earn our cutie marks!"
"Speaking of which, how did you two find yours?" Sweetie Belle asked. The twins stared at each other, then at their flanks.
"You mean our star mark?" "We were born with it."
The silence was deafening. The twins wondered if they had said something wrong. Sweetie Belle was trying to appear as calm as possible.
Apple Bloom seemed like on the verge of a heart attack.
"Born...with it?" she asked.
"Yes. From day one."  Gem said.
"Born with it." she repeated.
"It represents our native land our powers." Minnie added.
"Born. With. It"
"Apple Bloom..." Sweetie Belle murmured, worried for her friends increasing twitching. Her hoof started tapping on the floor. Meanwhile, far from the clubhouse, all the way in the sugarcube corner, two friends prepared a party.
"This is gonna be the best part ever!" Pinkie said.
"Smile...Leo...Smiiiileee....there! All done." Cancer said as she finished painting the sign with a metal brush. The windows suddenly exploded open, a scream sound like a manticore being raped by a timberwolf invading the room.
"Wow..." Pinkie removed the pillow from her head." What was that?"
"Sounded like a really angry scream." Cancer said.
Back in the club house, the zodiac twin plus Sweetie Belle cowered in the corner while Apple Bloom laid waste to the room, spouting curses and angry tirades against destiny for cursing her with a blank flank.
"Why is she so mad?!" Minnie asked.
After a couple more minutes of screaming and cursing, Apple Bloom began to cool off. Panting, sweating, she stood in the middle of the room. She took a deep breath. That had been enough wrath for now.
"AB...you ok?" Sweetie asked timidly.
"Ah'm...fine." Apple Bloom said. The rest of the group didn't seem very convinced. "Honest."
"I saw the capes at the entrance. There were three of them. We believe we are still one member short." Gem said as he picked a cape. Apple Bloom cleaned the messed clubhouse while Sweetie Belle helped with the organizing.
"Scootaloo is still missing. We need to find her." Sweetie said as she placed the table back in spot.
"I can see her near the library." Minnie said.
"How can you see her at the library? We're on the other side of town." Apple Bloom snarked.
"Can't you? We're right behind her." Gem said.
"No were not!" Sweetie said.
But they were. Scootaloo was in front of the library. They were right behind her. A hair stuck out of Apple Blooms mane, much like Twilight in her less than perfect moments.
"Can you two please stop doing that?" she growled.
"When did you get there?" Scootaloo asked as she heard the growl, not worried about the fact that reality warping on the level of Pinkie Pie happened right behind her tail.
"Uh...just now?" Sweetie said, taking the situation a lot more calmly than her friend. Introductions were quickly made, with Scootaloo warming right up to the zodiacs. While it was nice and rather cute to see the five kids become friends, they still had a problem. A big problem.
What now?
"How about some cooking?" Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Done already. House repairing?" Apple Bloom said.
"We tried that too. Is there really nothing to do?" Scootaloo replied.
"Maybe archeology?"
All heads turned to Gem, who blinked innocently.
"That's a great idea! What do you say crusaders?" Apple Bloom asked her friends, receiving positive nods all around. It was decided. Archeology it would be.
"But where?" Scootaloo asked.
"The old palace! My sister said they found the elements of harmony there. Who knows what we can find!" Sweetie answered.
"Alright then. Everfree forrest it is. Take us there twins" Apple Bloom cheered. The twins stared at her, confusion written their faces.
"Whats wrong? Do your thing."
We can't." Minnie said.
"What?! Why?!" Sweetie Belle asked.
"We can only appear on places we have already been before." Gem answered.
"We can't go somewhere we have never been before." Minnie finished. While it did damper their spirits a bit, the crusaders quickly lit back into action. Teleporting was out of the question?
"The Ah' guess we'll just take the long way there."

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                         Not good.                         
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Not good.
The Everfree Forest.
Home to some of Equestria's most deadly creatures. The land that had been the battle ring for Princess Celestia's final match with Nightmare Moon before banishing her to the moon. As a result, the entire forest was forever changed, mutated, the vast power of the alicorns and the elements altering it into the land of darkness and death that it was today. Few ponies dared to approach it, even fewer entered it. Fear was a powerful deterrent that kept intruders out.
Unless you were stupid or a crusader.
Both adjectives were not mutually exclusive.
"This is starting to seem like a bad idea." Sweetie Belle trembled.
"We barely entered twenty minutes ago! We still have have an hour of walking. At least, that's what Applejack told me." Apple Bloom leaded the group as usual. Crickets and birds could be heard every now and then.
"Why would this seem like a bad idea?" Gem asked as he trotted besides Apple Bloom.
"The forest is supposed to be dangerous."
"It is dangerous. Remember the cockatrice?" Sweetie Belle said, shivering at the thought.
"Ah've seen worse." Apple Bloom answer. Minnie was about to ask what was it that she saw, but Apple Bloom's expression told her to not to.
"I hate all this trees. Why don't they just cut some of them down if its so dangerous?" Scootaloo inched closer to them.
"Ah' bet its because its a landmark thing or something like that. Why can't they never get rid of the useless stuff?" Apple Bloom answered. The forest grew quiet around them as they reached a river. No bridge was in sight.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Applejack told me the way. This has to be."
"But how are we supposed to cross now?" Sweetie threw a rock at the river. The deep splosh that followed confirmed the deepness of the stream. An adult could walk it. A kid would have to swim.
"Can you, eh, teleport us to the other side?" Apple Bloom turned to the twins.
"It's too far to see a safe place where to move. We might reach a dangerous part." Minnie answered. Apple Bloom waited a few minutes before jumping in the water. It wasn't as deep as she thought it would be.
"It's okay. Just a tad cold..." she as she slowly walked through the waters. The rest of the group hesitated before following her. The water was cool, steady and strong, but nothing a good stance could stand. The stream all the way to their necks, occasionally splashing their faces. At this rate it would take them a few minutes to reach the other side.
"This is easier than Rarity said. What a drama queen." Sweetie commented, immediately cursing them with Murphy's law, for no sooner had she said that, the ground took a sudden step downturn, leaving Apple Bloom, Minnie and Scootaloo desperately trying to swing agains the current. Sweetie Belle and Gem tried to grab them, only to in after them.
"Glak! Help!" Scootaloo shouted, flapping her wings as hard as she could. The rest of her friends weren't faring much better. The crusaders were losing ground, bot literally and figuratively.
"SOMEPONY HELP US!"
But nopony came.
"Gem, stretch!" "Right!"
The next few seconds were all but a blur to the pony fillies. One second they were drowning in a increasingly deep river, the next they floated in a pitch black bubble of water, finally popping back in existence in the shore. The five of them were gasping and coughing for air, expelling the water from their lungs.
"Wha...what gah....happened?" Apple Bloom chocked. Sweetie Belle knocked on side of her head, trying to drain ears of water.
"We...moved...so much water..." Gem panted, surprised at the amount of wet ground around them. Minnie was still trying to spit all the water out.
"You did it! You saved us!" Scootaloo cheered, completely drenched. The rest didn't seem so cheerful.
"Is this really a good idea? Who knows what we'll find next." Sweetie complained. She had a point there. Though it wasn't much different from their usual ideas.
"I say we go. We're to close to quit now." Scootaloo shook the water off.
"I vote we go back." Sweetie Belle said.
"Well...Ah' really thinks it worth the risk, but not by much. What about you two?" Apple Bloom asked the twins, who were now more recovered from the tiring ordeal.
"We have used so much power..." Gem commented.
"We should see what we have to gain." Minni replied.
"We should continue." Both finished.
Onward it was then. Time waited for nopony, and if there was one thing they were sure of, is that if the forest was dangerous during the day, then at nighttime it would be all but deadly. Luckily, the kids had learned from the improvised swimming lesson had quickened their pace, making the rest of their trip mostly uneventful. Except for Sweetie Belle falling in a puddle of mud. Because the forest just hated whiners.
"I knew this was a bad idea..." Sweetie said as she shook the mud off as best as she could while Minnie stifled a giggle. After a few more minutes walking, they arrived at the bridge that connected the forest to the ruined castle.
Or used to.
"The bridge is out." Apple Bloom said." Ah' can see the other side from here. You think you think you can get us there?"
The twins peered into the distance. Indeed, they could see other side, just as Apple Bloom said. It was far though, and while normally this would be a problem, they earlier run with the river had left them exhausted.
"We can try." "Stay close."
Gem frowned as they gathered their cosmic powers. With a small blackout, the five of them appeared in front of the ruins. By now, the twins were panting.
"Wow. You two alright?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Tired." Gem said.
"We need a moment." Minnie panted.
Even in their old age, the ruins were imposing. The dark walls and the general atmosphere of uneasiness would make anypony shiver a little. But not the crusaders. They had stared uncertainty with a daunting forwardness. The main tower however, was perhaps the most obscure place. There was the confrontation between Nightmare Moon and the elements of harmony. Of course, the first thing that crossed the mind of the kids was to safely stay away, since who knew what kind dangers could lurk inside. Thats what smart kids do, right?
"Let's check it out"! Apple Bloom leaded.
Maybe not.
Inspecting the place was slow, and without proper tools of archeology, chemistry or investigation, the kids came to predictable conclusion once they reached the maine chamber.
"This is boring." Scootaloo said as she stared out a window.
"Yeah, Ah' expected more somehow." Apple sat on the ground. This was not going as expected. Where were the battle marks, the burnt patches of rock and dirt!
"Can't say I like this place..." Gem said.
"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Something is in the air..." Minnie answered cryptically. " We should go. This place reeks of darkness."
The return to the entrance of the ruin was quick, since anything of actual interest was quickly found. Not there was much to begin with. They soon reached their place of arrival. The fog had increased and even through the thick foliage, the sun was going down. It was time to go home.
"Ok guys, last jump. ready?" Sweetie asked. The twins nodded. Closing their eyes, they started focusing their energies into their bodies. The whistled as they stood there, completely motionless.
"Well?" Scootaloo asked.
"Something is wrong." Gem started.
"We can't use our powers!" Minnie noted.
"What?! Try again!" Apple Bloom insisted. The twins once more stood still. The result was clear once they opened their eyes, finding themselves in the exacta same spot.
"The ruins must be interfering with our powers." Gem noted.
"But without them, we can't cross the ravine!" Sweetie exclaimed.
"Maybe you just need to focus harder. Mah' sisters says that if all you have is a hammer, the solution is to hit harder."
The twins tried once more, this time focusing completely into the task at hand. They could the star energies flowing through them, along with something else. Something dark and full of mischief. They ignored it as best as they could. Their friends counted in them. The ends of their mane started tingling. This was it. They could feel it.
Almost there!
"Eh, guys? are you supposed to be glowing?" Scootaloo asked.
The twins didn't answer. Just a little more! Almost-
BAM
And with that, all that was left of the kids was a scorching mark on the ground.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  Library Sweet library.                   
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Library Sweet library.
Sweetie Belle was not a cowardly filly. She was brave, adventurous and curious. Basic prerequisites of a crusader. However, like any normal filly her age, there were things that she feared. Some more. Some less. Just like any kid her age. It would be weird if she didn't have any fear in her. However, there was ONE thing that Sweetie Belle did fear in particular.
I bet you're wondering: What could a crusader fear? They have faced fire, darkness, monsters, high peak and deep ravines and the occasional gum making machine. Well, the answer was simple. Have you ever been alone in a dark, abandoned castle?
No?
Well Sweetie Belle has. She is in one right now. So what is she afraid of? Here is the answer: Have you ever been in the dark, and felt that there was sompony behind you? And you turn around but there's nopony there?
"There's nopony behind me, there's nopony behind me, there's nopony behind me..."
Sweetie Belle slowly walked through the dark hallways. Her horn was brightly illuminated with a small green spark. It was the only real magic she knew. Normally, she would use it without a problem. Magic wasn't something that came natural to her, but she had some skills, like any unicorn.
"There is nopony behind me...."
But of course, right now, she was half scared to death. Common knowledge dictates that a unicorn's control over its magic has a direct relation whit his emotional state. A serene pony will be able to perform true magic. And angry pony will manage powerful yet uncontrolled spells, and so on and on. Being afraid meant that the control in magic was weak, while the output was minimal, as the body had to be prepared to run an a moments notice.
Which meant that the only light Sweetie had would flicker at the worst possible moment.
Like right now.
"There's nopony behind me, there's nopony behind me, there's nopony-" Flick. Darknes engulfed her. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, nonononononono!"
She tried to focus, a couple green sparkles flashed before her horn lit up. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes. And screamed. And ran. And screamed some more. And then ran some more.
A small spider slid down the string she made before the unicorn filly had ran away.
"Shush...you hear that?" Scootaloo asked. Minnie strained her ear. Yes. She could hear something. A shrilling, loud scream. It was getting closer. And closer. And closer. And clo-
BAM.
Sweetie Belle crashed Scootaloo into a wall. Minnie could only feel her mane flutter a bit from the speed of the unicorn.
"Sweetie Belle! What the hay is wrong with you!?" Scootaloo rubbed her nose, pushing Sweetie Belle away from her.
"Monster! Spider! Coming this way!" Sweetie Belle shrieked. Scootaloo pushed her to the ground.
"Calm down, will ya? There's no monsters in here. Don't you think we would have seen one already?"
"I belive Scootaloo is right here. We have not come across any form of danger or creature so far." Minnie said.
"But...but..."
"Lets go Sweetie Belle. We gotta find Apple Bloom and Gem." Scootaloo proceeded onwards, soon followed by Minnie. Sweetie Belle hesitated. at least until she saw that she was being left alone again. One could say she almost teleported by how fast she was by Minnie's side.
"Where do you thin Apple Bloom and Gem are?"
"You were pretty close to us, so I bet that they are close too." Minnie answered. The roof above them ended in a broken curve, revealing the starry sky. From Ponyvile it was a pretty nice view. From their position, high in a corridor in the forrest, it was gorgeous.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Minnie pointed a hoof at the sky. "Virgo used to sing us a lullaby under them when were younger."
"Fluttershy does that too when she looks after us too." Sweetie Belle commented.
"Well, if we don't hurry, we can forget about that." Scootaloo said.A large shadow briefly covered them before disappearing. Nopony moved for a few seconds.
"What was that?" Minnie asked. Sweetie Belle shrugged.
CRASH!!
"GAH WHAT THE BUCK!!"
Three heads peered down. A purple light was flickering on and off. Some vague words could be heard. Most of them were too soft to be heard, but a few of them were very clear.
"Thats a very weird use for flank..." Scootaloo said.
"Whats a plothead?" Sweetie scratched her head.
"Is...is that Leo?" Minnie asked.
Indeed, there was Leo, having barely avoided the falling vanity. Twilight on the other hand, had not. Her magic barely managed to make a shield her body, digging her into the ground. The large piece of furniture had smashed apart, sending wood and splinters flying around. Leo was horrified, since there was no sign of the purple unicorn's survival except for some shouting coming from the dust. A grunt proved her wrong, as Twilight emerged from the ground, mostly unharmed.
And pissed.
As in I-will-rape-you-kill-you-rape-you-and-kill-you-again pissed.
"I am tired of PONIES DROPPING STUFF ON ME!!" Twilight raged against the heavens. Grabbing Leo, she teleported them to the highest tower, Twilight charged a spell, ready to fry whoever was there.
"Now who was the piece of manure who threw...that... Apple Bloom?"
"Hi Twilight!" Apple Bloom smiled, ignoring the almost visible death aura that emanated from the unicorn. Gem noticed. Thats why he immediately hid behind Leo.
"You...you dropped the vanity?" Twilight asked in a growl.
"Yeah, sorry about that, guess mah' aim was a bit off." Apple Bloom answered. Twilight didn't say anything. The tension started to slowly fade away from Twilight, replaced by a glint of evil. Barely noticeable in her eyes to the untrained spectator. But those who knew Twilight could deduct what was going through her mind at the moment.
"Hey Apple Bloom." Twilight began charging a special." I know something that's also off right now."
"Yeah?" Apple Bloom asked. "What?"
ZAP.
"I think I can feel my brother's presence again." Minnie perked. "He's nearby!"
The other two rose up to the new info. They were getting somewhere now! MAybe they would finally leave this dang castle!.
"You think you can take us to him?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Not without him doing it too." Minnie started walked back where they came from. "Bu I can lead you to him."
The corridors weren't any different from before, but even the two fillies could feel something different in the air. It was lighter. As if somepony had taken the evil out of the place.
"We are almost there!" Minnie started running. Apparently, Gem had the same idea, as he popped into existence right in front of them, along with Twilight, Leo and Diamond Tiara.
"Tiara!?" Scootaloo shrieked.
"Whats she doing here?!" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Its me girls..." Diamond Tiara answered, her voice riddled with a very thick country accent.
"A fitting punishment for you Apple Bloom." Twilight decided.
"Are you alright Minnie?" Leo asked. Minnie nodded. Now they would finally go back to the town. The twins ran to each other, being separated for long enough. Twilight counted the ponies present.
"Three zodiacs, three fillies, one unicorn. Were set!" Twilight prepared her spell." Everypony stay close to me."
With a loud pop, the seven ponies reappeared in front of the library. Minnie and Gem had to be placed on the back of Leo, since they were still unused to the teleportation.
The library was dark. Not a light was on.  The windows were shut. Not a sound came from inside.
"Thats odd. Spike and Capricorn should have already gathered the rest." Twilight opened the door, followed by the rest of the gang. "Wonder what happened..."
"SURPRISE!!"
Pinkie and Cancer jumped in happiness, streamers raining around them. All of the zodiacs were there, all of them smiling, except Virgo, who's mouth was slightly swollen. Spike held a small cake with a candle.
"Its party time!" Pinkie shouted.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                           Hic!                            
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Hic!
Sagittarius was confused, to say the least.
Multiple things happening at the speed of lighting tends to do that to you. Like the beginning of a long trip. Rushed, disorganized and chaotic, coming to full stop once you where on the road.
Poor old Sag felt just like the bag you throw around. One second he was having a nice nap on Dash's couch, next thing he knew, he was being dragged through the skies towards the library at neck breaking speed. By none other than Rainbow Dash.
"You don't look very happy." his winged sister asked. Libra seemed to be taking all this rather well. Maybe it was for the fact because she had the cyan pegasus eating out of her legs for compliments.
"I'm confused really. How did we get here?"
"Well, first we-"
"No! I mean, I know what happened." He dodged flying cupcake. "What I mean is, how did all of this come together so fast?"
Libra glanced at the party. The library was somehow holding all twelve zodiacs, minus Gem and Minnie, who were asleep upstairs along with the crusaders, six ponies and a dragon, most of them dancing. The pink pony was shouting something while throwing pastries around, managing a bullseye with the horn of the purple one.
"I'm not exactly sure myself."
As Libra noted, Pinkie was scoring points. Fast. Twilight giggled as Rarity tried to pull the donut from her horn without breaking it, lest her precious coat got dirty with sugary cream. Needless to say, she failed.
"I don't think she liked that very much." Aqua said.
"Rarity can be a drama queen sometimes. She'll get over it." Applejack chuckled. Meanwhile, Fluttershy did her best to keep Scorpio under control. Success was mixed, as a couple punctured book covers showed.
"Alright. Who's up for some cider!" Rainbow Dash said, flying around with a tray filled with mugs. Her five friends immediately grabbed a mug, eager to taste the nectar of the gods. The zodiacs, on the other hoof, seemed rather hesitant to taste the drink, a fact that Twilight soon noticed. Leo grabbed a mug, sniffed it and placed it back.
"You don't want cider?" Twilight asked.
"What is this liquid that you call cider?" Taurus asked back. Applejack stood by Twilight, happy to defend her family's product. And maybe a little bit tipsy. The mug she received from Dash was far from being her first one of the night.
"Why, this is cider mah' friends. The best drink thank pony kind has ever known." She waved her mug in front of them. "Here, have a taste."
Pisces grabbed the mug, unsure if to drink its contents. An assuring glance from Applejack and Twilight did little to help. She raised the edge to her lips. Taking a deep breath, she drank a large gulp of cider. Applejack's smile was bashed to pieces as Pisces spat all of it. Right on her face.
Needless to say, she was not amused.
"You...spat it..." Twilight murmured.
"Well..." Pisces wiped what was left of the cider with her hoof. "It wasn't as good tasting as you said it would."
"How dare you..." Applejack growled, but was pulled away by Rarity before the situation escalated further. While the possible fight had been averted, Twilight realized they had a serious problem. There were eleven ponies in front of her. All of them thirsty. And they had nothing to drink except water.
"If Pisces had such a reaction towards it, the most likely thing is that none of them can drink it..."
"What now?" Leo asked. Twilight was at lost. They couldn't possibly serve water in the party. There was no way Pinkie would allow it, calling a disrespect for tradition. But with the cider gone, what could they possibly serve them?!
"Eh...I remember seeing Leo drink some milk earlier..." Spike commented, noticing how Twilight was starting to enter a paranoid state.
"Milk?" Capricorn laughed. "Pigging out Leo?" Leo blushed at the comment.
"I, eh..."
"Leo drinks milk, yes." Virgo mumbled "But not all of us follow that diet."
"Then what do you drink?" Twilight asked.
"Ambrosia liquid. Made with the finest orchids of Virginis." Aries answered. Twilight blinked in confusion. This was not going well. Suddenly, Pinkie landed between them. A large jug of purple punch balanced precariously on her head.
"Here you go!" she served a glass to each of the alien ponies. Leo took a sip, smiled, and then drank her whole glass. Her siblings followed her example. Soon enough, all of them were happily drinking away.
"Wha...how...Pinkie? What did you give them?" Twilight backed away as the zodiacs greedily gulped down the juice.
"Grape juice. My left hoof twitched, which meant that  somepony was thirsty." Pinkie giggled. "I overheard your conversation. So I ran to the Sweeping Pony tavern, bought all the grape juice I could and brought it here!"
"But how did you know they would like it?"
"I didn't! But you don't see them complaining do you?"
Indeed, the zodiac had gotten a lot more lively now that they had something too drink. The talked, laughed and cheered with the rest of Twilight's friend. Perhaps a little too lively. But it didn't matter right now. They were laughing. Her friends were laughing. Everypony was having fun. Even the princess would enjoy the party!
Princess.
Uh oh.
"The princess!" Twilight levitated Spike until he was right on her face. "Spike! The letter! Has the princess answered?!"
"N-no!"
Twilight's brain went into overload. What if she hadn't gotten the message? What if some sort of terrorist found it? What if they were all in danger?! There was no time to waste! They needed a plan. A checklist to start with. Spike was struggling with her magic. Didn't matter. He was going to be busy soon enough. All she needed was a scroll. Where was it?!
"A magical library and no scroll left?!"
Somepony bumped into her. Twilight stumbled a little before crashing in the table. Spike was sent flying upstairs where the kids where. The entire library went silent. Twilight grumbled something before standing up. Not even a cricket could be heard as the unicorn dusted herself off. Tension could be felt on the air. Twilight was visibly angry now. Her friends prepared for the worst. All except one.
"Woohoo!" Pinkie cheered. "Go twilight!"
And with that single sentence, Twilight broke out laughing.
Maybe Celestia didn't get the letter. Maybe she did. Maybe they were in danger. Maybe they were not. A whole lot of maybes were up in the air, and there was no way to know the answer to any of them for the moment. But right now, that didn't matter. right now, she was in a party. With her old friends. With her new friends.
With all of her friends.
And she wanted to have fun.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Spike had landed on the bed. Right were Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle laid sleeping. Both of them rustled a little bit before returning to their dream world. Spike didn't dare to move a muscle, lest she wake them up and face their anger. Only once they were clearly asleep did he try to move away from them.
But he couldn't.
"What the..."
It was his tail. Sweetie Belle had grabbed his tail, hugging it like a teddy bear.
"Perfect..."

//-------------------------------------------------------//
             Carps, ponds and other wet stuff.             
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Carps, ponds and other wet stuff.
Pisces stared on. A smile decorated her face. The small pond in front of her rippled every now and then. The carps inside swimmed and moved on with their carpy life, doing their bests to ignore the giant face that was above their tiny world. It was as if a god was staring down on them and their watery world.
Let met tell you, it didn't feel nice.
"Pisces? What are you doing?"  Twilight asked, approaching the alien mare.
"Just watching the carps and their little slice of life." Pisces answered with a smile.
"Slice of life? What do you mean?"
"Well, look at them for a few seconds." Pisces said. Twilight did as told. The carps looked no different from before, save being missing one, courtesy of Leo.
"They...are carps..." Twilight noted, trying to understand Pisces logic.
"Yes. But they are swimming. They are doing stuff. They are living."
"So?"
"So I watch them."
"Why would watch a fish's life?"
"Its not about the fish anymore. Its about someone else's life."
"Why would you watch somepony else's life?!" Twilight asked, getting both irritated an confused at the zodiac.
"Because its fun. Because its fascinating. Because I'm bored." Pisces looked at the sky. "Maybe someone is watching us right now. Somewhere. Sometime. Maybe this is an image they are admiring, or a story they are reading..."
Twilight blinked a couple of times.
"Or maybe no one is watching, or nopony, as you insist on saying. Good day Twilight."
And with that, Pisces left, leaving Twilight confused, irritated, and with a mane that would make most hairdressers, and a couple of psychiatrists, cringe. She stared at Pisces, who was now heading towards the sugarcube corner. Then she stared at the sky. It was blue, with a couple of clouds.
Then she stared at the carps.
And stared.
And stared.
And then she stared some more.
"What are you doing Twilight?" Spike asked. A box of Captain DD's Crunchy Gem cereal was on his claws.
"I'm staring at carps."
"What?"
"I said: I'm staring at carps." Twilight answered. Her mane was not getting better. Spike glanced worriedly at the increasing number of hairs that were sticking out.
"Why...are you staring at the carps?"
"Because I'm observing their slice of life." A couple more strands popped out. Spike decided to leave before he set Twilight off into a madness induces catastrophe. He had some cereal to eat. Meanwhile, Twilight stared on to the water.
"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie Pie saluted.
"Hey Pinkie Pie."
"What'cha doing?"
"I'm staring at carps." Twilight said.
"Oh! is it fun? Cool? Do they stare back? I love when animals stare back. Like Fluttershy when she does the stare! Are you using the stare on them Twilight? You gotta be careful now, remember the mayor almost had your horn last time you messed with her carps. Well, it was Leo's fault actually. But you gotta be careful anyways. Wouldn't want to lose your horn now would you?"
"Pinkie..."
"Yes?" Pinkie asked. Magic enveloped her before she disappeared in a flash of magic. Twilight sighed.
"Shut up."
"What did you do to her?"
Leo had taken Pinkie's place merely seconds after the pink mare had vanished. Twilight forced a groan back.
"I teleported her to the Sugarcube corner. She'll be fine."
"You should stop using that teleporting spell. Nausea tends to get annoying after a while."
"Well I'm sorry if you can't take it. Pinkie can. If you knew just how she can get once she gets going, I bet you would do the same thing." Twilight defended herself before returning to staring at the carps, who were ever even more nervous when they saw the monster that ate one their kin.
"Glub glub glub glub? (Is that the one?)" one carp asked.
"Glub. Glub glub glub. (Yes child. It ate your father.)" another one answered.
"Glub glub glub! (Quiet you fools! It'll hear us!)" a third one shouted. Leo leaned on the water, making the carps swim away as fast as they could. She licked her lips.
"Why are you staring at the carps? You should be either fishing them or leaving them alone."
"First, for your information Leo, last time you fished a carp, I had to deal with an angry mayor and pay a fine that would make Rarity and Applejack cringe. And second, your sister Pisces said something that doesn't make any sense. Or at least, it doesn't by Equestrian standards. However, since you guys aren't exactly from around here, I have to somehow make sense of what she said, and the only way I can do that is if everypony would leave me alone so I can stare at the freaking carps!"
Leo didn't say anything, as Twilight' angry glare shut her up.
"Or maybe she could be just messing with you." Se dared to say.
"I can't take that chance. What if she isn't and is trying to tell me something in some weird special code." Twilight stared at the pond.
"Or maybe, just maybe...she's messing with you!" Leo insisted. Twilight leaned into the pond, determination clearly edged on her face.
"Oh for Solaris's sake!" Leo pushed Twilight into the pond. Water splashed everywhere as the unicorn ungracefully tried to get out of the pond.
"Glub! Glub glub! (Lost! All is lost!)" One of the carps screamed. Not that twilight or Leo could hear anything. Specially Twilight. Water in your ears could do that to you.
"Leo! What the hay!?" Twilight shouted. Her mane dripped water.
"I thought you could use a drink." Leo chuckled. "What with they way you were staring at the water."
Twilight fumed before teleporting out of the pond, leaving all the water behind. Leo was left alone.
"Twilight?" But Twilight did not answer. "Oh come on. I was only joking." Leo said before a shadow covered. Confused she looked above her. And then wished she hadn't.
"How's this for a drink?!" Twilight shouted from the door of the Sugarcube Corner. A tub worth of water was magically dumped on the zodiac, who didn't even manage to gasp.
"Had enough joking?" Twilight teleported besides the drenched zodiac. Leo shakily stood up.
"I...I think I need a towel..."
"Follow me." Twilight walked towards back to the pastry shop. "I hope you learned not to prank me while I'm debating ob life changing subjects."
"But you were staring at a pond!"
"Well..." Twilight chuckled. "I was pondering!"

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                Scorpio vs Angel: Round 1.                 
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Scorpio vs Angel: Round 1.
Scorpio drank her lemon juice. The cool liquid slipped down her throat and pooled inside of her, lowering the temperature of the zodiac. It was a hot day in Equestria, and she had been enduring in the best way she knew how.
Sitting in the shadow of a large tree, with a nice glass of lemonade.
"Is the juice cold enough? Or maybe you would want a pillow or something?" Fluttershy asked as she hovered over Scorpio.
"No, this is enough." Scorpio answered. The pegasus nodded before leaving. Fluttershy had been an incredibly welcoming host, even after the whole trouble with the ursa. He was still giving her some glances everytime they crossed paths, but nothing really came out of tit. Most of the animals had either got used to her or avoided her, and that worked for her just fine.
"Maybe Aries is right. I should just relax a bit while were here..." She thought as she took another sip from her lemonade. Or she would have, had not a carrot fallen from above her directly in her drink, splashing lemon juice everywhere. She placed the empty glass on the ground before standing up. A carrot, a vegetable that was pulled from the ground, had just fallen from the tree branches. And there was just one explanation for that.
"You..." she growled at eh snickering form of Angel. "I demand you cease this behavior at once. I am a guest in your home, and I will not be treated this way."
Her demand was met with another carrot, this time right between her eyes. Angel grinned evilly as he grabbed another one, having a small stack besides him. Scorpio readied her tail.
"This is your last warning." she growled. Angel stopped, scratched his head for a few seconds, shrugged and launched another projectile. Scorpio snapped the incoming carrot with her tail. It was said that that a foretold war never kills.
Whoever said that was wrong.
"Take this!" Scorpio launched her sting against the bunny, who dodged (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMq9S_CHsWg)  the repeated attacks, sending carrots her way. Scorpio continued her attack, mercilessly stabbing the poor tree in ehr attempt to get the damn rabbit.
"Stay still you vermin!" Scorpio shouted, but the Angel just kept shuffling between the branches, avoiding all of her attacks.
"Oh dear, is everything alright?"
Scorpio retracted her tail, freezing on her spot as Fluttershy hovered besides her. When did she even get there?!
"Eh, yes! Everything is fine. There is nothing to worry about." Scorpio said quickly.
"Are you sure? I was washing some dishes when I say you using your tail to move the branches. How do you make it so long?"
"I can, eh, I can stretch it so I can get things that are farther away. Nothing else." the zodiac said. She hear Angel snickering from the tree.
"Well, now you see that nothing wrong is happening, so you can go back to, uhm, clean dishes."
"Okay then. Call me if you need anything." Fluttershy hummed cheerfully as she hovered away and back into the house. Scorpio kept smiling until she was sure that Fluttershy was out of sight before returning to her battle stance,r eady to continue her hunt of the miserable bunny.
"Where did he go?" She thought as she peered through the branches, using her extending tail to shake them. But no matter how hard she looked, no bunny appeared. Even the carrots were gone!
"That no good animal..." Scorpio turned away, ready to leave. A carrot sprouted from the ground as soon as she turned, making her trip and fall, face first, into the moist dirt.
"Thats it..." She grumbled. "No more being nice."
With her weaponized tail at the ready, Scorpio stabbed the semi-buried carrot, yanking it out. Attached to it was Angel, whos desperately trying to free the vegetable from the sting.
"I have you now." she grinned. Angel let go of the carrot, choosing to hop away in fear. Scorpio threw the carrot away, blasting after the rabbit. The entire town simply stared as they saw a crazy mare with a rather peculiar tail trying to stab a bunny to death.
Vases, fruits and a variety of objects were victims of Scorpio's wrath, caught in the whipping and slashing if her tail. But the zodiac didn't really care. All she saw was the mocking bunny, who kept stopping every now and then to mock Scorpio, who got angrier and angrier.
"Hey watch it!"
"How is she doing that?!""
"My food!"
"Out of the way!" Scorpio roared as she slashed against a crate. She was about to strike again she was lifted with magic. Twilight and Fluttershy had teleported behind her, and they didn't look very happy. Well, at least Fluttershy didn't. Twilight was positively furious. Scorpio could swear that her hair was smoking a bit.
"A single carp takes nearly of my monthly stipend." Twilight growled. "Do you have any idea how much it will cost to pay for all the damage you have done?!"
"It wasn't me! It was the hare! He's the one who has been taunting me!"
"Not Angel! He would never do that!" Fluttershy said. Bunny jumped on her head." Right Angel?"
The bunny nodded in agreement before shooting Scorpio a smirk. Scorpio tried moving her tail, but was useless. Twilight had covered everything but the stinger. Clever girl.
"You're coming with me and you're going to say sorry for everything you have done." Twilight said, marching like a soldier with Scorpio floating above her. Scorpio gave one last glance at Angel, who was laughing his tail off atop Fluttershy. She clenched her teeth together. This was not the end.
She would have her revenge.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       Homework. 1/3                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Homework. 1/3
Scribble, scribble, scribble.
"No..."
Scribble, scribble.
"No."
Scribble.
"No!"
Apple Bloom slammed her pencil. Her homework laid in front of her, half made. It had remained half made for nearly an hour. It should have been done two hours ago. The paper laid in front of her, taunting her, mocking her. Who knew making a simple science report could prove to be so hard? After a couple more minutes of not coming up with anything, she made a decision.
"Ah' need help."
But who could help her? Taurus, Applejack and Big Macintosh were working on the fields, and even then, she wasn't sure they were that smart. Twilight was probably busy with Capricorn and Leo, her friends were troubled with their own homework. Pisces was with Rarity and Virgo, Aquarius was with Cancer and Pinkie, and Aries...
"Aries is a mechanic." she whispered to herself. Thats it! Aries was a mechanic, therefore, he was a scientist! He could help her!
"But where is he..."
Ponyville was a big town for a small filly like her, and finding one pony, eh, zodiac, was going to be a problem. She was on the clock here, and didn't had the time to search the entire place. She was going to need help. But who?
"Ah' need somepony who could help me find a zodiac fast...somepony like-"
"Hello Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom would have jumped from her chair in feart, but by now, she was used to the twins just popping up behind her. They had taken a liking to scaring ponies. Maybe Pinkie was starting to rub off on them.
"Gem, Minnie, just the foals Ah' was looking for." Apple Bloom said with a smile.
"What can we do-" "-to assist you dear Apple Bloom?"
Apple Bloom quickly explained her situation. She was confident the twins would help her find Aries.
"We can't help you." Minnie said. "At least, not in the way you want." Gem finished.
"What?! Why not?!" Apple whined. "Ah' really need to find him!"
The twins shared a quick glance.
"Zodiacs can sense each other only when they use their powers." "Aries rarely uses his."
"The forget it...Ah'm going to get a red mark cuz Ah won't deliver my report on time." Apple Bloom slumped on her desk. She felt a hoof on her shoulder.
"We can still help you." Minnie said. "For we sense a zodiac who knows Aries very well and is currently using her powers."
Apple Bloom's face lit like a candle. There was some hope left! She closed her eyes, just as she had learned from her experience with the twins...moving around. For a mini second, the world around her vanished. She opened here eyes, now finding herself in the market. But not the market in the way that she knew.
"Wha..."
The entire place was a mess. Solid wooden crates had holes in them, entire stands had been torn down and the entire place looked like if a hurricane had walked through.
"What happened?" Apple Bloom asked out loud.
"Some crazy mare ran by, chasing some critter." one seller answered from her ruined shop. "You should have seen it, she was swinging her tail like if it was some sort of weapon!"
"She broke my vinegar bottle!"
"She destroyed my food stand!"
"She broke my bottle and destroyed my food stand!"
"We demand some compensation!"
"Lets go see the mayor so she can poach some bits from Twilight!"
Apple Bloom had to jump out of the way of the stampede of the angry capitalists as they ran for their money. The twins seemed like they wanted to ask something, but a sign from Apple Bloom told them it was best to save the question for later.
"It was Scorpio right?" she asked. The twins nodded. Apple Bloom sighed. Scorpio scared her, and now that she had done all this, getting to her was all but impossible.
"Anypony else?"
The twins closed their eyes. A second later, Apple Bloom was now looking at a tree. Why in the world, had the twins brought her to the outskirts? She needed aries, not-
ssssssssTACK.
Her bow fell on on her head. On both sides of her head, as an arrow had passed above her, impaling itself on the tree.
"Ups! Sorry there little girl..."
Sagittarius landed besides her. A few sparkles of light shined around his hoof briefly before vanishing.
"You shouldn't appear out of nowhere like that. You might get hurt."
"You...you just shot an arrow to me!" Apple Bloom shrieked.
"First, its not arrow, its a light arrow, and second, I aimed to the tree, not you. You appeared right before the arrow." Sag explained. "Why did you anyway?"
"Ah'm looking for Aries to help me with my homework, cuz he's a mechanic and mechanics know stuff, but Ah's don't know where he is, so Ah asked the twins to help me, but we found the market Scorpio rampaged through it, so they went looking for another pony to help me find Aries, and they brought me here and now my bow is ripped!" Apple bloom flipped the ends of the bow that hung on her head. "Whats a light arrow anyway?"
"Its an arrow formed from the cosmic energies that flow on my magical bracelets." Sag started flapping his wings, lifting himself from the ground. His front hooves started glowing and soon, a a bow and arrow, both made of light, popped on them.
"Thats...pretty cool actually." Apple Bloom admitted. "But it doesn't help us find...where are the twins?"
Back in the market, two foals chugged down to bottles of milk that were strewn around in the wreckage.
"Without them, Ah wont find Aries!"
"So he can help you with your work? Why, can't you do it yourself?"
Apple Bloom looked at the ground, downcast. Sag slapped his forehead. Nice going Sag. Just insult the sister of one of your few friends on this planet.
"Eh, look, how about I help you find him?" he offered. Apple Bloom looked at him, wiped her eyes and smiled.
"Okay."

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       Homework 2/3                        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Homework 2/3
Ponyville was empty.
Well, mostly empty.
You see, Ponyville is a town of habits, such as getting at exactly sunrise, or having a monthly town meeting without a break, even if fewer ponies showed each time. The arrival of Twilight Sparkle did little to change that. After all, she was a pony, ponies adapt were ponies live.
Its a different story however, when you are an alien with increasingly bizarre lifestyle and biology.
For example. After lunch, no matter what the day, festivity, year, time, or whatever, no matter what, Ponyville takes a nap. And by nap, I mean that every single ponies goes home and takes nap. Kids go home from school, adults rest and the whole place slows down to a snail pace. Twilight, being the workaholic she was, has tried her best to change this custom.
She failed to say the least.
Anyways. Apple Bloom and Sagittarius were perhaps the only creatures that were roaming the town. Nopony hadn't even bothered to pick up the mess that Scorpio had made. That was the level of laziness that reigned in the town during nap time. And you wondered why Dash loved the town.
"Are they...alright?" Apple Bloom asked.
I correct myself. Apple Bloom and Sagittarius were the only creatures that roamed the town on their hooves. You see, in all the angry commotion about making Twilight pay for the disaster, nopony had kept an eye on two twin foals that were happily chugging away some milk. That wouldn't be so bad. Milk is good for kids.
Unless they are zodiacs, in which case we have a problem.
"I think so..." Sag answered. "They look happy to me."
Gem and Minnie laid on their backs, giggling slightly and mumbling general incoherences. Surrounding them laid a few empty bottles of milk. They themselves were had milk all over their faces. They really did look happy though.
"What do we do now?" Apple Bloom poked Gem on the head. The only answer was a snore. They had fallen asleep.
"We can't leave them here. We need to take them to the Sugarcube Corner....wherever that is." Sag carefully placed the twins on his back.
"But what about ma'h homework?"
"I'm afraid its going to have to wait."
Apple Bloom sulked as she trailed behind the zodiac. She was angry. She was so angry she wasn't paying attention to the world around her, like the canary that landed on a branch, or the mole that was hid underground. Or the angry shouts that were coming out of the library. Probably Twilight in her OCD mode again. She didn't care
She just wanted to get her homework done! Was that too much to ask?
"Eh..." Sag stopped. "Where is the Sugarcube corner?"
Apple Bloom sighed, pointing a hoof to her left. As it turned out, dear old Sagittarius hadn't the slightest idea of where the Sugarcube Corner was, which meant that they had been pointlessly walking around Ponyville for nearly twenty minutes. Twenty minutes they could have been using in finding Aries.
"Don't worry little girl. Once we drop these two, we can go right back to the search." Sag said sheepishly, almost sensing the bad mood inside Apple Bloom.
"Right..." she grumbled.
Sugarcuber Corner was closed, with a small sign on the door that said, in very sugary letters:
NAP TIME. BACK IN TWO HOURS
Being a parent of two babies plus a mare that acted like a kid was exhausting, so nopony blamed the Cakes for their particularly long nap time. Pinkie had tried to convince that she could run the store by herself.
An oven exploding was all the reason they need to say no.
Of course, our two temporary protagonists knocked on the door like there was no tomorrow. And of course, the one who answered wasn't Pinkie Pie, nor Mrs.Cake. It was Mr.Cake. Mr.Cake was a nice, hard working stallion. Ponyville, like the habits, had a few unspoken rules. Rules that, while not really life depending for the town itself, were rather important.
1- You don't touch the Mayor's carps. Seriously. Unless you're Fluttershy. In that case, go ahead.
2-Derpy really is a good worker. Treat her well.
3-During nap time, you do not, I repeat, you do NOT wake up the cakes.
Why you may ask? The answer is simple.
Mr. Cake was a light sleeper. And a cranky pony when not allowed to have his nap in peace. So when he opened the door and found a rather strange stallion, with two seemingly drunk foal son his back, smiling like an idiot, he did what any cranky candy maker would do.
He growled. He slammed the door open. Nearly bucked Sagittarius inside and slammed the door closed, leaving Apple Bloom outside. Alone and without a guide.
"Figures..." Apple Bloom snarked. "Now Ah' got no help. No guide and no homework done, might as well resign myself. Unless..."
"I keep telling you it was that blasted rabbit!" Scorpio pointed a hoof to Angel, who tried to hide Fluttershy's mane.
"Angel would never do that!" Fluttershy defended her pet. Twilight in the mean time, was writing a letter. Not a report, mind you. She was writing a letter to the princess, asking for an advance in her stipend by two months. One so she could pay for herself, and the second so that she could pay for all the damage done to the town.
Which meant that she was in a crappy mood. Not the best moment to ask anything of her.
Which was exactly what Apple Bloom was going to do.
Bless kids for their poor timing.
"Spike. Door." Twilight growled. Spike did as told, finding himself face to face with Apple Bloom.
"Uh, hey Apple Bloom. Now is not a good time." He said, trying to close the door.
"Don't care. Need Twilight."
"I really mean it Bloom." Spike tried to close the door, but Apple Bloom bucked it open, sending the dragon tumbling away.
"Ah' mean it too Spike."
Scorpio admitted defeat, choosing to stay quiet and shoot killing glares at the cursed rabbit, who was making faces atop of Fluttershy.
"Twilight." Apple Bloom called. "Ah' need to find Aries."
"I'm busy Apple Bloom. You're gonna have to wait."
Ah' can't wait Twilight. Ah got homework to do and Ah' need his help." the filly insisted.
"I said I'm busy." Twilight repeated, not turning from her desk.
"But Twi-"
Apple Bloom" Twilight slowly turned her face towards Apple Bloom. Her neck made a few popping noises on the way. "I said I am busy!"
Now, Apple Bloom may be both in a hurry and grumpy, but she was not stupid. Twilight said wait. And wait she was going to do.
Even if she only had a couple of hours left to finish her homework.
Homework was not worth a burnt mane bow.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       Homework 3/3                        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Homework 3/3
When Apple Bloom said that she only had a few hours left, she was not blowing things over the top. School, like most things, would enter the so called nap zone like everything else, ready to come back full force at the end of it. It also was the feared deadline for Apple Bloom to deliver her homework.
Coincidence? A naive mistake? Sheer sadism from an old maid?
Who knows.
The point was that Apple Bloom was running out of time. Fast. She needed to get her home work done with and she had to do it now. However, the universe seemed to be conspiring to stop he from accomplishing that.
For instance. She reached the zodiac twins, who had the power to move anywhere they wanted. They got drunk on milk. She lost Sag trying to get them to safety. When she got to the library, looking for the one pony who was not a zodiac and that could possibly know where Aries was, she turned to be in the middle of a zodiac induced rage, meaning that she was perfectly capable of frying somepony if they weren't careful.
"Maybe I can help you." Spike offered.
"No thanks Spike. Ah' need something a bit more professional than a library assistant." Apple Bloom said. Spike glared at her. "No offense."
"Nonet taken..." Spike snarked. He would have continued, but green fire shot from his mouth in a loud belch, singing the top of Apple Bloom's bow. A letter fell right on his claws.
"Aw, Spike! Ya' burned mah' bow!"
"It was an accident!"
Apple Bloom wanted to keep accusing him, but purple magic lifted the dragon from the ground, almost ripping the letter from his claws too. Twilight opened the scroll, readying at a speed that only a consummate bookworm could achieve. Twilight had surpassed that milestone a long time ago.
Spike worried for her sometimes.
"What does it say?" he asked.
"It says that she will send the money to pay for the damage..." her face paled." And that she wants to met a few of these zodiacs!"
"Good. Maybe she can knock some sense into them." Apple Bloom thought.
Spike didn't seem to share Twilight's fear about a dozen aliens with little to no knowledge about the odd ways of Equestria, even when he himself was victim to a prank based on those precise differences.
"Alright. Maybe we can get them to met her by tomorrow, or the day after that..."
"What are you talking about ?! We have to start preparing them! Educate them! We need to get ready for the meeting! Its going to take at least a week!"
If Twilight was hoping that Spike would share her fear, or at least show some emotion about, she was sadly disappointed. Spike merely turned belly up on the pillow he was trying to sleep on. He did react however, when Apple Bloom flipped his pillow over in revenge for her burned bow. He grunted in annoyance when Apple Bloom placed the cushion on top of him and sat on it.
"Now will ya'h help me?" Apple Bloom asked. Twilight looked at her. With a quick spell, the bow was restored to its normal, red, unburnt form.
"There. Now run along. I have to gather the rest." Twilight walked to the basement. "Please go get your sister for me."
"But thats not what Ah'-" POP "-meant..."
Twilight had teleported her all the way to the town hall. There was no way she could get back in there. She was done for. Getting back in the library would only get her teleported again. Walking back to farm would take all the time she had left for her homework. Looking for anypony, particularly a zodiac would be pointless now. She might was well give up to the cruel education system.
"Better start thinking of an excuse..." Apple Bloom muttered. Nap time was ending, as the refreshed ponies walking out of their homes showed. She would barely have time to go to the to warn Applejack before having to run to school. Without her homework. So much for the perfect student.
The orchid came into view soon enough. And just as always, Applejack could be found bucking a tree. Again. Even if it was her talent, one would think she would get bored every now and then. Maybe she could buck other things. Except her brother. Why would she want to buck poor Big Mac?
"Hey sis, whats up with the long face?"
"Twilight wants you in the library."
She left before Applejack could answer. She was no mood for being sisterly. The universe had suddenly decided to pick a random pony to screw with and for some casualty of fate, it had been her. It couldn't have been Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. No. It had to be little, good Apple Bloom.
"Dang homework and dang school and dang everything..." she scowled.
A few foals ran past her in direction to the school, ready to deliver their own piece of hoof work. They would congratulated and given special consideration for the next test, while she would be scolded and frowned upon by her dear and beloved teacher. The same teacher who gave her this ridiculously hard homework.
Maybe she wasn't so dear and beloved anymore.
"Maybe she should just sit on a....whats that?" Apple Bloom stumbled upon a group of fillies and colts, all cheering in front of the school door. Stuck right in the middle of it was a single sheet of paper.
A paper with the most wonderful news Apple Bloom had been given in a very long time.
SCHOOL OUT DUE TO PERSONAL REASONS.
CLASSES CONTINUE TOMORROW WITH NORMAL REGULARITY.
"Why do you think she cancelled the classes?" One filly asked.
"Maybe she found a colt to keep her busy." Another kid answered.
Apple Bloom didn't care. She could only stare at the sign and smile. She was saved.
She was saved!

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                    Royalty shmoyalty 1                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Royalty shmoyalty 1
Twilight was not nervous. She was nervous. Nervous would imply that she didn't have the situation under control, and that was  impossible because she always had the situation under control. Even on the rare occasions that she was pushed against the ropes, she would eventually find a away to best whatever it was that was threatening her or her friends.
After all, since when has Twilight Sparkle failed?
So when she was going on a train with five zodiacs, who just happened to be completely foreign to ways of the world, on their way to Canterlot, the capitol of the country, she wasn't counting the absurd number of ways that this could go wrong, nor how Celestia would react at seeing them.
Well, maybe she was a little worried at the last one, but it wasn't her main concern at the moment.
"I don't like it." Aries complained.
"Well tough. You need to blend in. And putting those things you call horns out for everypony to see just doesn't cut it." Twilight finished putting the blue hoodie over Aries's head. It liked Aries had suddenly swallowed a watermelon, but it did the trick. Capricorn would still be a problem though. Those horns would just not fit in anything
"Hide them Capricorn." Leo ordered.
"I'd rather not." Capricorn replied. Leo's reply of slap on his head was enough to convince him. Capricorn closed his eyes, focusing for a few seconds. His horns trembled a little before shrinking away until nothing but two short stubbles remained on his head. Twilight had to resist the urge to scream at the sheer level of biological wrongness that such change should imply.
"You can change your shape?" she asked, trying not to shiver. Capricorn nodded before putting on his own green hoodie jacket.
"I have to say, I like this hoodie. Can't we put some holes on it?" Capricon asked. Twilight shot a glare at the insistence.
"You can't keep your horns Cap. Don't bother." Libra said. Capricorn frowned, but complied anyways, putting the hood around his head.
"Why are they so grumpy about their horns? They are just horns." Rarity commented. Virgo sipped from her cup of tea before answering.
"Horns are a sign of strength in many of our planets. Virility for males, power for females." Virgo sipped another gulp. This tea was delicious. "I believe its the same thing with a pegasus and its wings."
Rarity looked back at Aries, who was trying to show as much horn as possible without actually ruining the disguise. It made quite a bit of sense when you started thinking about it. Maybe thats why Blueblood's horn was so blunt. She chuckled at the thought.
"So, tell us about this Princess Celestia." Capricorn said, taking a seat besides Leo. Virgo an Libra also approached Twilight eager to hear the story.  Twilight sighed tiredly, but smiled anyways. She loved talking about her teacher. Like how caring she was, or how kind and friendly. Also how wise and how great and how wonderful she was and trusting and loyal and forgiving.
"She is the ruler of Equestria and Twilight's personal teacher." Rarity said, as if she was anticipating Twilight's long answer.
Twilight shot her a glare. She was no Rainbow Dash, but how dare her steal her thunder like that!
"You have the ruler of your country as your personal teacher?" Virgo asked, visibly impressed. "How did that happen?"
This time Twilight did not gave Rarity the chance to out speak her, and quickly explained the whole story of her cutie mark. After a quick glance at Rarity, making sure that she wouldn't interrupt, Twilight began adding the full details of the story, trying to be as clear as possible.
"So you turned Spike into a hulking monster." Capricorn chuckled. "I would have liked to see that."
"Was anyone hurt?" Virgo asked.
"The Princess managed to fix everything before the situation escalated further. She even turned my parents back to normal."
"What happened to them?" Aries asked.
"I turned them into pots."
An uncomfortable silence fell among the aliens as the revelation began to sink. However, before any of them could say something, a loud whistle blew, its loud noise piercing the air like a knife. The train began slowing down as buildings slowly began appearing on sight, replacing the valleys.
"We have arrived!" rarity exclaimed cheerfully, happy to be in Canterlot once more. Aries stared around in awe as they left the train. A few ponies around them gave them some passing glances, but nothing more.
"I haven't seen rock this white since my last trip to Arietis!"
"Impressive isn't it?" Rarity said.
The white city of Canterlot was, as always, spotless. The white marble, coupled with the near fanatical cleaning services, served as a beacon of Equestria's good fortune. It also served as a rather visible stop sign for flyers. They used to drop like flies once they crashed against the earlier gray rock.
"What now Twilight?" Leo asked.
"Well, the princess already knows were coming, so we don't have to got through all the formality. We just gotta go to the palace and announce ourselves."
"The castle? You mean that large set of towers of there?" Virgo pointed a hoof. "Its on the other side of the city. Uphill at that. How are going to-"
POP!
"...never mind..." Virgo had to steady herself on a wall as Twilight's magic dissipated. Leo and Capricorn were mostly fine, except for the greenish tint that decorated their faces. Virgo seemed unusually fine.
"How come you are not feeling the after effects of the teleportation?" Capricorn groaned. Virgo blushed, smiled...and didn't say anything else.
Some things are better left unsaid. So lets get back to the story shall we?
"Those guards look really impressive." Virgo noted as a couple of guards opened the main doors for them.
"They certainly look like that don't they?" Rarity replied.
"Didn't stop the changelings from taking over Canterlot in less than ten minutes." Twilight snarked. The seven ponies made their ways across the halls. The zodiacs couldn't help but to stare in awe at the pristine sight that surrounded them. Leo was particularly enchanted with the armor of the guards, making many of them uncomfortable with her gaze.
"You can eat the eye candy later Leo. Lets go meet the princesses." Capricorn chuckled. Leo blushed and frowned.
After a couple minutes of walking, they arrived in front of two large, golden doors, guarded by two pegasus guards. Twilight didn't even have to say anything before one of them entered the throne room behind them.
"Now, please behave okay?" Twilight asked.
"Don't worry Twilight" Libra answered. "We have dealt with royalty before."
The doors opened once more, beckoning them to come in. Twilgith sighed deeply and entered, followed by the rest of the group.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                    Royalty shmoyalty 2                    
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Royalty shmoyalty 2
"Royal student Twilight Sparkle." the guard announced as the group entered the throne room. "And friends."
Rarity had to make an effort not to correct the guard. After all this time and all the times that they had saved Equestria, one would think that they would announce each of the bearers by name, instead of just...Twilight and company.
"Maybe I shall think twice before doing your job for you..." Rarity thought.
"My dear student." Celestia descended from her throne. "How wonderful it is to see you."
"It is wonderful to see you too princess." Twilight walked into the embrace of her mentor. The five zodiac stood, unsure as to what do, but a small sign from Rarity made them bow.
"So this are the zodiacs that I've heard so much about." Celestia smiled, making a sing as to allow the ponies to rise. "I thought you said they were twelve."
"They are. The rest are back in Ponyville." Rarity said.
"Why didn't you bring all of them? I would have loved to meet them." Celestia said.
"Things have been…hectic, with all of them around." Twilight answered.
A small throat clearing brought the attention of the ruler of Equestria back to the main topic of the meeting.
"I think it would be best if we introduce ourselves, don't you think?" Capricorn said. Rarity was about to correct him on taking like that to the ruler of Equestria, but the princess merely chuckled.
"Alright. Please proceed."
"My name is Leo, and I am the leader of the zodiacs." Leo said, taking a step forward. "These are Virgo, Libra, Aries and Capricorn."
"It is an honor to meet the mentor of the pony who is housing our dear sister." Virgo said. Celestia nodded in acknowledgment.
"Its getting stuffy with this thing on. Can I take it off now?" Aries said. Before any pony could say anything, the sweater had disappeared in a flash of golden light, leaving Aries completely bare of clothes.
"Wow…I feel so naked now."
"I've never seen such horns grow on a pony before. I take it those are natural in your place of origin?"
"If he tan take the sweater off…" Capricorn focused for a few seconds. His two large horns grew once more on his head. "Its only fair that I can do this."
"Interesting." Celestia said. Twilight however, was quite mortified. This wasn't supposed to happen yet. She was supposed to explain to the princess first before they demonstrated their powers!
Was a little patience and coordination too much to ask?
"Do there rest of you posses the same abilities?" Celestia asked.
Apparently it was too much to ask.
"Well, not exactly the same powers, but we all have a particular way of manifesting our cosmic abilities." Capricorn explained. "I can alter my shape for example."
"I see. Fascinating." Celestia noted, letting the scientist inside of her flourish for a while. "What other things are you capable off?"
"Wait!" Twilight walked between the princess and the zodiacs. "Can we please have some sort of organization?!"
"Whats wrong Twilight? You seem to be quite on edge." Celestia noted. Twilight could almost feel her eye starting to twitch, but she suppressed it with a deep breath.
"You have no idea."
While all this happened, Rarity looked around the royal throne room. A couple of guards were at the door. Other than them, they were completely alone on the room.
"I thought Princess Luna was going to join us." she noted.
"Luna tried to come, but she was too tired. She was very busy let night." Celestia answered. "Something about the stars not looking right."
"You have a sister?" Libra asked. "I thought the country was ruled by you only."
"Its a long story." Twilight answered. "Now, can we please put some order around?"
"If you so wish my dear student." Celestia laughed briefly. "How about we meet later, in a more orderly fashion once my sister is awake. That is, if you are willing to wait for a few hours."
"That would be no problem." Leo said. "But what should we do until then?"
"You are free to wander around the castle or Canterlot as you may see fit." Celestia answered. "I do ask however, that you have some pony accompany you. You wouldn't want to get lost now would you?"
The five zodiacs gave each other a short glance before nodding. Virgo noticed that Libra was bit shaky on her feet, but did not comment on it.
"We accept the terms." Leo said. Celestia smiled. Looking outside, she noticed that the sun was a bit passed the middle of the day.
"Oh dear. Its lunch time already." she looked over to the royal guards at the door. "Would be so kind as to escort our guests to the dinning room?"
The guards nodded and opened the doors. The five zodiacs, followed by Rarity and Twilight exited the throne room.
"Twilight." the princess called. "May I speak to you?"
Twilight made a sign for the rest to continue forward while she returned to the throne room. Leo stopped, eyeing the doors once they closed behind Twilight.
"She is not in trouble because of us, is she?" she asked.
"Don't worry dear. The princess probably just wants to check some facts with her."
Twilight took a deep breath once the doors closed behind her. No matter how many times the princess had said that she wasn't angry, Twilight couldn't help but to et worried.
"Now that we are alone." Celestia said. "Can you tell me more about this zodiacs? Anything I need to know right now?"
"I'm afraid there isn't much I can tell you princess. I've barely had any time to find out things myself."
"And why is that?" Celestia asked.
Twilight thought about mentioning all the misfortunes that had happened since the twelve aliens arrived, but decided against it. She didn't want to worry the princess.
"Its just a lot of stuff going on at the same time….but there is nothing to worry about. I promise." Twilight said confidently.
"Thats alright Twilight, I believe you." She started walking towards the door. "Now, I believe we have a delicious salad waiting for us at the table."
"Right….a salad…" she murmured as she followed her mentor. "Wait a minute…"
At that moment, a loud crashing sound reached their ears. Mentor and student shared a worried look before hurrying to the dinning room. A couple of trays were on the floor, along with many broken plates. Salad was scattered everywhere, particularly around Leo.
"What is going on?" Celestia asked.
"T-t-they, uh, they are…" a terrified maid stammered while she hugged another of her coworkers for dear life. Rarity had an appalled look on her face. The zodiacs however, where between somewhere between confused and, in the case of Leo, annoyance.
"Why does everyone have the same reaction?!" she asked out loud. "I only asked for a steak!"

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                      First contact.                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
First contact.
The night sky. Beautiful, unmoving, almost surreal in its appearance. The moon always shone brightly with its pale light, caring for those who slept. For many centuries it was painful reminder of Nightmare Moon. But now, with it's ruler back in the throne, the celestial body could return to it's ancient glory.
"All set Spike?"
"All set Twilight."
For centuries, scholars across the world had spent entire nights studying the stars. Stargazing had always been considered a career that was very close with the princess. The sun, the moon, the stars. They all served as a reminder of the power they commanded.
"Oh, a warm summer night under the stars. Absolutely beautiful."
"Ah' don't care much for the stars...but Ah' gotta agree with you here."
Of course, stargazing was a very enjoyable experience when properly done. Even more so while accompanied, as Twilight Sparkle knew by heart. She would often invite her friends to her night studies, and while normally they would politely decline the invitation, not being quite the readers as herself, all of them had accepted to come and enjoy the night. It was warm, so nopony worried about freezing and pleasurable company was always welcomed.
"Isn't it just amazing? It's so peaceful. No noise. No disturbance. Just tranquility."
"Ha! Thats only because Pinkie isn't here yet. Where is she anyways?"
Twilight slowly measured her telescope, occasionally taking a look through it, jotting down on a small scroll every now and then. She smiled as she heard her friends talk. How she loved them. And to think that she once thought friends were useless!
"Right here!"
Pinkie was behind Rainbow Dash, a small basket n her back. How she got there, nopony knew, but they didn't thought much of it. As Twilight had shown earlier, trying to understand Pinkie Pie would usually imply severe physical trauma.
"Sorry for being late. I had to prepare some cupcakes! I knew you girls would get hungry, so I brought a treat! I always bring cupcakes, so maybe its not much of a treat, but they're still delicious! Like pies! I love pies. Do you love pies?"
Her demeanor, bordering insanity for some, was usual for the rest of the girls. The cupcakes were welcomed, even if they were nearly the only food that Pinkie ate. After all, a cupcake was just a cupcake. But a cupcake made by Pinkie Pie? Nopony could resist that.
"So Twilight. Is there a special reason for this study of the stars, or is it just plain curiosity?" Rarity asked before taking a bite of a cupcake. Applejack messily devoured one besides her.
"The princess asked me to." Twilight answered, not really paying attention.
"Yes dear, I am sure of that, but what I mean is-"
"What she means is why are we here and not sleeping? Some of us have to get up early tomorrow." Dash asked, interrupting Rarity. Rainbow loved being with her friends. But she loved sleeping too.
"Rainbow, you never get up early." Applejack said.
"Well...I could!" Dash replied.
"I'm not sure really. Princess Celestia said that something was rather strange about the sky, so she asked if I could investigate."
"Strange how? Did a star explode? Can they explode?! Is the sun gonna explode?!" Pinkie Pie asked frantically.
"No Pinkie. Something about the stars feeling...off. She didn't specify really." Twilight answered. She would have liked if her mentor had been a little more specific about the subject. It wouldn't be the first time that Princess Celestia would hide information from her. It bothered her at times, but it was always for the good of her kingdom, so she couldn't really blame here.
"Oh, I hope it's nothing bad. They look so peaceful up there." Fluttershy said.
"It's probably nothing. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? That the sun and the moon froze in place?" Twilight joked. Spike chomped down on a ruby that rarity had given him. He wasn't really concerned about the sky. There was probably nothing wrong with it, and even if there actually was something wrong, Twilight would fix it, like she always did!
"Sure have been a lot of comets lately..." Twilight commented as she saw one through the telescope.
"You're worried one of them will hit us?" Applejack asked.
"Not at all. There's no comet or asteroid big enough to actually cause any damage. And even if there was one, it would have to be so far away that nothing on the planet could see it." Twilight explained.
"Well, thats a relief. We don't gotta worry about getting squashed by a giant rock." Dash said.
"Wait a minute..."
Twilight peered through the telescope. There was a particular star on the sky. Shiny, big and...getting bigger?
"Girls...you come and see this." she said as she stared.
"No need to...we can see it from here..." Applejack said. Twilight immediately looked at the sky with her eyes. All of her friends were staring upwards. There was a star getting bigger. But now that they could see it better, they realized a couple of things:
One. It wasn't a star. It was a ball of fire.
Two. It wasn't getting bigger. It was getting closer.
Three. It was going to fall right were they were standing. Probably in a couple minutes.
"Everypony run!" Twilight yelled as she lifted Spike with magic and jumped from the spot. Dash and Fluttershy took the sky while the rest ran away with Twilight. Before long, the giant ball of fire impacted the small hill where they were having the picnic, crushing everything in it's path, messily bouncing a couple more times, finally stopping after leaving a deep trail on the ground. Patches of burning grass surrounded it, while vapor and smoke trailed from the ground where it had crossed. The fire slowly died out, revealing the comet for all its glory.
"Is...is it over?" Fluttershy squeaked as she hid behind Rainbow Dash, who was trying to shake her off.
Twilight hesitated for a few seconds before slowly approaching the meteor, putting out the remaining burning grass in the process. Jumping into the caved trail, Twilight inspected the fallen star. To her surprise, the comet wasn't very rocky. It was of an oval shape, with some symmetrical lines around it. A smaller oval section stood out. While it was obviously roughed up from the fall, it was very smooth on the surface, with only a few scratches and bumps on it.
"Girls...this isn't a comet..."
Hearing the voice of Twilight, all of them peeked over the edge of the trail. The vapor was almost gone now, and there was no sign of danger. Spike promptly joined Twilight, jumping on her back.
"Is it dangerous?" he asked. Twilight poked it with a hoof, a metallic sound echoing.
"I don't think so. But whatever it is, its hollow. To some extent at least." she answered. Suddenly, the small oval section fizzled as smoke started to shoot from below it. Twilight quickly teleported out along with Spike. The oval section slowly detached itself from the rest of the fallen comet before falling on the ground. All six mares and dragon stared in awe and fear at the dark hole that remained. A bluish hoof appeared, grabbing an edge, soon followed by another, dragging the occupant out.
"It cant be..." Twilight whispered.
A mare climbed from the comet, now revealed to be a ship, and fell to the ground. Her coat was a pale cyan, similar to Rainbow Dash, and her mane and tail were gray. Slowly and visibly shaking, she stood up, slowly opening her eyes. To everypony's surprise, her eyes shone. As if glowing molten gold had been poured into them, the result being two beautiful orbs of light. The mare gave a couple of unsure steps forwards before stumbling again. This time, she didn't stand up.
"Is that...an alien?" Spike asked.
"Wow. This is like Daring Do and the Crystal Hoof!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.
"I think she's hurt..." Fluttershy said as she landed besides the fallen mare.
"Be careful Shy'! Who knows what she's planning!" Applejack warned. But Fluttershy ignored her. In front here was a hurt mare. Alien or no alien, she wasn't about to leave her out here. Carefully lifting her, she dragged her out of the trench, gently laying her on the grass. She was quickly surrounded by her friends, who had to be pushed back as to give some space. She was breathing slowly, though injuries could be seen.
"She must have been knocked around a little during the crash..." Rarity said. The mare's cutie mark was a mystery. It was a small circle with a twisted line coming from it. What it meant was unknown. It would nearly a minute of silence before Applejack asked what was on the minds of everypony.
"Okay, we have a visitor from the stars having a beauty sleep here...what now?"
Twilight put a hoof on her chin, deep in thought. It was too late to send a letter to the princess, and alerting the authorities would only cause problems. With no information, no data and no background, any decision could potentially lead to disaster. She gave a glance to her friends, then back at the mare.
"Fluttershy, you and Rainbow Dash are going to take her to your cottage. Make sure she's okay." Twilight instructed. Both pegasi nodded before gently lifting the alien, carrying her away.
"Applejack, we're near your home. Bring some shovels here tomorrow."
"Will do." Applejack agreed before trotting away.
"Rarity, Pinkie Pie..."
"Yes darling?"
"Whattup?"
"Mmm...nothing for now...But I think we will need your help tomorrow, so please try to make space for this." Twilight asked.
"Oki-doki-loky!" Pinkie agreed before skipping away, before being followed by Rarity.
"What about us, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"We, Spike...we've got a long night ahead of us..." Twilight answered as she teleported them to the library, immediately levitating books around her.
"Now, please bring me everything we have on astronomy."

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       Lickety Split                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Lickety Split
"Are...are you sure its this way?"
"Positive. The energy came from this place."
Twilight gulped. They had looked everywhere under Leo's directions. Sugarcube corner, the library, the town hall, the bell tower, the library, Sweet Apple Acres, the library, the hospital. Did I mentioned the library? Right now though, Twilight and Leo were standing at the entrance of the Everfree forest, much to Twilight's increasing worry.
"Maybe we should go back and check the library again." Twilight suggested.
"We already checked the library. Twice." Leo huffed.
"But maybe they moved there!"
Leo suppressed a growl.
"What is wrong anyways. It is just a forest." Leo pointed a hoof at the dark woods. The menacing darkness from inside made Twilight shudder a bit.
"Its not just a forest. Its the everfree forest, filled with dangerous monster and treacherous paths. I don't think they girls would have been so careless as to bring the twins here." Twilight said. "The again...thay have pulled worse stunts before..."
"My siblings are in there. Dangerous or not, I will go get them. You can come with me or stay if you prefer." Leo trotted inside the forest. Twilight doubted hesitated before trotting after. She wasn't scared, but after the cockatrice episode, she had learned to enter the forest only when necessary.
"You'll get lost without help. I'll guide you." Twilight said as she reached her, making Leo smile.
Meanwhile, back in the ruins, Sweetie Belle slowly opened her eyes. It was dark and her body ached. Her head felt like a dragon roaring right besides her.
"Ouch..." she stood up. "What happened?"
No answer.
"Girls? Gem?"
Silence greeted her. She was in a dusty old corridor, barely illuminated by a few crack on the wall that let the dimming sun light in. A few webs covered the ceiling and the walls, some of them inhabited. But Sweetie's main concern wasn't the possibility of suddenly developing arachnophobia, nor getting a sudden reaction towards dust. Her main concern was the fact that she was completely and utterly alone. Not a sign of her friends could be seen. No sound. No trace. No nothing.
"T-this isn't funny!" she called out. A soft echo was the only response she got. If only she knew that a couple of floors below her, two fillies walked, just as confused as her.
"What happened back there?" Scootaloo asked. They had woken up a couple of minutes ago, and decided that a search for their friends was the best possible course of action at the moment.
"Something blocked our powers...and overdoing them caused this." Minnie answered glumly before tripping on a rock. Her face hit the ground, hard.
"Careful there...."Scootaloo said."You ok there?"
"Without my brother, our powers are gone. We can't sense incoming dangers or move through the planes." Minnie explained as she stood up. Her nose was a little dusty, but nothing a quick swipe from Scoot's tail couldn't fix.
"We're not used to working only with three..." Minnie murmured.
"What was that?" Scootaloo asked.
"Nothing. Just talking to our, eh, myself..." Minnie corrected herself. Speaking in singular felt weird now that her brother disappeared.
The sun was setting. It was just over the horizon. Its orange rays gave a beautiful picture. The inhabitants of Ponyville would always thank the sun princess for the show it provided. The warm day would slowly gave way to the calm night. Unless you were suicidal enough to enter the Everfree Forest, in which case the vanishing rays of the sun were a clock that would mark the time of your impending death at the claws of the blood lusting nocturnal hunters of the forest.
Isn't nature just wonderful like that?
"By the way you are pointing, the girls must have gone to the ancient castle of the elements." Twilight said gravely.
"Is that a bad thing?" Leo asked.
"Oh no, its just the place were almost died trying to purify the goddess of the night from evil." Twilight snarked. "Of course its bad!"
"Goddess? What kind of goddess? Explain this to me Twilight." Leo ordered. Twilight began her tale, all too happy to remember how she met the most important ponies in her life. Leo paid close attention,. "And the kids are in such a place? Then we must make our way there immediately!" Leo exclaimed as she quickened her trot. Twilight didn't move an inch.
"What are you doing Twilight?! We must hurry!" Leo said from the foliage. "The kids maybe in danGAAAAARg-" Blop. Twilight sighed, using her magic to pull Leo out of the mud pit.
"The castle is that way..." Twilight pointed a hoof towards some scary looking trees. With a small spell, all the mud had disappeared. Leo grumbled as the unicorn released her from the spell, trying as best to save what little pride she had left.
"Fine. Let's go that way..." Leo grumbled, walking through the woods. A few seconds later, a loud shrill came from the forest. Twilight sighed before heading to rescue Leo from whatever disaster she caught herself in.
Meanwhile, far up in the highest tower of the castle, two foals did their best to figure out a way to leave the tower. So far, their tries had followed the usual result of their crusades.
Which meant that they were trapped in the astronomy section.
Perfect.
"The stairs are out." Apple Bloom looked down at the dark abyss. "And there's no other exit."
"We are trapped in here?" Gem asked.
"It would seem so."
Silence came as the last rays of sun started fading. A few stars popped in the sky. Soon ti would be night time. A large hole on the wall allowed both kids a clear view of the sky.
"Your home is out there right?" Apple Bloom sat under the hole, followed by Gem. "Out in the stars?"
"Yes. You can't see it from here though." Gem answered. "Its actually two planets. Castor and Pollux. I come from the first one. Minnie comes from the latter."
"You mean...you're not siblings?" Apple Bloom was surprised by the answer. If they weren't brother and sister, why did they call themselves so? Did that include the rest of the zodiacs?
"Minnie and I were brought together as soon as our powers were discovered. It was long before we were placed with the rest of the zodiacs in Regulus. We've been raised with them since."
"So you're not really brothers." Apple Bloom said. "Wow. You guys must be really close then."
"We try to be. Most of the time it works too."
Silence came between the two of them, allowing Apple Bloom to worry about the situation of her friends. She had been rather freaked out when she woke up and saw that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were not with her. She calmed down after thinking for a few seconds, deciding that if she and gem were fine, the others should be too, if completely off the mark.
"Some kind of force is tampering with out powers." Gem explained." We can't move while were in this territory."
"Well, in that case, we're not going anywhere, 'couse there's no way...out of...wait a minute..."
Peering down, she could see a light. A barely visible light.
A purple light.
Right in front of the castle, Twilight and Leo teleported ready to search for the foals. Well, Twilight was. Leo was still reeling from the effects of the teleportation, nausea, dizziness, you know the stuff. Apple Bloom smiled. This was their chance. Looking around the for anything throwable, she saw a rather large vanity. It was old and visibly rotten. But it was perfect.
"Gem...I need your help a little bit." She walked behind the vanity.
"Of course. What for?" Gem asked. Apple Bloom smirked.
"We're gonna drop this vanity on top of Twilight."