One morning, Miracle had just finished breakfast when she heard the sounds of argument nearby.
"I can't believe you'd do that to me!" Pureblood's voice roared.
"You're making a big deal out of nothing!" Vito's voice shot back.
"Nothing?!" Pureblood gasped, as Miracle reached them. "Why, you self-absorbed..."
"What's going on here?" Miracle asked.
"Mr. 'only thinks of himself' here promised he'd help with my pony scouts test today." Pureblood growled. "But he bailed."
"I had a mane emergency!" Vito protested. "And you know full well I was to join father in meeting the duke of Hoofistan and his lovely daughter later on. I couldn't face her- them- looking like a mess! I wasn't thinking only of myself. I was thinking of our guests, and of their opinion of Canterlot royalty!"
"Yeah, right!" Pureblood snorted. "You expect me to believe that garbage?"
"Are you calling me a liar?" Vito snarled.
"Guys..." Miracle tried to calm them down.
"Yes, I am." Pureblood growled. "And an egocentric narcissist, to boot!"
"My own brother!" Vito huffed.
"Guys..." Miracle tried again.
"As if you ever acted like a brother to me." Pureblood declared.
"Guys!" Miracle yelled, finally getting their attention. "This has to stop! You're brothers, remember?"
"Like he cares!" Vito pointed at Pureblood.
"You're the one who doesn't care!" Pureblood shot back. "I'm never speaking to you again!"
"Well, neither am I!" Vito huffed.
"Come on, guys, don't do this." Miracle pleaded. "We're supposed to be a team, remember? Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale?"
"I'm not Crusading with him until I get an apology." Pureblood declared.
"Oh, was somepony talking just then?" Vito said in mock wonder.
"Hmph!" Pureblood walked down the corridor.
"Hmph!" Vito retorted, walking the opposite way.
"Glad we had this chat." Miracle sighed.
A few moments later, Hurricane walked over to her.
"What's up, Mir?" She asked. "Why the long-even-for-a-pony face?"
"Pureblood and Vito had a fight." Miracle explained. "They both swore never to speak each other again."
"Heavy." Hurricane whistled. "Then again, this was bound to happen sooner or later. They're the most complete opposite twins I've ever met."
"They're the only complete opposite twins you've ever met." Miracle pointed out.
"My point still stands." Hurricane shrugged. "Guess it'll be just you and me until they make up."
"If only that were the worst of it." Miracle sighed.
At dinner that evening, Pureblood and Vito sat at opposite ends of the table, Miracle inbetween them.
"Miracle, could you please ask Mr. Ego to pass the salt?" Pureblood asked.
"Miracle, could you please ask the whiny jerk next to you to pass the ketchup?" Vito countered.
The back and forth indirect insults lasted throughout the meal. That incident set a precedent for the next couple of days; The brothers used Miracle as a mouthpiece for insulting each other. Even the adults took notice of the two's cold shoulders…
"Boy, the twins are really mad at each other." Gothic noted.
"I'm sorry to say I know what it's like, being so angry at a sibling." Luna nodded. "On the bright side, at least this argument won't end in banishment..."
Pureblood and Vito's parents soon took notice themselves.
"Boys, is there anything you'd like to tell us?" Dusty asked, as she and Blueblood confronted them.
"Nothing I went to say with him nearby." Pureblood huffed.
"Ditto." Vito snarled.
"Now, now." Blueblood told them. "You've obviously had some kind of fight. But you need to make up. You're family, after all."
"Your father's right, boys." Dusty agreed. "Look at your uncles. They fight all the time, but they always make up, because they love each other. Now it's your turn."
"Hmph!" The twins snorted, turning and leaving.
"...Or not." Dusty sighed.
"What now?" Blueblood sighed. "We could tell them to say they're sorry, but they wouldn't mean it."
"I have no idea." Dusty groaned. "Times like these make me wish this parenting thing came with a manual."
"You and I both, my love." Blueblood agreed.
Even Caboose took notice, when one day, the brothers' paths crossed in the hall. The two only paused to cast a vicious glare at each other, only for Pureblood to storm off in the opposite direction.
"What's with him?" Caboose turned to Vito.
Vito only gave a scoff as he stormed off in another direction.
"And him?" Caboose wondered, only to frown in confusion. "Who am I talking to?"
Miracle was soon at her wit's end.
"I can't take any more!" She griped to Hurricane as they sat in the royal lounge. "We need to get those two to make up!"
"I agree." Hurricane nodded. "I mean, the story description says that Miracle, Hurricane, Pureblood and Vito embark on a mission to gain their Cutie Marks. Not just Miracle and Hurricane."
"What are you… you know what, I can't deal with this right now." Miracle sighed. "Right now, we have to find a way to fix this before it gets worse."
"What do you suggest?" Hurricane asked. "It's not like we can force them into one place where they'll have no choice but to talk it out."
"Hurri, you're a genius!" Miracle gasped.
"Who, me?" Hurricane shrugged. "Nah..."
"I think I've got a plan." Miracle declared. "Here's what we'll do..."
A short while later, they were talking to Caboose.
"Let me get this straight... you want my help in getting Vito and Pureblood back together?" Caboose asked.
"Yes." Miracle nodded.
"You don't want them to hate each other forever, do you, dad?" Hurricane urged.
"Of course I don't want that... but I fail to see how burying me alive is going to fix things!" Caboose groaned.
Caboose was lying in an open box inside a hole, deep in the castle hedge maze.
"Well, Mr. Napoleon, the way I see it, Pureblood and Vito hold the most respect for own father... but since we can't bother him to get himself dirty, we went with the pony that they both respected most just after him... namely, you." Miracle clarified. "The plan is simple: we bury you in this box in the maze. Tell them where you are and give them these maps..." Miracle held up maps of the maze. "And when they find you, they will have to interact with each other."
"But how will I breathe?" Caboose inquired worriedly.
"Also simple." Miracle shut the lid of the box and pulled out a long pipe, using her magic to poke a hole in the box, and leaving it there. "That should keep you alive 'till Vito and Pure find you."
"Okay!" Caboose's muffled voice came out of the pipe.
"Deep breaths, dad!" Hurricane instructed him, as she started shovelling dirt over the box.
"Don't worry dear. My crazy aunt Grave Digger buried me and my bros alive all the time! I'll be okay." Caboose reassured.
"…I am not touching that with a forty-foot pole." Miracle said, disturbed.
After the burial was done, the girls went to find the boys.
Miracle went to find Pureblood…
"Pureblood, Pureblood!" Miracle cried, as she ran into the kitchen where Pureblood was eating a sandwich.
"What?" Pureblood said, mouth full.
"It's your uncle Caboose!" Miracle gasped. "He was trying to pull off this Hoof-dini trick and is now buried alive in the middle of the maze!"
"What?!" Pureblood gasped, a bit of sandwich falling from his mouth. "Oh my gosh! I gotta save him!"
"Don't worry, I already made up a map-" Miracle pulled out her map… only for Pureblood to run past her.
"Hold on, Uncle 'Boose, your favorite nephew's coming!" Pureblood declared, running off.
"Pure, wait!" Miracle called after him. "You need… this map… aw crud…"
Meanwhile, with Vito and Hurricane…
Vito was reading a book in the study… when Hurricane burst in.
"Vito!" Hurricane yelled, "It's bad, it's real bad!"
"Tell me about it." Vito said drily, "Here I was, enjoying a book, and then somepony comes in yelling for no good reason."
"Mydadburiedinmaze!" Hurricane blurted out quickly.
"What?" Vito frowned.
"Dadburiedinmaze!" Hurricane blabbed just as fast.
"Timmy's fallen down a well?!" Vito gasped. "Wait, who's Timmy?"
"My dad... buried... in maze!" Hurricane declared, slowing down a little. "Needs... help!"
"And help he shall have!" Vito declared, dashing off towards the maze.
"Wait, you're gonna need..." Hurricane held up the map, only to realise Vito had already left. "The map. ...Aw, geez."
The two brothers entered the maze through opposite ends, running through it without any idea of where they were going. Soon enough, they ended up bumping into each other.
"YOU!" Vito and Pureblood growled.
"What are you doing here?!" Vito snorted.
"Saving uncle Caboose!" Pureblood declared.
"No, that would be me!" Vito snorted.
"We'll see." Pureblood sneered.
"Yeah, my bum!" Vito spat.
The two took different paths, but soon after bumped into each other again.
"You again?" Vito snarled. "What are you, lost?"
"If I'm lost, then you must be lost, too." Pureblood declared. "Because I already remember passing that hedge with the branch growing out of it."
"Oh, no." Vito gasped. "We're lost!"
"Surely, you must have brought a map-" Pureblood blurted out.
"No. But I think that's what Hurricane was trying to give me before I… oh man…" Vito sighed.
"So we're lost in a maze, without a map." Pureblood groaned.
"Seems like it." Vito agreed. "But for how long?"
"Who knows?" Pureblood shrugged.
"Terrific." Vito said sarcastically. "Stuck here with you. What could be worse?"
"It's not exactly a picnic for me, either." Pureblood frowned. "Let's just keep going. We'll find our way eventually."
As they continued their trek through the maze, Pureblood started to give in to hopelessness.
"We're never going to get out of here." He muttered. "Never..."
"Are you okay, bro?" Vito asked.
"Like you care." Pureblood huffed.
"I... guess I deserve that." Vito admitted. "But don't go giving up. You've always been the positive one, you know."
"You really think that?" Pureblood asked, surprised.
"Of course." Vito nodded. "I know it can't be easy, having a bigheaded jerk like me for a brother..."
"Not all the time." Pureblood agreed. "But you do look out for me. Remember when we were were four, and I scraped my knee? You stood by me while mom and dad bandaged me up."
"Oh, yeah." Vito mused. "I nearly forgot about that. ...Look, I am sorry about standing you up about that scout thing. Truth is, I kinda like the duke's daughter, and I thought I might impress her."
"She is pretty cute." Pureblood admitted.
"Truth is, I didn't even think you needed my help." Vito continued. "You're so good at all that outdoorsy stuff. All I'm good at is looking good."
"Don't sell yourself short, V." Pureblood replied. "When you put your mind to it, you're pretty smart."
"Really?" Vito smiled.
"Really." Pureblood nodded. "Just try using your head for more than just preening."
"Funny guy." Vito sniggered.
As they rounded a corner, they found a way out.
"There it is!" Pureblood smiled.
"Let's go!" Vito cheered.
As they finally made it, they started whooping and hugging each other.
"We did it!" They chorused. "We did it!"
"Well, lookie there." Hurricane smirked, she and Miracle having been waiting outside the maze.
"Our plan worked." Miracle nodded.
"Your plan?" Pureblood asked.
"You tricked us into going in there!" Vito growled.
"We had to do something to get you to make up." Miracle told them. "You were both driving me nuts!"
"Plus, being Crusaders just isn't the same without you guys." Hurricane smiled.
"Well, when you put it like that... thanks." Pureblood smiled.
"All that fighting was starting to give me worry lines." Vito agreed. "Glad it's over."
"So, you two up for some crusading?" Miracle asked.
"Oh, yeah!" The twins cheered.
"Uh, hold on, guys." Hurricane said suddenly. "We forgot something."
"What?" Miracle asked.
"My dad!" Hurricane yelped.
Back at the center of the maze, Caboose was still buried.
"Hello?!" His voice echoed through the pipe. "Anypony up there? I'm ready to be rescued now!" Nopony answered him. "I'm getting hungry…" More silence. "Mr writer? Can you please write me out of this?"