As the autumn wind grew cool across the streets of Ponyville, the residents of the small town began preparing for the imminent winter that would soon arrive. Nowhere, however, was more busy than the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Being a major food supplier for Ponyville, they were always busy at work so late in the season, collecting the last apples of the season. Applejack looked over the hills of the Acres, watching as her friends worked together to collect every last apple off the trees. With her, pulling the apples off the branches, was hard worker Rainbow Dash, though it was clear from her bored eyes she'd rather be napping, her bonds of loyalty pushing her along. As the apples were dropped from the trees, Pinkie Pie and Java Chips took to loading the carts with the fruit, where Big Macintosh would pull them along toward Twilight and Rarity further up the orchard. There, they were busy at work sorting them by type and keeping count. Once the apples had been sorted, Caramel would take them back up to the farm and load them into the apple cellar. The gears of their work flowed smoothly as they continued to unload apples.
As Pinkie Pie was loading another bucket of apples, she suddenly stopped and looked behind her. Java looked over at her, a bit confused. “What's wrong Pinkie?” he asked.
Pinkie looked back at him, a bit concerned. “You might want to move a bit to the left Java, my tail is a-twitcha twitching.”
He looked back at her, a bit quizzical. “Your tail is...wait what?”
He didn't have time to dwell on it before three young fillies fell out of the tree onto his back, knocking the poor colt to the ground. The crusaders picked themselves up with a groan and looked at each other, still sitting on his back. “Well we aren't Cutie Mark Crusader Tree Climbers.” Scootaloo said, rubbing her head.
Before the other two could answer, another groan came from underneath them. When they looked down, they finally noticed the turquoise pony they were on top of. “You aren't Cutie Mark Crusader Feathers either, get off my back!” he said painfully.
“Oops,” they said in chorus as they climbed off, “Sorry Java.”
With a sigh, a stretch, and a crack of his back, Java shook his head. “It's fine, just be a little more careful alright?”
The three nodded and trotted along toward their clubhouse. Hearing all the commotion, Applejack came over to survey the situation. “What in the name of Albany Beauty is going on here?”
Pinkie Pie smiled over at her and waved her tail in the air. “First my tail got all twitcha twitchy, and then the crusaders fell on top of Java, and then they were all like, 'Oooh owwie!' And Scotaloo said-”
The hyperactive pony was silenced with an apple in the mouth, which she happily began to eat, while AJ went over toward Java. “You okay sugarcube?”
With another rub of his head, Java nodded. “I'll be fine, what's up with that tail twitching stuff?”
Pinkie Pie sprung out from the tree above Java and landed behind him, smiling. By now they had attracted the attention of the other ponies that were around. “It's my Pinkie Sense. I get these little bitty reactions when things are about to happen. Like when my tail twitches, that means something's gonna fall from the sky, just like it did to you.”
Java couldn't help but give her a sceptical look as she explained her strange foresight abilities. Twilight walked over and patted him carefully on the back. “You don't want to delve too deeply into it, trust me. Just shrug it off, and if her tail twitches, hide.”
With a sigh Java shook his head and got back to loading apples. “Makes about as much sense as anything else Pinkie does.”
With the incident out of the way, everyone quickly got back to their jobs.
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Once all the apples had been bucked, sorted, and stored, the group returned to the farmhouse, where Granny Smith had been preparing a large meal for the hard working ponies. As they gathered around the table, everyone pulled into their own conversations. Java and Big Mac had begun talking about being older brothers, while Pinkie and Rarity were discussing fashion, thought Pinkie knew very little. The crusaders were off in their own world dreaming up their next scheme to get their cutie marks, while Dash and AJ had started an eating contest between themselves. Twilight sat at the end of the table with Caramel, discussing the apple count for the year. Everything was interrupted as Pinkie Pie spoke up to the group. “Everyone, my right knee is sore.” she told them, showing them her front right knee.
Without even a second thought, everyone dropped what they were doing, ducking under the table. Everyone except for Java, who looked at them like they were crazy. “What are you all doing? There's a roof above our heads, nothing's going to-”
His thoughts were interrupted for the second time today, as a crash landing Derpy Hooves flew through the door on the right and knocked him into the adjacent wall. With a groan, he untangled himself from the mailmare, trying to regain his senses. “I thought you said things fell from the sky....?”
Pinkie came out from under the table and skipped over to him. “No silly, twitchy tail means something falls from the sky, when my right knee is sore that means-”
“That something is coming on the right side?” he finished.
With a nod, Pinkie returned to the table. Derpy got up and shot an embarrassed look at the tech pony she ran into. “Oops, sorry Java.” she said, pulling a letter from her satchel. “Fpefial delifery for Twilight Fparkle!”
With the letter removed from her mouth with magic, Derpy went back on her merry way toward town to finish delivering the mail. Looking at the envelope, Twilight gave a look of surprise at the wax seal, a five pointed star. Opening it quickly, she began reading and her face lit up. “Oh my gosh!”
She started hopping around excitedly, dropping the letter. With confused looks, the group picked up the letter and set it on the table. Rarity read it aloud for everyone.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
How have you been? It's been a while hasn't it? I just thought I'd let you know that my latest expedition will be bringing me to Ponyville, which from what I've heard is your new home, right? Anyway, I figured we could get together and have a talk, get back in touch. I'll be there this upcoming Tuesday.
Sincerely,
Morning Star
The group looked over at Twilight, who had calmed down and packed away the letter in her saddlebag. “Who's Morning Star?” Dash asked.
Twilight smiled and sat back down at the table. Everyone else joined her, listening intently. “Morning Star is an old friend from Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns. We were always studying together, and helping each other out with our homework. I guess in a way he was my first friend, and the one who got me interested in Astronomy in the first place. Unfortunately, once we graduated, he left to join a group of fellow Astronomers to document the constellations and to track down astral beasts like the Ursa. I would have gone with him too, but I couldn't abandon the princess. It'll be so nice to see him again.”
Dash smirked and did her best to suppress a giggle. “Sounds like you have a nice little coltfriend Twi.”
With a blush, Twilight shook her head vigorously. “Wh-what? Don't be ridiculous...I-I mean even if I did....no I mean, we're only friends....but....never mind, we're just friends and that's the end of it.”
The group gave a surprised look at Twilight's protesting, shocked at her overreaction to Dash's little joke. “Twilight, darling,” Rarity began, “Do you....have feelings for him?”
With a sigh, Twilight continued to blush. “W-well maybe...I mean, even if I did, I know he doesn't feel the same way....” Twilight hung her head and Applejack went over to comfort her. “There there sugarcube, don't get yourself in a fuss over nothing. I bet he likes you plenty, there have been stranger crushes then this.”
Pinkie Pie nodded, pointing toward Java. “Yeah, Like how Java has a crush on Vinyl Scratch.”
Java blushed and glared at Pinkie Pie. “H-hey! There's plenty of chance of that!”
The rest of the group shared their disagreeing opinion, to which Java sighed. Twilight smiled at her friends and nodded. “Thanks guys, but really I'd rather just play it safe. I should get home and clean up, it's only two days until Tuesday.”
Looking at the time, they all nodded, having their own places to be. “Hey Java, wanna walk with me to Sugarcube Corner? Mrs. Cake is putting out a warm batch of cupcakes.”
Java shook his head, taking a step away from the pink pony. “As much fun as that sounds, I need to get home. Micro should be getting home from his friend's house anytime now.”
In truth, Java needed some Pinkie free time after his last two foreshadowed injuries. “Okie Dokie Lokie!”
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The following Monday, Java found himself headed toward Twilight's library for a service call, carrying his tools on his back. Stepping inside, he set his tools down. “Alright Twilight what do you need me to do? I have to make it quick, Vinyl Scratch needs me to tune her...woah.”
Looking around, the entire Library shined bright enough to blind somepony. Twilight rushed downstairs, sorting books and dusting as quickly as she could, her hair all frazzled up. “Oh Java, thank goodness you made it. I need you to take a look at the fuse box downstairs, I think I might have blown a couple cleaning up.”
Java nodded, still a bit awe struck at how hard the unicorn was working. “Wow, um, are you sure you shouldn't take a break, I mean he isn't showing up until tomorrow. I don't even see you work this hard when you study.”
Twilight shook her head, her mind in a fluster as she began dusting him. “No, I'm almost done, I just have to dust the floors, mop the ceiling, mow the garbage, take out the lawn-”
Java took the duster from her, setting it aside. “Twilight will you calm down? You're going to make yourself sick overworking like that. Have you even slept since you left the Acres yesterday?”
Twilight shook her head, sighing. “I guess you're right Java, I should just go up to bed and-”
She was more tired than she thought as she collapsed on the ground, snoring lightly. Java smiled and picked up his tools, going downstairs to check the fuse box. When he opened it up, it sparked a bit at him, and he sighed, surveying the damage. Not only had she knocked out most of the fuses, but she had even managed to blow a few wires. Java reached into his tool bag with a sigh. This was going to take up the rest of his day.
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It wasn't until a little after noon that Java finished tuning Vinyl Scratch's mix board. With all the dials working, he packed up and walked to the door. “Alright, you're all set.” he said, taking his leave.
Vinyl waved at him from the door, smiling. “Thanks a lot Java dude, you're welcome at my night club anytime!” she told him.
With a wave and a blush, Java nodded. “No problem Vinyl.” he said as he turned and kept walking, a smirk on his face. “Yeah right, I totally have a chance.”
His self delusion was interrupted as he spotted a white unicorn with an orange and brown mane, looking lost in the street. As he got closer, he saw the lone unicorn's cutie mark, a star on a deep blue backdrop. “Excuse me, do you need some help?” he asked.
The unicorn looked over and smiled, nodding. “Yes, thank you. I'm looking for the Ponyville Library, do you know where it is?”
Java nodded and started leading him along. “Yeah it's this way. You're Morning Star aren't you? Twilight's friend?”
He nodded and smiled, following the kind guide. “That's right. Twilight's always sending me letters. Let me guess, you're....Big Macintosh?”
Java couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head. “No, Java Chips.”
Morning Star thought for a moment and shook his head. “I'm sorry, I don't think I've heard anything about you.”
The smile on Java's face turned to a frown. “Oh....are you sure? I think she would have mentioned me.”
He shook his head again. “Sorry.”
Java sighed as they approached the library, stopping at the door. “That's alright, here we are.”
Morning Star tapped the door softly, expectantly waiting for an answer. Java waited with him, feeling a little betrayed. Spike answered the door and smiled, seeing who was there. “hey, long time no see. Come on in, Twilight is in the kitchen preparing lunch.”
Java, without thinking, walked in with his unicorn friend and toward the kitchen, where Twilight was looming over a cook book while she tried to keep track of the pots and pans on the burners. “Hey Twilight, look-” Spike began, but was interrupted by the busy violet unicorn.
“Spike, I told you before not to bother me, Morning Star could be here any time now and I need to focus on finishing lunch.”
Morning star smiled and stepped up, levitating a spoon out of the librarian's grip, tasting some soup in a pot. “well, it could use a little salt, and some carrots.”
Twilight smiled and trotted up to the white unicorn, wrapping her forelegs tightly around his neck. “Star! It's so good to see you again!”
Morning Star hugged her back, smiling. “A very long time, seems like you've kept busy.”
Twilight nodded and smiled back at him, breaking the hug. “Did you find the library alright? There wasn't any trouble getting here was there?”
Star shook his head. “I got lost for a little while, but luckily I ran into Mr. Java Chips here. He showed me the way.”
Twilight looked over and noticed for the first time since they arrived that Java was there. With a blush and an awkward giggle, she took a couple steps toward him. “Thank you Java, do you need anything else?”
Though she sounded sincere, her eyes were pleading Java for some privacy. “Oh, um...no sorry, I'll see you later Twi. It was nice meeting you Morning Star.”
Star nodded and they watched as the programmer pony left. With that done, Twilight returned to cooking lunch, having a bit of difficulty as she tried to center the knife over the carrot she was trying to cut. With a chuckle, Star took over and expertly cut up the carrot, sliding the slices into the soup. “Here, let me help. Cooking was never your speciality as I remember.”
Twilight blushed and nodded, smiling. “Yeah, thanks. So what's new with you?”
Taking some more vegetables, he carefully cut them up and added them to the soup as he talked. “Not much really, after this latest venture I'll be put under the apprenticeship of Princess Luna hopefully. I'm a very likely contender for the position. And you? What has Celestia got you doing that has you out here in the boondocks?”
Twilight smiled and began stirring the soup in the pot. “Well at the moment I'm studying up and reporting in on friendship. It might take up some years of my time to learn everything about it. What about you? What brings you to Ponyville?”
It was at this point that Morning Star's look changed from happy to serious, taking the soup off the burner. “Actually Twilight, I need to talk to you about that. You see, I'm going to need your help.”
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The day was late as Java prepared to get some rest. Micro was already in bed, tired from a long day of playing with Clickspring. As he got ready to ascend the stairs, a knock came to his door. Walking up to it, he saw Fluttershy standing there, a bit timid and fearful of being out in the dark. “Pardon me Java, I hope I didn't wake you but...um, Twilight wants us at the library. She says it's important.”
Never one to doubt Fluttershy, and knowing that Twilight wouldn't summon them unless it was important, he slid on his saddlebags and nodded to the butter yellow pony, following her to the library. By the time they got there, everyone else was already gathered. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were sitting down around a table. Twilight had put out some energy drinks to reinvigorate the tired ponies. Java helped himself to one and sat down with Fluttershy as Twilight and Morning Star pulled a blackboard into the room. “Sorry to call you all at such a late hour everpony, but this is an emergency, Ponyville is in danger.”
She turned to Morning Star, who continued as he wrote on the board. “I'm afraid she's right. My group have been tracking a group of Canis Minor who have been making their way toward Canterlot. We almost had them once, but they beat us by mere hours, destroying a town we predicted they would run through. They're viscious predators, and according to my calculations, they'll be making their way from the west through Ponyville to get to Canterlot.”
“Sweet apple cider! They'll run right through Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack shouted worriedly.
Twilight nodded, taking a piece of chalk. “Fear not, for Morning Star and I have developed a plan.”
Star nodded aswell, the two drawing out the plan on the board. “This will require the hard work of everypony here.” he began, a serious tone in his voice. “Canis are very susceptible to sounds of an extremely high pitch. If they hear a high tone, they'll become paralysed with pain long enough that we can capture them. Twilight has informed me of all your particular talents, and we've developed this plan.”
The drawings on the black board didn't make much sense to the onlooking ponies. Twilight sighed and began explaining, drawing their attention to different points with a pointer. “Java Chips will assist Morning Star in setting up a speaker ring in one of the small valleys within Sweet Apple Acres, set to the high pitch that will stop the Canis Minor. Star has predicted that they'll be arriving just past midnight tomorrow night. Fluttershy will keep watch from above and give a signal to Rainbow Dash, who will swoop down and, with the help of Pinkie Pie, will lead them into our trap. Once they're inside the circle we'll activate the sound field and then it will be up to Applejack and Rarity to bind them up so that they don't get away.”
The group looked around at each other, having mixed feelings about the plan. Though most of them were on board, Applejack wasn't so sure about it. “I don't know about this Twilight, What if we fail? What'll happen to my farm?”
Twilight shook her head, determination in her eyes. “Don't worry Applejack, nothing's going to go wrong. We've worked out everything and done the math thrice to make sure we know what we're doing. Nothing is going to happen to your farm.”
A soft but unsure smile went across Applejack's face. “Alright, if you're sure sugarcube.”
Star nodded, happy to see everyone on board. “Perfect, now we all have to get to work immediately tomorrow. This plan has to work before the sun comes up, otherwise it'll be too late. Like the stars, astral beasts can't be seen during the day, they go invisible.”
The group nodded and dispersed for the night to get some sleep, unwary of the day ahead of them.
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Everyone was waiting intently for Java in the valley they had picked to ensnare the oncoming Canis. It wasn't long before he was coming up the trail with a cartload of equipment. Inside, he had speakers and wires, along with a mix board. “Sorry, it took a while to get everything together. We'll need to get all the speakers up into the trees in a circle. Star, I'm going to need your help calibrating the sound board to the right frequency.”
The group nodded and unloaded the speakers, everypony taking one to go and set them up. Morning Star joined Java off to the side. “So have you dealt with Canis before Star?” Java asked as he carefully moved the dials while Morning Star listened, waiting for the right sound. “Yeah, I've dealt with Canis, Scorpio, even an Ursa once.”
Java smiled, still adjusting the dials. “An Ursa huh? How did you do it?”
The white unicorn smiled and signalled Java to keep rising in pitch. “It wasn't too hard actually, though we had some trouble. My team and I were in Hoofington getting ready for when it came by. Our plan was simple enough, all we had to do was lead it away. We used a pegasus team to distract it and send it into the forest, where we sealed it in a large cavern. The plan would have gone off smoothly if not for a Unicorn we hired to help us with protecting the outer buildings of Hoofington. She claimed to be the most powerful pony in all of Hoofington, but when she got a sight of the Ursa Minor she ran for the hills. I think she called herself Trixie.”
Java kept adjusting the dials when the name clicked in his head. “No kidding, the supposed 'Great and Powerful Trixie?' I've met her too. She came to Fillydelphia a couple years back and visited my repair shop. I fixed her fire hazard of pyrotechnics and pretty lights, made it safe, and then she criticizes my work. She says she could have done a better job had she had the time, refused to pay, and darted off.”
Star nodded, listening intently to both the pitch in his ear and Java's story. “Sounds like her alright. There it is, that's the perfect pitch.”
The two nodded at each other and Java locked the sound board, hooking in a wireless transceiver, which he handed to Star. “When they're within the circle, just hit the button and it'll start up the sound through the speakers.”
Star nodded and set it in his saddlebag as the two helped finish hooking up the speaker system.
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Fluttershy watched from atop a cloud, keeping her eyes open across the landscape. Finally, in the distance, she made out the group. Five Canis Minor were rampaging through from the west, just as Star predicted. She pointed with one hoof and waved the other at Dash, who saluted and flew down between the trees, picking up Pinkie Pie. They stopped in front of the Canis Minors, who stared the duo down. “Hey Uglies, looking for a treat?” Dash asked, shaking her flank in their faces. “Come get it!”
With that, she and Pinkie Pie had the hungry hounds on their tails, being led toward the circle. As they approached it, they flew out of sight and joined their comrades in the bushes. In the center of the circle was Morning Star, the button under his hoof, ready to be pressed. "Now, push it now!" Dash screamed as she planted her feet on the ground.
She was left unanswered however, as Morning Star desperately tried to make the button work. As the Canis began to pounce, Dash flew in and scooped him up and the two flew out of the circle. Thinking quickly, Rarity, Twilight, and Star set up a barrier around the area. Java went around to all the speakers, with Dash following. “What the hay is going on Java?” she asked.
Java made his way around to the first speaker hooked into the sound board, and there he saw the problem. “Was this speaker dropped? It's going to need to be repaired.”
Dash gulped, a bit embarrassed as she rubbed her mane. “Well um...Pinkie Pie said her tail was twitching...so I hid in the tree, and then the speaker fell. I mean, what's the big deal if one doesn't work?”
Java shook his head and started working on the speaker. “These speakers are set up to work in a line, if the first one fails they all fail, and so on down the line. Go get my tools.”
Dash nodded and brought him his tools, and he started working on the speaker. It took him nearly an hour and a half, the unicorns straining their energy as they tried their best to hold up the barrier. It wouldn't be much longer before the hounds escaped. “There,” Java finally said, “Now we just need to hit the button on the remote, where is it?”
Looking around, Java's heart sank as he saw it in the center of the circle. Star must have left it when Dash scooped him up. Java sighed, the sun was coming up and the Canis were disappearing. He needed a plan and fast. Looking around, an idea came to him as he stared at the pink party pony teasing one of the nearly invisible Canis. “Pinkie!” he called out, running toward her. “Get on my back!”
Without a second thought Pinkie hopped up and landed gracefully on the colt's back. “Okie Dokie Lokie!”
She was surprisingly light, and Java stopped as he approached Twilight. “Twi, I need you to let me in.”
Sceptical at first, she saw Pinkie waving at her from on his back and nodded, understanding the plan immediately. With the barrier down, Java ran in, Pinkie screaming “Wheeee!” on his back. Suddenly, she stopped. “Uh oh.” she said.
This was what Java was waiting for. “What is it Pinkie?”
Pinkie bent her left elbow a couple of times. “My left elbow is sore.”
Without a second thought, Java bucked to the left, and sure enough he hit an invisible enemy, sending them flying into the barrier. Pinkie smiled and showed him her right. “Now the right one is sore.”
Once again he bucked, kicking away another Canis. As he made his way to the middle he kicked away his enemies on Pinkie's command. Finally, he reached the center where the remote was. “Twitchy Tail!” Pinkie screamed.
Java twisted his body, knocking Pinkie off his back as bucked straight up and sent another Canis flying, his front hoof hitting the button at the same time. The high pitched sound filled the air, creating a lot of whimpering from the astral beasts. Following the whimpering, Applejack and Rarity were able to hog tie them all. Star walked up and smiled, shaking Java's hoof. “That was brilliant Java Chips. If you ever get tired of being a small time electronics man, you're free to work for the Astral beast division anytime.”
Java smiled and shook his head. “Nah, I don't like a lot of moving around. Besides, I couldn't have done it without Pinkie Pie.”
“Hey,” Twilight pointed out, “Where is Pinkie Pie?”
As they looked around, they saw her messing with the sound board, a pair of headphones in her ears while she pretended she was making beats. The group couldn't help but laugh at their fun loving friend.
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Twilight walked with Morning Star to the train station, smiling along the way. “It's a shame you have to leave so soon Star, I wish we could have had at least one day to ourselves.”
He nodded, stepping onto the train and standing by the doorway. “So do I, but I need to get to Canterlot for my evaluation. If all goes well I'll be studying under Princess Luna. I'm sure once I've gotten settled in I'll have a lot more free time to come and visit you.”
Twilight nodded, smiling. “That's right! Maybe sometime I can go and visit you in Canterlot when I find some free time.”
He smiled and nodded to his violet friend. “It's a date.”
Twilight blushed as the doors to the train closed, and she once again waved goodbye to her old friend. With a sigh, she walked back toward the library.
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“I'm just saying, why couldn't I come?” Micro protested to his brother. “You got to set up a sound ring, fight a bunch of Canis Minor, and you even got to buck one into a wall! All I got to do was sleep.”
Java smiled, putting away all of his sound equipment, making sure it was properly organized. “That's right, do you know how dangerous it is to do stuff like that? I could have been killed. Besides, haven't you slain a bunch of Canis Minors?” he teased.
Micro shook his head clearly not amused. “Video games don't count and you know it! Oh well, at least I'll have a cool story to tell everyone at school.”
Java nodded and walked out of the workshop. “That's right, you can tell everyone about how your brother took on a pack of Canis Minor single hoofedly!” he boasted.
Micro smiled and nodded, galloping toward the door. “I'm gonna go tell Clickspring right now!”
Java watched his younger brother leave and smiled. With a yawn, he made his way to the staircase and then up to bed, happy to get some sleep.
Author's note: the character Morning Star does not belong to me, but instead to Tried and True of fanfiction.net (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3127435/ )