The sound of wood clashing reverberated throughout the farm as LJ whacked away at a wooden training dummy with her sword. Over and over she struck it, each time causing the scowl on her face to deepen. Forwards, backwards, side to side, nothing seemed to please her as her grip on the blade started to wane. Rising and falling, her blade mercilessly swatted away at her target until eventually-

“Dammit!”

One final smack shook the blade from her grasp as it collided with the wooden dummy, causing it to fly off behind her. The shocked cry of an onlooker alerted LJ that she wasn’t alone. Spinning around, she saw her there. Sparity, the dragon/unicorn hybrid, held the wooden blade aloft in her magic briefly before a sigh of relief washed over her, “You should really be more careful with this thing…”

LJ sighed audibly as Sparity levitated it back over to her and sat down on the ground beside the dummy, looking a little too peeved for either of their likings, “Thanks…”

Sparity raised an eyebrow at her friend before noting that the area surrounding the dummy showed clear signs of aggravation and agitation as LJ practiced her sword techniques on the dummy. She just had to ask, “Something wrong? You don’t usually leave your sparring area in this kind of state unless you’re mad.”

LJ crossed her arms over her legs as she planted the sword into the ground so it wouldn’t go anywhere, “It’s nothing.”

Sparity adjusted her glasses as a small smile crept up upon her features. Taking a step closer, she claimed, “It sure doesn’t sound like nothing. Come on, you can trust me…”

The seated mare huffed as she looked away, “Just leave me alone…”

“If it were me sulking here in the dirt, would you leave me alone?”

LJ shuffled about slightly before relenting, “No…”

Sparity giggled softly as she took a seat beside her friend, taking care not to damage the contents of her saddlebags in the process. She grinned at the mare beside her and said, “And that is why they call you Loyalty. Now, why don’t you show a little and trust me with your problems. I am here to help…”

LJ huffed, finally looking her friend in the eye, “Fine… You’ve seen some of our Junctions, right? Between me and the other Elements?”

Sparity nodded in response, thinking back to some of the battles she had seen them in just recently. It was astounding just how much power they could put out when they literally put their heads together. She smiled, “You looked amazing. I especially liked the one you did with Alternate Dawn.”

LJ blushed softly at the thought of them junctioning again. It wasn’t often Alter was willing to be on the front lines, but they really needed the magic power. Feelings aside, she couldn’t help but feel... Angry. This anger she addressed plainly, “I’ve always been… Jealous of my other forms.”

Now this was interesting. Sparity’s head cocked to the side, asking the question that really didn’t need to be asked. The explanation that followed came begrudgingly on LJ’s part, “I know their power is a part of me, as much as it is a part of the others, so why can’t I use any of their sword skills or gun katas or… Anything.”

Sparity bopped the apple pony on the head, “Is that it? You have a sword, and i’m sure Super would lend you a gun or two. What is stopping you?”

LJ scoffed, swatting her hoof away, “I thought you wouldn’t understand. It’s not that I can’t try, it’s that I am too weak on my own to do it. My power ceiling is a lot lower than all of yours, and it all comes down to genetics. Being a hybrid is not all it is cracked up to be.”

The hybrid growled audibly, making LJ immediately regret saying that, “Well excuse me, miss handymare…”

“Sorry…”

LJ sighed as she proceeded to brood for a bit, letting the silence between them fill the air as Celestia’s sun made its way across the sky. To shatter the silence and hopefully brighten the mood, Sparity asked, “Your Cutiemark… Does it mean you are good at using swords?”

LJ looked down at her own flank briefly before nodding, “Sort of… It’s more about heroics than swords.”

“Okay… So… Why does it also have an apple on it?”

She shrugged in response, “Not sure to be honest. I think it’s an apple family thing. Hilariously enough, I didn’t get it farming apples, or even in defending the farm.”

Sparity’s ears perked up in intrigue, “Oh? So how did you get it?”

Her friend deadpanned, “You want tips on how to get yourself a cutiemark huh? Don’t think i’ve been watching you eye everypony’s flanks.”

The hybrid blushed brightly as she knocked LJ over in passive-aggressive anger, “N-no! I am just curious, honest.”

LJ laughed as she stood up and drew her sword once more, “You’re a bad liar, you know that, right?”

The dragon/pony hybrid looked away, still feeling the burning heat in her cheeks that stubbornly won’t leave her be, “Shut up.”

The handymare grinned widely as she took up an offensive stance, it looked like she was going to try fighting the dummy again. In response, Sparity stood up and got out of the way. If there was one thing she learned during her time in Ponyville, it is that you don’t stand between Apple Eden and a tree. The second is don’t get between LJ and her target in any sort of fight. Both could be hazardous to one’s health.

“Well, if you must know, it all started a few years back when my mom and I were heading to Manehattan on a business trip by train. On the way there, we happened to run into Alternate Dawn who was running errands for his mother at the time.”

As the first strike upon the dummy occurred, LJ thought back upon that fateful day, the one that would change her life forever.

The rumble of the train to Manehattan could be heard for miles as it crossed the vast expanse of eastern equestria. Inside, a young filly bounced silently in her seat as she watched the hills and animals passed them by, excited to finally be away from the farm and see the sights and sounds of the big city. Beside her, her mother chuckled softly at her antics, “Settle down there sugarcube. We’ll be there soon enough. ‘Sides, somepony is trying to sleep here.”

The elder mare pointed at a cloaked sleeping mare leaning up against the window across from them. In their hooves was cradled a large box, one that they dared not part with even as sleep claims them. The young LJ was intrigued with what was in the box, but her mother cautioned her about talking to strangers, so she dropped it for the time being. No, she simply let the mare rest her eyes and turned her own to the sights outside, but soon that wouldn’t be enough to contain her boundless enthusiasm.

She whined, “But mommy, this is boring… I want to go explore.”

“I remember when I was that age… Always wanting to see the unknown.”

That was when a purplish grey stallion stepped into the compartment. It was Alternate Dawn, the son of Princess Twilight and great enchanter. However, at this point in the story he was still a student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns working on his thesis on white magicks and how one’s genetics could help or hinder its effects. He had a wide grin on his muzzle as he looked between the two seated ponies, “Can you really fault her? She is a child.”

LJ beamed brightly as she jumped up from her seat to give the taller stallion a hug, “Cousin Alter! What’re you doing here?”

AJ gave him an amused grin that told him just to humor her. Alter ruffled the filly’s mane as he spoke, “Same as you. I have some business in Manehattan.”

“But we didn’t see you on that platform when we got on…”

Ah, that made it a much more appropriate question. Of course somepony on the train to Manehattan would have some sort of business there. He continued, “Oh, well… I was a running a little late because I…”

He bent down and leaned into whisper in LJ’s ear, “I slept in…”

This revelation made the smaller pony laugh, “You did not!”

Alter nodded, cracking a cheshire grin, “I did. I’m a bad pony!”

He motioned towards the sleeping pony like LJ’s mother did beforehoof and asked, “Anyway… Do either of you know if that empty seat is taken?”

The two ponies shook their head, prompting the grey unicorn to sit down, setting his heavy saddlebags down in front of him, one of which he opened thusly and rummaged through it, “So, AJ, how has she been, the hoof gloves treating her well?”

LJ pouted, seeming a little slighted, “Hey! I am a big mare now, I can answer for myself.”

Alter raised an eyebrow at her as he turned her way, “Okay then. I suppose you are grown up enough to earn that right. I sometimes forget that we’re actually not too far apart in age.”

Rightfully so, as LJ was a little smaller than normal for a mare her age. In reality she was around twelve and he was about fifteen, not too big a gap there, but it may be noticeable for those that actually know this.

LJ huffed as she easily stood up on two legs, a feat that isn’t all that easy for ponies, but LJ never was your average pony. With a flourish, as if trying to impress, she tore off one of her hooves, revealing what was truly underneath. A hand, an oddity for ponykind, but again, LJ was far from normal. Humoring her, Alternate Dawn gasped in surprise, “Oh my celestia! Your hoof! Where did it go?”

LJ rolled her eyes and booped the unicorn with one of her mini sausage-like fingers, “You don’t need to pretend to be that impressed.”

What a large, fragile ego in such a small pony…

“You had me fooled.”

The three ponies turned to the previously sleeping pony as they continued, “She’s a hybrid… A strange sight in these parts. May I see those?”

AJ raised an eyebrow at the stranger, showing some concern as her daughter took a step away, “I beg your pardon?”

The cloaked mare frowned, “Oh! Sorry. I must look a little threatening, huh?”

That was when the mare let down her cloak, revealing her golden blonde mane which was kept neatly at bay in a long braid. Recollection flashed in Alter’s eyes as he spotted her long horn, her beautiful amber eyes, and her dull blue coat. He knew this pony!

“Turbulent Quercus, is that you? I haven’t seen you since you graduated a year ago!”

The mare grinned widely as she stood up, setting the box down as gently as she could before she bowed to him, much to his dismay. This only added to the confusion that LJ and AJ felt, “You know her?”

As she straightened herself, AJ caught a glimpse of a hidden blade in her cloak, adding to her suspicions that this was all too coincidental to be a random meet up. LJ saw it too, but was more intrigued by the sight of it than frightened. Turbulent nodded in response to AJ’s query and said, “Alter and I took a few classes together in Alteration… Shields and green magicks. We’ve been pen pals for a while now.”

Alter nodded, confirming her story, “She’s pretty good at them too.”

Turbulent playfully punched Alter’s arm, causing him to wince slightly, “Me? Nah, I just scraped by, but you! If you didn’t already have a mark in Alchemy, i’d have thought you’d have a shield or something.”

AJ shot Alter a look that told him to keep a closer eye on things, and he probably should have. LJ was there too, now no longer behind the unicorn and was now up close to the cloaked mare. Pointing inside the cloak, she asked, “Ma’am, what’s that? It looks like something my mom has on her wall in the living room.”

“Oh- this?”

AJ scowled as Alter shrugged, seemingly just as surprised as she was. Meanwhile, Turbulent merely opened her cloak, revealing the sword strapped to her hip, “It’s my sword. I got this when I earned my own blade after I became a Squire”

Alter gasped, this time in real surprise, “No way, you actually made it into the Academy? And just out of school too!”

LJ looked between the two, confusion apparent on her muzzle, “For those more militant, there is an Academy where royal guards are trained, with some of them being selected to be knights. While not guards specifically, knights do have their own duties to the kingdom as well. A squire is a knight’s assistant in a sense. They clean their armor, polish their swords, basically do errands for them and in exchange for training to become a knight themselves one day.”

LJ beamed brightly, clearly showing a great interest in it, “Cool! Can I touch it?”

AJ gasped in surprise, “Absolutely not!”

The elder mare let out a sigh of relief as Turbulent agreed with her, “I’m afraid not. I’m afraid this is way too big for you, you might hurt somepony, or yourself.”

And then came another thing she had to protest, “But this dagger on the otherhoof… This is more your size.”

The unicorn mare levitated a small dagger out from her cloak and handed to the young pony, who gripped it tightly. It nearly fell out of her grip when Turbulent’s magic grasp left it, “Whoa, this is heavy…”

“Now hold on one pear pickin’ second!”

Dawn cut her off before she could continue, “Relax AJ, just watch, you might see something interesting.”

No surprisingly, LJ was was already giving the blade a few test swings and took on an offensive stance, something that seemed to catch the squire off guard, “Seems like this one is a natural… Where’d ya learn to swing it like that?”

LJ grinned as she adjusted her grip on the blades handle, “I used to watch mommy practice all the time, now I play swords with my friends all the time.”

AJ blushed slightly as she heard the words come out of her daughter’s mouth, “I don’t practice that much… ‘Sides, swordplay is dangerous. Once you start, you live and die by the sword. Those blades are heavy in more ways than one.”

Turbulent frowned as she gently took the blade from the minor, looking a little ashamed of her own curiosity, “She’s right. I’m sorry about that. When you pick up a sword, you hold the weight of not only your own life, but the lives of others. It is not for the faint of heart. You may just be better off sticking with sticks.”

LJ whined as she slipped on her hoof glove once more, “Aww…”

AJ walked over to Alternate Dawn and tugged on his ear, dragging him over to the far seat, “And you! Encouraging her, what are you thinking? Didn’t you hear how her father died?”

Alter groaned, “But, don’t you see how excited she is? Apple farming bores the heck out of her... And Turbulent knows what she is doing, any good squire knows better than to give a child a blade they can hurt themselves with.”

She chimed in, “It’s true, I can magically dull my blades if need be, make them as sharp as a club.”

The apple mare glared daggers at her, prompting the squire to shy away, much to LJ’s dismay. Before she could continue however, Turbulent pointed out the window towards the tracks ahead of them, “Stop the train! The tracks!”

Acting on instinct, AJ leapt to keep her daughter safe while Alter dove for the emergency brakes, but it was too late. The train hit some strange dark crystalline structures on the track and flew off the rails.

When they all woke up next, the sound of hoofsteps alerted them that they were not alone. A rescue? Perhaps. One cannot be too careful. Turbulent was the first to get to her hooves, seemingly unharmed, the second was LJ, who likewise was fine. She was desperately trying to wake up her mom who appears to be unconscious from the sudden flipping of the train. Meanwhile, Alternate Dawn crawled out from underneath an overturned seat, groaning, “Is everypony alright?”

Turbulent frowned as she looked AJ over, “I’m fine, but your friend here, she looks like she may have sustained a concussion.”

LJ started to tear up, finding it hard to even admit this, “Mom won’t wake up...”

As important as that was, something else caught Alter’s attention as he went over to look at her himself.

“I heard something over here. Sounds like more survivors.”

What they heard next made Alter grit his teeth in anger, “What are you standing around for then, ice them and keep looking for the sword, it’s on this train, I can feel it.”

LJ whimpered softly as she clung to her mother’s fallen frame, frozen solid in fear...

Author's Note

Sorry this one tok so long, school kept me busy but now... I a free man! That's right, graduated and am now a certified Game Designer. Hurray! Now lets see if I can turn any of my ideas into a reality, but first, I have some unfinished business elsewhere that is calling to me. This story is one of these things.

I suppose you might be wondering what the '(A)' in the chapter title is for. Well, you see, for this update I wanted to try something different. What I want to do is sort of an A/B scenario sort of thing, one that sets up a scene or conflict in one part and is resolved by other part as more details are revealed. In this case, events were brought up and told as LJ remembered them. Seeing as the heaviest trauma occurred to her, her memory has been skewed a bit. The '(B)' scenario will tell the story as it actually happened as well as continue where it left off in terms of what you saw.

Like last time, i'll be accepting comments for what character stories will be told next. So please, say so in the comments below. I'd love to hear not only what you think of the story so far, but what you think will happen next.

"Aces wild."

"A new Dawn is breaking."

"A slice of Eden."

"Feeling Super."

"Heated Drakes."