Equestria Liberation Front

The ringing of metal echoed throughout the base and the bright fires of Apple Bloom’s forge pumped heat to the rest of the stone rooms. The massive mare hammered at a glowing piece of metal, shaping what had been the blade of an old scythe into a weapon of war. She lifted the rapidly cooling metal and gave it a close inspection through the smudged lenses of her goggles before turning around and dumping the piece back into the flames. It was a long process that had her going through much of the night and into the next day but Silver Spoon needed a blade.

Circling around to the side of the forge, she began to spin the crank on her bellows. The fresh air fed the flames, which leaped higher, brighter, hotter. She watched the metal carefully. If it became too hot, it would begin to warp and could undo hours of work.

“Apple Bloom?”

Startled, she looked up to find Silver Spoon leaning against the archway. The mare pushed herself upright and slowly limped into the armory. Leaving her bellows, Apple Bloom rushed to guide her to a chair. With a nod of thanks, Silver Spoon sat down.

“How’s yer back?”

The mare grimaced. “Still really sore. Thanks for helping me out back there.”

Apple Bloom waved away Silver Spoon’s gratitude. “Ya’ll won’t be so thankful when this rebellion gets rollin’.”

Silver Spoon winced as she shrugged. “I can’t help but disagree. This way, I won’t just be waiting until I die.”

“Ah, ya say that now.”

“And I mean it. Seriously, back there, it wasn’t too different. I didn’t get to eat much. I worked my ass off and, while Ernst wasn’t actively trying to kill me, I swear he liked to see just how close he could get.”

“Ya’ll make it sound like the Gryphons are mean or somethin’.”

Silver Spoon cocked an eyebrow at Apple Bloom.

“Ah was bein’ sarcastic.”

“Oh, good.” Silver Spoon responded. “I would hope that you weren’t that dense. So, how many ponies are in this outfit?”

“Just us for now. Figured we’d see if the slaves in Ponyville wanna join.”

“Just the three of you then? I’ve heard rumors of underground resistance activity in the other major cities. Why not try to link up with them?”

“Just in case ya ain’t noticed, Silver, we got ourselves a town full of Gryphons just outside. It’s hard enough gettin’ word out to the Crystal Empire.”

“You’ve been in touch with the Empire?” Hope shined in the mare’s eyes as she leaned forward excitedly.

“Don’t go gettin’ any crazy ideas now. Shinin’ Armor ain’t gonna send us no help until his borders are feather-free. Meanin’ while all’s quiet down here, he’s gotta hold his own. Hence why we’ll be makin’ ourselves a bit of noise here soon.”

“And if we fail?”

Bloom returned to her bellows. “We won’t.”

“What are you doing there?”

“Figured if yer gonna roll with us, yer gonna need a way to fight and swords go a long way towards that.”

“You expect me to fight?”

“Well, ya’ll are part of a rebellion army.”

“That’s all well and good but I have no combat training.”

“That’s why we’re gonna train ya eventually. In the meantime, yer only gonna carry this here knife I'm makin' to slit the throats of Gryphons who get too close. Until we have a large enough force to move on Ponyville, yer gonna be playin’ the part of a slave.”

Silver Spoon sighed. “At least I have a lot of experience in that field. Who’s going to be training me?”

“Well, Ah figured it would be mahself. Ah don’t really use any sort of traditional style but one of mah own build. Ah’d recommend ya’ll do the same.”

“So, you’re going to teach me the basics of swordsmareship and I’ll develop my own style from there?”

“Eeyup.” Apple Bloom responded, fishing the white hot metal from the fire and returning to her work at the anvil. “What sort of blade do ya want?”

Silver Spoon winced as she shrugged. “I’ve always admired the Saddle Arabian scimitar. Do you know those?”

“Ah’m familiar. Ah can’t quite get the metal to those exact specifications and it’s a little too big for Silver the slave to be marchin’ around with. In the meantime, we’re gonna set ya’ll up with a nice knife to carry under yer clothes. After Ah have some time and new materials, we’ll see what we can do to get ya’ll set up.”

“Thanks.” Silver Spoon cocked her head. “Why are you doing this?”

“Thought we discussed that already. Ah want the Gryphons out of Equestria. Same as ya’ll.”

“No. I mean, why are you helping me? I remember what Diamond Tiara and I used to do to you three as fillies: the bullying and the torment. Why are you helping us after all of that?”

Apple Bloom stared at Silver Spoon for a hard moment before returning the blade to her forge. “Ya’ll said it yerself. We were kids back then. That was fifteen years ago and a lot’s happened between then and now. If Ah was to set back and let ya’ll get slaughtered over some name-callin’ from way back, that certainly wouldn’t make me any better than ya’ll, would it? Besides, we’ve got bigger things goin’ on than some filly-squabble and we need all the hands we can get to help out with this. Let’s be big fillies and put all that ponyfeathers behind us, alright?”

“Certainly makes you the bigger mare of the two of us.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ain’t about bein’ the ‘bigger mare’. Call it a necessity of the times, if ya want. Everypony expects me to lead this group and Ah wouldn’t be fit to if Ah threw ya’ll two under the wagon over somethin’ petty like that. Though, if ya don’t mind me askin’, Ah noticed a few times where you, and you specifically, weren’t all that into makin’ fun of us, so what gives? Why’d ya go along with her?”

Silver Spoon hunched over slightly and her ears fell back. “I suppose you could call it the curse of wealth. Growing up like I did, there weren’t a great many ponies I could relate to. My insight to life was somewhat narrow as I thought everypony had servants and lived in big houses and had lots of money. I once asked my daddy about why everypony had fewer nice things than we did and he gave some half-flanked explanation about being better off than other families because of business dealings and income rates. I honestly lost him about halfway through. But the thing that stuck with me was that we were simply better.

“When I started attending school, I was alone most of the time. I couldn’t connect with the other fillies and colts and they couldn’t understand me. That sort of mutual lack of understanding drove me away. I’d get upset about getting a new dress dirty or possibly breaking my glasses and they’d laugh at me. I didn’t like that so I usually stayed by myself and read or something so they’d call me a nerd and laugh harder.

“Then I met Tiara and that’s when things changed. She was the first pony I could relate to because she came from the same background. Together, we managed to convince each other that we truly were better than everybody else and, because we were better, it was our job to teach them how to be better too. What started out as attempts to push them to greater heights devolved into bullying. I guess you could say we just became frustrated at everypony else for not being as good as us and not responding to what we were trying to do for them, so we took out our frustration on everypony else. Everypony who was different. Not like us, you know? We thought it was justified at the time and it was to our young minds but, as we got older, I began to doubt that. I think she began to have those same doubts, but her pride wouldn’t let her admit to it.”

“So that’s it then?” Apple Bloom concluded. “Ya’ll isolated yerselves and tormented everypony else out of pride and frustration?”

Silver Spoon fidgeted. “It’s a pretty weak excuse but that’s what actually happened, yes.”

Apple Bloom sighed. “Well, Ah suppose that’s probably the only good thing to come out of this situation. No pony’s better off than anypony else.”

“You could say that.” Silver Spoon agreed. “House slaves tend to have slightly cushier lifestyles than field slaves but, at the end of the day, we’re all still considered property.”

“That ain’t gonna be the case much longer but it’s a long tough road we’re gonna be travellin’. Ah don’t want ya havin’ fantasies about easy victory. We might have an advantage here but it’s still an uphill climb.”

“Are you trying to scare me away?”

“Ah want ya to understand everythin’ that’s about to happen. This is gonna take years and it’s likely we won’t see the end of it.”

“So, die a slave or die a warrior. Decisions. Decisions.”

“Mock it all ya want but ya know it ain’t that simple. Life as a slave is pretty horrible, yeah, but there’s a routine to it. If ya learn yer place quick enough, ya’ll can move through it with a minimum of trouble. Ya do the same job, ya eat the same food, ya sleep in the same bed. Not to mention, while yer’re considered property, yer’re also considered an investment. Meanin' that the best thing for ya’ll to do is be in the fields, tendin’ to yer work. The more time ya’ll spend laid up in bed with wounds or diseases, the less time yer makin’ money for yer masters. That’s not a good way to keep an investment so they’ll be inclined to keep ya’ll in a modicum of good health to keep ya’ll makin’ money. In a resistance army, we’re fightin’, we’re movin’, we don’t spend more than a few days in any one spot or we’ll be discovered. There are hunters and soldiers out for our blood. They ain’t workin’ us to death, they’re actively tryin’ to kill us. Scoots, Sweets, and me have lucked out. We found a good spot that’s well hidden in a place where nobody wants to go. That’s the trifecta right there and we’ve managed to keep this good thing goin’ by bein’ ridiculously careful. That’s all about to go right out the window.”

“But if you’re living the life of a warrior, your situation could and often does change. However, the situation of a slave rarely changes and, even rarer still, for the better. Even the prospect of a pony having control over their lives is enough to drive them to do what they otherwise wouldn’t do. Especially for those of our generation and any survivors of older generations.”

Apple Bloom smiled. “It looks like ya’ll really do understand what’s at stake, Silver.”

“I wouldn’t have joined otherwise so stop with all of the woo-babble. I’m not going to cut and run when the time comes for everypony to get serious.”

“That’s what Ah like to hear.” She took a pair of dulled knives from a table and handed one to Silver. “Let’s get ya’ll set up with a bit of basic instruction on knife combat. Nothin’ fancy or stylish, but it’s easy to remember.”

“I don’t really think this is a good idea, practicing combat while I’m still injured.”

“We ain’t gonna be sparrin’ or anythin’. Ah just want to run ya through the basic motions and ya’ll can practice those while yer recoverin’.”

Silver nodded and gently pushed herself upright, taking a stance next to Apple Bloom.

“Now, here’s our first issue: Yer holdin’ yer knife all wrong.” She gently took Silver’s hand and adjusted the grip. “Yer fingers are gonna be grippin’ along the underside of the handle and yer thumb is gonna brace against the top of the handle. That way, the knife ain’t gonna move too much while yer workin’. Keep in mind, yer opponent ain’t gonna be all nice and polite and stand still while ya kill him. He’s gonna be twistin’ and jerkin’ and tryin’ to fight back. Hold yer knife like this and yer less likely to lose yer grip.”

“Alright.”

“Alright.” Apple Bloom took the knives and set them aside. “We’ll come back to that in a minute. Right now, we’re gonna talk about where to strike.” She gestured around her abdomen. “There’s lots of things you can hurt around here: Stomach, Liver, Lungs, Kidneys. All kinds of squishy organs to cause pain. Now, take yer thumb and press against this spot really gently.” She demonstrated, poking at a patch just between her chest and upper abdomen. Silver followed suit, wincing slightly at the dull pain. “That’s the solar plexus. It’s a bundle of nerves and whatnot just at the pit of the stomach. Hurts, don’t it?”

“A bit.”

“That’s also an excellent place to put a blade. If just yer thumb causes that much pain, imagine how a knife would feel.”

Silver couldn’t help the uncontrollable shiver that ran through her at the thought. “You certainly know a lot about this sort of thing. Where did you pick it up?”

“Me, Scoots, and Sweetie Belle had trainin’. Zecora taught us.”

“That old Zebra witch that lived in the forest?”

“She wasn’t no witch. She was a really nice Zebra who knew a lot about herbs and plants and things. She also knew a lot about fightin’ and killin’. Before she came to Equestria, she was a soldier. She taught us how to fight and survive.”

“Where is she now?”

Apple Bloom tensed a moment before forcing herself to relax with visible effort. “She died about ten years ago. A Gryphon patrol spotted her hut and came down to investigate. She managed to run the three of us off before tryin’ to hold them.”

Silver’s ears fell back in shame after bringing back what was obviously still a painful memory. “I’m sorry.”

Apple Bloom waved away her concern. “Don’t worry. It was a long time ago and she did her job well. There were five Gryphons in that patrol and four bodies along with her’s. We followed a blood trail where the fifth one limped off but we never found a body and nobody came after him. Ah’m guessin’ a Manticore or somethin’ caught him.”

“That’s pretty impressive.” Silver Spoon observed as she took her dull practice knife back from Apple Bloom. “That’s really impressive. Gryphon patrols are really good at their jobs.”

Apple Bloom flashed a proud grin. “Not good enough, Ah’d say.” The mare took up her own practice knife. “Now that ya know where to strike, Ah’m gonna teach ya how to strike. There are three basic thrusts in knife combat. First is the forward thrust.” She demonstrated, stepping forward and thrusting into an unseen opponent. “Second is the upward thrust.” Again she lunged forward, stabbing in an upward swing. “Finally, we have the hook thrust.” She swung her arm wide, hooking around into her opponent’s ribs. “Remember, it’s always a good idea to grab yer opponent and keep them from moving too much. Ya’ll can easily control yer opponent by grabbin’ the back of the head. It brings ya close enough to tag any part of their body. When ya grab them, pull them towards ya while steppin’ forward. That’ll bring ya within their defenses and buy ya a second or two before they can adjust their weapon.”

“Only a second or two?”

“One of the first things Ah learned in combat, sugarcube, is that every second counts.” She reached out and grabbed the back of Silver Spoon’s head while lunging forward and rapidly jabbing at her with the practice knife. “One-One thousand, Two-One thousand.” Apple Bloom released her and stepped back. “In those two seconds, Ah stabbed ya five times in three spots. Ya ain’t dead but ya ain’t fightin’ back either. At that point, Ah can either move on or finish ya off.”

“I get the point.” Silver Spoon rubbed at the points Apple Bloom had touched. “You’re pretty good with that thing.”

“Scoots is the knife fighter. She faster and more agile than Ah could ever be. She’d tag ya eight times in as many spots in those same two seconds.” She drew her own sword, the freshly sharpened blade glinting in the torchlight. “Ah prefer this. Ah ain’t gonna mess with multiple wounds and focus points when Ah can just take a limb or spill yer guts and be done with ya.”

“I guess there’s something to be said for that degree of efficiency.”

“It’s all efficient.” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Ya don’t just randomly stab with a knife. Ya go for nerve bundles and organs, somethin’ that’s gonna do lots of damage and create openin’s. Takin’ mah opponent apart bit by bit is just a personal preference. That bein’ said, Ah’d recommend that ya familiarize yerself with multiple techniques and multiple weapons so that ya’ll can be efficient in every situation.” She carefully examined Silver Spoon’s wiry muscle and trim frame. “With yer build, ya’ll’d be pretty good all-around. Ya ain’t bulky like me, so ya’ll be more agile and good at slippin’ past defenses but ya possess more raw power than Scoots so ya’ll can deal in heavier weapons just as easily.” She fished the piece of glowing metal from the forge and returned to her anvil. “Here’s what Ah want ya to do. Practice those knife strikes until ya know ‘em. Practice ‘em until ya can do it without thinkin’, then practice ‘em some more. In trainin’ ya get as many chances as ya’ll want to kill yer opponent and study yer technique. Not so on the battlefield. Scoots has some trainin’ dummies to practice with. Ah’m sure she wouldn’t mind if ya borrowed one to train on. She’s also spent a lot of time watchin’ the Gryphons and she’s certainly killed more than a few. Take a while to pick her brain. She could tell ya a lot more than I could about how to kill those bird brains.”

“Yeah. I’ll definitely do that. Thanks.” Silver Spoon offered the practice knife back.

Apple Bloom waved her away. “Keep it. Yer gonna need somethin’ to practice with. Now, G’wan and see Scoots.”

Silver Spoon nodded. “Yeah. Thanks again.”