Apropos of the Sinners

by SpitFlame

Part V – Chapter VII – The Start of a Secret

"Keep going... keep... going," Sharp went on repeating to himself, nearly out of breath. I've checked all the way to the last compartment. We're almost all there; but I haven't found Nova yet. I don't think I should have left Airglow like that, except...

Something twitched on his face. He stopped for a moment, analyzing his own suit, torn down and mattered, down to the ruffled cuffs 'round his hooves. He was covered in bruises, had developed a limp, and was on the verge of a terrible headache. The inside of his head buzzed like nothing else in tartarus. He must have taken a blow to the temples earlier without realizing it, because he certainly felt the trickles of blood running down to touch his chin.

One certain circumstance which doubtlessly lay in his benefit was the seeming turf war raging on inside the train. Because of this, the dual-parties of hijackers, in conflict with each other, were either disappearing or piling up at the front cars where it was supposedly safer for them, either to group up, form strategies, or both.

It seemed again, by way of positioning, that the "Tic Tocs" (whether the ponies in black really were the Tic Tocs still remained unanswered in Sharp's mind) had designed to retreat right up to the front of the train, entirely ignoring the luggage compartments. And while he had not yet decided if this was a benefit, the growing vexation from the inhibited magic all across the train more or less weighed on him and prevented him from thinking too far ahead. He was utterly determined to figure out the cause. But this was secondary.

Sharp Heat had taken command, rousing the passengers up and leading them to the first freight hold, bordering the third-class compartments. He acted accordingly to his noble duties, to place the lives of the ponies before his own, and to bolster himself up with courage—because, he reasoned, that was what he trained for. The former and turbulent confidence began to show on his face once again, which gave him a decidedly reassured look. This pain he felt started to burn itself out.

Only a few of the third-class passengers remained, pressed against the walls in a practiced habit of collective fear which possessed everypony that night. Behind Sharp came several barely audible mutters and groans of the half-conscious pony in black he had taken the liberty of dismantling. That had been the third one. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. He was running out of energy.

Speaking of which, he had quickly discovered that whenever the ponies in black were rendered unconscious, that same violent effect took hold, strangling the blood out of their sockets, twisting their necks, and completely killing them. Aside from the obvious implications of self-imposed suicide, this meant that nopony could know what these ponies in black were up to, nopony could properly interrogate them and draw out any reliable information. The worst of it was that the end of this Flying Rift massacre remained unknown, so that Sharp could not be sure when this would all reach its conclusion. For all he knew, he would never learn the truth, because he would probably be dead by the time a rescue team arrived.

"No, it's good she stayed there," he said in resolve, thinking about Airglow, and started walking, almost limping, to the end of the compartment where he spotted a pile of rope laying about. He snatched it, strode back to the barely conscious fellow in black, and began tying him up.

"Hey, everypony," he said out loud, pointing to the open door from which he had entered, "get off your flanks and haul tail. It ain't safe here. Go, go!" he raised his voice. Most immediately did as was told; they evidently placed great trust in this pony who was fighting these dastardly villains, all in order to hope for something beyond their grasp.

I ought to go back for Airglow now, he thought, dragging the tied-up pony in black with him to the corner of the compartment. He pushed the bound stallion to the wall and stood over him with a burning glare.

"Tell me," said Sharp, "who was it? Who hired you?"

The stallion ground his teeth, he was trembling with spiteful rage, ushering forth the final ounces of his consciousness and pronouncing strangely, "You... ruined everything."

"What did I ruin?" asked Sharp at once.

"You... your kind... it was supposed to be perfect, for our great Elder Solid. You, who brought so much pain to us... We have nothing but endless hatred... for your kind..."

"If you hate me, you're welcome to do so," replied Sharp. "Hate me all you like. And if you're in pain, just know that it won't bring your friends back from the dead. And my pain won't disappear, either."

But the stallion did not respond. He was perfectly motionless and did not even stir.

Dead, thought Sharp. "Of all the..." He spat and turned around.

Everything was taking a revolting turn in his mind. Sharp came to the morbid realization that every action he had taken thus far, or better put, every direction and compromise he had brewed up, all felt like he were delaying some inevitable and unsavoury end. True, he was still alive, but how did he plan to keep it that way? How would he fight all these murderers on his own? How would he venture to halt the train, send for help, and hold out till it arrived? The more he pondered these questions, the further he sank into a tormenting state of mind—that this was all for naught, and sooner or later, they would all be dead.

"But anyhow!" Sharp raised his voice for some reason. "I can't stop now. These fiends... I'll make 'em pay for what they've done..."

He started making his way up the car, but right before he crossed the threshold, the door behind opened, and Airglow plopped in, panting, hardly conscious of herself.

For a moment he gazed at her in shock, took a step back, then he shook his head and rushed ahead, grabbing hold of her before she stripped. "What're you doing back here!" he exclaimed. "I thought I told you to stay hidden in the first-class room! Heck, how did you even..."

"They... found out... I was there," she said finally, very feebly and still trying to find her balance; she even paused a couple of times.

The impression Airglow made on Sharp Heat in that moment was very strange; strange, yes, yet he understood the whole of her position almost instantly.

With how long I was away for—just what in Equestria has she seen? The fact that she's still alive is a miracle, and yet—

"Right, right," he said again more softly. He placed an arm under her shoulder, helping her stand; she was panting, but nodded her head in reassurance.

"I'm fine..." she rapped out. "Let's just..."

They turned around and began making their way through the car together, back to the freight hold. "It's on me that I took so long. Hey..." he suddenly remarked, as if it had just dawned on him. "You look clean out of shape. Listen, you should definitely stay hidden while I go look fo—"

Airglow stopped, freed herself from his support and backed away a few steps, much to Sharp's surprise; she was standing up right and with defiant look, showcasing that she was indeed fully capable of operating on her own.

"I'm fine," she said. "Really. I'm not trying to act tough or anything. It's fine. You, on the other hoof..." She turned again and they continued walking—well, half "walking," half limping.

"I ain't trying to act tough either," he said worriedly, not taking his eyes off her. "But I'm not going to stop. We need to find your brother and get him to the back rooms. That's where it's safe so far."

But they did not go very far. The door all the way from behind them swung open. Airglow and Sharp suddenly and anxiously looked behind their shoulders, exclamations abound. Knob stepped in, his face splattered with a matte finish of dark blood. His suit was almost completely unrecognizable, but a few spots here and there seemingly glowed its ivory colour.

Here Sharp again lost his breath and began to hold a hoof to his chest.

"H-hey!" cried Airflow frantically as he knelt down; she looked around wildly, instinctively looking for some way to help him up in the meantime. At last she looked warily at Knob, whose wild eyes ogled at her through that hideous smear of red.

"Get out of here," said Sharp in between breaths. And, having uttered this, he stopped abruptly, as if breaking off, and wordlessly took two steps forwards, narrowing his nearsighted eyes with their red veins at Knob. Airglow was so astounded, yet so frightened, that she quite frankly fell silent and and looked at him, not saying a word.

"Who's the mastermind behind this mess, huh?" threw in Knob with an inappropriately carefree tone. "Have you seen the place?"

Sharp stared straight at Knob, focusing on his own breathing. But he did not reply.

"The whole train is a canvas for whoever's crazy enough to start spilling blood—up, down, sideways, all without ceremony—it's that freaking red light! Right? Isn't it?"

"Red light?" muttered Sharp, not knowing himself why.

"It... is... amazing!" Knob cried out, eyes glittering with ecstasy, almost jumping up and down with the most reverberating excitement. "Aah! I got to meet this guy! He—or she, let's not discriminate—is a genius! Ha, ha, ha!"

It was clear to Sharp that this lunatic was not like the rest. The confident, almost inviting gestures of his arms, the seeming unawareness of the blood on his face, how he expressed the entirety of his character with arrogant strides—it all resembled a pony who had integrated this fatal lifestyle into the habits and patterns of his being, so much so that he would likely only notice the blood everywhere once the action had settled down.

In other words—

He's the most dangerous one, thought Sharp. He felt his legs grow heavier.

Meanwhile Knob, having laughed his fill, immediately turned serious, with only the hints of a smirk still lingering on his lips.

"But we're here to do a job," he said. "Half my squad are dead—and for what?—this elixir nonsense?"

Sharp's ears perked. Knob took notice.

"Yeah... I've stopped caring if ponies know what we're up to," Knob went on. He sighed and cranked his neck. "It's just such a pain, you know? Have you heard about the elixir onboard the Flying Rift? Do you want it for yourself? Is that why you're here, fighting us? First it's the blackies, and now you. Boy, this night can't get any crazier."

"Listen," said Sharp, almost relaxing his shoulders, "if you're looking for something then we can give it to you. Just wait there—and don't you think of harming anypony, got it, pal?"

"What?" guffawed Knob; he sounded so offended that Sharp was taken aback. "Nice try, friend. See, I'm here to kill ponies, as many ponies as I want. And judging by your nasty appearance, I'd say you've done a fair bit of bloodshed yourself."

Another pony entered the scene from behind Knob, but it only added to their dismay. It was pegasus stallion, a short fellow, also wearing a mostly white suit. One could see a crossbow strapped to his right wing.

"Hey, Knob, check it out," said Knob's companion, striding up to his boss, holding in his hoof a small, round bomb, with a short, fused wick propping out. "I found this thingamajig off one of the corpses of our black-suited rivals. Oh!" His eyes immediately turned wide when he set them on Sharp.

A change came over Knob's faces, as if some illumination struck him. He stretched his lips, stretched his neck, as if looking over Sharp at Airglow, then he declared to his companion, "Hey, Rotty, get that crossbow out, will you? We've got a 'hero' in our midst."

"That's uncommon!" remarked the pegasus as he threw the bomb aside and clumsily got hold of his crossbow. He spoke with servile undertones and looked onwards with popping eyes. He seemed almost too ready to please his boss. "Where do you...?"

"So what do you say?" addressed Knob. "Murderer to murderer, one final feast."

"This may strike you as surprising, but I haven't killed a single soul yet on this train," said Sharp.

"Is that so..." said Knob dismissively, walking forwards.

Looks like there's no other way. Sharp approached him.

"Get away!" yelled Airglow, though not very forcefully.

"You stay put, sweetheart," said Knob snappishly. "Once I kill this hero, you're next."

Sharp bolted forward with so much energy that it seemed as if he was not in pain at all. Knob, caught off guard, did the only sensible thing and attempted to intercept him, going forward himself and bringing a punch down with his full weight; but Sharp was too precise.

"Of course you'd do that"— Sharp dodged the punch, only grazing his cheek —"monster!" he cried, striking Knob square in the face.

Knob grunted, the force of the blow staggering him back, but he remained mostly unfazed. It was difficult to tell if he was hurt, considering all the blood which masked his face.

Suddenly a twisting sharpness impaled itself into Sharp, somewhere on the side, pushing him back in equal measure. He instantly traced the source—at the arrow sticking out of his trembling and broken shoulder. Hot blood squirted out from the edges of the deep wound.

The pegasus in white began to reload his crossbow, cursing under his breath.

"What the—gah!" Sharp, too shocked for his own good, did not notice the quick successions of punches dealt by Knob. He took four blows to the face before he managed to step out of his line of sight, crashing into the wall. His breathing cracked.

Knob looked to be enjoying himself; with a satisfied smirk he languidly turned to face Sharp. "There you go," he said, "you can take it, can't you, big guy?"

"You and me both," said Sharp; he spit on the floor, then hopped back into Knob's face with a wide hook punch. Knob took two large steps, putting too much distance between them to warrant any further attacks, but the purpose made itself known: the pegasus from before let loose another bolt, not at him, but at Airglow.

Sharp twitched his neck, put all of his weight in the back of his legs, and jumped to intercept, catching the razor end of the projectile with his fore-hoof, getting himself pierced in the process. He slid across the floor but instantly rose up. The feeling in his pierced hoof was started to fade away.

"Please, no..." Airglow chocked out, tears in her eyes, unsure of whether to run away or stay put, reaching out for Sharp. But she at once realized how foolish she was being, because quite frankly what could she do to help? Still, the intuitive fear which possessed the filly prevented her from moving.

"You're useless, you know that!" yelled Knob frenziedly.

"S-sorry, Knob!" The pegasus scrambled around with his crossbow for the third shot.

"And you!" Knob turned to the downtrodden Sharp with a vigorous stance. "You're really something, aren't you!"

Predict his next move. Go! thought Sharp—his formative years of military training in action. Right in that moment the only thing on his mind was to protect Airglow, no matter the cost. Adrenaline spiked throughout his bloodstream.

"I won't stop!" he screamed aloud, somehow running straight at them. This incredibly display of willpower surprised Knob; he charged forward himself, but did not perceive Sharp's hoof sweep across the table to his left, scattering several small glittering objects in the air. All at once, taking advantage of that distraction, Sharp jabbed Knob in the side of his torso.

But Knob took this factor into account; when those glittering utensils from the table flew at his face, he instantly dropped and landed on his elbows, waiting for the incoming attack.

Is that all? is what Sharp would have thought if he had had the time. That initial strike to Knob's torso served as a diversion: that particular hoof, undamaged by the bolt, hit the floor; Sharp used that momentum to propel himself, roll past Knob, and into the direction of the pegasus with the crossbow.

"You're kidding!" muttered Knob, dropping his head to witness the upside-down rendition of Sharp sprinting ahead.

The pegasus fellow cried out, pressed the trigger on the crossbow, but Sharp's arm forcefully swept the weapon upwards; the bolt shot out, ricocheted off the metal ceiling, and split a wooden plank. The only thing left to see was Sharp's hoof impacting the point of his snout, knocking him down to the floor.

All in that instance, two things occurred. First, Sharp's body had an involuntary reaction to the pain he was supposed to be feeling, in which his entire body shuddered and froze for a whole second. More blood spilt from his mouth. Second, Knob took advantage of this new opening; he had gotten back to his hooves, looked at Sharp, then at Airglow, and smiled. Airglow flinched in terror, falling down on the floor herself.

If I take her as a hostage, he'll he forced to back off! thought Knob, beginning to trot in the filly's direction. Airglow, try as she might, could not get her wings to aid her; she was trying to scramble back up and run away.

But Knob did not make it more than four steps when the flat end of a silver platter banged on the back of his head. He turned back ferociously. Sharp was sprinting at him on three hooves now, his pierce hoof rendered limp.

"You may be strong!" cried Sharp, stopping just in the striking zone. Knob quickly rose to his hind-legs and threw a punch; Sharp dodged. "But it's not enough!" He jabbed him in the torso—for real this time.

While Knob wobbled back, Sharp heard the voice of his compatriot, "Knob!"

What! He's back up already? Sharp blocked the forth bolt with his already-pierced hoof. He barely felt it, instead taking the opportunity to rush the pegasus, who in turn gave out a strangled battle-cry and leapt at him. Sharp ducked under, then swung with his pierced and bloody arm—stabbing the bolt end right into the pegasus's neck, connecting it with his own hoof. The pegasus made some incomprehensible and animalistic gurgles of pain, every feature on his name twitching and exaggerating; Sharp whipped his hoof back, dislodging the first bolt and leaving it inside the neck of the writhing opponent.

"I won't let you hurt her!" he declared as loudly as he could, unable to think of anything else and aware of nothing but the fight ahead.

"Let's go then!" roared Knob. Sharp turned back, tanking a blow to the face. He staggered but maintained his composure. Knob hit him once more, in exchange for an elbow to the jaw. Knob began to push him back. They exchanged another blow. Then two more, now getting each other dirty in each other's blood.

But, alas, one final hit from Knob struck Sharp in the temple, and his vision went hazy. He fell back, feeling all of his strength depleted, his throat burning, ears going deaf, and every other sensation going cold. He crashed face-first on the floor, unable to stand upright anymore.

Knob, still in combat mode, kicked him down on the back a few more times, then he stepped away. He watched with decreasing intensity as Sharp remained on the floor, moaning and hardly able to breathe, pathetically dragging himself away, inch by inch.

"Splendid performance," said Knob in between tightly compressed heaves and pants, finally noticing the efforts and struggles from Sharp utterly diminished; and for Knob's part that same vain and hideous smile spread on his face. Just beyond Sharp's reach lay the dead body of his compatriot.

"It's because of fools like you that I never get tired of killing ponies," continued Knob. "No hard feelings, right?" He took in one large, searing breath, and loudly exhaled. "Yeah, I'll definitely remember you."

He approached the hopelessly retreating Sharp Heat, rendered useless by the magic inhibitors, ready to strangle the life out from him. Unfortunately Knob had completely neglected Airglow, who all the while mustered enough reserve of spirit to move from her position and charge him—that is all to say, while Knob was running his mouth off, Airglow grit her teeth, mechanically grabbed the nearest object (in this case it was a glass bottle on the stool), and smashed it right across Knob's backside, shattering the bottle and injuring him quite badly.

He yelped out, newfound fury blazing out in his eyes once he was reminded of the filly he had forgotten. Within the next few seconds a whole multitude of actions occurred simultaneously, all in conjunction with one another.

Knob turned around, his face darkened with rage, glaring at a frightened Airglow, who was sluggishly retreating backwards and holding her hurting arm with her other one. Several of the glass shards from the bottle were pricked into his coat and sticking out. He had been so surprised by the fact that she attacked him that his usual violent instinct was delayed, but a second later he took a heavy step forth, pounding the floor hard, displaying the full intention of bloodlust.

With that next second Knob heard the metallic rustles of several small objects falling to the floor, but it was consumed by a strange crackling noise. Knob took heed of how Airglow, who before had her eyes glued to him, averted her gaze past him, and her face went deathly pale. She had even let go of her arm.

And when Knob, unable to consider any rational course of action, turned his head around due to curiosity, he witnessed the fatal image of Sharp Heat, once again on his hooves—the metal end of the bolt sticking out from his shoulder snapped loose—holding within his spared arm the small bomb from before, the wick lit and nearing its end point. To say that Sharp possessed a death wish would be an understatement; the expression on his face was almost stock-still, hardly any trace of thought or emotion remained on it. He only calmly said, "Take cover, Airglow."

"Wait, what?" asked the genuinely confused Knob.

Airglow's wings flapped as hard as they could, propelling herself over the far end of the counter. Sharp jumped and rammed right into Knob, both stallions falling to the floor; Sharp was holding him tight, the bomb's cold, round figure pressing in between their stomachs.

"Get off!" spluttered the panicked Knob, who indeed managed to throw Sharp off of him, so weak had he become. The bomb fell to the floor next to him, its final sparks emitting from the opening. Knob's mind froze. Without thinking he snatched the bomb and hurled it out a half-broken window he automatically caught sight of. But the bomb did not travel more than two meters across the air when it detonated.

The result was a blinding flash of light, the sound of rushing wind which consumed the whole car, and the ear-piercing noise. Both stallions were struck—Sharp thrown into the flat end of the counter behind him, and Knob was whipped to the side. Within that vicinity several things were ripped apart and blackened, with traces of smoke spread about. The explosion had torn a large, ugly whole through the compartment wall, the support beams ripped outwards; cold wind and flocks of snow rapidly gushed in, so did the sound of steady train tracks.

Airglow, having taken cover, still felt the shockwave. An incredible dose of pain surged through her body, hurling her into the corner. She definitely felt a rib crack.

All that was left was the crackle of flames and the frequent bumps of train tracks. After a minute of trying to recover, holding her ears together to stop the incessant ringing, she slowly peeked out, her whole body shaking. She moved her tongue around in her mouth, tasting blood.

Knob had gotten up, but the whole front of his body was black, and something steaming hot protruded from his chest. He leaned forward a bit, wobbling, instinctively heading towards the cold wind to allay the steaming heat. Then he stopped once more and went motionless. His whole body fell over the edge of the destroyed compartment wall and into the outdoors, falling over some cliff and vanishing into the blizzard.

Another ten seconds went by. Airglow, holding herself together, ignored the extraordinary pain in her ribcage and walked to the end of the room. Atop the pile of wooden planks and splinters lay Sharp Heat. His body sustained less damage than Knob, who had been slightly closer to the blast, but the condition of his body was critical.

"Sharp!" said Airglow, leaning over him.

He groaned, trying to open his eyes. His mane was scorched, the left side of his snout split open, the cut running up to his eye above.

Airglow's lips trembled. Tear drops dripped down to his chest. She had started to become covered in snow from the natural winds pouring into the compartment, but she did not notice this.

"Come on," she whispered in a tearful voice. "You gotta get up. We have to go. Please... please get up. Sharp, please get up."

But the rational part of Airglow's brain prodded her with other thoughts—namely, that she had to leave that room at once, because simply standing around in the open like she was would only serve to get her killed. Besides, if any other of those terrorists walked by, they would assume Sharp to be dead—assuming he would manage to live in any event.

Bad luck struck, because she heard hoof-steps approaching from the back end of the train. She observed a shadow drawing near from down the hall. Airglow instantly got up, wincing in pain at first but managing; she did not intend to find out who it was. She wiped her tears away, tearing herself away from Sharp Heat, and quickly trotted down the compartments back to second-class.

She could not even bother to notice the several bodies spread about to her left and right, while some she was forced to jump over. The further she ventured, the darker the shadow dawned over her face. Not of any kind of anger, no, she was too drained to feel any emotion. In fact, she was not even aware that the newcomer had started to chase her, having noticed her exiting.

"Hey, you!" the voice cried from behind her. A blast of magic whizzed past her, hitting the wall.

Airglow flinched but did not stop; she sprinted, faster than before, unable to think of anything else.

Before she knew it, she barged through a door into one of the first-class compartments, only to be halted by a group of four ponies in black suits—all unicorns, all donning those green rings on their horns. Everything in her mind which had been clouded before instantly rose up in her.

"Stop right there!" said the one in the front.

Airglow froze.

"One more?" another asked offhandedly.

Airglow turned around, ready to run away, her body in full alert, but she bumped face-first into a black-suited unicorn mare. Every single one of them had pitch black eyes; no light could be discerned in any of them.

"She tried to run away," said the mare, the aura around her horn vanishing.

Airglow darted her head back and forth, automatically searching for an escape route. But she was finally surrounded. It finally dawned on her that there was nothing she could do.

Why didn't I hide? she thought, feeling her heart rate increase. I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I—

"Finish her off; we have mission to complete," said the stallion in the front, dismissively waving his hoof, as the others seemingly got ready to walk back.

In front of her were those murderers, who had such a disregard for her life, that some were even turning around to walk away, not bothering to look at her. At all sides there was nothing that could help. From behind was the mare who had chased her, standing like a tower over Airglow, her horn glowing its deadly aura once more, charging up a killing spell. Airglow sat there, awaiting her execution.

This is it, thought Airglow dully. Time, indeed, slowed down for her, as they so necessarily do in our final waking seconds of life. She never managed to find Nova, Sharp Heat was left in scorches, and now...

Something flashed behind her, causing Airglow to jump; it was the flash of magic, but she felt nothing. The unicorns in front of her recoiled in shock; they all turned with their full attention in her direction. Exclamations arose on all sides.

The flash was red, quick, heatless. It hit the black-suited mare who had gotten ready to murder the filly; and she fell to the floor, dead.

Everything else was silent.

Airglow spotted a new figure stride up right besides her peripheral vision. At first she, alongside the black-suited stallions, were all in extreme enchantment and as if in delirium. She slowly turned her head, still under the spell of fear, and at last her eyes went wide.

"Hey," said Cluster Tale.