Apropos of the Sinners

by SpitFlame

Part I – Chapter IV – The Introduction of a Careerist

Snappo was a young, pegasus colt, whose self-proclamations did not warrant many virtues. The son of a landowner, and a former publisher for Ponyville's high school newspaper, he was a stormy and, in many ways, desperate soul. Ever since his parents gave him a certain inheritance he was compelled to move out and make a name for himself, feeling the need for independence too strongly. Snappo, having wasted much of the inheritance passed down by his family and feeling too much wounded pride as a consequence, instead became fixated on the idea of journalism. And so, as Ponyville's new journalist, he hung around every street corner, collecting the latest scoop and gossip.

He became a regular at the Golden Oak Library, run by the wealthy and well respected mare, Olva Velvet. It was through this library that he got to know our Airglow, though not to be mistaken, they were not exactly friends, because try as he might Snappo could never find an opportunity to write an interesting story on Airglow, and eventually he gave up talking to her altogether.

As a slapdash journalist his specialty was in drawing out, with the most precise calculations, the meaning of every word spoken from some pony. What better way to go about doing that than with Bronze Pocket himself, a stallion whose reputation was established on wrongdoings and humiliations? Having heard of the auction and proceeding dinner in Town Hall, Snappo fetched his hat and quill and made haste, intending to put his name on any potential story. To him, anything worked; that is, he believed in himself that he could make anything work. This was a trait of such ponies—this total incapacity to keep their desires to themselves; this uncontrollable urge, however, to reveal them at once, if only little by little, when the moment arises, even in all their untidiness.

Finally, I'll characterize Snappo by his obsession with psychologism—which ought not be confused with the academic discipline, psychology. He liked very much to observe some pony, write out caricatures of their innermost thoughts and desires, and whatever they did next he would try to have that fit in with his foretelling. But this didn't exactly come from plain dishonesty; Snappo truly believed that he was qualified to study the whole of society. He was rather soft-hearted and not very intelligent, but self-confident and sometimes extremely conceited in speech, which had an absurd effect, incongruous with his little figure. He attached himself to the new ideas of our generation (hence his psychologism), but never really dedicated himself to them, instead preferring to caricature every idea he espoused.

To sum him up: he wouldn't hesitate to give up his life to a progressive cause; but to spend five or six years doing nothing but study the specific problems? Nothing was more difficult than that!

At the present moment he was on his way to Town Hall when he bumped into Airglow Sky on the way.

As for Airglow, she too heard of her father's attendance at the auction house, as well as her oldest brother, and was resolved to greet them, and to hopefully ease the upcoming tides with her other brother, Nova.

"Are you going to Town Hall?" she asked, overtaking Snappo.

"Yes," said Snappo, grinning. "Let me make an educated guess: you're going to Town Hall too, right? Yes, yes, I know. There probably hasn't been such a banquet as the last auction. I shan't interfere directly, but you go and fork the sauces."

Airglow stared at him, surprised. "Oh, I'm not going to start anything. I just wanna, you know, talk to them."

"Hmm. That's an appropriately adequate explanation, I would say. Give me your educated hypothesis: will both your brothers be there, or only the oldest one?"

"You mean Cluster?"

Snappo's eye squinted at the name. "Um, yes, indubitably. Cluster."

"I... maybe. I was looking for Nova today, but I couldn't find him. I think he's uninterested in the auction itself."

A gleam went over Snappo's eyes, and he chuckled. "Disinterested, Airglow, not uninterested. There's a capitally significant difference." When Airglow said nothing in reply he cleared his throat and spoke again. "Anyway, anyway, I am on my way to utilize the opportunity to construct my story."

"That's good," said Airglow, smiling amiably. "We'll both go together then."

But Snappo scoffed. He evidently had something he was eager to speak of.

"This is capitally significant, Airglow," he cried in a self-important voice. "Aha, an irreverent expression! I know very well about the financial battle between Nova Steel and your father. Most ponies in town know it. Know this, though, because this is of capital significance: to my thinking I have a keen nose; I'm sniffing a crime. Your family stinks of it."

"What crime?"

"A crime will be in your family; I can predict it, because patterns of behaviour run through bloodlines like logs run in rivers. That's always the way with these crazy fanatics; they beg forgiveness at a tavern and then throw the stones. Bronze Pocket and Nova Steel are not so different, woefully so, and yet they hate each other. Somepony, sooner or of later time, will fall to the hooves of a murderer."

Airglow gave a start. "What crime? What murderer? What... what do you mean?"

"What murderer? As though you didn't know! It's superficial compared to a much larger, yet tremendously simple, background. I'll bet you've thought of it before. That's interesting, too, by the way. Listen, Airglow, you always speak the truth, though you're always between two stools. Have you thought of it or not? Answer."

"I have," answered Airglow in a low voice. Even Snappo, for all his pretentiousness, was taken aback.

"What? Have you really?" he cried.

"I mean, I haven't thought about it exactly," muttered Airglow, "but you talked about it in a really weird way."

"Hmm. 'Weird'? Try to keep up, Airglow. The result of this dispute will be inadequately ambiguous. But, anyway, what's of capital significance is to observe how the whole scenario plays out, if you catch my meaning. There's a good chance even Cluster will be tempted by the money owed to him, just like Nova."

"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Airglow curtly, frowning.

"Why are you asking now, and why are you afraid of my answer? It means you admit I'm right."

"You don't like Cluster, I've figured. Cluster won't be tempted by money."

"Hmm. Is that so? Not even a whole one hundred thousand?"

"Cluster aims higher than that. Cluster won't be tempted by thousands either. Cluster isn't after money at all, actually. Maybe he's seeking something else. Maybe something worse."

"Ha, what sort of dream is that?"

While they were talking Airglow went a bit ahead and opened the door to Town Hall, and all ponies present were in surprise to see one another. There was Cluster with their father, heading out.

To switch perspectives for a bit, Cluster instantly took notice of signs of a certain awkwardness in Airglow, as though she had been thrown out of her reckoning or caught in something very secret.

"Airglow, my favourite child!" cried Bronze in a quite unnatural voice. He quickly closed the gap between them and embraced her in a tight hug.

"Oof! Good to see you too, dad," said Airglow with a weak smile, recoiling her head away from smelling his foul breath. "H-hi, Cluster."

"How you doing, sis?" he said, embracing her, too.

"Wait, what happened? What's going on? Are you two leaving?" said Snappo hastily, darting his eyes around the room.

"I'm going home," said Cluster. "Meanwhile I don't care whatever he's up to." He gestured to Bronze.

"Pah! You're impossible, you know that, Cluster?" spat Bronze, giving Cluster a sour look. "Imagine, my sweet Airglow, Cluster here couldn't help to wait for me. He and the others started talking about my woodlot without me. Sheer indecency, that's what! He got so full of it that he decided to leave with me, despite the fact that I'm the one who's in trouble and not him, almost like he wants to make it up to me."

"Believe whatever you want, old-timer. Just don't forget about the appointed time, the day after tomorrow. We all meet at your place to get this whole show over with. But if anypony is late? No dice."

Meanwhile Snappo kept looking around the room, but now he assumed a studied air. The fact that he had missed a potential scandal left him feeling positively irritated, but observing these family ramblings sparked a new opportunity for him; despite his agitations, he tried to conceal this fact and to look as though he were as ready as ever for jesting and irony.

"Well, well," he began, "so it appears what we have on the plate is a door to a new path. Would it go against anypony's interest if I were to enter the dining room and inquire about such past actions?"

Bronze blinked several times at him. "Er, who are you?"

"I go by a plethora of aliases, but for the current moment, which means today"— he tittered at his own supposed cleverness —"I am under the name of Snappo."

"Do whatever you want," said Cluster, not noticing any seriousness in his question.

"Hey, brother, I just came by to ask if everything's alright?" asked Airglow, looking searchingly at him.

"Of course," said Cluster. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on Ariglow's forehead, followed by a pat on the head. "Nothing you should be worrying about. If you'll excuse me, there's some matters I have to attend to."

"Do you know where to find our brother? I've been looking all over town for him."

"Can't help you, sorry. Goodbye and take care." And Cluster trotted off in an almost rude form of haste.

"He's got nothing on me," cried Snappo, though at this point the young journalist (who started taking notes with his quill) was being thoroughly ignored.

"Listen, Airglow, listen," said Bronze, throwing an arm around her back, "I love you very much, but I'm not worthy of your love. Say, do you love me? Do you love your own father, Airglow?"

"I do, dad. I love you."

"And what about your brothers? Do you love them, too?"

"Them, too, dad."

"Both Nova and Cluster equally?"

"I love both Nova and Cluster."

"You really are a sweet little thing." He giggled and lightly slapped his forehead. "Pah! But look at me. Say, Nova is a true rascal, you know. He's gone so far as to threaten me. Oh, Airglow, you brother has threatened his father, with... with physicality!" His voice started to waver; he spoke very tearfully. "It's not right, as Princess Celestia would dictate, not right at all!"

"It's okay, dad," said Airglow in a breathless voice. She rubbed his shoulder for reassurance. "Nova won't hurt you. I won't let him."

"Oh, Airglow, you sweet little thing. You're too much. You remind me of your mother. Heh, heh! Say, Airglow, do your old dad a favour. Come by my house tomorrow morning, would you? Just come by. I'd like that very much."

"I'll try to come."

"Tomorrow morning?"

"First thing tomorrow morning. I promise."

"Good, good!" he laughed, and before they parted ways told her, "Good luck with that good-for-nothing brother of yours. Ech! Goodness, what a mistake he was."

Airglow had far too many sensations stirring in her heart, most of which she dared not prod. In moments like these she would invariably be struck by both the excitement and suspense of an unknown future. Such is reality. She was deep in thought, but quickly realized the time and how she was late for her shift at the Golden Oak Library.

Besides, she still had the rest of today and the entirety of tomorrow to figure all this out. Also, she knew that Olva's youngest daughter, Twinkie, missed her very much. Incidentally, Airglow was her only friend, largely because Olva was an overprotective mother who would never let her crippled daughter out of her sight. Airglow felt great pity for the two of them.

So it was decided. She'd put off these uncertainties for later, and after working with Olva Velvet, she'd use the rest of the evening to look for Nova.

As it turned out, even Snappo was kicked out from the dining room in Town Hall. Apparently he tried to sneak into the room without anypony noticing, which was a totally absurd idea in the first place. So goes these types of wannabe journalists in our time.