"Come on, are you guys ready yet?" Scootaloo asked as she banged on the barn door. The door then then slowly began to creep open. "About time."
The door then shot open and a bleary eyed, and overtly angry O'Malley barreled out of the opening and let out a roar that made the two non-Apple crusaders yelp in fear.
"Some of us are trying to have pleasant dreams involving fire, tire irons, bath salts and kittens!" O'Malley snarled, eyes darting between the two cowering fillies. "I don't think you want to know how those items fit together... mostly because I still haven't decided yet, but I can assure you it will be the most beautiful mixture of elegance and gruesomeness."
"O'Malley, that is no way to treat guests in our home." Sigma said thinly as he brushed past the blazing-eyed and bald blank flank of a stallion.
"This isn't our home." O'Malley spat on the barn. "This place belongs to the family of fruits! And not the delicious kind."
"But it very well could be." Sigma reminded him, deflating his anger in seconds. But O'Malley didn't smile.
"Ruining my foul mood..." O'Malley grumbled as he walked back into his wooden home. "Who even does that?"
Theta then came out of the barn and passed by the downtrodden Omega, not even blinking as O'Malley shot him a weak glare. Once he was outside he squinted his eyes at the sun, smiling lightly at it.
"Had a good sleep, Theta?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I think so." Theta nodded, taking his eyes off the sun to focus on his friends. "So."
"So?" Scootaloo echoed.
"We have class today, don't we?"
"Yup. Except this time you'll be learning stuff instead of introducing yourself." Sweetie Belle laughed. "Might want to hurry up with the breakfast department though or we might not be there on time."
"Sounds good to me." Theta said, now realizing how hungry he was. He nearly hadn't eaten for an entire day. He would really have to try to remember that sort of thing.
"We'll wait by the gate for you guys and Applebloom. Don't keep us waiting too long, okay?"
"We'll try not to." Sigma said as he lead his brother to the farm house where they grabbed and ate a pair of apples from Granny Smith, then went on their way with Applebloom.
It took the five young ponies a quarter of an hour to reach the schoolyard, and when they did they saw many colts and fillies frolicking in the sun, having their last bit of fun before the few hours they would spend sitting on wooden chairs. As the girls and the fragments began walking towards the young playing ponies, they froze for the briefest of moments when they saw Sigma, but smiled at him. Before any of them could say anything to him, the bell rung and they all ran towards the door. Sigma saw Silver Spoon out of the corner of his eye, skulking towards the door, trying not to draw Sigma, nor anybody else, attention to her.
"Apparently you left a big impression." Sweetie Belle chuckled.
"Apparently." Sigma said quietly, watching as the fillies and colts filed into the classroom, Silver Spoon at the back with her head hung low.
"C'mon, don't want to be late on your guys's first official day!" Scootaloo said, darting towards the door with the two other crusaders, leaving a hesitant Theta in the care of Sigma..
"We will be right with you." Sigma said, noticing Theta staring at the door, frozen with fear. "Still afraid?"
"A little bit." Theta squeaked nervously.
"Come now, this can't be any worse than our little ordeal yesterday."
"What if those two girls hate us? What if they have other friends that they'll make hate us? What if-"
"If those two girls hate us, that is their problem." Sigma stated flatly. "If they have friends that they try to convince to hate us, we'll convince them to like us."
"But you're braver than I am." Theta pouted, getting ready to turn around. "I... I think I can do it tomorrow, or maybe the day after. I just need more time."
"Do you think North would have approved of this behavior?" Sigma asked calculatingly, making Theta freeze his movement. Theta gave Sigma a sad look, and took another step away from the school. "Because I do not think he would have. I think he would be disappointed."
"You think he would be disappointed in me?" Theta asked sadly.
"No. I think he would have been disappointed in himself. He would have felt as if he failed you. You were his star, and he put you on the same level of love as his blood sister. You saw- no, you felt how disappointed he was when his sister petitioned to get one of Carolina's fragments those many years ago. He did not blame her for being greedy and selfish, he blamed himself for not being by her side to help her, to tell her she didn't need a fragment to achieve greatness. North-"
"But North's not here." Theta whispered, staring at the ground, legs trembling as he fought the temptation to run. "I can't do it alone."
"But you're not alone. Not anymore." Sigma said as he appeared by his brothers side, raising his hoof to his brother. Theta stared at his brother's hoof, then to the town where he felt he could easily escape to. Sigma smirked softly, knowing he was a few words away from getting Theta to join him. "If not for me or for you, then for North. Prove to him that he succeeded with you."
"Okay." Theta said with forced bravery and a extremely deep breath. "For North."
"Good." Sigma smiled, turning back to the school with his brother. "Now how about we show these young horses just how well fragments can handle things, hm?"
"Right." Theta nodded stiffly as he walked towards the classroom with his brother.
Sigma and Theta walked through the open door and instantly saw several dozen pairs of eyes look at them. Theta's breath caught in his throat at the sight of them, but quickly shook it off and began ignoring them. He saw the Crusaders sitting in the front row, middle of the class, but decided to not greet them and to focus on proving himself. Sigma walked with Theta up to the desk and saw their cerise colored teacher smiling playfully at them.
"Being late on the first day isn't the greatest of impressions." Cheerilee giggled softly with a raised brow. "I hope you aren't like this all the time."
"I sincerely apologize, getting off on the wrong... hoof is the last thing I wish to do." Sigma explained. "My brother, Theta, is extremely shy, and I had to help him gain the courage to come inside. I hope you understand."
"Of course. I know that being dropped into a class in the middle of the school year can be nerve wracking."
"Remarkably so."
"We still haven't quite started the lesson yet, so I think we should find you two some seats before we begin." Cheerilee said as she opened the drawer of her desk. She pulled out the day's lesson plan, and then the a paper that had the seating arrangements on it. She quickly found two spots open and frowned. "I apologize, but the only spots left are one's beside Silver Spoon, and one in front of Snips."
"I am fine with that, but I believe Theta wishes to sit near me."
"No, that's okay." Theta said loudly. "I think I can handle not sitting next you for a few hours."
"Good." Sigma nodded proudly.
"Now, who wants to sit where?" Cheerilee asked.
"I want to sit beside Silver Spoon." Theta said before Sigma could respond, catching him off-guard.
"Theta, I don't think you-"
"It's okay Sigma. I want to." Theta said firmly, showing Sigma he couldn't be convinced otherwise.
"Very well." Sigma bowed his head, then began walking towards his seat. "Talk to you in a few hours, brother."
"Yeah. See you in a few." Theta gulped when he saw Silver Spoon glaring at him, making him almost wish he hadn't chosen that option.
Almost.