//------------------------------// // Warped Convictions // Story: My Little Caboose: Blue is Magic! // by DarkWing //------------------------------// For the entirety of the picnic, O'Malley and Gary kept to themselves, only staying because they were worried that Pinkie would catch them and drag them back, while Theta and Spike played with the Crusaders. The girls spent most of the time talking, or rather listening, about the dresses Rarity had given the two silent pegasi, who simply sat in silence the entirety of the time, while the Reds and Blues simply sat awkwardly, not feeling comfortable being around each other so pleasantly. For Twilight, everybody at the picnic was acting as she expected, bar Sigma as he actively talked with the non-fragments as if they had been friends for a while, making Twilight grow suspicious of him. Sigma sensed this as he caught her watching him every now and again, but continued as if he hadn't noticed a thing. This continued while time passed them by. Soon enough, when they finally stopped talking and the food well had run dry, they realized that the moon was already in the sky. "My, it certainly is late, isn't it?" Rarity asked when she finally noticed the time. "Yeah, we should probably get goin'." Applejack sighed as she got off the blanket and stretched. "Gotta get the two winged ones settled in nicely at the farm." "Yeah, they must feel tired after all that being quiet and sitting still the entire day." Church said sarcastically. "I take offense to that." Grif muttered groggily, instantly waking up when he heard the comment. "Doing nothing is hard work." "By that logic doing hard work is nothing, right?" "No, that's just Simmons work." Grif said, jumping off the cloud, landing next to Fluttershy. "C'mon, we should probably get back to feed the animals." "Okay." Fluttershy nodded, slowly and gracefully getting off the ground with a silent yawn. "They must be starving." "I know I am." Grif chuckled, setting a quick pace towards the wrong direction. "Er, Grif?" Fluttershy coughed. "That's not the right way." "I knew that..." "It was nice spending time with you all." Fluttershy smiled as Grif began heading the right way. "We should do this more often." "Wouldn't count on it." Sarge grunted as he began walking the other way. The group slowly said their goodbyes and began parting ways. As Sigma began walking away with the Crusaders, he felt a light tap on his back. Turning around, Sigma saw a purple unicorn giving him a tight smile. "Sigma, do you think you can come with us?" Twilight asked slowly, eyes narrowing on him. "I want to have a few words with you." "I don't see why not." Sigma said hesitantly, then glanced at Theta. "You don't mind, do you?" "I guess not." Theta yawned, already walking away with the Crusaders. "Probably going to go to sleep early anyways." "Good." Sigma nodded, turning to Twilight with a strange smile. "Lead the way." "Thank you." Twilight said and dipped her head at Church, Tex and Spike. Sigma followed the librarian and the others to the library, remaining silent as Church talked with Tex. They quickly arrived at the library and Twilight asked Tex to bring Spike to his bed. Agreeing, Tex let Twilight put Spike on her back and she quickly made her way upstairs, leaving a hesitant Church with the Element of Magic and his creativity. "I want to speak to Sigma in private." Twilight said, making Church look at her quizzically. "I just need to figure something out." "Okay." Church sighed after a moment's hesitation, not wanting to let her interact with the silver-tongued colt. "Just make it quick." "I will." Twilight promised. After another few seconds passed, Church shrugged and walked up the stairs. Once Twilight was sure everyone was upstairs and wouldn't hear her, she turned to Sigma and walked towards him. Smiling, Sigma waited until she stopped a few paces away from him, waiting for her to speak. 'Why are you acting like this?" "Acting? You barely know me, so how would you know how I act?" "Your reputation doesn't exactly display any proof of you being this..." "Nice?" Sigma asked, almost icily. "Yes. I mean, you're supposed to be evil, yet here you are-" "Dangerous. I'm classified as dangerous." "Even so, being classified as that should mean that you're, well..." "Like the others?" Sigma asked, and Twilight stared at him with growing wariness. "Like Omega and Gamma?" "Precisely. It doesn't seem right that you're treating people with respect. You should be violent, or at least show some signs of having social problems. Nopony can hide their true selves that well when they're as dangerous as you." "Dangerous is a label people, as well as ponies, it seems, throw about without much thought. After all, I could say the same about you." Sigma said, now shooting her a small glare. "I'm labeled as dangerous just for what I can do with my words. You, however, can be considered far more dangerous than I. You are highly intelligent, like myself, and as an added bonus you can use magic, whereas I cannot. So treating me like a villain based solely on the fact that I am dangerous is hypocritical." "Yeah, but I'm not known for manipulating ponies." Twilight said brashly, then let out a deep breathe, feeling bad for snapping at him. "What is this really about?" Sigma asked, eyes reading Twilight like the she would a book. "I have a feeling that you're..." Twilight trailed off, now not sure if confronting him was the wisest of moves. "I won't hurt you and I know what you're thinking, so just say it." Sigma said politely. "I think the reason you're being so nice to everypony is to let our guard down, and I know you're still trying to put the Alpha back together." Twilight said nervously. "Right?" "As close as I can get to it, yes." Sigma admitted quietly. "But being nice? No, that comes free of charge. I don't have to be nice to do it, I just prefer to be that way." "But why are you doing it?" Twilight asked, now trying to read him as well as he's been reading her. "For power?" "Power? No." Sigma grunted, turning back to face Twilight. "Power can be achieved in other ways. I'm doing this for all of us, not just myself." "Then why?" Twilight asked, realizing she was raising her voice, then cleared her throat to be quieter. "The Alpha was insane. Why would you want to go through that again?" "Twilight, the Alpha isn't crazy or unstable. He never was. We're the unstable ones. Gamma, Omega and myself were the ones who drove him to insanity. He would have remained completely sane and stable had it not been for the Director and us breaking him." Sigma said, voice curiously sad as he made direct eye contact with the unicorn. "I just want to fix what I broke. I have had to live with myself for years, knowing I broke myself, and in turn hurt those that were closest to me. The Meta? That was my way of trying to fix things. I agree the things I got him to do were reprehensible, such as harming the 'innocent' Freelancers, but I tried to make sure what I did was quick and as painless as possible. But trying to live... just knowing everything was my fault. Knowing I essentially killed myself. It's unbearable. And the pain I've put the other fragments through just adds insult to injury. You classify my actions as evil and believe me to be a monster, like Omega. I don't want to be considered a monster." "Then what do you want?" "I want another chance. A chance to undo what has become undone." Sigma said, looking at the ground, face ashen with remorse and disgust at himself. "A chance to be a better brother." Twilight stared silently at Sigma as he stared at the ground, mouth ajar as he took silent breaths, waiting for her judgement. She walked next to him and sat a foot away from him, trying to read his body language. His eyes were closed, and by the peacefulness of his breaths she got the impression that a relatively large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Are you telling the truth?" Twilight asked firmly. "Yes, I am." Sigma nodded somberly. "Even though I'm sure my word means relatively little to you." "Okay." Twilight said, exhaling deeply as she thought over his words. "I think I believe you." "Thank you." Sigma sighed, not questioning her sincerity. "But that doesn't mean I'll keep quiet. I have to tell the others, including Church. I just want you to know that I understand." Twilight added. "You can leave now." "As long as someone understands, it will feel more worthwhile." Sigma smiled thinly as Twilight turned towards the stairs. Knowing Twilight could and would eliminate all chances of rebuilding himself, as well as knowing that she would never fully help him, he knew what he had to say to at least keep her quiet for a little while. "Oh, and Twilight?" "Yes, Sigma?" Twilight asked quietly. "I just want you to know that reaching metastability also means giving us humanity, allowing us to have free will. Meaning we will no longer be forced to love, freeing our heart." Sigma said, the fire in his eyes flickering about rapidly as Twilight stopped moving. With a smirk, he pushed the door open and walked out. "Have a fine night, Twilight Sparkle."