Simmons quickly ran through the gate of Sweet Apple Acres, making his way to the door as hastily as he could. Once he came up to it, he gave it three firm knocks, standing timidly as he waited for the door to open. Within a few seconds, the door pulled open to reveal the gray-haired stallion that he came there to talk to.
"There you are, Simmons. What took you so long?" Sarge asked firmly.
"I came as fast as I could, sir," Simmons huffed, out of breath from his run. "What's wrong with the fragments? Are they on the run? Are they threatening to blow the town up?"
"Not yet, Simmons. That is why I got you here," Sarge murmured roughly, then nodded inside. "Come on in. I don't want any of them to hear us."
"Right," Simmons said, trotting inside, not flinching when Sarge slammed the door shut. Sarge quickly led Simmons to the kitchen, then prompted him to take a seat.
"As you know, the fragments are back," Sarge started, looking out the kitchen window, squinting at the barn next to them. "And because of that, it's up to the Apples and I to watch them. Normally I'd be more than happy to threaten them, but they simply don't react to it as well as I wish."
"That's a shame, sir."
"Don't I know it," he grumbled. Shaking his head, he turned back to the unicorn. "Because of this, I want to find a new way to keep them out of trouble. From what I've gathered, some of them seem to be trying to make friends here. While Theta and Sigma have tried to show the young ones that they're their friends, I'm not entirely convinced."
"I don't know, Sarge. I'm sure they would have noticed if Theta was pretending to be their friend," Simmons said, but Sarge simply made a soft grunt in reply. "And what about Delta, sir? He's helped keep them out of trouble before."
"Delta might be an exception," Sarge admitted reluctantly. "But I would still prefer the planning to be done by flesh and blood humans turned horse."
"That might be a good move," Simmons said, nodding once again. "I sort of trust Delta, but Sigma knows how to convince others to do his bidding."
"Exactly!" Sarge smirked. "You know, Simmons, I have always admired your ability to agree with me."
"Really, sir?" Simmons asked hopefully.
"Slightly, yes."
"Oh..."
"So any ideas on how to do this?" Sarge asked, taking a seat at the table.
"I don't know. Since they don't react to fear or threats, it will be pretty hard to keep them tamed," Simmons said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Maybe we can..."
"What is it?" Sarge inquired, leaning in closer.
"Well, I have an idea, but I'm not sure if you will like it, sir..."
"Out with it. I'm having trouble coming up with my own plans for once. I would have blown them up or something, but I don't want to damage the property."
"Right. Well, the way I see it is that as long as they think we're going to do things to them, they'll think of things to do to us," Simmons said quietly. "What if we don't do anything at all?"
"Hold on there, Simmons. That's getting awfully close to sounding like a Grif idea," Sarge growled.
"Hear me out," Simmons protested. "I'm not really saying we don't do anything. On the contrary, we will do something. It just won't involve threatening them or anything like that. If we want them to behave, we have to treat them like we want them to treat others. I think we should try to be their friends."
"Be... friends with the fragments?" Sarge asked, adopting a look of horror on his face. "You're hanging around the girls too much. That's almost as bad as suggesting we befriend the Blues."
"Sarge, aren't we already friends with the Blues? Let's be honest, we haven't really talked about attacking them in the past while, and I'm pretty sure they've rarely talked about attacking us."
"Don't be silly. If anything, this is a ceasefire. They're biding their time just like we are," Sarge snorted. "I'm sure they'll fight us eventually. It's just a matter of waiting for them to show their true nature. I can't work on taking them out when Applejack thinks we're all friends."
"Well, why don't you treat the fragments the same as the others, then? Don't work on taking them down. Just stay on your guard and watch them. Give them a little breathing room. If you're not actively seeking to ruin them, they might learn to trust you."
"And then I might be able to use their trust to my advantage..."
"Precisely."
"Hmph. I guess that will have to do for now," Sarge grunted. Smiling roughly, he gave Simmons a quick salute. "Thanks for coming by on such short notice, Simmons. It's good to know I can still put trust in to someone other than the Apples."
"Likewise, sir," Simmons said, returning the salute.
Simmons then got out of the chair and made his way towards the front door. As he reached out to open it, it pushed inward, making him take a few steps back to let the door opener through. What he saw instead was Sigma looking up at him with a thin smile. Simmons took a few more steps back.
"Hello," Sigma said calmly.
"Hi," Simmons squealed nervously, tensing up as the fragment began walking towards him.
"Nice weather we're having."
"Yeah, it's great," Simmons agreed instantly. Stealing a quick glance at the door, he began to slowly move towards it, eyes glued on the small colt as he walked around him. "It's such a nice day that I think I'm going to go for a walk. Yes, a walk. Walks aren't suspicious, so you have no reason to be suspicious of me. Because I'm going on a walk."
"Walks are nice, aren't they?" the orange colt inquired innocently as Simmons made his way past him. "It is always nice to clear one's mind once and a while. Offers you a chance to think back on what you've done."
"And that is exactly what I'm going to do," Simmons said as he backed out the door with a crooked smile. "Walk!"
Sigma raised his brow when Simmons slammed the door. He quickly shook his head and made his way over to the kitchen where he found Sarge sitting at the table, eyes closed, deep in thought. Sigma then cleared his throat, making Sarge glance upwards.
"May I have a quick word with you?" Sigma asked quietly. "I promise it won't take long."
"I suppose," Sarge murmured, sitting up straight.
"Thank you. You see, I recently had a revelation of sorts. Due to my past, you must see me as a monster, and I began to question myself as well. After much thought, I have decided to change my ways. As hard as it is for you to believe, I no longer wish to be the Alpha," Sigma said quietly, watching Sarge for any sign of doubt. When he couldn't see any, he nodded. "I know that just because my path has changed, I cannot expect others to forget what I have done in an instant. But though I do not expect forgiveness, I hope for understanding during this transitional period."
"Er, of course," Sarge said with forced enthusiasm, remembering his new plan of action. He was now more wary of Sigma than ever, but he couldn't let him see that. "I knew you would come to our side eventually."
"You... did?" Sigma asked, not expecting the calm response from the stallion in front of him.
"Yes, I did," the red stallion replied instantly, holding out his hoof. "Don't worry, as long as you try to be nicer, I'll treat you like an equal."
"I am very relieved to hear that," Sigma sighed, shaking his hoof.
changeing your ways huh sigma, well see if that lasts long.
Sigma, you better be wary of that Texan(I've always seen Sarge as one). He's as slippery as the oil that made so many of them rich.
By the way, "Don't be silly. If anything, this is a ceasefire." Red is the correction, of course.
this wont end well
Simmons....you've always been so good with words...How ever did you get in the field?
Yes, walking isn't suspicious at all...
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw835_Applejuke.gif
not sure Sigma is for real or a very good actor
2428319 why does everyone assume that anyone with a western accent is from Texas? Seriously, there are twelve other states that have the majority of the population speak in a western accent (this doesn't even include states with Southern accents)
Simmons didn't say anything about Theta.
2428383
voice actor that plays him lives in Texas....must be Texan! Anyone? Just me? Ok
Sarge... being friendly.... welp, that plan was immediately detected
2428431
Most of the voice actors live in Texas.
By gods green thumb it's brilliant. Also why you take so long to update?
2428478
shout out to voice actors from Texas!
2428526 he has college now
college tends to do that to you
*stops banging head on wall* You're back! Darkwing! I love you, you magnificent person!
Wait, wait, wait. Sarge being nice? What kind of backwater world did we enter. First Grif and now Sarge!
Please tell me that in a near-future chapter, Caboose will act like he did after going to Doc, you know, "My Body...is trying to Die."
More Caboose. Please. If it's not too much.
More "Not my fault-" Moments are good too.
Sorry if I'm being a little demanding.
<_<
>_>
Tucker Did It.
I feel disappointed in the fact sarge didn't make a statement about Sigma being a reddish color knowing the character that's the way that he shows that he trusts a character so he could have put that in the act
2428614 No love for voice actors in Arizona?
2428431
The voice actor is actually from Georgia.
This may sound weird but i believe Sigma ...
His most recent experience as Alpha was spent stuck sharing a mind with Discord .. for many months ... This MAY have soured his position on being alpha a little ...
Holy god its been a while sense I've read anything from you Darkwing. Just caught up. Fantastic work so far, as always. Nothing more to say about it, just be aware of grammar mistakes. I'm noticing the misspelling of a few words here and there in previous chapters.
2428383I know that, but I have an uncle from Texas that sounds JUST like Sarge. Just, you know, nicer.
2429581
oh
2429311
Allow me to rephrase that...shout out to voice actors everywhere!
Sigma is gonna be legit, and Sarge is gonna think he's up to something...
Let's do this.
2428383
>Western accent
Dude, that's a Southern accent, not a "Western" one. There's no such thing as a "Western" accent. The only reason to call it that is because of the Western genre of movies, which erroneously promote the idea of Texan cowboys. Most of the real events inspiring Western movies, like outlaws and Indians and the like, occurred outside of Texas. For instance, the shootout at the OK Corral actually occurred in Arizona, where Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday resided.
2430851 southern accent refers to South East America; like Tennesee, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana (not cajun) and the likes a.k.a. a "hill-billy" accent, which is far different from a 'Western' Accent which refers to the accent from States such as Texas, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, etc.
trust me, there is a difference;
2431250
I'd never even heard that term before you used it.
2431264 I'm just saying if you meet someone from a Western state, they will most likely take offense if you say they have a Southern accent
Why do I think Sarge is going to be the catalyst for something really bad involving the fragments happening?
2431288
I've met quite a few people with such an accent, and none of them refer to it as a "Western accent".
Also, this is relevant to our discussion.
2431568 well, I followed your link and interestingly enough; it has no mention of the region just NW of what it calls the South. and I do agree that Southern and Western accents are fairly similar;
-on a side note it is somewhere between a Southern and a "General American" accent
For a minute there I was thinking that you would have Sarge somehow turn out to be Sigma. Admitting that he is having trouble coming up with a plan is certainly not something I'd expect from Sarge. That being said, I wonder what Sigma's planning... he never does something for no reason, and he is literally deception personified. I wouldn't believe a word he said to Sarge even if my life depended on it.
2431678
"My god have you even been in this back water state?"
Coming from a (pair of) Texan(s) I can safely tell you that western accents aren't a thing.
"Unless you're referring to the Hispanic accent that comes with being a former part of Mexico. In which case; you ignorant twat."
And no, twat is not a word from any part of the U.S., but quite frankly we (Marthon and I) find it highly amusing to say.
2432912 of course, welcome to Texas where everything is bigger and other states don't matter;
as a well traveled citizen of Kansas who has been to pretty much every state, i can say there is such a thing; but I will just agree to disagree since i am not in the mood for an internet debate
What does hispanic have to do with anything? that's another accent entirely
i know what twat means; and yes it is a funny insult to say, but i prefer troglodyte
2432979
Was that racism? Against another part of the same country? Though I do respect your willingness to agree to disagree, I can't consciously let that slide.
"As for the Hispanic accent thing, I was insulting your intelligence. DID YOU GET THAT? IT WAS AN INSULT. I WAS INSULTING YOU. Like I said, you ignorant twat."
Or we could stop insulting him and just end this here like smart people...
"But arguing with people over the internet is so fun! It let's you... You can... Um... I ENJOY IT!"
And this is why we have no friends.
2433129 i wasn't being racist; it just is that people of different races happen to have common sub-dialects based on their region (holy crap that is is rascism)
also the Texas jab was just meant to be a parody of "Whose Line is it Anyway"
and usually i do like the standard internet debate,but today is a monday and college sucked today
I also realized i am debating... god dammit, ya' filthy troglodyte
I expecting the cmc to find a pelecan in the ground with the red and blue and tex's body's in it alowing the red and blue and tex to become humans again.
2471156
Why
2433129 Why does your "I WAS INSULTING YOU" remark remind me of GLaDOS?