If you read my journal on Deviantart, you're probably aware about what's going on in my personal life. It's motivated me to have more focus on this story than any other, especially my popular Monsters Inc/Monsters University one "Life's a Scream!". I thank all the people who have been keeping up to date with this and providing me feedback for it.
As for the updates that kept popping up recently, I apologize. A little mistake here and there...and the desire to just have my story on the top of the IO page. I know it's a cheat, I just wanted more people to notice it, and the further down it goes, the harder it is to get noticed...But I promise it won't happen again, it's just not worth it. :(
Again, special thanks to PotterPhantomKitten for co-writing this with me!
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
_
The monster, which consisted of blue fur with purple spots, let out a neigh of shock before the chair slammed at its elongated body. It also impacted the door, nearly making the far end of the set collapse. The beast itself fell on its side, grunting in heavy neighs as it clutched around its blue-costumed thighs.
The mask, a furry blue face with plastic horns on top, became dislodged, revealing just who Joy had suspected. The blue and purple were replaced by a mane of many colors.
"Rainbow Unicorn!" Joy cried, hurrying over to help up the celebrity she admired so much.
The yellow emotion didn't even notice the stunned yet guilty expression on Anger's face as she raced past him. The camera took great notice of his worried expression, just as he watched Joy coming to her idol's aid.
Joy grunted as she took Rainbow Unicorn by her front hooves, which have been shrouded in furry blue gloves with plastic claws. Those immediately fell off, along with the rest of the celebrity's costume. The leading emotion bit her lip, noticing that her idol was still weak at the knees, no doubt still shaking from the ordeal.
Deep down Joy's heart was swelling, despite how completely awkward this was. After all, she and the others had just interfered with Sadness and Dottie, the two watching her as well as the multi-colored maned unicorn. As remorseful as she was, the yellow emotion could not stop from gushing over the famed character before her, who was brushing off remnants of blue fur off her white coat.
"Wow, I mean, wow, great to see you again!" Joy rambled, not realizing every word and movement she made was being filmed right now. "After, you know... before..." she added hastily, rubbing her arms and averting her gaze.
The unicorn fought the urge to roll her eyes, but rather neighed in understanding. From her expression alone, there were no lasting hard feelings toward either Joy or Sadness...even though Jangles the Clown was something that would haunt her dreams for a while.
Yet a smile came upon her face, one that was so real it shocked Fear. Often the purple emotion believed she was as bad as her acting was, possibly being a stuck up celebrity who believed she was better than anyone. That she didn't need to make any actual acting as long as her face was full on screen, and colors and candy danced around her.
Fear realized just how wrong he was, seeing her grin sweetly in the direction of Sadness and Dottie. While he, Disgust, and Anger, stood behind the pair, they watched as the pony waved affectionately toward the duo. Dottie grinned, waving back, while Sadness tried not to shy her head away.
Maybe he had been too judgmental all those nights on Dream Duty...
However, she did give an irritated glare toward a certain brick-shaped emotion.
"Huh, sorry about what Anger did..." Joy apologized, glancing nervously at the guilty-faced red being. "He thought you were really a monster...which you aren't..." she added hesitantly. "...because this is all just a dream..."
"How was I supposed to know this would be part of the act?" Anger demanded, trying to defend his rash action.
"Can't blame him though," Fear said, daring to approach now that it was clear there was no monster threatening to gobble them all up. "You did look pretty scary..."
The unicorn's look of slight indignation toward Anger was replaced by one of pride, basking in the compliments she received from both Joy and Fear. As far as she was concerned, an actor would definitely say his or her performance was a success when the audience stopped seeing them as a friend in a role, but rather as the character they were portraying.
A much better improvement from the disaster of a dream two nights ago...
"I'm the one who should be apologizing," Fear mumbled, looking around guiltily at the wayward destruction his outburst had unintentionally caused.
Dottie still looked surprised, holding onto Sadness's hand but at the same time fascinated to see Rainbow Unicorn. She gazed at the purple emotion worriedly, wondering why he needed to be so apologetic for what happened. He didn't throw a chair at the pony.
"I freaked out because I thought we were being attacked by a monster, and now look what happened!" His head drooped in shame. "I ruined Sadness' big break."
Sadness was about to respond to Fear's expression of guilt, but an exuberant voice stopped her.
"Ruined it? You've done just about the opposite!"
The purple emotion lifted his head, eyes widening in shock. "Huh?"
The next thing Fear knew, Flora quickly raced up to the stage, shaking the bewildered nerve's hand.
"In fact," Flora went on as the others looked on in surprise, "you knocking off the filter just gave me a great idea!"
"He did?" Anger exclaimed in exasperation.
The thought of it baffled the red emotion. Here, the little purple nerve seemed to have destroyed everything...and he was being rewarded for it?
"Yes, indeed!" Flora sang as she placed her arm around Fear's shoulders, gesturing to the room. "Some of Riley's dreams can be like a reality show!"
The others just stared at her in astonishment but mostly confusion. Only Dottie and Rainbow Unicorn were smiling openly at the idea, excitement not going unnoticed by the camera crew.
"Reality show?" Disgust asked aloud. "Wait, you're not meaning like those sitcoms that have people following famous people with a camera everywhere, do you? Because I like my privacy, thank you very much!"
"No, no!" Flora laughed, shaking her head. "Not like that! We're not those kind of people! We're Riley's people! And what I'm talking about is...no more filters."
She turned to Sadness and Dottie. The director really admired their true appearances, not hiding anything and just showing how beautiful they were in real reality.
"Our actors are going to just...be themselves."
Joy glanced over at Sadness, the blue emotion shrugging. It was still a lot to take in, and most of what Flora was talking about was almost gibberish to their ears.
"So wait a minute..." the yellow emotion began. "Are you saying that Riley will now see...us?"
"I know what you're thinking," Flora told her sympathetically, "it's something most would never do when it comes to helping your person's mind."
She gazed around the studio, at her beloved co-workers, and especially the emotions she had great respect for. The Mind Worker smiled, reminiscing about how the years progressed. They had gone from simple dreams that were basically squiggles on a white board to playful characters that would either entice or frighten Riley, up until that point her parents would rush in and comfort her.
Riley was 11 now, and she had an active mind. Despite no longer being 5, her mind still progressed with the fantasy and imagination that was often tried to be conducted through Fairy Dream episodes.
How unfortunate it took Flora 11 years for the reality to hit her in the face, telling her that Riley deserved something with more meaning. True, the kid loved Rainbow Unicorn, and she adored the gingerbread houses and flying- through-the-air dreams.
But there needed to be more. Something different.
And knowing what these emotions, especially Sadness, had been doing for Riley, it gave Flora the call she had never even thought of.
Riley deserved to see the people inside her head, even though she really had no idea they were literally the people inside her head.
These dreams were the only way she was going to see them. Whether she believed them or not, at least they would be a huge comfort, and hopefully make her sleep more peacefully.
This was why she had begged Sadness to join Dream Productions. The blue emotion knew Riley more than anyone.
"Riley's a swell kid," Flora finally said after some thought. "She should just see what swell people are running her mind."
And she winked at Sadness, to which the latter shyly regarded.
Flora turned to her crew. "I guess that's a wrap for now. Great job, everyone!"
"Wait, that's it?" Fear cried, worrying he had just ended Sadness' career on the spot.
"We got it all recorded for tonight," Flora assured him as she hopped off the setting. "And besides, after that, there will be many more dreams to come, hon!"
The purple emotion glanced over at Sadness, who was helping Dottie out of her bed. At least the blue emotion wasn't angry with him or anything...And it seemed his own actions must have even improved her status at this point!
Dream Productions could be so odd sometimes. But it was better than making cliche tropes like wearing no pants or teeth falling out...
Sadness and Dottie talked for a moment, the latter doing most of it as she continuously embraced the former. She gushed over how excited her first dream had been, showing impatience for when the next would occur. Dottie then let go when Sadness was approached by Rainbow Unicorn herself.
"Hello," Sadness greeted calmly, "it's good to see you again, Ms. Unicorn. Flora mentioned you were sort of pleased with our last meeting. Sorry my friend almost killed you with a chair."
The pony herself just snorted, waving a hoof. She neighed on about how although she liked the Fairy Dream episodes she starred in, she honestly liked her monster role.
And she especially found it an honor to work with Sadness. The pony was excited for tomorrow night when they would meet again, and work on future dreams.
She gave Sadness one last smile, patting the blue emotion's shoulder. Then she turned to Dottie, who gazed at her with awe. The unicorn bent on her hind legs, taking the child's hands in her hooves for a moment. Giving a few neighs of encouragement and promising to see her again, the pony stood up as the latter grinned. After that she walked off to get coffee and her hair fixed, leaving Sadness and her friends practically wandering the set.
"I am so sorry I did that!" Fear told Sadness, his cheeks flushing red.
"I know you meant well," she assured him. "Just like Anger meant well when he nearly decapitated Rainbow Unicorn earlier."
"How was I supposed to know that was her?" the red emotion cried. "She's usually frolicking through meadows and getting surrounded by giant peppermints or whatever!"
Sadness was about to respond when she felt a tug on her hand. She glanced down at Dottie, who beamed.
"That was really fun!" the small child giggled. "I liked the part where Fear came in. That was funny! I found it even funnier that during the whole time he wouldn't stop hugging you." she added with a sly grin.
Sadness smiled, and she noticed Fear blush, looking at Dottie with an expression of awe on his face.
"R-Really?" He stepped closer, eyes wide toward the child as if barely daring to believe it. "You mean I didn't ruin it?"
"Of course you didn't!" Dottie exclaimed. "You made it better because you helped make it funny!"
Fear couldn't help but let an amazed smile light up his face. He had thought that his outburst would have been seen as an embarrassing distraction, a failure that would result in the scene having to be shot again. That was probably how Anger would have seen it.
But to think that not only did his overreaction not ruin everything, it provided some comedy to lighten the mood? That actually wasn't too bad a thought, and it eased his worries a little.
Flora seemed to share Dottie's sentiments as she walked over to the gathered emotions. "Fear, I have to say that Dottie's right—humorous reactions like that could really help this dream reality show be beneficial to Riley. Sure, there's going to be some tearjerking moments, but a little laughter is good when needed."
Fear could feel his cheeks heat up, rather embarrassed at the sudden praise. He glanced at his blue friend. "But I thought Sadness was supposed to be the star because of her compassion! I didn't bring compassion, I brought panic!"
"And set destruction," Anger pointed out, gesturing to the set that now looked a lot less pristine and more like someone had haphazardly thrown pieces onto the stage area.
Disgust glanced at Anger with a slight glare. "Well at least Fear didn't throw a chair at Rainbow Unicorn."
Anger just crossed his arms and grumbled.
Flora, however, didn't seem annoyed at all by Fear's reaction—in fact, more like the complete opposite.
"Ah, but it was Fear's over-the-top reaction that was so erratic it actually became very funny." As she spoke, the director began jotting down notes for her next great dream script for their new reality show plan. "And a bit of humor never hurts when it's done right!"
Joy caught on, her blue eyes sparkling. " Yeah!" she insisted, turning to her four friends. "They do say that laughter is the best medicine!"
"And you all could make quite an ensemble together!" Flora added, her eyes alight as her own mind came up with grander visions for what she was sure to be Dream Productions' latest and greatest hit. "With all your help, we can really help take Riley's dreams in the best direction for her!"
Before Sadness knew it, Flora reached over and took her hand, patting it.
"Thank you so much for accepting this job offer," the director told her gratefully. "Had it not been for you, Riley would have never come back home. And so much more."
The blue emotion's eyes widened behind her large glasses, gazing at Flora with surprise. She never expected this praise, half-wondering if she herself was merely dreaming all this.
Joy watched as Flora added more compliments and thanks to her expressive dialogue, gazing at Sadness as if the whole world had been shrouded in darkness for so long.
Riley's mind had been partially cloudy, on the verge of falling apart, but she always had her ray of light! After all, Joy was the only emotion that glowed!
But, as she watched Flora smile with gratitude toward Sadness, Joy hadn't been the one that saved Riley. She didn't give the light she really needed.
"Sadness will resume her roles for upcoming dreams," Flora informed the others, gesturing to the blue emotion. "As the star, she needs her friends there to support her. And as her background characters, or even supportive ones depending on what we need."
Pushing away what was possibly mild envy, Joy beamed at the thought. She might not become as hugely popular as her friend, but at least she would be noticed. And by Riley, of course!
However, she turned to Sadness in question. After all, this was her stardom. Joy and the others were merely 'props' that benefitted her when the time was right. Although Flora promised that they could carry alongside Sadness, the blue emotion herself had as much say than the director herself.
"Are you okay about this?" the yellow emotion asked carefully.
Flora and others turned to the teardrop-shaped being. "What do you think, hon? Sounds great, right?"
Sadness thought. She was still incredibly overwhelmed by what had happened to her today. However, glancing from each of her friends' faces, to Flora's, and especially Dottie's, the emotion tweaked a simple smile.
"I think that would be nice," she said quietly.
The others cheered, Dottie embracing her happily, Flora patted her pack with an excited grin.
"Sadness, you are a wonderful, beautiful person," she told her adoringly. "I'm eternally grateful that you stumbled upon my studio. And Riley's eternally grateful that you help her."
Sadness' cheeks reddened. "Well, I'm not the only one who helps her." she said, turning to the other emotions.
"Well, you're the one who actually saved Riley," Fear mentioned.
"Yeah, all pogo stick here did was try and leave headquarters," Anger muttered.
"Anger!" Fear protested through gritted teeth, noticing the shocked look on Sadness' face.
"What?" the red emotion retorted. "You did!"
Dottie, who was confused about what went on in HQ during the situation, was about to question Fear. However, that was intervened when Sadness felt a nudge behind her. Turning around, the blue emotion gazed up into the towering presence of Rainbow Unicorn herself.
Having shed her costume, the pony's mane shone under the lights. A cup of coffee was in her hoof, that same sincere smile on her lips.
She neighed toward the blue emotion, extending a hoof toward her, as if indicating her to follow. Joy couldn't help but become slightly envious again, but in a good way, as the popular pony focused her attention on Sadness.
"I'll leave you and RU to bond," Flora told her, patting the emotion's shoulder. "Right now I got to go talk over my next dream idea. This is pretty much a wrap, but you're all welcome to hang around here until you feel the need to go home."
She reached down and patted Dottie's head, nodding to Joy and the others, then walked off. Sadness watched her leave, before Rainbow Unicorn's arm wrapped around her, dragging her away from her friends. Sadness peered over her shoulder, feeling rather unsure of leaving them like this, but who was she to deny a simple conversation with the pony herself?
Joy gestured for her blue friend to go ahead, knowing that she had a new friendship just waiting to be made. And after she and Rainbow Unicorn became friends, said pony would become a friend to the other emotions. Especially to Joy.
With the blue emotion gone, that left Dottie as she gazed up at Fear with boundless awe. She almost wanted to say something, in regards to Sadness, but she decided to hold that for another time.
She would probably leave it to the purple emotion to figure it out himself.
"You know, Flora says more kids my age might be in new dreams," she said. "I'm kind of worried I might end up competing or Sadness gets hogged by all of them..."
"Aww..." Joy murmured sympathetically, bending down to the child. "Don't worry. I know Sadness, she'll have time for all of you."
"Yeah!" Anger intervened. "And besides, you got us too, kid!"
He flashed a smile in her direction. Although slightly forced, he hoped it would win her approval.
Dottie's lips pressed together, peering at him closely. Standing closer to Fear, she hoped that the red emotion himself would have the least amount of screen time in dreams.
"I think I would rather hang out with Jangles the Clown than you, brick head."
Immediately, Anger's smile died down. He failed to notice Disgust' covering her mouth to keep from snort laughing.
That honestly hurt him more than the kick in the knee earlier...
"Dottie," Agnes called to her.
The child's face lit up at the sound of her mother's voice.
"Time for me to change," she said. The young Mind Worker grinned at the purple emotion. "Bye, Fear! See you guys later!"
Her smile was mostly directed at Fear and Joy, and possibly Disgust for a moment, completely ignoring Anger before she dashed off. Leaving the emotions to enjoy themselves however they felt like, the red one released his inner thoughts.
"Oh, so I'm the bad guy here?" he demanded aloud. "Seriously, does this kid not see what I do for Riley?"
"Besides making her run away?" Disgust pointed out.
"Hey, you and beanpole agreed to it!" he snapped.
"Guys, enough," Joy intervened, sighing. "This is Sadness' big break, remember? And it's not like Dottie actually hates you, Anger."
"Yeah, sure," he muttered, "that kick just says 'I love you, let's be friends'..."
"Oh, Dottie's just a kid!" she assured him. "I mean, she's been so obsessed with Sadness and Fear that she hardly understands about...the rest of us." she uttered almost dejectedly.
"Uh, yeah!" Disgust piped in. "Like how do I actually look like a piece of broccoli? It's not like someone modeled me after that horrid thing! That is, like, totally unreal!"
Joy rubbed her temples, wishing Sadness was back with them easing the tension right now. She always knew how to calm everyone down...
"How long do you think Sadness is going to be gone?" Fear asked, peering over his shoulder.
"Considering how popular she is," Anger said, "we're probably on our own for hours."
"Did you see the way Rainbow Unicorn was with Sadness?" Disgust mentioned. "That pony was practically all over her like she was her fangirl."
"Meh, it's one actress mingling with another one," Anger muttered as they walked around the studio. "I'm hungry. Where they got food around here?"
"Kind of wish I could make Sadness some coffee," Fear commented. "She could use some after starring in her first ever dream."
"You'll have time to make her coffee later," Anger muttered, still understandably bitter after everything that happened concerning Dottie's dislike of him. "Right now she's off enjoying the spotlight."
"I wouldn't say so much 'enjoying' as 'reluctantly agreeing'," Disgust pointed out, looking in the direction the blue emotion had gone. "She looked totally unsure about leaving us behind."
"Well, sure, but come on, guys!" Joy exclaimed, keeping up her near-constant positive attitude. "Sadness deserves this! This is her moment!" Joy looked so bright at this point it was as if a spotlight was shining down on her.
Anger scoffed. "Yeah, but you wish it was your moment, right?"
The spotlight-like glow promptly switched off, Joy's expression appearing less vibrant and almost sheepish. "Well, sure, I do kind of envy her for getting to talk to Rainbow Unicorn, but—"
"You wish that was you in her place, right?" Disgust asked, glancing at the yellow emotion with a knowing expression. "After Fairy Dream Adventure Part 7 was shown you wouldn't stop talking about Rainbow Unicorn!"
"Well... I..." Joy looked back and forth between her fellow emotions. "I mean, I do wish that I could talk to her like that, but..."
After a pause, she turned to face Fear, who looked startled at being put on the spot. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Her expression itself clearly said, 'Fear, back me up here.'
Finally, the purple emotion sighed. "They're, well, they're right, Joy," he admitted. "Sadness deserves to have her time in the limelight for once."
It was that 'for once' that caused Joy's eyes to widen, feeling as if she had just gotten shocked from a static cling. It was small, true, but it got her attention.
"Hey, I'm not a control freak or anything!" she exclaimed.
The others just stared at her.
Giving small glances toward each one of them, Joy inhaled slowly, then exhaled. "At least... not anymore. I'm proud of Sadness, really." She looked over at the door Sadness had gone through, half-expecting the blue emotion to emerge any second. "She deserves it a lot more than I do."
Fear opened his mouth, intending to say something. But his uncertainty drew him back, almost afraid that what he would mention might not sound entirely sympathetic toward the yellow emotion.
And Sadness was alright now, anyway. True, she was still overwhelmed by what has been given to her, but at least she was doing more than she ever had in the last 11 years...
In fact, she seemed so much more social than she had been in the last 11 years. And with these people of Dream Productions, like Flora, Agnes, Dottie, and now Rainbow Unicorn!
Glancing over his shoulder, as if the blue emotion herself would come back with a smile on her face, he was disappointed when she never returned.
Of course, he didn't say all of this aloud. Anger would probably call him a dependent wuss, given that he often had to rely on Joy to keep the team together. Now he would probably be mocked for wanting Sadness to be close by, just so Fear would know that all his friends were within his distance.
"We're all happy for Sadness, aren't we?" Joy spoke up, driving the purple emotion out of his thoughts. "I mean, this is seriously a step-up from the console."
"With this job, will she even have time for the console?" Disgust mentioned.
"You heard what Flora said," Joy reassured her as they walked out of the studio. "Sadness will be able to balance between here and over at HQ. And besides, it's all for Riley."
_
Sadness sipped through the straw of her juice box, sitting on a recliner chair provided for her. Across from her sat Rainbow Unicorn, sipping her coffee as she went on about the details of Dream Productions, mostly about hair and make-up, and "cutesy dreams" that really needed an upgrade. She also talked about how she got over her embarrassment from that dream two nights ago; she couldn't help that she usually was always hungry, and the food served by the studio was worth it.
The famed pony had brought Sadness to her dressing room. The walls were peach-colored with a large vanity in the center, lit brightly and with various makeup products on the table. The furniture was velvet and cushy, Sadness finding her seat nice and comfortable. A fridge stood nearby, along with a large assortment of wigs on display right next to it. Rainbow Unicorn made it very clear that her mane was natural, that the wigs were merely if the dream called for an altered appearance.
The entire place was cozy and very calming to the blue emotion. A nice place where one could be alone with her thoughts, and enjoy things by herself.
Without anyone disapproving of what she was doing.
Sadness stopped sipping her juice, pressing her lips together as she thought about back in HQ. By now she felt assured Riley was doing fine, Flora's actions were trusted. However, personal memories of being cooped up in HQ, where her room had been the only place where she could be herself without people disliking her for it...she had no tears to shed, especially not in front of Rainbow Unicorn.
Although the blue emotion was rather shy around the pony, given that this was their first official meeting of one another, she appreciated it. Sadness was certain that Joy secretly longed to have this particular moment with the famed unicorn, thus she felt rather guilty with all the attention she was getting from her.
In fact, it felt rather odd with how much attention she was being given. Like a first time in forever that she had been recognized for something good, instead of being pointed out her flaws.
Rainbow Unicorn stopped drinking her coffee, noticing the blue emotion's eyes gaze downward at the floor. She neighed softly, getting her attention.
"Huh?" Sadness peered up. "Oh, nothing's wrong...it's just that..." She lowered her juice box. "This is all so weird still...I mean, for so long I've always thought I never really measured to much except to make Riley cry."
She stared at Rainbow Unicorn, the pony's expression vividly concerned.
"And yet here I am," Sadness declared, looking around the room, picturing the studio lot she had ventured. "An actress at Dream Productions. And everyone's been so attentive toward me...everyone's been so nice to me..."
She swallowed, giving the unicorn another glance.
"Even you're so nice to me," she couldn't help but Sadness' expression fell. "I'm not really sure if I deserve this or if it's even going to last..."
She bit her lip, head lowering that her blue locks covered part of her face.
"For all I know, you all might get sick of me after today and just move on to someone else...because you want what's best and what is the best, right?"
Rainbow Unicorn gawked at her in horror, nearly spilling the rest of her coffee. Some people outside of Dream Productions would consider those like her or Flora as conceited or even shallow...but that simply wasn't true!
After a moment of shocked silence, Rainbow Unicorn placed her coffee cup down. She started neighing and gesturing frantically, hoping to convey her point across enough since Sadness could understand her.
The teardrop-shaped was a bit caught off guard by the sudden energy from Rainbow Unicorn, but the pony's initial shock seemed to be slowly replaced by a more gentle tone.
Sadness nodded. "I understand. There's rumors that some show-biz people are stuck up but that's not true...some people just get the wrong impression."
Rainbow Unicorn nodded her head. She gave her new friend (she hoped they were friends) a solemn gaze, wishing she could immediately fix what was hurting Sadness inside. Emotion or not, the pony knew how to feel, despite what people outside of Dream Productions thought of her at first glance.
From what she already knew, acceptance and confidence had not been in Sadness' favor for who knew how long.
And the pony wondered if HQ was even as wonderful as some Mind Workers had mentioned...And if Joy, the leading emotion, had something to do with this...
Sadness sighed, directly facing the worried unicorn. "People pushing you back because they don't understand you...I've been there."
Rainbow Unicorn's expression softened. She gently gestured with a hoof, inviting Sadness to go on.
"Back at headquarters, I never really was given a job. I didn't have much to do because I was pushed back. Riley's mind called out for me to touch the memories, but Joy...Joy thought I was messing everything up..."
The pony's brows furrowed, fighting the urge to scowl. So the yellow emotion was responsible for how her new friend was feeling right now...
Sadness simply stared at the ground, her cheeks reddening. She felt rather embarrassed having confessed a lot of things to Rainbow Unicorn. The last thing she wanted was to put the weight of her problems on someone else.
However, the emotion looked upward as a gentle hoof was placed on her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she gazed into Rainbow Unicorn's face, which appeared almost motherly, like the way Agnes doted on her daughter. The unicorn gave her a tender, sympathetic smile, her eyes shining as majestic as a sunset.
At that moment, feeling more ease, Sadness offered a faint smile in return. For Rainbow Unicorn having been a bit busy when they first met days ago, underneath it all the pony was truly kind, once one got to know her.
"After being pushed back in headquarters for so long, all of this is so new," Sadness murmured. "It's like everything's been completely turned around now that I'm here..."
After a pause, Rainbow Unicorn patted Sadness's shoulder before getting up from her seat. She went over to her desk and got a packet of papers—which Sadness realized was a script—and a pen before returning. Smiling softly, she turned to the last page of the script, of which the latter half was blank. Lowering the pen, she mimed writing and looked at Sadness with a smile.
The emotion's eyes widened, glancing from the script to Rainbow Unicorn, thinking she got what her fellow performer was trying to say.
"Are you saying you...want me to help write the scripts?"
Smiling, Rainbow Unicorn nodded.
The blue emotion's smile was everything the unicorn desired and more. Most who had never seen Dream Productions had always assumed the pony was merely a conceited person with no real heart.
Well, they never met her in real life like Sadness had.
She beamed as the teardrop-shaped individual hopped off her seat. Rushing to her side, the pony and emotion smiled at each other before the brainstorming took over.
Rainbow Unicorn was glad Sadness had accepted Flora's offer in the first place. No other emotion deserved such a job...not even the one that was supposed to distribute happiness.
_
It had been an hour or so since they last seen Sadness, and while they weren't concerned, they were beginning to miss their blue friend more and more.
The four emotions sat around a table, behind them the food bar where they chose helpings to create their own meals. Usually when it came to dining back in HQ, they would either cook in the kitchen or have food delivered.
But eating in a different environment felt rather exhilarating, especially for Joy who was feasting on her pasta and bread. As the group ate, they resumed talking about future dreams, and wondering how Sadness was doing alongside the famous Rainbow Unicorn. They also spoke of Riley, Fear rambling that something could go wrong (to which Joy had to reassure over and over).
When it came to their kid having nearly run away, the conversation grew silent. Although Joy and Sadness already knew of the details according to what the others informed them last night, the topic brought too much pain.
If Sadness was here, she would be bawling in anguish over a certain friend whom she would never forget...
So pushing the events from yesterday aside, the group talked about what would be done back in HQ. Although Flora assured that auto-pilot would aid Riley, the emotions felt obligated to double on their work, just to make up for anything missed during their absence.
It wasn't like Riley would do anything terrible without their knowledge...at least, hopefully, not again...
"Okay, if they air that dream tonight," Disgust spoke through a mouthful of her tater tots, "I just hope they got a good shot of me. I mean, I made sure I was standing out in the open and everything!"
"They're really going to air all of that?" Fear asked doubtfully. "I mean, it's going to be weird."
"You want Riley to have another Fairy Dream Adventure?" Anger muttered, digging his fork into his slabs of beef.
"The way I see it," Joy piped in, "it'll probably give Riley a good idea how her mind works. Although not completely, given she really doesn't know how her mind works. But at least the dream is like a metaphor or something like that!"
Fear picked at his food before glancing over his shoulder. "Where is Sadness?"
"What are you so worried about?" Disgust sighed, rolling her eyes. "She's fine, remember? She's probably mingling with some other actors or signing autographs or whatever."
As the purple emotion turned back to resume his meal, he couldn't help but look up again. Hoping that maybe this time he would see their blue friend.
Sure enough, he had been right as soon as he spotted the teardrop form in their direction. She was accompanied by Rainbow Unicorn and Agnes, her daughter holding Sadness' hand. The four conversed, talking as if the emotion had known them for so long.
Fear was blown away by the confident smile Sadness possessed on her face. The way her eyes lowered in placation, and how her lips gently tweaked, practically giving off a glow of positivity. He had never seen her express like this before!
"Sadness!" Joy called out, waving rapidly at the blue emotion.
The others greeted her, overjoyed to finally see their friend again.
"Hey, guys," she said, her eyes twinkling behind her glasses. "Hope you handled okay without me. I'm pretty much done here, and Flora says I can go now."
"Don't forget about tomorrow night," Agnes reminded her.
"Oh, yeah," Sadness nodded. "I'll remember that."
Rainbow Unicorn neighed in delight, excited for her new friend to come back here very soon. Same for Dottie as she held Sadness' hand even tighter.
"Do you really have to go?" she whined, giving her eyes that plead for her not to leave.
The emotion gave her a remorseful look. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," she told her gently. "But we really should check up on headquarters. This is the first time all of us have left it, and we just want to make sure it's alright. For the future if we decide to leave it more often."
Noticing her daughter's distraught expression worsen, Agnes immediately had an idea.
"Hey, Sadness," she spoke to the blue emotion, "maybe...maybe you can take my daughter with you? Until tomorrow?"
Dottie's eyes lit up with hope. Fear's however, widened in distraught.
"Stay with—Ow!" Fear had been about to protest, the thought of having a little kid run around headquarters not exactly being the most comforting thing in the world to him. But a punch from Anger stopped his speech in its tracks.
"Let her stay over, moron," the red emotion told him through gritted teeth. "You don't want to disappoint your biggest fan, do you?"
The child looked up at the Sadness, the latter rather surprised by the request. She was immediately hugged by Dottie, who refused to let go, head pressing against her belly.
"Well," the blue emotion began thoughtfully, "I wouldn't mind. I just hope headquarters will be to her liking.
Joy, however, seemed to be nearly ecstatic over the suggestion. "That's a great idea!" She bounded over, beaming down at the young girl. "You can see the console, and say hi to Riley, sort of, and we can show you our rooms, and—"
"Do we even know anything about babysitting?" Disgust cut in.
"No, but we can try!" Joy insisted. "Come on! When was the last time anyone's ever stayed over at HQ?"
"Um," Fear began as he nervously glanced over at Dottie. "Never?"
"Right, right," the yellow emotion bobbed her head with every nod. "But it's five of us taking care of one kid." She grinned at Dottie. "A really swell kid that'll bring so much fun to headquarters!"
Sadness gently laid her hand upon the child's brown hair, then looked at Agnes. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive," Agnes said as her daughter continued hugging Sadness. "You and Dottie have gotten along so well. I know she'll be in good hands."
Dottie beamed at Sadness, then looked at a certain brick-shaped emotion with grimace. "Just don't have him be too much of a meanie and this is gonna be the best thing ever!"
Anger crossed his arms and grumbled, but even Sadness couldn't suppress a light laugh, hugging the child back.
_
Dottie took Sadness' and Fear's hands as they walked her toward the awaiting limo. Once Joy, Anger, and Disgust went in, the two helped her into the seat closest to the window, the empty one next to her intended for Sadness. Agnes smiled appreciatively, standing beside Rainbow Unicorn and Flora as they watched the child preparing to depart.
Fear hauled the small luggage full of things Dottie would need for one night into the limo. Her mother stated that her pajamas, toothbrush, storybook, and especially her nightlight were all packed for the evening. The purple emotion was relieved by this, having worried HQ would carry none of the necessities for a child.
The little girl grinned widely as Fear sat across from her, Sadness sitting by her side as promised. As the limo driver closed the door, the blue emotion reached over to lower the window. Dottie smiled as her mother beamed toward her.
"You be good, okay?" Agnes told her. "Don't give Sadness and the others any trouble, alright?"
"Okay, mommy," Dottie nodded obediently.
"Don't worry, Agnes!" Joy assured her, poking her head out the window. "She won't be any trouble at all!"
"Let's hope not..." Anger muttered.
Agnes nodded before planting a kiss on Dottie's forehead. Stepping away from the limo, Rainbow Unicorn rushed forward.
Sadness, who was next to Dottie the whole time as they looked out the window, was taken by surprise as hooves wrapped around her neck. Her eyes widened, nearly pulled out of the limo as she was pressed against Rainbow Unicorn, the latter neighing in farewell as she embraced her.
"Oh!" the blue emotion exclaimed before carefully patting the pony's hoof. "Um, thanks. I'll...see you tomorrow. I promise."
Joy watched as the unicorn continued hugging Sadness, her mane nearly brushing over the latter's blue locks. The yellow emotion bit her lip, unable to believe that Sadness had suddenly become Rainbow Unicorn's beloved companion in such short time.
And the hugging! Joy had only ever dreamed she would even get a pat on the shoulder by the famed pony, and Sadness received a lot of that today!
But she forced a smile on her face once the embrace was finished, Rainbow Unicorn waving goodbye to Sadness as the limo began to move. Pushing her envy aside, Joy reminded herself about what was ahead once they went home, especially as her eyes drew toward Dottie, who was rambling her excitement about going to HQ. The yellow emotion's smile became more sincere as the ride resumed.
_
After some time driving over the Roads of Recognition, the limo pulled up alongside the towering building. Joy was the first to get out, opening the door and speaking like a tour guide as the others stepped out onto the landing. Once thanking the driver who motioned the vehicle out and heading back to Dream Productions, Dottie quickly raced inside HQ, Fear having to carry her bag.
The moment she entered headquarters, Dottie's eyes lit up as if she were on the set of her favorite film.
"Oh wow!" Dottie exclaimed, looking as excited as Joy as she raced toward the console. "I can't believe it! I'm actually in headquarters!" She gave Sadness a tight hug, then Fear, bouncing around in a manner that reminded the group so much of Joy.
Turning her gaze up toward the screen, seeing the sights of San Francisco through Riley's eyes, Dottie's bouncing stopped. She stood still in awe. Even the myriad of buttons on the console were ignored for the moment as she registered the fact that right now, she was seeing what Riley saw.
Almost timidly, her mouth slightly gaped open, Dottie raised her hand in a wave. "Hi, Riley."
The others joining behind her, they realized that nothing wrong had occurred in their absence. Glancing over at the assortment of memories Flora personally chose, they seemed to have done their job right for Riley. And Family Island was still intact, so that was especially good news.
However, Riley was still the same as she had been last night. Even with one child roaming around in her mind, it did nothing to ease her out of missing Minnesota. The young blonde girl aimlessly roamed the beach and all its surroundings, keeping to herself and out of distance from people.
"Wow," Dottie murmured. "This is San Francisco? It looks pretty!"
Joy smiled in her direction. At least she seemed to accept this new place. Of course, Dottie probably was unable to tell the difference between Minnesota and California. In their old state, it was small, quiet, and simple. Here in in the golden state, it was humongous, loud, and pretty experiential every day. But unlike them, Dottie didn't seem to judge, in fact, she was enjoying every second of seeing this city through Riley's eyes.
The little girl's gaze fell on the console, and she grinned with excitement.
"Oooh!" she squealed as she regarded the biggest button of all. "Is this what you press to make a memory orb-"
"NO!" the emotions, minus Sadness, cried in horror.
It was Fear who immediately raced over, just in time to take ahold of her hand, before she could even try and press the button. He tried to be gentle as possible, but his unsteady nature made him appear almost insane. Given that Dottie wasn't an emotion, and was far too young to be a Mind Worker like her mom and Flora, they were simply unsure what would happen if she pressed the button.
It wasn't like she could make Riley feel anything, be able to produce an orb of her own...but something else could happen, which none of the others were willing to see to it. Riley had already been through enough.
Dottie looked at Fear in confusion, a little disappointed she couldn't even, for one moment, experience what it would be like to make Riley react in some way. And maybe even have a souvenir orb of her own!
Fear smiled nervously, gently releasing her hand. "S-sorry..." he muttered. "T-the console is not for playing..."
"Aw!" Dottie groaned.
She looked at the wide array of buttons and switches. It reminded her of the toy purse her mom got her last week, with it colorful tabs and controls that made funny noises whenever pressed. Dottie often pictured that was how HQ worked, and given how the entire place almost reminded her of the playground...
"I thought maybe..." she sighed as she inched a finger toward the console. "I thought maybe I could touch one..."
Joy raced over and gently nudged her hand away from another switch. "Dottie, this isn't a toy," she told her, trying not to sound like she was scolding. "You nearly could have had Riley experience anything...and right now we don't want that."
Sadness watched this moment, contemplating a few things as she regarded the disappointment on Dottie's face.
"Hey, I know what you can play with!" the yellow emotion told the child cheerfully. "You can go play with the memory orbs!"
"What?" Fear cried in panic. "Joy, you can't be-"
"Let the kid play with the dang orbs!" Anger told him through gritted teeth. "Come on, what harm will she do with them?"
"Accidentally throw them out the window maybe?" the purple emotion protested, gesturing toward the still disintegrated patch of glass that faced Family Island.
They were yet to call about getting that fixed...
"Dottie is very careful," Sadness reassured him. "I'll make sure the orbs are put back when she's done."
Fear felt a small smile tweak at his lips. "Yeah, maybe you're right..."
The child was already near the library of memories. As soon as she stood in front of them, her jaw fell in amazement.
"Wow!" she cried. "Look at all the colorful balls!"
She neared a purple memory orb on the lower row. Dottie almost wanted to poke it, however, her finger never touched the surface even as she inched toward the sphere.
"Whenever mommy takes me to Long Term Memory," she said, "I always keep finding yellow ones and not really any other ones. The yellow ones kind of hurt my eyes because they're too bright. And they look like someone peed in them."
Joy blushed at this. Having been to Long Term Memory, there was hardly a green, red, purple, or even a blue orb present among the many rows of that place. Only if one looked closely and spent time venturing, but other than that, each orb had always bore her color.
Thinking about it, there had been times when the gold was practically a sun that wouldn't set. And there had been moments where it sort of blinded her friends, mainly Anger who kept to himself how the yellow orbs kept him from napping on the couch.
Suddenly Joy noticed Disgust, Fear, and Anger glancing at her knowingly.
"What?" the golden-skinned emotion muttered, still quite flushed from Dottie's comment.
Sadness took the young girl's hand before leading her to a non-yellow memory. However, unlike the others, it laid on a pillow on a nearby table, as if it was far more precious than the others for some reason.
Dottie's eyes widened in awe, completely taken by the calming blue exterior that reminded her of a soothing ocean. With Sadness nodding toward her, the little Mind Worker reached toward it.
She had never touched an orb before. Now that she did, she was almost afraid she could break it. Her mom assured her that orbs could never break, and even if they were thrown across a room, they would still be intact.
Dottie's eyes glazed over the image of Riley herself. She was standing before what appeared to be a classroom, which almost looked like Dottie's from her own school. Stroking a thumb across the orb, the scene began to unfold.
It only took a few seconds for the little girl to gasp at the sight. She quickly turned to the emotions, mainly Sadness and Joy.
"What happened to Riley in this one?" she asked.
The emotions all fell silent. They remembered that day all too well, and they were certain it would be replaying in their own minds for a long time.
The others turned to Joy and Sadness, figuring they should explain. After all, they had been the two emotions most in control at the time. Yellow and blue beings glanced at one another, before the former took a deep breath and approached Dottie.
"Well," Joy finally said, "that was Riley's first day of school. I tried to help her feel happy about it even when the teacher called her up to introduce herself. She talked about Minnesota, mentioned how her and mom and dad used to play hockey on the lake..."
She paused, remembering that was the moment that Sadness had taken control. She gestured for the blue emotion to take over the story.
Sadness complied, looking over at Dottie. "But I was compelled to touch the memory...Riley's mind needed me to help her express how sad she really was inside." She reached out to touch the blue core memory as if it were the most precious thing in the world. "And then I had her cry...And Joy tried to pull it out...and she pulled me away when I actually worked the console."
Joy couldn't help but wince. She had treated Sadness's actions before as something wrong and forbidden, when really it had been what Riley had truly needed all along.
Dottie looked at Joy, her expression filled with horror at such a thing. "Why'd you do that?"
Joy was bewildered at the question, feeling a need to defend her past, more arrogant self. "Because Riley was crying! We couldn't have her cry in front of other kids!"
"But didn't she need to cry?"
Joy fell silent. As much as part of her hated to admit it, she knew that Dottie was right.
After a pause, Sadness went on.
"So after that... this core memory was created. Joy tried to stop it, but I knew Riley needed that core memory. She needed to express how she missed Minnesota. But when Joy tried to stop me, all the core memories got knocked loose. While she was saving them, I saved this..." She gently rubbed the orb which laid in Dottie's hands. "And Joy tried to take it away from me. It got sucked up in the memory tube...and then we were sucked out of headquarters."
Joy closed her eyes, in part blaming herself for what had happened. If she hadn't tried to stop this core memory, the islands wouldn't have been destroyed. Riley's emotional state wouldn't have faltered.
She wouldn't have nearly been driven to make that horrible mistake.
And worse, she wouldn't have placed herself and especially Sadness in so much danger. Even with the other three emotions remaining, that still didn't help the situation.
Joy could just see it in Dottie's eyes, her expression almost duplicating the way she regarded Anger. The yellow emotion couldn't blame her for feeling disappointed, even peeved for what Joy had done.
Even though this kid had never run a console before, she seemed to know what was best for Riley...better than the four emotions that stood behind Sadness.
The child clutched the memory core close, as if fearing Joy would go berserk and try to rid it to the dump all over again.
"Disgust is right," she said, her tone not venomous but rather unfeeling, "you can be a control freak..."
Like a hot iron knife, that cut the yellow emotion deeply. But she accepted it nevertheless. This child, despite being 5, seemed smarter than the rest of them, sharing the same intelligence, and even empathy, that Sadness possessed.
Said blue emotion came to her friend's rescue as she approached Dottie. Taking her hand, the blue being gazed into the latter's eyes, a soft smile on her lips.
"Joy's learned from everything that happened," she told her gently. "So did I. Even though everything was horrible and scary, and really sad...it all worked out in the end."
Glancing over her shoulder, she peered at the other four emotions. Joy's glow lit up much brighter, her expression that of gratitude and relief, nodding in the blue emotion's direction. The others appeared just as calmed, as if Sadness had rid all their personal problems away.
Feeling a tug on her hand, she turned back to Dottie, who gazed at her wide-eyed.
"Was it scary going out there?" she asked curiously. "Being so far from home and exploring a world you never even been to?"
"It was really scary," Sadness admitted. "But then had it not been for the experience, we wouldn't have seen all the beautiful things of Riley's mind I've only ever read about in the manuals." She smiled thoughtfully, reminiscing the adventure she and Joy had. "Like Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, and Dream Productions. And meeting very nice people along the way."
She placed her fingers to the side of Dottie's forehead, a gesture that showed to be loving.
"Like you, your mom, Flora, especially Rainbow Unicorn..."
"What about Jangles?" Fear blurted out, knowing that not the entire experience could have been thrilling. He yelped when Anger punched him on the side, shutting him up as to not ruin the precious moment.
"So don't feel too bad about what we went through, especially me," Sadness told her, "it's really changed a lot of things for us. For the better."
As these words seeped into Dottie's mind, a smile slowly emerged from her lips. Eyes shone with so much fascination and relief, gazing at Sadness with more adoration than even possible.
"Wow," Dottie murmured, clutching the core, "you really are the best emotion ever..."
Although Disgust felt envious, she mentally nodded toward Dottie's words. The others couldn't agree more, especially Joy, who felt obligated to allow Sadness that title in a child's eyes. Fear was already proud with himself, knowing he was Dottie's second favorite.
"And if you're okay," the little girl said with a smile, "then I'm okay!"
"Thank you, sweetie," Sadness murmured, a light blush on her cheeks.
All heads immediately turned as they found Riley nearing a food court. The walk through the pier and at the beach must have made her hungry, and it was nearly lunch time.
"Just wait for a moment," the blue emotion instructed Dottie. "We just need to work on this, and then we'll come back to you."
Dottie nodded, watching as Sadness and the others hurried back over to the console. Sitting on the couch, she held the core memory close, gazing at the image of Riley's tears every now and then. While the emotions were busy deciding what Riley should have for lunch, she busied herself with looking around HQ.
It was such a wide place, even bigger than the playground her mom took her to every now and then. She could probably throw a party here with all her classmates, maybe even fit her entire school! Her eyes wandered to the ramp that led to the upper floor, no doubt where the bedrooms were. She often pictured Sadness' room to have an icy blue design, almost queen/princess-like that portrayed her grace and kind nature.
Glancing around the control room, her eyes fell upon something nearby, laying just beside where the idea bulbs were.
A bag of some kind.
"Huh, guess San Francisco does have good pizza," Anger commented, Riley's eyes peering up at the menu. "I see no broccoli on any of these. She should just pig out."
"A large soda, maybe chili cheese fries..." Disgust read. "Or maybe just a slice of pepperoni and a funnel cake, how about that?"
"Hi, how can I help you?" the teenage girl asked as Riley came to the front counter.
After finally deciding on a slice of pizza, with a medium drink and fries, and a cookie for dessert, Riley reached into her pockets to get her money.
Among the bills laid her mother's credit card on the counter.
A familiar feeling of guilt rose in Anger's expression as he and the other emotions gawked at it. However, he was not as horrified as Joy, whose face could equal Riley's right now.
"You still have her mom's credit card?" she cried, whipping her head toward the red emotion.
"I forgot she had it!" Anger spoke defensively.
The teen picked up the card, making Riley stiffen. Gazing at the name carefully, she looked over the young girl.
"Do you want to charge for the food?" she asked politely.
"No, no, no!" Fear screamed, waving his arms frantically. "We can't do that to mom! Not again!"
Sadness gently pushed him aside, making way as she calmly pressed the button.
"No, that's okay," they heard Riley said, her tone shy and melancholic.
"Alright then," the food worker said cheerfully as she handed Riley back the card, taking in the bills and working the register. "Number will be called in a few minutes," she informed, handing Riley her receipt.
As Riley waited by the pick-up window, the emotions all breathed with relief. Fear couldn't help but smile graciously in Sadness' direction, unable to stop himself as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks for saving us again!" he exclaimed wearily.
Joy's lips pursed in a tight smile, nodding toward the blue emotion who looked up at her as if for approval. Just hearing that 'again' part made the yellow emotion feel rather guilty for a moment, before she pushed it aside as everyone cheered Sadness.
Able to leave Riley to her lunch, the others decided it was the best time to return to Dottie.
"This is a cool bag!"
All turned to the child, just in time to see her slip the blue core memory into a satchel wrapped around her shoulder. It was Joy and Sadness who stared at it with hearts tightening more than the worst knot.
Dottie giggled as she opened the candy-patterned bag again, slipping her hand into it, and daringly allowing to go all the way into the never-ending space within.
"I can even fit my whole arm in here!" she exclaimed. "Whose bag is this?"
_