//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 - Seeds of Trust // Story: Shadow Men: Where Light Can't Touch // by DragonsHeart //------------------------------// Pinkie approaches the old house where Sorrow resides, carrying a basket on her back. Despite what she said, she has no idea how to help Sorrow smile again, but that won’t stop Pinkamena Diane Pie from trying! Pinkie bounces on the spot outside the door, to help gather her nerves. She has trouble looking Sorrow in the face, mostly because of Sorrow’s mask, for Pinkie can’t stand sadness in all forms, but it also reminds Pinkie that under that mask is an equally sad face that she cannot see. Taking a deep breath and putting on her biggest smile, she enters the house. Sorrow is sitting in the same place as yesterday, she hasn’t moved an inch. “Hello,” Pinkie calls out, happily, “I came to visit.” Sorrow stays quiet until, without turning to Pinkie, she then says in her usual sad tones, “Hello...” “How are you doing?” Pinkie asks, trying to struck up a conversation. Sorrow doesn’t answer Pinkie and stays quiet. “Ok…” Pinkie says, trying to think of something else to say. “You seem to be carrying something, what is it?” Sorrow asks, still not looking at Pinkie. ‘I wonder how she knows that? Does she have eyes on the back of her head or something…? that would be so cool!’ Pinkie thinks to herself, before placing the basket down and opening it, “I bought you some treats from the store, cause I thought you might be hungry?” Sorrow finally turns towards Pinkie, until she faces her. “I cannot eat, I have no stomach…” “Oh, sorry…” Pinkie says, slightly disappointed, until, “Wait, why don’t you just taste it and not eat it?” Sorrow hang her head down, “Can’t taste either, have forgotten how to or maybe I never knew how to taste in the first place…” “Oh…” Pinkie says, sadly, hanging her head as well. The two sit in silence until surprisingly Sorrow breaks it, “They do look good though…” Those sad words continue to hang there until Sorrow says something again, “Can you tell me how they taste?” “What?” Pinkie says, confused. “Describe to me how they taste,” Sorrow states, “Since I can no longer taste, could you be my taste?” “Ok,” Pinkie says, happy to be able to do something, “Which one do you want to taste.” Sorrow looks over the collection of sweets and evently points out a cupcake, “This one.” Pinkie sits down and picks up the cupcake, taking a bite from it, making sure to examine the taste carefully, “It is very sweet and fluffy, the icing is also sweet and has a nice lemony tang…” Pinkie continues to describe the taste, switching between sweets and describing them to the best of her abilities at Sorrow’s request, and soon an hour has past. “Boy, I am stuffed,” Pinkie says, patting her full belly. “Thank you for that, it was… interesting,” Sorrow says, looking at the empty basket. “Did it help cheer you up?” Pinkie asks, hopefully. “Cheer me up?” Sorrow asks, look back at Pinkie. “Yeah you know, make you feel better,” Pinkie asks, getting a bad feeling. Sorrow hangs her head, “It did help me temporally take my mind off things, but it is over now…” “I see,” Pinkie says, sadly as she gathers up her thing, before standing up, “This doesn’t mean I am giving up, I will think of something else.” Sorrow just turns her head away and says nothing. Pinkie sighs and leaves the house. As she walks away an idea struck her. What she needs to do is to help her take her mind off things, and what better way to do that than to do fun stuff, so the answer is, to keep setting up fun things to do… she is going to need the girls help for this. In the dark room where Sorrow still sits, she shifts and pulls out a cupcake she had hidden under her robe when Pinkie wasn’t looking. She moves her mask up so her snout is visible, and lifting up the cupcake she takes a bite from it, trying to remember the tastes Pinkie described. She chews slowly before stopping. “Just like always...” Joy says to herself, “First comes the taste of ash…” suddenly a dark liquid streams out of the sides of her mouth, “...then comes the taste of blood.” Joy can’t remember if it is her own blood or the blood of the ones she killed. She slips the mask back on her face. “Will I ever be free from my own torment…?” Sorrow stops moving and stays still, just like a statue. She is gone. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack stand around Ponyville’s Lake, waiting for Pinkie. “Why did Pinkie ask for us to meet here?” Applejack asks everypony. “No idea,” Rarity answers, shaking her head, “It can’t be to swim, it is too early in spring.” “Yeah, we had the Winter Wrap Up like only a few weeks ago,” adds Rainbow Dash, flying around impatiently. “Maybe it has something to do with Joy?” Fluttershy suggests, nervously. “Speaking about Joy, has anypony visited her yet?” asks Twilight. The girls start to shuffle awkwardly around. “Yeah, I think Pinkie did,” Rainbow Dash says, frowning. “What happened?” Twilight asks. “I don’t know, didn’t ask,” Rainbow Dash says, shrugging, “I think she took some cupcakes?” “Maybe we’ll find out more when she gets here,” Applejack suggests, looking around for Pinkie. And as if by magic, Pinkie suddenly appears beside them, surprising them to no end. “Sorry I’m late!” Pinkie says, happily, “It took longer than I expected to convince her.” “Who?” Twilight asks, confused. “Her!” Pinkie says, reaching into a nearby bush and pulling out Sorrow, who seemed to be hiding in there, “She really didn’t want to come out.” “What is going on Pinkie?” Rarity asks, raising an eyebrow. “This all part of my plan! Part one of my operation: Help cheer up Joy so she’ll became our friend and thus trust us!” Pinkie says, proudly. “Pinkie you shouldn't say that outloud,” Twilight whispers, signaling Pinkie to be quiet, “What if she hears this, and thinks that we are only being nice to her because we want her to trust us?” “We aren’t?” Rainbow Dash says, earning a glare from Twilight. “Oh she already knows all about that,” Pinkie says, smiling. She then suddenly leans in and whispers, “She has eyes and ears everywhere.” “I hope not,” Fluttershy says, scared of the idea of her having eye and ears everywhere. “Anyway, so why are we here?” Applejack asks, trying to get back to the point. “To have fun!” Pinkie says, happily. “Pinkie, it is early spring!” Applejack says, raising an eyebrow, “Why the lake, we can’t go swimming.” “I know that silly,” Pinkie giggles, “But it is the only place I could think of that has no ponies, and we all know how shy Joy is right now....” “You never let my shyness stop you before,” mutters Fluttershy, casting her head down. “Yes but you don’t turn into a monster when you get angry!” Pinkie says, appearing in front of Fluttershy and gently poking her in the chest. “Not most of the time anyway,” Rainbow Dash jokes, getting a unhappy stare from Fluttershy. “So what’s the plan then Pinkie?” Twilight asks, totally lost. “Well, we’ll have a picnic, play some games, talk a bit and then go home,” Pinkie says, pulling out a picnic basket and box of games out of nowhere. “I guess it sounds alright…” Rarity says, looking around Pinkie, “But Joy seems to be missing? Pinkie head snaps around to find an absence of Sorrow. “She is escaped!” Pinkie says, narrowing her eyes, she then declares, “YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME JOY! YOU’LL BE FRIENDSHIPED IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!!” Pinkie then leaps into a nearby bush, disappearing. “Well that was something,” comments Applejack, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you think Joy ran away?” asks Fluttershy, concerned. “If someone was talking about me the same way as we were, I’d run away too,” comments Rainbow Dash, huffing. “Look Pinkie’s coming back with Joy,” notes Rarity, watching as Pinkie drags Sorrow back by her robes. “I got her!” Pinkie states, letting go of Sorrow. “We can see that,” notes Twilight, rolling her eyes, “But your idea does sound like a good one.” “Great cause I’ve already set up the picnic!” Pinkie says, now sitting under a tree with Sorrow next to her, and the food laid out on a blanket. Twilight looks back and forth in confusion to where Pinkie was and where Pinkie is now, wondering when she moved between them, until she sighs and smiles, “I guess that’s Pinkie for you.” “How does she do it?” Applejack wonders aloud, before heading to the carpet, followed by the rest of the girls, where they all sit down. “Well, dig in girls!” Pinkie states, happily. The girls start eating in silence. It’s that awkward silence that nopony knows how to fill. It is the silence that somepony wishes would break, luckily Pinkie comes to the rescue. “Joy do you want me to taste for you?” Pinkie asks Sorrow, who is just staring at the food. “If you wish, but can you all stop calling me Joy and call me Sorrow instead?” Sorrow asks, hanging her head further. “But Sorrow is such a depressing name, dear,” Rarity comments, frowning slightly. “It suits her though,” adds Rainbow Dash, earning a glare from everyone, “What? It does.” “Girls, if it makes her comfortable we should call her Sorrow if she want’s to be called that,” states Applejack, nodding her head sagely. “But don’t worry Sorrow, soon we’ll turn your frown upside down,” Pinkie says, grabbing Sorrow’s mask and turning it upside down. “Please don’t do that…” Sorrow says, her mask righting itself by itself. “Creepy. Pinkie you said something about tasting for her?” Twilight asks, trying to ignore the sight of the mask turning by itself on Sorrow’s face. “You see, Sorrow can’t taste anymore, so I’ll taste for her!” Pinkie says, picking up a sandwich and putting it in her mouth, “Hmmm, this one tastes like… one of my socks?” Pinkie pulls out a wet sock from her mouth, “Oops, I did make these in a hurry.” The girls now eat their sandwiches with extra caution. “So Sorrow,” Rainbow Dash says, gaining the shadow man’s attention, “How does your mask work? I mean it seems too small for a normal pony’s face?” “My face just melts into it, it is the same as my clothes,” Sorrow answers, quickly. “Cool but creepy,” says Rainbow Dash. “If I may be so bold, my I feel you clothes?” Rarity asks, approaching Sorrow, “I am curious to what it is made of.” “Only if you don’t undress me,” states Sorrow, flatly, causing some snickers from some of the other girls. “I wouldn’t dream of that!” Rarity says, blushing slightly. “Then go ahead,” Sorrow says, lowering her head. Rarity reaches out and feels some of the material in her hooves. “It is soft and light, like silk. It feels lovely on my fur, what is it called?” Rarity asks, holding it to her face. “Nightmare Silk,” Sorrow states. “Oh, lovely… I should've guessed,” Rarity says, dropping it. “Why the blazen is it called Nightmare Silk?” Applejack asks, worried. “Cause it comes from a Nightmare Spider,” Sorrow states again. “Yew, gross!” Rainbow Dash says, looking disgusted. The girls continue chatting among each other, occasionally getting Sorrow to join in, and when she does, they learned quite a lot from Sorrow, nothing about Joy’s murder or Joy herself, but a lot of things about Shadow Men, which it was quite interesting (to Twilight). Soon they finish lunch and split up into groups, Rarity and Fluttershy talking among themselves, Rainbow Dash and Applejack throwing a frisbee, and finally Pinkie, Twilight and Sorrow hanging around the rocks near the water, looking for interesting things. “Look at these rocks!” Pinkie says, happily, picking them up, “Aren’t they neat?” “Yes, very nice,” Twilight says, not as interested in rocks as Pinkie, but happy to see her happy. “Maybe I’ll send them to Maud?” Pinkie ponders… suddenly she turns towards Sorrow, who is looking at the cold waters of the lake, “Do you like rocks Sorrow?” “Maybe… I wouldn’t really know…” Sorrow says, briefly turning to Pinkie, before turning back to the lake when she finishes talking. “Speaking about rocks, we better watch out, these rock are rather slippery,” warns Twilight, testing her hoofing. “What are you looking for Twilight?” Pinkie asks, putting the rocks somewhere safe. “Looking to see if there is any interesting mosses growing,” Twilight says, cheerfully, “Did you know there is over 10,000 kinds of…” “What are you looking for Sorrow!” Pinkie asks, interrupting Twilight and causing her frown. “Salvation, a meaning for my existence, the…” Sorrow starts to sadly list off. “Ok, that’s great!” Pinkie says, also interrupting her, “Let’s us talk about something else, do you think there are crabs in our lake?” “Unlikely, freshwater crabs are usually found in tropical…” Twilight starts to explain but is interrupted again, but this time by a frisbee flying towards them. “Hey look out!!” yells Applejack, rushing over to them with Rainbow Dash, who is trying to catch the frisbee, but with no luck. The two ponies duck, dodging the frisbee, but Sorrow isn’t as lucky. She turns around, only for the frisbee to smack into her mask, causing her to fall backwards into the lake, where she sinks into the deep waters under the rocks… “Sorrow!” yell Twilight and Pinkie, as they rush to the edge of the rocks where Sorrow fell in, being careful not to fall in themselves. “Oh no, is Sorrow alright!?” asks Applejack, coming up next to them. “Don’t know, she hasn’t surfaced yet!” Twilight says, worried. They look down into the murky water, only slight ripples show where she fell, though there wasn’t any bubbles. “Can shadow men even swim?!” Rainbow Dash says, nervous. “I don’t think anypony could swim in all that clothes!” Rarity says, who saw what happened and rushed over. “Do you think she’s drowning?!” Fluttershy says, panicking, she also came over with Rarity. Pinkie suddenly jumps into the lake, disappearing under the surface. “Pinkie!!!” her friends yell, shocked. Pinkie is under the water for at least a minute before she suddenly breaks the surface, taking in a huge breath of air. “Pinkie are you ok?!” asks Rainbow Dash, worried. Pinkie turns to them to, her face sad and scared. “I couldn’t find Joy anywhere,” Pinkie says, looking like she is about to cry, “The waters around here are too deep…” “Oh Celestia, what do we do?!?” Twilight says, also panicking. “Should we get help?!” Rarity asks, worried. “No, by the time they get here it’ll be too late!!” Applejack says, shaking her head. “We have to do something!” Rarity yells. “Why is Pinkie in the water?” Sorrow asks, in her usual sad voice, unknowing of the girls plight. The girls suddenly turn towards the voice, and to their shock see Sorrow standing behind them, totally unharmed and somehow as dry as a bone. “Sorrow!” Pinkie says, climbing out of the water and rushing to Sorrow, giving her a bone crushing hug (or would be if Shadow Men had bones), “I was so worried.” “We all were,” Twilight says, relief clear in her face. “Why?” Sorrow asks, confused. “What do you mean why?” Rainbow Dash says, shocked, “We thought you drowned!” “But Shadow Men don’t breath,” Sorrow explains, while Pinkie continues to hug her. “Yeah we didn’t know that!” Applejack says, irritated. “Also you just sank, so we were worried,” Fluttershy adds, quietly. “Shadow Men don’t float either,” Sorrow states, “Sorry if I worried you, but I had to find a place where I could climb back out of water, I was stuck on the bottom of the lake.” “Well I think we are all just glad that you are alright,” Rarity say, getting nods from everypony. “So you can stop hugging her Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash states to Pinkie, who is still hugging Sorrow. “Oh right, sorry,” Pinkie says, letting go, her cheeks a bit flushed. “Let’s get you dried up Pinkie, before you catch a cold,” Rarity says, leading Pinkie away. “Wait a minute, why are you dry?” Rainbow Dash asks Sorrow, who is as I said before, as dry as a bone. “Shadow Men are water retardant,” Sorrow states, following after Pinkie. “Figures,” Rainbow Dash says, rolling her eyes. The rest of the outing goes on without a hitch, they played some ball with Pinkie and Sorrow vs Rainbow Dash and Applejack, which Sorrow turned out to be surprisingly good at it once she was told what to do, although Rainbow Dash and Applejack still won, cause Pinkie was distracted by something. Rarity enjoyed the springtime sun, while Fluttershy and Twilight talked about mosses and different types of fishes together… very interesting. But soon the sun starts to set and the girls begin to pack up everything. “This was actually very fun Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash says, helping Applejack pack away the outdoor equipment. “Yeah, and Sorrow is kind of fun to hang with, if you can ignore her gloomy attitude and her odd way of speaking,” notes Applejack, smiling. “That is great to hear!” Pinkie says, happily. “Maybe becoming friends with Sorrow won’t be as hard as we thought?” suggests Fluttershy, helping Rarity with the picnic basket. “I for one want to know how to work that wonderful nightmare silk and where I can get some,” Rarity states, smiling, “Even if it does come from icky spider!” “I wish to hear more about the Shadow Realm,” Twilight says, excitedly, “It’s very fascinating.” “Sorrow, did you enjoy yourself?” Pinkie asks, approaching Sorrow who is staring at a tree. “I guess,” Sorrow says, not turning around. “Well that’s better than a no,” Pinkie says, cheerfully. They finish packing up and head home, Pinkie taking Sorrow back to the old house. It doesn’t take long to reach it. “Here we are,” Pinkie says, smiling, “I hope you did enjoy yourself.” Sorrow stares at Pinkie, before casting her head down. “We guess we did. Joy did enjoy the parts she was there for, and Sorrow found it slightly interesting, especially the ball game.” “Sorrow was actually there?!” Pinkie says, shocked. “Sort of…” Sorrow says, not saying anymore. A silence hangs over them until it becomes too unbearable for Pinkie and she breaks it. “We’ll do it again right?” Pinkie asks, hopefully. “I guess so, considering I don’t get a choose in this matter anyway,” Sorrow states, opening the door. “Sorry,” Pinkie says, smiling awkwardly, “I’ll see you later?” “I guess, I can’t stop you,” Sorrow says, before entering the house, closing the door behind her. Pinkie is about to sigh, before she stops himself, “No I can’t sigh all my happiness away! I’ll will make this work! I’ll make Joy happy, I know I will!” Pinkie then runs back to the cakes, she need to make more plans!