//------------------------------//
// A Mare of Constant Sorrow 
// Story: The Quest 
// by LightningBass94 
//------------------------------//

    "Trixie?" The muffled voice barely reached her ears through the door and over her pained sobs. "Trixie, Darling, let us in."

Knock. Knock.

"Go away!" Trixie shouted at the offending noises. They broke her away from the perfect little hole she had dug for herself. There, she would slowly waste away. She could leave the constant misfortune of her life behind. "Trixie wishes to be alone!" She was speaking in third pony again, the tell-tale sign she was trying to shut her friends out, if locking herself in Twilight's room wasn't enough indication.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Apparently, it was not.

Trixie sighed. She could hear the others having a muffled conversation right outside the door. Several minutes after Twilight had been abducted, Trixie ran away. She didn't stop until she made it to the bed she was currently curled up in, and even Rainbow Dash couldn't catch her somehow. They each sounded concerned, some on the verge of frantic. No doubt, they were already planning just how they would save Twilight. After all, they were the many-times-over saviors of Equestria. But Trixie? Trixie was just a simple showmare. Even if she was student to Princess Luna, she was newly indoctrinated.

Slowly, she breathed in the sweet scent of Twilight on the pillow she had shoved her muzzle into, savoring the smell of maple and lavender. Her horn began to glow with a soft, blue light as she raised her head. All around her, images of Twilight began to appear, each just as beautiful as the next. Every situation Trixie had ever seen the alicorn in played out before her in just a few seconds. Every single expression she'd seen her lover make her own became a part of the slide show. The last expression bore into her mind. The image haunted her. That look of shock, horror...pain. "How could I possibly hope to save Twilight Sparkle from anything that managed to overpower her? She's far stronger than me! And she was...terrified."

"Well, you could certainly be doing more than this, don't you think?" The smooth, slightly condescending voice of Discord came from above. Rolling over, Trixie found him sitting on a raincloud he had placed comically above her head. Where the rain was disappearing to before it hit her would forever be a mystery.

"What, so you can read minds now?" Trixie snarled at the draconequus. She had little patience for his mind-numbing antics.

"My dear magician, it doesn't take a mind reader to see how helpless you feel in this situation."

Trixie's patience level for the chaos spirit wasn't improving. "What do you want Discord?" She asked, impatience evident in her tone. In her experiences with him, the draconequus never did anything that didn't in some way benefit himself unless Fluttershy was involved.

Discord feigned being hurt by the accusation. "What do I want?" He gasped theatrically. "I can't help a friend in need without expecting something in return?" Trixie raised a bemused eyebrow at the question until Discord finally gave in. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and snapped his talons. "Fluttershy asked me to let her in." The door was gone, replaced by a small tree with leg-like roots. It took chase from nothing in particular down the stairs. As it reached freedom, it shouted out into the night air, "Leeeeroooy Jenkiiins!!!"

The floating draconequus easily dodged the lightning bolt shot his way as the other six made their way into the bedroom. Trixie gave the entire group a bemused glare, but they just looked back at her with concerned expressions. An image of Twilight was still floating next to them. Subconciously, she had given her a similar expression. After several seconds, Trixie turned her head away as the tears started to make their way back to the edges of her eyes.

Unsurprisingly, it was Rainbow Dash that came to her side and wrapped a warm, comforting wing around the blue unicorn. Once Rainbow Dash had defended her before the entire town, the two had become close friends, and the cyan pegasus seemed to be comfortable with her at a level she reserved for only three other ponies: Scootaloo, Spitfire and Twilight. "Hey. Cheer up, Trix." Rainbow nudged her friend with a shoulder to no avail. Still trying to reassure the unicorn, she said, "I'm sure Twilight will be fine. She's too smart to get beat by some weird smoke thing. She was just caught off guard!"

Trixie smiled sadly at her pegasus friend, thankful for the moral support, but it was wiped away when a troubling thought came to mind. "That's just it, though," Trixie whispered darkly, just loud enough for the whole group to hear her. "We have no idea what we're up against..."

Discord snorted in amusement. "Obscurity always was good at that," He mused.

"What was that?" Fluttershy eyed the chaos spirit suspiciously.

Discord's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. The draconequus' left ear decided at that moment to grow a small arm and slap his mouth off his face. It flew across the room and made a wet, slapping sound as it hit the wall. "I'm sorry!" it cried. It was unclear if the dislocated orifice spoke to Fluttershy or Discord. He cringed back as Fluttershy got dangerously close to his face, a harsh expression painting her normally serene features. "Discord, if you don't tell us what you know about this right now, then.....I won't make my spaghetti for you ever again!"

That did him in. He would rather give up his place as her lover and friend than give up her spaghetti.It seemed to be a divine gift from the gods, themselves! From the first bite, he'd been addicted. A new mouth grew onto his muzzle like his life depended on it. He wasn't smiling. "A-alright," He conceded, "I'll tell you everything I know..."