The Lockseed's curse

by Equestriasservant

Chapter 16: Discorded date

"What do you mean he just left?!" Demanded Twilight angrily. Jay sighed. It was like talking to a revolving door. Since he had returned to the library, without Zyon or Celestia, the violet Unicorn had done nothing but question him about why both her beloved mentor nor the armored hero had not come back from the jail cells. "They wouldn't have just left without saying goodbye!" Twilight said angrily. Jay shook his head. He had such a headache from listening to Trixie laugh, that his temper was running very high. Not to mention that his increasingly painful headache wasn't helping matters. Sitting on his bed in the spare room, his head in his hands, Jay attempted to repeat what Zyon had said to him. "Something important to do?!" Twilight repeated exasperatedly. Jay looked up her, feeling his temper beginning to snap.

"If you've got nothing better to do than repeating everything I say?!" Jay growled and Twilight recoiled slightly as if stung. "Then could you go and get me a cure for headaches! Please?" Twilight turned around quickly, then ran out of the room. Jay thought he caught a glimpse of Twilight's face as the Unicorn left. She looked rather hurt. Feeling wholly unconcerned, Jay swung his legs over the bed and laid his head back on the pillows. He couldn't tell what, apart from his headache, was making him so irritable. And why couldn't he get those names out of his head. Trixie's taunts were echoing in his mind, constantly reverberating inside his skull like a drum. Closing his eyes with another grunt of annoyance, the human rolled over onto his stomach. The Watermelon Lockseed fell through the large tear in his pocket and clattered to the floor. Keeping his eyes closed, Jay reached down, groping with his fingers until he picked up the device. Turning it over in his hand, he ran his thumb over the Lockseed's engraving of the Watermelon on the front. It felt like normal metal. Placing the Lockseed on the bedside table, next to his Lemon one, he rolled onto his back as Twilight entered the room again. Her eyes were slightly red and she sniffled as she handed over a small bottle full of clear liquid. "Twi...I'm sorry about shouting." He said softly taking the bottle from Twilight. "I don't really know why either Celestia or Zyon left without warning. I would've told you if I knew." Twilight gave a watery smile as she watched Jay attempt to down the foul tasting liquid. The human coughed. Taking the bottle from him silently, Twilight turned to leave. "Twilight..." Jay said quickly, seized with a sudden desire that he couldn't quite explain. "Twilight...do you wanna go out tonight? I've earned some money from working on AppleJack's farm....so..." Jay blushed as his voice tailed away, blushing almost as deep as Twilight had. Her eyes had gone wide. For a while, Twilight didn't seem to be able to speak. He worried that he'd done something wrong. Then, very slowly, a wide smile began to blossom on her face.

"All-Alright then." She stammered. Still giving that wide smile, the Unicorn turned and walked out of the room. Jay sat there, feeling slightly better that he'd finally....asked....Twilight....out on a...Jay sat up a little straighter. Then he sprang up off the bed and sped down the stairs, ignoring the baby dragon, who was rolling around the floor in fits of laughter, with Twilight standing over him, a look of disapproval on her face and charged out of the door. Ignoring the surprised yells of ponies he charged past, Jay raced through the town, looking for the boutique that Rarity owned. Finally, after grilling several frightened looking mares about the shops where-about's, Jay finally managed to arrive at the door. Carousel Boutique looked more like a miniature palace rather that a clothes shop. It was a three leveled building with many different, ornate patterns decorating the building. Jay frowned. He hadn't been to see Rarity for her lesson in friendship yet, but every time he'd seen her before, she'd glared at him, as though he was something she'd found at the bottom of a lavatory seat. With a deep breath, Jay pushed open the door and walked inside. At first, Jay thought he'd walked into a paper-chain explosion. It was decorated lavishly, with several large mirrors fitted around the sides of the walls. Large pinkish purple curtains covered the windows. Arranged in tasteful podiums, were mannequins in the shape of ponies, on which were several different types of clothing for ponies. Jay had learned from Twilight that ponies sometimes wore clothes in times of special occasions, such as parties and weddings. Jay stood on the doormat, unsure what to do, until Rarity herself appeared from out of the back room. Several tape measures were slung across her shoulders and she was wearing a pair of ornate glasses in front of her eyes. Her smile faded slightly as she saw Jay.

"Oh, it's you Jay." She said rather coolly. Her eyes roved up and down Jays figure, taking in Jay's torn clothes. "What brings you here darling? Clothes?" Jay nodded mutely. Rarity, despite her glare, now smiled happily. According to Twilight, Rarity loved the challenge of making new fashions. Taking a measuring tape from around her neck, the Alabaster Unicorn nodded towards one of the empty stages. "Please undress Darling, so I can take some measurements..." Jay's cheeks, which had just recovered from blushing asking Twilight out, now burned bright crimson. "Oh come on darling," Rarity said testily waving a hoof in annoyance. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I used to dealing with these situations all the time." Jay, realizing that the Unicorn was not going to take no for an answer, tore off the top as quickly as he could. His pale skin, still covered in faded scars made the Unicorn gasp. "Oh my stars darling! Your body!" Jay shrugged. Disconcerted for a second, Rarity shook herself then attempted to take notes on Jay's body. "Darling...may I ask you something?" Jay nodded. "I want to know...what is interest in Twilight? She's a very dear..."

"If you must know..." Jay interrupted, his voice growing slightly higher than usual as Rarity was measuring between his legs. "I just asked her out on a date tonight." Rarity dropped the tape measure. She was staring at Jay in complete surprise. "Yeah I know, I don't what I was doin..." But Rarity had given a great squeal of delight, picked up the tape measure and ran back into the rear-rooms. Jay stood there, feeling exposed without his T-shirt on, listening to the excited Unicorn's squealing. From what he could hear, Rarity was squealing loudly about happy endings, matchmaking and...weddings. "Hang on Rarity!" Jay yelled loudly, "I only asked her out...I don't really know if..." But at that moment, the door burst open and Rainbow Dash burst into the room, saw Jay standing there, half dress and burst into laughter.

---

A feeling of elation was rising inside of him. Obsidian chuckled lightly as he made his way through the Canterlot gardens. He strode through the hedges as if they were smoke, watching the ignorant guards as they strode right on past. His form was invisible to them, which only made him happier. Striding casually through the gardens, his elation increased as he watched the guards galloping through the hedge made corridors. He continued along, following the panicking guards. It was several minutes before he saw a large group of guards, standing in a large circular group. Taking in the dismayed look on their faces, Obsidian strode through the guards bodies, to see what they were looking at. It was an empty podium, around the base of which, were several cracked pieces of white marble. Several bits littered the floor, some resembling a hoof, or claw. Obsidian smiled, hearing the guards shouting for their precious Princess. He turned to look around at the gardens, there was no sign of the clown prince of chaos. Just as he'd expected. Turning back he walked straight through the Celestia as she appeared from the castle. He smiled as the Princess stopped and turned to look at Obsidian, as if she could tell that he was there. Obsidian chuckled. By the time Celestia knew of his presence, it would be to late.

"Alright Rainbow I get the point!" Jay growled angrily. Since Rainbow had recovered from her laughing fit, she and Jay had been forced to stay inside the boutique for the best part of the day whilst Rarity worked on his outfit. Rainbow had to stay because she wanted to pick up a dress. Though Jay had managed to get a small revenge on Rainbow, by chuckling at the idea at her in a dress. Finally, Rarity had appeared, with a dark blue dress shirt and a thin pair of what looked like a pair of denim jeans. Thanking her, Jay'd quickly changed into the clothes with a few other outfits designed for everyday where. He'd been forced to promise Rarity that he would return. Rainbow had chuckled loudly at this, though her smile had faded slightly when Rarity had given her a rather thick, Rainbow colored dress. They'd both bolted out of the door, chucking thanks over her shoulders. Now they were both making their way back towards the Library. Jay gave a soft chuckle. "Damn I'm nervous...I don't think I've ever been on a date. I mean..." He added quickly as Rainbow gave him a wide smile. "I can't really remember if I have or not!" Rainbow continued smiled just as Twilight opened the door to the Library. She was smiling. Looking normal she smiled at Jay as moved over to her. Rainbow discreetly made her way out of sight. With a flick of her horn, the outfits in Jays arms floated back into the Library. "Ready to go?" Jay asked. Twilight nodded, giving him a small smile. Together, they wandered down the nearest street, not talking. Jay supposed that the Unicorn was as nervous as he was. Finally after the several minutes of wandering along in silence, Twilight finally spoke.

"Hey, don't we go down there?" She asked. Jay frowned, Twilight was pointing at what appeared to be a small cafe. Though most of the lights in the cafe seemed so dim that it looked as though the cafe wasn't open. "I know," She said smiling up at him. "It looks like that to add a more...intimate atmosphere." She blushed. Jay shrugged. The human supposed that he should trust Twilight's judgement. She probably knew where most of the best places to eat. Twilight led Jay inside. Te inside was darkened, thanks to thick curtains covering the windows. The grey furred waiter led them over to a private booth. Sitting down, they both took a look at the menu. "Soooo," mumbled Twilight, putting down her menu. Jay smiled indulgently. "Why did you ask me out?" Jay frowned. Though he couldn't really answer that. He tried to explain that he'd just felt that it was right, though this only made Twilight blush thickly. Luckily at that moment, the waiter arrived, carrying a large bottle of what looked like fine cider. Twilight frowned. "We didn't order that." The waiter smiled. Ignoring her protests, the waiter put the bottle on the table and walked away. Both Twilight and Jay looked at one another, before Jay reached out, undid the bottle and poured two glasses of the amber colored liquid into the small glasses on the table. "I suppose we could enjoy it?" Twilight mumbled uncertainly. Jay shrugged with a wide grin. Picking up their glasses, the two tapped the glasses together, then drank deeply. The apple flavored liquid filled Jay with warmth. He smiled at Twilight, who seemed to equally enjoy the drink. "More?" She asked. Jay chuckled and allowed the Unicorn to refill his glass. "To friends?" Twilight asked, holding up her glass. Jay nodded. They tapped their glasses together. A soft chuckle made them look round. The grey furred waiter was standing next to their table, with a soft smile on his face. The ponies eyes were the thing that made Jay uneasy. Unlike Twilight's bright, sparkling eyes, the waiter's eyes had red pupils with yellow instead of the usual white that most ponies had. A pair of thick, tufty eyebrows sprouted out above the ponies creepy eyes. The pony was smiling slightly madly as he gazed at Jay. Twilight frowned at the Waiter. "Those eyes...have we met somewhere?"

"I knew it was you." The pony said. The waiter had a fruity, rather deep voice. Twilight froze, her mouth half open. The Waiter began to chuckle. Jay frowned. "I suppose the game is afoot. And I love games. I don't suppose you remember me do you Jay?" Jay stared as the ponies body began to elongate. It became longer, more serpentine. The waiters back legs changed. One grew green scales and thick nails. The poofy tail also grew scales, but these were red. The front legs also began to mutate. One sprouted blonde fur and flexed into what looked like a lions paw. The other changed into what appeared to be an eagles talon, though it looked more dexterous. A pair of wings sprouted out of the creatures long body. One was a dark, bat-like wing, whilst the other was blue with feathers. A thick fang sprouted out of the ponies mouth and two massive horns poked out of the top of the creatures head. One was almost like a stags horn with several spikes, whilst the other was rigid and bulbous, with a slight blue coloring. The creature chuckled in its deep voice. "Hello there!" It called. Judging from the deep voice, Jay supposed the mis-match creature was male. He tried to go for his driver but he couldn't move. He was stuck staring at the mismatched creature's...he supposed it was the creatures mid-riff. His whole body seemed to have lost its will to move. Several sharp talons slid under his chin and tilted Jay's head up. The creature was smiling. "I wouldn't try moving, either of you!" The strange creature was saying. He'd glanced at Twilight then laughed. "Where are my manners?" I am Discord, the ruler of chaos! And...between the two of us," Discord's heap suddenly popped off, leaving a stump and floated over to Jay's ear. "Th absolute King of Pranks and fun!" The creature whispered in Jay's ear. Discord's head popped back onto it's neck. The creature smiled. With a click of his talon-like fingers, Discord produced two thick strips of black cloth. With a grin, Discord reached over. Jay couldn't see what the mis-matched creature was doing to Twilight but when Discord turned to smile at Jay, he was only holding one strip of cloth. "Oh don't you worry your head about her Jay." Discord laughed. "You, Twilight and I are going for a little trip!" Then he tied the strip of cloth over Jay's eyes, blocking out all sight.

---

Obsidian chuckled as he sat by the pool. His meditation had been interrupted by the feeling. The feeling he'd been expecting. It was a strange feeling. A feeling of anger, happiness and laughter all at once. His laughter increased. That power...that chaotic feeling that seemed to be every emotion at once. It was him. It was Discord. He'd come to Ponyville. If he had come for what Obsidian thought he had,...Obsidian stood. It was time to reclaim his captured servant.