Chapter 1: The cold shoulder.
StasisChapter 1: The cold shoulder.By: The Maniacal Muffin
With a loud wheeze in my breath I round another corner, delighting in the fact that I am not met with more ponies to chase me.
The momentary bliss is just that though, momentary, as I hear the group of mares - and some stallions - coming up to the corner just behind me. I turn around and prepare a batch of my own magic to blast into the crowd, making sure to give it a large area of effect but a shorter lifetime.
As the horde of townsponies round the corner I let go of my magic, sending a small orb rocketing into the center of the mass. When it makes contact a wave of turquoise energy ripples out as everypony caught in the blast turns slightly bluer. Movement with the group jolts to a sudden halt, and using my now small time to breathe and recount I head into the closest building: Sugarcube Corner.
Haphazardly entering the building I close the door behind me, flick the lock and lean my back against it. Wheezing and coughing a bit whilst the first spell is still in effect.
Looking back up from the hoof I was coughing into I find none other than Pinkie Pie hovering over me in a position that soon makes me blush with embarrassment.
Oblivious to the situation she has caused Pinkie decided to press her muzzle against mine with an unbelievable amount of innocence given the situation she is oblivious to.
"Hi Stacy!" she practically yells into my mouth which had found itself agape with the realization of how oblivious this pony can be.
"Hello Pinky, and please stop calling me that." I say back as my cheeks continue to resemble tomatoes more and more.
"No promises!~" She returns in a sing-song voice as she finally moves off of me.
Letting out a sigh with equal parts thankfulness and annoyance I get back onto my hooves and clear my thoughts a bit.
Pinkie noticing the silence decides to start a conversation.
"Stacy, what's happened? It looks like you've been running around all morning." Pinkie asks in a serious tone, something that would alarm anypony else.
I let out an annoyed sigh before I answer "I have been, I don't even know where to start Pinkie."
"Then start at the beginning then!" she states in her usual cheery tone as she motions for us to move to a table to sit.
"Okay then." I say as a sly grin makes it's way onto my face.
"A long time ago, in a far away place, a mare and a colt-" I say before I am interrupted by the thunderous roar of the crowd outside suddenly springing back to life and the early stages of Pinkie's laughter.
In a moment of panic I press my hoof against Pinkie's muzzle and cast a bubble of my own magic around us before I release the now a shade bluer Pinkie.
As we get seated at one of the tables she asks "I guess it has something to do with them?" in a calm voice as she wipes her muzzle.
"Sorry about that" I say sheepishly before answering "Who? My parents or the horde of ponies who have been chasing me for the last hour?" I ask with a bit more sarcasm then I meant, causing me to wince slightly.
Pinkie giggles before answering "Them silly!", pointing to the door.
"This is going to take a while." I warn before I gather my thoughts.
"I think we have time." She says in a faux questioning tone as she points points to my cutie mark of a stop-watch covered in snow and ice.
We both chuckle as I begin to recount my very eventful day.
Walking up to the rose stand, I examine the flowers on display. They look especially nice and are making me feel a bit bad that I am here for a snack rather than decorations.
Looking over the display I am met with the plot of the store owner facing away from me, so as not to show me anything she doesn't want me to see. Apparently this was a foresight as I spot a grey pegasus on the other side of the storeowner gawking at the sight before us, noticing me he gives me a knowing grin. I give him a cold stare in return before I flash my horn and envelop the peeping tom in my magic, freezing his knowing smile just as it faltered.
Clearing my throat, the store owner breaks her attention from what she was doing and stands up to greet me.
"Hi there!" She says to me as I look back down to her produce. "Welcome to 'Roseluck's Essential Flowers', how may I help you?" She says in a cheery and welcoming tone.
"Hello." I begin meekly "Can I get two of those please?" I say pointing to a group of lush looking, light pink flowers.
"Is this a gift or a snack?" she asks in a skeptical tone as her eyebrow rises. "Because that flower there is called 'love's accomplice'."
"Heh, yeah, it's a snack..." I say meekly as I do my best to hide from the mare's accusing glare. "I don't have anypony special I'd give them to anyway." I add looking at the ground for a moment, before looking back up to the store owner, attempting to not look sorry for myself and failing horribly.
"Oh, okay then. I was worried they where gifts for two different mares. Also, I thought you where with Pi-" She said in a slightly less energetic tone than her greeting, that is until she in interrupted by a cyan unicorn pulling up beside me, shoving a hoof in the store owner's mouth and attempting to look as seductive as possible, but only half succeeding.
"Why hello there, I couldn't help but overhear th-" Is all she could say before my startled and accidental casting took effect. The whites of her eyes, mane and tail turning a pale blue; her face being left in a less than flattering expression.
Wide eyed I give a surprised look to the store owner, she returns the expression until it moves to one with more anger in her eyes.
"W-What'd you do!" she asks in a quivering voice.
Letting out the breath I didn't know I was holding, I answer. "When she scared me I accidentally froze her in my magic, she will be fine in a minute and for her it will be like nothing happened. She will technically be a few minutes younger also."
"Oh thank Celestia" she cheers as she lets out her own sigh of relief. "I don't want to beat up any of my customers because my friend became a statue." She adds while giving me an accusing glare.
"Nor do I plan to be beaten up." I say quietly as I take a step back from the stand.
"Glad that's made clear." she says as she stops glaring at me and begins to wrap my flowers.
Finding the courage to stand up straight again, I wait only a moment before my flowers are held out in the store owner's outstretched hoof. Grabbing the flowers in my outstretched hoof, the store owner gives me another quizzical glare, her eyebrow raised high.
"Is something the matter?" I ask with a hint of venom in my voice as I tuck the flowers stem-first under my foreleg.
"Sorry, you are literally the first unicorn I've seen not use telekinesis at every opportunity." she says in an apologetic tone.
I sigh before I explain "I guess you could say I have trouble with anything that isn't time altering magic.", a hint of hostility still in my voice.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have been so quick to judge" she says meekly as she begins to study the ground.
"It's fine, really. It just happens often and it gets to me sometimes." I say in my calmest voice possible.
"Okay, thanks. Um, that'll be three bits." she says as she straightens her stature.
I chuckle and hand over the bits before waving goodbye and turning around, before turning back around having just remembered something, or rather somepony.
"Excuse me." I announce, getting the store owner's attention. "When I found you here you where busy with something and was..." I cough into my hoof before continuing. "Uhh, 'waving around'." I say, getting to the point, and noticing a blush in reply from the store owner. "I didn't see anything but that stallion over there was not even hiding that he was looking." I say, pointing to the grey pegasus from earlier. "I'd say he has two or three minutes before time starts again for him." I say as a smirk makes it's way onto my face.
"Thank you." she says through her teeth in a low voice as she looks in the direction of the stallion in question.
As I turn and start leaving towards the park I hear the store owner curse under her breath and begin to walk away from her her stand with heavy heated steps.
"-at you... where did - OH CELESTIA! ROSELUCK! WHAT? WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING THAT STATUES STALLIONHOOD!?" I hear the cyan unicorn cry as I round a corner.
You still feel things when frozen, they just seem to happen all at once.
"So, so far you accidentally froze Colgate, managed to make Roseluck uncomfortable and caught Thunderlane peeping?" Pinkie says, interrupting my story.
"Colgate... I'll need to be more careful around her." I mutter to myself as a scowl makes its way onto my face while I study the table between me and Pinkie.
"Yeah, the usual for me 'aye?" I ask jokingly, smiling back at Pinkie and finally remembering to answer her.
"Yeah." She agrees as she giggles at my self-depreciating joke. "Are you hungry?" she asks as she calms down a bit. "We are in Sugarcube Corner."
"Yeah." I agree. "I have more then exhausted myself today." I add, giving my reason since one seemed appropriate.
"I wonder how that happened?" she replies jokingly, sarcasm dripping from the statement as we begin to move to the counter where all the goodies are displayed
"Now Pinkies doing it." I think, scowling to myself at the sarcasm of the mare in front of me as I take a seat at the counter and put on a happy facade. I continue my story as a chocolate chip muffin is handed to me, turning my smile genuine.
Entering the park I began to walk over to an empty bench, watching the foals play about in their time away from school. Parents off to the side, watching their foals; others unsupervised, the parents faith in the town yet to be dis-proven. Ponyville really is a fantastic town.
Making my way to the bench I take the flowers out from under my arm and lie down on the bench, sacrificing how I must look for comfort.
I lay the wrapped flowers in front of me on the bench, unwrap them and begin eating my snack; taking particular effort to not let them touch the bench.
Once my food was finished, I crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the nearby bin. I then sit up looking around the park, noticing how the mares seem to look away when I turn towards them. I check and begin to double check myself until a prismatic blur lands beside me.
"H-Hey there Stasis, your'e looking fine today" Rainbow Dash practically vomits at me while she visibly tries to keep her composure, leaning against the bench and standing on her hind legs.
"H-Hi Rainbow... Uh, thanks?" I reply, confused by the sudden compliment. Especially since I am pretty sure I look no different than yesterday.
"Oh it's nothing, that's what friends are for!" she says in a slightly wavering tone as she moves to look for dirt under her hoof. This action causing her to lose balance and begin to fall away from me.
Moving quickly I put an arm around her to halt her fall "Woah there." I say as I struggle to keep my own footing, her forelegs holding around my neck and her wings not moving once to help even though they where already outstretched.
"Are you feeling okay?" I ask her as I try to pry her off of me and set her down, she seems to be holding on for dear life.
"I am now..." She says as she looks down into my eyes, forcing me to look everywhere but her face and the ridiculousness of the situation now entering my mind as Rainbow continues to hold herself under me.
"Glad to hear." I say in rushed syllables as I improve my efforts to pry the pegasus off of me tenfold.
I finally pull free and practically leap over the still incapacitated pegasus, trying not to make the situation any worse for me.
She moans in a way that attracts even more attention to the two of us before shaking her head furiously and muttering something under her breath.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask, sounding mostly concerned but also a bit frightened.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." She says as she shakes her head again.
"That makes two of us" I say sarcastically, causing me to flinch at my abruptness.
"Yeah... You just look so~ enchanting..." She says as she looks back to me with a look of longing in her eyes, my primal hormones screaming for justice at the sight of the upturned pegasus.
"I wouldn't be surprised" I mutter in reply, blushing as I begin to put the situation together,
"Say, I just remembered I had to go see Twilight-" I say as I subconsciously lean forward to get a better look at the pegasus before me. That is until I am interrupted by Rainbow suddenly jumping to her hooves, making me jump back and realize my actions, and the hypocrisy of my reaction to the stallion earlier.
"I could take you there!" Rainbow yells into my face as she takes a step forward. "You could ride me..." She adds in a sultry tone, me noticing the lack of mention for flying in her second statement.
"T-That won't be necessary." I stammer as I make some room between me and the suggestive pegasus.
"Actually, now that you mention it, I don't feel too well. My back hurts from that fall." She says in a low, 'pained' voice, me predicting what she is a bout to ask, using the fifteen centimeter fall as a reason.
"Do you think you could carry me with you?" she adds, as she proceeds to lie on the ground and make a fake groan of pain, making me genuinely feel bad for dropping her even though I know she is fine.
Sighing in annoyance I weigh my options against the uninjured speed demon, agreeing to her terms coming on top with help from primal urges, closely followed by freezing her and running away.
"Sorry about that..." I say, making Rainbow physically deflate as she misinterprets my answer, making my mind up for me. "Get on then." I add as I sigh in annoyance. She immediately jumps up and is hovering over me before she remembers her 'injury' and makes another fake groan of pain. Everypony who has ever faked for a day off is now turning in their graves.
As she settles onto my back she wraps her forelegs around my neck and nuzzles my neck, causing me to roll my eyes as I begin to have less and less doubts that something magical is to blame. My blush lowering in intensity but remaining as the affection is still welcomed, from one of the most desired mares in Ponyville no less.
As I begin to make my way to Princess Twilight's home-tree-palace, Rainbow decides to wrap her wings around my barrel. The action causing my walk to become stiff legged and my blush increasing in intensity as I battle my hormones.
In a home-tree-palace not too far away, a purple drake jumps straight in his seat and then begins to give a thousand-yard-stare at nothing in particular, sitting his comic book on the table in front of him
"There is a disturbance in the force." he mutters to himself in a deep and gravelly voice, causing the lavender mare sharing the table to give him a quizzical look before she shrugs and returns to the tome at her hooves; the purple drake holds his stare, slowly picking up his comic book, before he continues reading it like nothing happened.
Chapter 2: I only had one ice pun.
StasisChapter 2: I only had one ice pun. New and improved 'Chapter of the Year' edition!By: The Maniacal Muffin
"Wow, Dashie was really trying to put the moves on you." Pinkie states, genuine surprise on her face from her friend's actions.
"I know! It was so embarrassing!" I exclaim as I bang my hooves against the counter, my muzzle joining them in frustration.
"I think it's kinda sweet what she was doing." She adds in a soothing tone.
"Oh, that was only the beginning!" I say, anger for the pegasus surfacing as I throw my hooves up for effect.
"Surely it wasn't that bad." Pinkie says trying to cheer me up.
"Don't try me." I mutter into the counter as my dramatics called for an intimate moment with the mahogany.
"Well, you haven't explained why everypony is chasing you yet." She states, trying to get me back on track.
"I'm getting to it." I say as I continue to mutter into the table for effect.
I sit like that for a moment, Pinkie just moves a muffin towards me. "Thank you" I mutter as I sit myself up, clean myself up a bit and take a bite of my new muffin, continuing my story.
Leaving the boundaries of the park with my new cargo I attempt a gallop, now noticing the manic stares me and Rainbow seem to be getting from the majority of mares that see us.
The gallop lasts all but 4 seconds, as every step crushes my spine and Rainbow decides to share how satisfying she finds it.
"Why - do - you have to be - so damn - inappropriate?" I pant back to Rainbow as I slow down to a canter and try to get oxygen into my unfit body; I groan in pain as the pony on my back menages to kick me as she tries to get comfortable again.
"What would be 'appropriate' then?" Rainbow asks in reply.
"Letting go of my neck, keeping your wings to yourself, maybe even getting off and stop faking." I think, in attempt to calm myself. "Being a bit quieter." I answer in a cold tone, deciding to hold back my tongue.
"Is this better?" she whispers into my ear, causing me to shiver as she menages to invade my personal space even more.
"How could this get any-" I begin before I cut myself off. "No, not tempting fate today." I think aloud. Divine intervention is the last thing I need.
Walking though the large doors of Twilight's castle I notice that, unsurprisingly, the hall is deserted. My hoof-steps echoing through the palace being the only sign of life in the yet to be staffed building.
"The pink one leads to me, the orange one leads to the library." A unmistakable feminine voice announces in my head as a turquoise circle appears under me in the crystal, pink and yellow lines coming off of it.
"I wish she just got staff from Canterlot Castle rather than this 'only if ponies want to' horsefluff" Rainbow whispers into my ear, either as yet another 'move' or as if the alicorn in question where near.
"Are you sure you don't want to walk the fifty meters to Twilight or a bed?" I ask rainbow without turning my head, since the last time I did that she decided it was appropriate to kiss me, making all the staring angry mares look more like murderous psychopaths.
Magic was definitely to blame; I doubt assaulting a princess' most loyal friend/savior of Equestria is ever a good idea. Thankfully nopony had attacked us yet.
"Oh, I plan to go to a bed. It's just that you aren't leaving me there." She whispers into my ear again as I roll my eyes and begin following the pink line to Twilight for some help. The constant advances and innuendos getting smaller and smaller reactions from me as they seem to never end, and since recently I have been more worried about being attacked by enraged single mares.
"I hope you can help Twilight." I say to myself as I continue along the pink path ahead of me.
"It would be fun if you did." Rainbow adds to my statement in a sultry tone.
"You really are horrible like this." I say to Rainbow for the umpteenth time.
"I know, I'm a bad mare that needs to be punished." She says continuing her sultry tone and moving to nibble on my ear, me jerking my head away from her, expecting the action having learnt her movements.
"You are impossible!" I yell at Rainbow, channeling my inner Rarity as she continues to try to reach one of my ears without loosening her grip on me.
"Oh thank Celestia!" I exclaim as I reach the door that the pink line passes into, Rainbow stopping her assault on my ears and instead opting to hold onto me with all her strength.
I do really feel horrible for shutting down all of her advances. Even if they are not her choice, she will still remember this. I hope she will be able to forgive me after this all blows over.
As if the universe was plotting against me I begin to hear sobbing from the mare on my back.
"Ponyfeathers." I swear under my breath as a gigantic wave of guilt hits me. Now I could just die.
"Please don't leave..." Rainbow says in a low and wavering voice between sobs. If I could die from being a horrible pony, I'd have just died.
"Rainbow, listen to me." I say in my best stern yet calming voice, snapping her out of her downward spiral if only for a moment.
"I will never leave you guys, you are all the closest thing I have had to actual family and I love you all." I continue, now having her complete attention. "Rainbow." I say, now looking directly back at her. "You are a wonderful mare, loyal to the end and one of the greatest ponies I have ever met. You boast that you are the fastest flier in Equestria because it is true. You have a keen eye for detail and you craft the weather like no other. Now, I am going to have to leave you here, but I promise with all my heart, a Pinkie Promise like no other, that I will return. But before then I will try to lift this enchantment or curse put upon me, because this is not the real you. This is the you that is being manipulated by some sort of magic put upon me. But, that said I would like us to sort out our feelings once this is over, something I feel I'll need to do a fair bit after this but something necessary. Would you like that?" I ask, finishing up one of the best motivational speeches I'll ever do. Hopefully now I only spend one eternity in hell rather than multiple.
"That was beautiful." I hear from the doorway in front of me. I turn to see a wet eyed Princess Twilight wiping a tear away from her face.
"Thank you." I reply with a smile on my face, a genuine smile filled with pride in my successful speech.
"Come in, please." Twilight says as she opens the door for us and motioning to some couches in the corner of what I assume is a study.
I lay on the floor in front of the largest couch to allow Rainbow off, she tightens her grip on me as I sit, but lets go and stands after I give her a reassuring smile. She moves onto the couch and sits down with a melancholy sigh, hanging her head. Noticing this and feeling a bit bad for how I handled the past half hour I decide to sit close to her, letting her lean into me.
"Why?" She asks me in a low voice, punctuating the question with a sniffle.
"Because, even though this is you under some spell, it is still you. I might as well begin making it up to you now." I say to her in a calm and soothing tone.
"You never cease to amaze me Stasis" Princess Twilight says to me with thankfulness in her eyes.
"I try." I say as I wrap a foreleg around Rainbow since she started shivering, most likely due to whatever battlefield her mind has become given the effects of whatever magic and the internal revelations she must be learning due to the strange situation.
"How much did you hear?" I ask as Rainbow rests her head on my shoulder and her shivering stops.
"From when you said her name." She says in reply, an air of formality entering the room as she cleans her face and composes herself.
"You know the gist of the situation then?" I ask, now having to lean back into Rainbow so as to not fall over.
"Yes, I would like to scan you for any abnormal magical signature." She asks, with her usual calm smile on her face.
"That's fine, but first; why are you not effected?" I ask, the pony in question showing none of the signs I have been noticing.
"I do not know exactly, most likely it is my natural magic resistance as an alicorn." She replies, looking satisfied with her answer.
Only a moment later, I begin to feel the familiar tingle of magic moving over me as Twilight tries to find the source of all this drama; Twilight's face scrunching up before the sensation leaves me.
"It's not what I expected." She begins in a disappointed tone. "It seems like there is something foreign inside of you creating some variation of the 'want it, need it' spell. The actual magical signature of the object filling your bloodstream and applying itself to you, turning you into a walking incarnation of the spell." Twilight explains with a frown on her face.
"In Equestrian please?" Rainbow asks with a look of confusion on her face.
"Basically, I'm just too cool for Twilight to understand." I whisper in Rainbow's ear in an attempt to cheer her up, which proves successful if her chuckle is any indication.
"May I?" I ask Twilight as she begins to unpack some charts.
"Uhh, shure?" She says unsure with what I am doing.
"Basically, there is something inside of me with magic in it making it attractive, that magic is being absorbed into my body and giving me the effects of the spell also." I explain in a single sentence, earning a glare from Twilight.
"Making you more attractive?" Rainbow asks for conformation that she is understanding the concept properly.
"Exactly." I say as I rub her shoulder. Her just smiling in response.
"What can be done about it?" She asks Twilight with concern in her voice.
"Not much which I am willing to risk. The only option I could think of is suppressing the magic of the object inside Stasis. This will make his magic unstable though. An unstable version of his magic is something we both wouldn't want to risk." She says looking towards the floor at the last part, me following her actions. "I'll have to contact Celestia on this situation. Sorry." She adds apologetically.
"You did what you could." Rainbow says reassuring her friend.
"Thanks, I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to send a message to the Princess." She says before turning and leaving the room, Leaving me and Rainbow alone.
I take my foreleg off of Rainbow and then proceed to lie on the couch, waiting for the princess' return. Rainbow follows suit, moving close to me once again and leaning into me slightly.
"Awww! So cute and considerate and loving and gentlecoltly of you to do Stacy!" Pinky exclaims to me, staring in awe at nothing in particular.
"That's not how I would have put it, and please stop calling me that." I say, practically begging for her to not use that nickname.
"You know you love it." She says in reply, me pinching the bridge of my snout and shaking my head in response.
"You'll be the death of me, Pinkie." I say through a chuckle as I look at her and continue to shake my head.
"Well, uhh... I still don't know why everypony is chasing you." Pinkie replies, looking a bit taken back by my dark humor.
"I'm getting to it! Jeez!" I say, doing my best impression of a bratty teenager; leaning back in my stool and rolling my eyes for effect. Pinkie just giggling loudly in reply.
Satisfied with the recovery of the mood I continue my story.
