//------------------------------//
// An Unwelcome Visitor 
// Story: The Sculptor 
// by Robipony 
//------------------------------//

	It rained heavily upon the Equestrian countryside. The royal carriage stopped in front of the old catacombs, pulled by four weary stallions who had hauled their chariot, and the great Prince Blueblood, through the mud and rain.

"We are here," one of the body guard said, knocking on the carriage door. He had to jump back abruptly as Blueblood slammed the door open before stepping out of the carriage, not even acknowledging the guards that had hauled the coach. Pulling a small pocket sized mirror from his suit, Blueblood examined his features. 

Blueblood was a white unicorn stallion, with a light amber mane and tail. He wore a silky black suit collar, with a blue bowtie. On the black collar, a single, white flower stood proudly. He wore a suit, with a blue tie and a white flower. On his flank was the cutie mark of a compass rose. Such a perfect image couldn’t be tarnished by the mud. 

“Your cloak.” Blueblood insisted.

“Uh-yes, your highness.” The guard said, before taking off his cloak and giving it to the prince so that his clothes wouldn’t become damp in the rain.

"Prince, are you sure you want to be here?" the carriage driver inquired.

"Yes." The prince nodded, looking at the stallion with his blue eyes. "This is the location I requested. Just make sure you stay here until I return."

"Of course, Prince Blueblood," the driver replied, "Would it be okay if we parked the carriage under some trees for cover until you return?"

"No," the prince answered, his tone stern. "I want this carriage in exactly this spot when I return. It will lessen the chances of my glorious form being soaked by this dreadful rain."

"As you wish, your highness," said the driver, a sad look having crept across his face, but Prince Blueblood completely ignored it.

Prince Blueblood made his way into the ancient catacombs. The timeworn stone was slick with moisture, making the royal unicorn worry about dirtying his hooves, however his desire for vengeance won out in the end and so he proceeded forward. Walking through the brick hallway the prince could hear the sound of snakes slithering between the cracks of the stone.

A week ago, during the Grand Galloping Gala, a young unicorn mare had shamed him in public. Saying that he was “The most uncharming prince she had ever met,” before proceeding to cover him with cake and ruining one of his best suits. Enraged by this insolence, Blueblood proceeded to discover the identity of this mare so that he could punish her for her rude behavior. It wasn’t long before he discovered that the mare in question was a dress designer in Ponyville, named Rarity.

Now that Prince Blueblood knew her identity and where she lived, he began to seek out the perfect way to achieve his revenge. His first plan was to just tar and feather the mare, but that simply felt childish. Then he had the idea of declaring to the whole country that her dresses were unsightly. By doing so, it could ruin her reputation forever. However, not only did that sound really stupid, but it would be such a short lived punishment. No, Prince Blueblood wanted this Rarity to suffer, and he wanted her to suffer for a long time.

It was after some time spent moping about the castle that Blueblood decided that perhaps he could find something to help him if he were to sneak around Aunt Celestia's room. Perhaps there was some old dungeon or ancient prison that Celestia knew of that Blueblood could use for his plan. As he looked about the room, he found a document discussing a strange mare who lived in some catacombs not too far from Canterlot, who was a “sculptor” of sorts.

After five minutes of walking through the catacombs, Prince Blueblood started to discover various statues. Statues of stallions and mares, ponies and griffins. There was even a statue of a minotaur or two. They all possessed the same facial expression of absolute terror. No doubt the victims of the sculptors previous victims, or so Blueblood thought. To any other stallion this would be a sign to be cautious, but Prince Blueblood heeded no mind to it.

What really worried him were the snakes that slithered between the cracks of stone and broken statues. He had never been a fan of anything that could bite or sting. To make matters more unnerving, Blueblood could have sworn that the snakes were watching him - examining him for any sort of threat or weakness.

From the document Blueblood had read, these statues belonged to a gorgony, a pony-like creature with snakes for a mane and the ability to turn others into stone. It was said that quite a few of her statues were not chiseled from stone, but actually the victims of her power. Prince Blueblood wanted this power. He wanted her to turn Rarity into stone, to be a statue for his enjoyment.

With her frozen in stone, Prince Blueblood could do whatever he wanted with the mare that had disgraced him. Already various juicy ideas were swimming their way to the surface of his mind.

Of course it might be difficult for him to achieve a partnership with this beast, after all his ancestors had served as Celestia's knights and had on more than one occasion hunted and killed other gorgonies. However, every pony has their price and Prince Blueblood was certain that he could discover hers.

After walking for another ten minutes, Prince Blueblood came across a round circular area that was clear except for the surrounding statues and some strange red flowers. Intermingled among these flowers were a few with white petals that seemed to radiate a faint blue glow. A bright light poured from a small opening in the cracked ceiling above.

"Who goes there?" A sharp feminine voice called out from the darkness. Blueblood tried to look around for the source of the voice, but all he could see was the outline of nearby statues. The voice echoed off the catacomb walls, making it difficult for him to discover where it had come from.

"I am Prince Blueblood," the prince called out into the darkness, "I am searching for the sculptor of these fine statues."

"Go away!" the voiced called back, "I am not interested in commissions or petty requests."

Petty! That word annoyed him. His request was by no means petty.

"How dare you speak this way to me," Prince Blueblood roared, "I am Prince Blueblood, the nephew of Princess Celestia herself. You will hear my request."

"Really, now?" the voice seemed to be circling the prince as it spoke, "You don't look like any prince I have seen. I have lived many generations and have seen and met countless princes and yet you are nothing like them."

Prince Blueblood smiled before boasting, "I assure you that is because I outshine them all."  

"I really doubt that," the voice said, coming closer, "I think it is because your frame is small and you have much more fat on your bones by comparison. It is like a duck claiming to be a swan or a potkettle claiming it is a kettlepot after being painted black."

The prince growled, "I will not tolerate this humiliation."

Raising his head the prince turned around and prepared to leave the room.

"Fine, fine," the voice spoke from behind him, "I will listen to your... request."

Turning around, Prince Blueblood saw a shadow next to one of the statues. While its appearance was concealed by the darkness, he could make out that it possessed the shape of a mare. Pleased that he was finally being listened to, Prince Blueblood sat down and began to speak to her.

"I would like you to turn someone to stone."

Laughter bellowed from the shape, "What makes you think that I can turn anypony into stone?"

"According to certain documents I discovered, I became aware that you can," the prince answered. "Besides, I am certain that it shouldn't be difficult for a unicorn such as yourself."

The shape stepped out of the darkness and now Prince Blueblood saw who he had been talking to. She appeared to be an earth pony mare, with a charcoal gray coat and golden mane that was pulled back behind her. On her flank was a cutie mark resembling a hammer and chisel with a golden serpent wrapping around the hilt of the hammer. Her eyes were magenta but something seemed ... off about their shape.

"Do I look like a unicorn to you?" the mare growled.

"Well... I merely assumed..." Blueblood stammered.

"Sit down," the mare commanded.

"Excuse me?!"

"I said SIT DOWN!!!" the mare growled, before giving Prince Blueblood a terrible death glare. The remark was so hostile that Prince Blueblood soon discovered that he had subconsciously sat down in response. Feeling the mud and dirt on his flank made the poor prince feel disgusted.

"Good," the mare's tone became calm. "First, before I hear your request, there are some rules you will have to follow. Disobey these rules three times and you will suffer dire consequences."

Rules? The mare pointed at a large rock, which had a series of rules carved into it. The prince chuckled.

"I don't think you understand," the Prince giggled. "I am a prince, your rules don't apply to me."

"You are in my domain," the mare growled, "Therefore they do apply to you. The first rule is very simple. You shall always refer to me by my name - Euresia."

"That sounds like a stupid name," the Prince spoke.

"Yeah, well your name isn't any better," Euresia retorted, "It sounds like it was given to you by a bunch of inbreds! Now, call me by my name or else."

There had been a rumor that a few generations back that members of the royal family had married within the family in order to maintain their purity. Not being into the study of history, Blueblood hadn't done the research to see if this was true or not, but naturally he assumed it was false.

While he didn't like this gorgony calling him an inbred, it was clear that if he wanted her help, than he would have to play by her rules - for now. Perhaps when the endeavor with Rarity was finished, Blueblood could have Euresia punished for her mistreatment of him. All in due time.

Prince Blueblood sighed. "Fine, can you please help me, Euresia?"

Euresia smiled with delight. "Now that is much better. So tell me prince, what do you need?"

"So about a week ago my aunt hosted the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot," Prince Blueblood explained. "Surely you have heard of it?"

The gorgony gave a quick nod to the catacombs around her, "Does it look like I get out much?"

"Hmmm ... I suppose not," Blueblood answered. "It’s a grand festival that only the finest mares and stallions can attend. At least that is what I once thought. That all changed about a week ago when this uncouth mare showed up. She kept clinging to me the whole time up until the end of the festival when she called me ... the ‘most uncharming prince in all of Equestria’ before covering one of my finest suits in cake frosting."

It was around this time that Blueblood became aware this the very white suit he was presently wearing was also becoming dirty.

"Go on," Euresia said, as she gestured for the prince to continue.

"So I was hoping that you could turn this mare into stone for me," Blueblood asked. "I am of course willing to reimburse you for your efforts. I just want her turned to a stone statue ... for my own personal reasons."

"Wait, wait," Euresia raised a hoof. "First off, I am confused. First she fawns over you and then suddenly she hates your guts. Didn't that escalate rather quickly?"

"Well... I suppose," Blueblood answered.

"Can you think of anything you did that could have perhaps driven her that far?" the gorgony asked, puzzled by the story. "Where did the cake even come from?"

The prince thought for a bit on the subject before he answered. "Now that I think about it, I may have used her as a shield from the cake."

Euresia face hoofed. "You mean to tell me that you came all the way out here, just so you could have some mare turned to stone for reacting in a totally justifiable manner?"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"You really are a dumb inbred, aren't you?" Euresia growled, as she slammed a hoof against the floor. "Any pony in their right mind would hate you for pulling a stunt like that. Isn't a prince supposed to be chivalrous and protective of mares?"

"DON'T CALL ME AN INBRED!" Prince Blueblood bellowed.

"Hey, no yelling at me!" Euresia said, pointing at the rules again with a hoof. "That is rule seven. No yelling is allowed unless I'm the one doing it!"

"That is a dumb rule!" the prince growled.

"No, you want to know what is dumb?" the gorgon yelled, "The fact that you came in here thinking you could just order me to help you when it was your very ancestors that drove my species to the brink of extinction. They killed my sisters and they blinded those they spared. I had to watch from a distance. You are pathetic!"

"I'm done with this!" Prince Blueblood stood up. "I will not tolerate you making fun of me or my problem!"

As Prince Blueblood arose something caught Euresia's eye. The crumpled remains of one of her flowers. Not only that but it was one of the rare white petaled flowers. Slowly the soft blue glow of its petals faded away. A look of horror stretched across Euresia's face.

"You... you... you crushed one of my flowers."

The spoiled prince looked down at the crumpled remains of the flower. "Yeah, so?"

"You ... Crushed ... One ... Of ... My …  Flowers!" Euresia growled, a look of pure hatred on her face. "Do you know how difficult those were to grow down here?"

"Well, it is your own fault," the prince humphed his chest. "You are the one that told me to sit down on this filthy surface."

"That doesn't matter!" The gorgony pointed out. "You just broke rule number forty three. Do not damage any of the glowing flowers!"

"Whatever," Blueblood said as he turned to walk away. "I am leaving and when I return I will have my royal guard turn this place over and have you hauled off to the dungeon."

"No you won't," Euresia hissed, "do that and I will turn you to stone."

"I don't think you can," the prince turned back around, a cruel smile on his face. "I think that you are all poppycock. You’re just a delusional mare who thinks she possesses such power."

For Euresia, that was the last straw. Slowly her charcoal face turned bright red with rage as she moved toward Prince Blueblood at a frightening pace.

"You broke rule five - that is, do not threaten me," Euresia roared, as her eyes began to glow. "It would seem that you have broken three rules. Now your time is up!"

To Blueblood's horror, Euresia's mane began to move, standing up on end. It was not made of hair but golden strands composed of scale and flesh. At the end of each strand was a serpentine head, that glared in unison with their mistress. Their ruby eyes staring deep into Prince Blueblood's soul.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Blueblood protested as he felt his limbs stiffen. The prince tried to look away from the gorgony's eyes yet something held his gaze.

The gorgony didn't respond to the prince's protest but continued to stare. Her eyes and the eyes of her serpentine mane staring into his soul. As Euresia continued to stare, Prince Blueblood's body slowly began to petrify, starting with his hooves before working its way up his legs.

"Wait! Please! Surely there is something I can do to make up for this!" Prince Blueblood begged. However, Euresia continued to ignore him.

As the process of petrification began to move up his legs, Blueblood could feel his limbs growing numb as if he was standing out in a cold blizzard.

"Look, I take back everything I said," the prince begged once more, "I won't send the guards and I won't ask you to turn the mare to stone... I... I'll even pay you. Just please stop this!"

With his body now largely turned to stone, the only thing left that was unpetrified was Blueblood's neck and head. However, despite Blueblood's promises, the gorgony didn't listen. She continued to glare into his eyes, delivering to him the exact fate he had wished upon Rarity.

"P-please s-s-s..." the stallion couldn't even finish his last words as his throat and vocal cords turned to granite. All Prince Blueblood could do was stare in horror at Euresia as the rest of his head and face became stone. The last things to turn to stone were Blueblood's horror filled eyes.

The eyes of the gorgony and her serpentine mane stopped glowing once Prince Blueblood's body was completely petrified.

Euresia looked the statue of Prince Blueblood over. "So this is what has become of Equestrian royalty as of late. What a shame."

'Indeed,' A serpentine voice spoke from within her mind, 'It is a great ssshame.'

One of Euresia's snake strands turned to look at her, 'They don't make any ssstallion princes like mistress's lost love anymore, do they.'

The gorgony sighed. While in the past she had seen many of her sisters killed by the royal family, she had also meet some that stood up against their comrades and opposed their actions - saying that the mass genocide was unjust and unnecessary. One just family member had been a royal stallion, a chivalrous prince known as Golden Mane.

Shortly after turning into a gorgony, Euresia had forgotten the name she had been given by her parents when she was an earth pony. However, despite this and despite her monstrous features, Golden Mane had treated Euresia with great respect. As the gorgony pondered this, memories of the past began to flood back.

Euresia sat in an alcove, working diligently on a statue she was sculpting. This one was not one made by her gaze, but hewn from true stone that she had chiseled from the rock herself. With one of the snake strands, she held the chisel and with two other serpentine heads she held the hammer.

Gently, the gorgony tapped the chisel with the hammer, chipping away the stone to make the perfect shape. It was a statue of a mare posed as if she was dancing in a field. However, there was one problem - the face. As Euresia chiseled away at the facial region of the sculpture, one of the serpentine heads of her mane alerted her to presence of somepony entering the room.

'He is here.' The snake hissed into the recesses of her mind.

"How is the sculpture going?" a familiar, masculine voice spoke. A smile grew across Euresia's face as the pony stepped closer.

"It’s going well, Golden," the gorgony said, still chiseling away at the stone. "I am grateful for this commission."

"Think nothing of it," Golden Mane said as he sat down to observe her work. "I am glad you were willing to take it, considering what most of my family has done."

The two of them stood in silence, as Euresia continued her work.

"I suppose I do have one problem with this commission," Euresia said, ending the silence.

"What is it?" Golden Mane inquired.

"Her face," the gorgony answered. "I am not sure what kind of face to give her."

The stallion stood up and walked over to Euresia's side. "I am certain something will come to you. Now, before I forget, I have a little present for you."

The gorgony turned around to see that Golden Mane was holding a small bag in one of his hooves.

"Thank you, but you really didn't have to do that," Euresia said.

"Perhaps not," Golden Mane answered, "however, I thought you might like it."

One of the gorgony's snake strands reached out and picked up the bag in Golden Mane's hoof and brought it over to Euresia. Carefully, Euresia opened the bag and pulled out its contents. It was another bag - only this one had the image of some beautiful white flowers on it.

"I thought that perhaps you could use some flower seeds to make this place feel cozy," the prince said with a gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you, that is very thoughtful of you." Euresia said setting the seeds down on the table. 

The two of them stared at each other for a while until Euresia broke the silence, “Golden Mane, why are you so nice to me? You saw what happened at the village and despite that you have shown me nothing but kindness.” 

The prince smiled, stepping closer to her, “Who says there has to be a reason for me to like you?” 

“Because that is the way the world is.” The gorgony replied, “No pony does anything unless there is to do so. It is one of the rules of this world.”

“Maybe such rules are made to be broken.” Golden Mane said as he leaned in for a kiss. It wasn’t anything forceful or gross, just a genuine kiss on the lips. The contact had left both Euresia and the voices within her mind speechless. 

Golden Mane let out a light chuckle, “I suppose I should leave now. Farewell, Euresia.” 

Thus Prince Golden Mane had left the catacombs, leaving a blushing gorgony to her work. 

That was the last good memory Euresia had of Golden Mane, as shortly after he would be caught in a bloody feud between the royal families resulting in his tragic demise. He had been assassinated for his devotion to others and his beliefs that every pony had the right to live whether they had coats or scales. 

Not wanting to cause Golden Mane’s family or loved ones trouble, the gorgony had watched the burial from afar, shedding her own tears in private. With her lover gone, Euresia had found it difficult to finish carving the statue he had commissioned from her. He had wanted it to be a gift for his grandmother, Celestia, but now it just sat in the room alone and abandoned.

Now it was three quarters of a century later and Euresia still had no idea how to finish it. What expression to put on the blank face of the stone mare. The loss of him had made it difficult for her to carve the sculptures face. 

Returning her thoughts to the present, the gorgony stepped away from the statue of the petrified prince and made her way to her sleeping quarters. In truth it was just an old abandoned room for a queen who had died centuries ago, when the three pony tribes still fought. However, beggars can't be choosers so Euresia made the most of it.

Along the path to her quarters, there were various statues chiseled out of granite, a majority of which seemed to be lacking faces. Euresia had tried to regain her touch, to be able to carve emotion into the faces of statues once more. However all that came were faces of fear and terror. 

Inside her bedchamber was a central coffin that the gorgony wished not to disturb. On one side was a bed that was covered in sheets scavenged from fallen curtains and on the other side was a desk. Walking over to the desk, Euresia pulled out a wooden bowl and filled it with water. Then pulling a magical potion from a nearby shelf, the gorgony poured the contents of the veil into the bowl as well.

Slowly the water shifted and the reflection within changed from Euresia's to that of a different mare. This mare's coat was white with a great horn protruding from her forehead. On her head was a golden crown and behind it flowed a beautiful mane that consisted of blue, turquoise and pink.

"Hello, Euresia," Celestia said, a warm smile on her face.

"He came," the gorgony spoke into the reflection, "Just as you said he would."

"I hope my nephew was not too much for you to handle," Celestia said, a little bit of a sad tone in her voice. "He can be very obstinate when he puts his mind to something."

"About that," Euresia bit down on her lower lip, "He may have pushed me a bit too... far... let’s just say he is stoned right now."

A slight frown crossed Celestia's face. "I see. Well, that is unfortunate. I'll send someone to fetch him, I am certain that either my sister or I can turn him back to normal."

"As you wish," said the gorgony, as she bowed her head, however there was a slightly confused look on her face.

“Is something the matter?” Celestia asked noticing Euresia’s expression.

“I was just wondering how you knew the prince was going to come to me?” The gorgony asked.

“Truth of the matter is I had a hoof in it.” Celestia explained, “One of my servants had alerted me to Prince Blueblood’s plans. So I planted some files in regards to your location in my room for him to find. I figured that if he was going to learn his lesson that it would be better if he attempted to consort with an ally rather than an enemy. As you know there are fiends frozen within my garden that would have been more than willing to take advantage of him in order to escape.”

“I-I see.” Euresia said, not sure how to accept Celestia’s statement. 

"Now about your sculpting - how is it going?" Celestia said, now in a more enthusiastic tone. "Have you made any progress on the commission my descendant made of you?"

Out of all the royals, it had been Celestia and her line that had been supportive of Euresia and her habit of sculpting. However, despite having over a century to work on the statue Golden Mane had commissioned, the gorgony had never finished it.

"I'm sorry," Euresia replied. "Despite practicing, I have not been able to make a good face to put on it yet. For some odd reason, all the faces I have sculpted look like they are screaming."

Celestia nodded, “I understand. Art is often a mirror to the soul. Please take you time. I am sure that in time you will be able to sculpt the expression you desire.”

“Thank you.” the gorgony said as she prepared to dispel the communication pool. 

“Before you go.” Celestia spoke, “Do take care of yourself Euresia. Not all tragedies have to end in darkness.”

With Celestia’s final words spoke, the communication spell was dispelled, returning the water to its original reflection. 

Now Euresia had make preparations for whoever was going to arrive and pick up Prince Blueblood's petrified body. 

Inside the statue, Blueblood could feel the vibrations of the world around him. It was almost as if he was trapped in time forced to sense the world around him through sound brushing against his frame. Now Blueblood was experiencing the exact fate that he had wished upon Rarity. 

Thinking back on what Rarity had done to him in the Grand Galloping Gala, perhaps he had overreacted. This fate was by no means worthy fate for simply tarnishing another pony’s suit. This was a punishment that only ponies filled with treachery and deceit should suffer. Ponies like Prince Blueblood himself. 

If he ever escaped this stone prison, Prince Blueblood would do what he could to be more considerate of others and perhaps would try his best to control his temper. However, if such a fate would come to pass, Blueblood couldn’t tell.

‘I am sorry.’ Blueblood thought to himself, before he embraced the cold, darkness around him. 


THE END