Cloudsdale! Socks thinks to himself while trotting through the privacy of the far edges of the Whitetail Woods- he had always been rather curious to visit that floating city, being a unicorn the Pegasi cities were rather hard to visit. Never ‘off limits’ to ground dwellers, but mainly a case of the Pegasi applying a come on up if you can get here attitude; not really caring about accessibility for those not able to fly. But where there is a will there’s a way, and as in most solutions around Equestria, it involved a bit of magic.
 
He holds up a round potion bottle with a long thin neck, filled with grey liquid, swirling around the contents gently to make sure they were still mixed. Flight and cloud-walking rolled into one was the promise of this potion, according to the label, made to warp the inherent magic around the imbiber to allow those very abilities, at least for a short while. Wings of some sort is what he was expecting, probably not /Pegasus/ wings, but something or other. He’d found the potion on sale at an alchemist’s shop over in Canterlot, they must have been closing down as the prices were more than reasonable… no way he could have afforded one full price!
 
Sitting back on his haunches he pops the cork from the bottle, tossing it to the ground. Now or never! He thinks to himself before turning back the bottle in his magic to chug down the potion. The stallion nearly gags on it, having a thick and gritty texture, almost like watery wet cement, and tasting quite similarly. It seemed to linger in his throat, flavour not wanting to leave, feeling cold as it slid down to his stomach, turning heavy and feeling almost as though he had swallowed a rock.
 
“Urgh… That… bleh.” He shakes his head a nickers to himself, that alchemist needs to work on his potion flavours. One of the worst things he’s ever consumed, by far!
 
The unicorn shivers in place, feeling an unfamiliar magic starting to flow around his being. His expression turns to excitement, looking toward the sky and waiting eagerly for the effects to take wing! Seconds pass, waiting, but the only thing he notices is the cold heaviness in his stomach seeming to get worse, spreading out and increasing in noticeable weight. The stallion’s back and spine ache, becoming a little stiff as he wobbles on his hooves- a wave of dizziness overcoming him.
 
In a moment he loses balance, flopping over into a perfect face-plant upon the dusty path, WHAM! Out like a light.
 
Minutes go by, how many Socks has no clue as he blinks awake, bizarre tingling across his entire body. He looks up, attempting to lever himself up at least to his forehooves but finds himself combating a sinking feeling and lethargy in his limbs. It was if he were wading through molasses, his hooves were so slow to respond, ears met with a curious sound as they did… a gentle grinding, not unlike two mill-stones sliding together or a rock dragged over concrete. He shakes his head, the tingling turning to an intense pressure all around his chest and waist, squeezing like an over-tight corset around him.
 
“G-gah… wha? This isn’t… right.” He gasps, muttering to himself as he surveys his body, eyes going wide at the sight. His entire midsection had lost its colour, taking instead a cool granite-like texture in place of his chocolate brown fur, glinting in the light. “No… Nonono…” He blinks, slowly recognizing the effect that was coming over him.
 
“Heee …” The stallion wheezes, trying to call out for help from any pony around, words cut short by the stone encasing his torso that he felt tingling and itching as it crept along, further. His forehooves turn more to lead in weight, squeezed as well by the compacting granite layer that appeared over his fur. With a strain and a wince he slides his left forehoof up, grinding along the way, before it stops, frozen as it raised, other hoof sinking into the dust slightly under the building weight of the petrifying pony.
 
He squirms in place, bucking his hind legs to try and scoot himself a little further toward the potion bottle that had rolled away when he dropped. Inch by inch, it become more difficult as he went as his haunches and hips ground to a halt, freezing in place much like his forelimbs had, the feeling of cold stone taking over them.
 
Socks stretches his neck as far as he can to look down at the bottle, the label having peeled up half-way… ‘.. to stone.’ He saw etched into the glass beneath it. To stone… Flesh to stone! By Celestia what did he drink, that wasn’t a flight potion at all! As far the opposite as was likely possible in fact.
 
A wave of fear rolls over him as it sinks in just what was going to happen to him there… As the tingling marches down from the top of his head now, stone squeezing as might a cap several sizes too small, freezing his ears and mane in place his mind comes to. He was becoming a statue… and he’d done it to himself. Out in the far reaches of the woods where nopony was likely to come across him for quite awhile.
 
He squirms with the last of the movement he can, hind hooves succumbing quickly and his eyes locking forward, dimmed only slightly in their vision as the stone seems to drip own over his countenance. In but a moment all that remained free from petrifying stone was his mouth, which very quickly fused shut beneath polished granite, cutting off a breathless and garbled mumble.
 
Around his rigid body he hears the crackling echoes of the stone as it settles, shrinking slightly as he become so much denser all around, the squeezing of the stone turning to a light muted numbness, though he could still feel the dirt beneath him in his haphazard sprawl. His thoughts remained unclouded, roiling around as he tried to come to grips with what had happened… what was to have been a day of glorious flight now turned upside down. Would… would it even wear off? Did this wear off!? He couldn’t remember!
 
The woods returned to silence, the pony that once stood there now a statue of utterly solid stone, set firmly in the landscape. Perhaps somepony would happen by and find him… only time would tell.