Alice stared at the object resting in her palm with a growing frustration and focused. She welled what little magic she could muster to flow up from deep within herself, allowing it to crawl through her flesh and emanate out from her hand. As such her hand began to glow the usual light gold yet didn’t react to the orb. It was as if the thing didn't even notice her.

Letting go, Alice sat back and watched as the ball bobbed its way across her table before tapping the wall and slowly making its journey back towards her.

She had been working on cracking the mystery for an hour now and it was beginning to worry her. Reaching over to her pile of other-world scrap, she pulled over a small red crystal and focused her magic. The crystal glowed a deep crimson, lighting up her room until she placed it down. It took a few seconds for the crystal to fade and sputter out. While Alice might not be anywhere near as good as the priests up in the towers, she knew other-world treasures responded to her, even if she couldn't lift tonnes of metal or throw fire.

Giving it one last try, Alice took the orb in both hands and focused everything she had into pushing her magic into the object. Her hands trembled as the last few drops of magic left her flesh, leaving them tingly and warm, if not a bit sweaty. She had all but given up, feeling her magic start to flicker, the tell-tale signs of self-cannibalism. But, when she started to pull away, Alice felt a wave of energy ripple out from the tech, pushing her hands away. With a startled gasp, she and stumbled back, kicking her chair out from under her and grunting as she hit the back wall. In front of her, the orb suspended itself in the air as the barest whisper of a pulse began to flow around it.

Alice stood there baffled, but quickly shot her arms up into the air with a grin, feeling delirious and ecstatic. "It worked!" she cried, hopping about. Grinning wildly, she neared the suspended orb and took to studying it. "No obvious changes," the girl whispered, her excitement palpable. She gently pressing a finger to the surface, unable to stop herself from shaking. "Still as solid as ever."

Scribbling notes down, she couldn't help but grow even more excited as to what it could do and more importantly: how much money she'll make!

"I'd love a proper bath," she grumbled, running her hand through her greasy hair, sighing as she imagined a bath which she didn't have to fill up with the run-off from the steam vent.

Yet, half an hour of giddy watching had quickly given way to boredom and hunger. Hunger which had reminded her about her lack of money, which them reminded her of her lack of job. It was a vicious cycle which Alice had to work hard against to not fall into.

The girl couldn't help up let out a groan as she stood up "Fine," Alice mumbled, taking her purse from her backpack. "Getting something to eat might calm me down" She made a mental note to document anything that might have happened when she came back and left, locking and double checking the door.

Alice made her way across the corrugated roofs that crisscrossed the fourth floor of the Burroughs and began her descent down into the third floor towards her favourite noodle bar. Most of the Burroughs was welded together from scrap metal either found from the ruins of the old-world, or from trusty brick and mortar. Each level was built on top of each other with various passageways and stairs connecting them. Despite the amount of people living in a tight space, the place had fallen into quiet disrepair.

She usually kept to herself, never really feeling the need for interaction with her neighbours, but the girl couldn't help but give a wave or a 'Good afternoon' here and here. It was the prospect of moving out of the boroughs and up into a tower. Even the first floor of a tower would make it all worth it. She would be the ‘talk of the town’ as those rich people say.

Alice, finally reached the third floor, rushed through the alleys and made it out into the bazaar that was still swarming with market goers. "Great," she grumbled while squeezing through everyone that was trying to make a late bargain sale. The market space was covered in numerous stalls that competed to try and sell their wares, from worthless junk to other-world spices that made Alice’s mouth water just from looking at them, to other-world tech which the meaning was lost to time. Veloniens, Deltins, Shamrels and even Reltoids blessed her personal space as she practically felt every lump imaginable and some not so.

She couldn’t help but hear that most conversations were about the items on offer, but a few caught her interest and she slowed down just enough to listen about a group discussing another collapse of a stack of homes. ‘Just great,’ she thought, wondering when her own stack would collapse as she continued on her way, not wanting to dwell on the prospect.

Popping out in front of her destination, Alice shuddered and pulled herself up onto a stool. She brushed her now messy hair from her face and smiled at the cook. "Hey, Dan. Didn't think I'd find you here this early?" she asked, leaning on the table and tilting her head. "Thought you'd enjoy a day off?"

Dave, a rather young, but cute, Deltin chuckled as he stirred the noodles in his wok with two of his hands and mixed in the vegetables with his other pair. "You know me. Can't stay away from my favourite customer!" he joked, winking at her.

He didn't look particularly strong, as was normal for his race, but Dave did have most of the other characteristics, such as the four arms, tail and deep purple fur which their race was known for. The main thing that Alice remembered about him was that the kid was a criminally smooth flirt which she found to be rather fun, if not obvious.

"Now I know you can't be talking about me! Maybe Miss Newman?" she retorted, gesturing to the old lady two seats down from her which simply waved her to stop despite the smile. Another regular.

"What can I get you," Dave asked letting out a low rumble of a laugh, "other than my number?"

Alice rolled her eyes and simply replied with, "The usual, please. Hold the number." She placed her purse down and dropped three coins into the jar, which deposited a bowl out on Dave's side.

"A gentletin knows when to stop, my lady. One bowl coming right up." With that, Dave splashed a little more sauce in the wok and served up Alice's meal which she eagerly accepted.

"Thank you," she said, taking the bowl and beginning to eat. It wasn't long after that Alice had begun to make her way back home. The girl had given in and ordered a few beers at the insistence of Dave, who had given her his employee discount to use when he had heard she had lost her job.

Now, she was paying the price. The bazaar had died down while she was eating and crying, making it an easy thing to pass through, but now the stairs were in her way!

"Easy now, Alice," she said to herself, making her way up the stairs once by one. "Don't want to fall." She didn't even want to think what was down on the second or first floors.

The woman had felt like she had climbed to the top of the towers by the time she reached the top of the stairs. Not to mention her head was pounding and she was cramping a little.

"How many did I drink," she groaned, stumbling her way across the walkways and back to her home. Pulling her keys out of her overalls, Alice inserted them into her door and frowned in annoyance when she couldn't unlock it. At least, she was she turned it the key in the opposite direction.

"Wait, what?" the woman mumbled quietly as she opened her door, only to find a large crystal statue slightly embedded in her floor. The girl's heart thumped in her chest as she took a tentative step inside.

The orb seemed to have dropped and rolled off to the side, near her bath, sometime earlier. It left only the chest high statue to dominate the room as the most colourful thing she had ever seen, considering it refracted her bulb's light into colours she didn't even think were possible. The statue itself was in a shape she was unfamiliar with and only drew her intrigue more, pulling her into her home.

Remembering herself, the woman turned and closed her door, quickly locking it to make sure no one saw anything. The last thing she wanted was some random punk to try and steal whatever this is from her.

Alice took a breath and leaned her head against the door, calming herself. "It's alright," she began, pulling away from the door and turning around. "The orb must have activated while I was out and deposited this," she continued, stopping for a split second, "thing here."

She nodded with determination, picking up her notepad and pen as she neared the statue. "Strange, positively strange," the girl muttered, scribbling down her notes. "Obviously a quadruped, judging by its four hooves." Alice's eyes then moved up the statue's body, quickly noting its wings. "Wings?" she whispered, noting the exceptional detail on the statue and running her pen over the crystal feathers.

Alice continued to make notes, taking in the strange, expression filled face. It didn't look like any animal she had studied. The statue's face having locked in a horror filled scream that made Alice feel a little sad. "Who carved you?" she asked, placing a gentle pat on top of the statue's head as she finally noticed the horn jutting out. "Strange set of features," she whispered, continuing to note it down.

Finally backing up, she gave it one last look over and frowned, noting that it had dented and sunk into the floor. She moved closer and tried to lift the hunk of crystal, but it stood fast, not budging an inch. "What the hell," she groaned, popping her back and grimacing. "It's heavier than it looks." Giving a small hum, Alice placed her notepad and pen down and took a grip of the crystal.

Heaving with all her strength, she lifted it out of the dent and pushed it across the floor to make a little more room in her cramped home. Alice stopped once the statue was out of the way and fell back on her floor. Noticing the orb, she reached over and grabbed it. Taking a look over it, she could see that it's surface had become quite dull.

Focusing her magic into her hand, she waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. The orb was dead.

Heaving herself off the floor, Alice sat down at her worktable and stared at the statue, unsure as to what to do. She could make quite a sell down at the bazaar, but she wouldn't be able to get it there without paying someone, let alone make a profit. Other-world tech was strange, it could do wondrous things one second or horrible things the next.

"I'll deal with it in the morning." With that, wandered over to her bed pulling off her clothes, then slumping down into the warm covers, quickly falling asleep.

***

Twilight didn't know how long she had been, well, wherever she was. She remembered her own spell backfiring, but after that, her memory was cloudy.

She knew it was probably for the best, considering crystallisation spells were painful. Still, the mare wasn't happy about this. How long would it be until her friends notice the orb? Would the orb expand as it pulled more things into its gravity? Was she dead?

With nothing to do but think, Twilight tried her best to make sense of the situation. She couldn't see, per se, but she could sense what was happening around her. None of her limbs would cooperate with her, which only agitated the mare further. Her magic was the same, being quelled as soon as she tried to do anything with it.

Twilight mentally groaned. 'I swear on Celestia's pillows that I'll vaporise whatever that thing was!'

Time moved different for her. It could have been a minute, or a thousand years and she wouldn't have noticed the difference. That was until Twilight felt a spark of magic! Warm and comforting. Her crystallised flesh tingled as that spark ran through her. It felt familiar!

'Celestia!' Twilight cheered. 'She must have found the orb and is getting me out!'

Quickly though, that excitement faded into confusion as her senses expanded outward. She felt as if she had been let out of a cramped cage and could only now feel a bedroom of some sort. Only one door, with a table and a bed. 'They must have kept me here for study,' Twilight theorised. 'Makes sense. Crystal spells were always hard to break.'

Every so often, the mare would find her consciousness lapse as time passed her by. Eventually though, she could feel something new enter the room. Something entirely unfamiliar to her.

Her worries crept back upon hearing the thing's voice. 'It speaks Equestrian?' she thought, examining it with her limited senses. 'Female, judging from the pitch, tone and inflections. Bipedal, from its continued use of two legs,' she began, creating a mental notepad. 'Quite possibly intelligent, considering it is using some sort of writing instrument on a scroll. Maybe it can get me out of here?'

It wasn't long before Twilight felt herself being lifted and dragged, her hooves scraping against bare metal. 'What sort of home does this thing live in?' she asked, shocked as she mentally winced at the sound. She heard the creature begin to walk over. 'Did it just go to sleep?' Twi asked, realising it creature wasn’t moving. 'I guess I can't be picky if it'll save me.'

Twilight mentally sighed and focused on trying to get more detail out of her senses. It wouldn’t do if she didn’t know anything once she was freed from a prison of her own design. Despite having no physical eyes, Twi closed what she considered her ‘mind’s eye’ and listened.

What she thought was complete silence was, in fact, a cacophony of sounds which nearly deafened her. She had no idea how the creature on the other side of the room could sleep through all this racket. Not even the noise in Canterlot rose to this level and they knew how to party!

Twilight could hear so many different chirps, growls, burbles and clicks that didn’t make any sense and only caused her breathing to pick up. ‘That’s definitely not Equestrian,’ she stated, almost unsure of herself. ‘If that’s not,’ she continued, hesitating for a second, 'this isn’t Equestria!'

At that thought, she panicked. Despite having no lungs, she couldn’t help but start to hyperventilate, her mind racing through all the possible scenarios as to what was going on as she floated in her void, each of which was worse than the last! ‘Maybe it was Discord?!’ the mare whimpered picturing the Draconequus having had a hand in her imprisonment, before her mind flicked to another thought. ‘Celestia won’t find me! I’ll be stuck like this forever! They’ll forget about me!’

***

It was barely past noon when Alice awoke from her dreamless slumber, with a groan that was becoming way too frequent for her liking. Since finding out she had a sliver of magic, her dreams had disappeared, faded to nothing much like any chance of a good life and she had slowly come to accept that, but the inclusion of this statue and orb had thrown a large crystal spanner in that plan.

“Another day, I guess,” she mumbled, sighing and rising from the worn bed. She picked up some raggedy clothes, a pair of jeans, white shirt and boots before wandering outside with a bucket. Walking over to the steam vent, she carefully reached under and turned a knob to let condensed water flow from a concealed pipe. Once the bucket was filled, she closed the pipe back up and wandered inside, dumping the water into the metal tub.

Alice did this several more times until the bath was full up to the brim. Discarding her clothes over the new statue, Alice went to work finishing her morning duties and cleaning herself up with what little soap she had left. She would have a long day of figuring out what that statue truly was and if possible, she’d want to be presentable.

Sliding on her top and clipping up the buttons, the girl gripped the crystal’s forelegs and dragged it over to her worktable with a bone shaking scrape that practically vibrated the whole room. Alice felt the urge to chip a piece off with her chisel, but resisted it, feeling that it would mar the work already put into the strange thing.

“Alright, let’s find out what you are,” she began, reaching over the table for her scanner. Examining other-world tech was an arduous task without one and she was thankful to have found a broken one at the factory, only putting in several arduous weeks of repairs before it was even barely functional. Since then, she had managed to fix most of the components with scrap she had collected.

Sitting in front of the statue, Alice pointed the scanner towards it, the two antennas on the top twitching to-and-fro as she pressed one of the buttons down with her thumb. The scanner’s screen lit up with numbers relating to the object’s origin.

“Wait, that can’t be right?” Alice exclaimed, confusion etching across her face at the report. “Can’t find origin point?!” she continued, eyes widening. “No way. Damn thing must be busted again!” She said, sighing as she hit her hand on the side of the scanner. “Fine, what are you made of?” she asked, deciding to jot her notes down once again, this time circling the coordinates and placing down an angry face next to them.

Once again, the machine bleeped and buzzed, scanning the object for the material composition. With a happy little ding, the scanner stopped and reported its findings. “Crystal. I get that, but what type?” Alice asked, scrolling down and stopping, even more confused once she read further on. “All types? But there’s no seam, it’s one chunk!”

That’s when she saw the secondary report and the colour drained from her face. “Organic components found,” she whispered, gazing from the scanner to the statue with horror.

Alice had heard of the divine’s power, but to turn something to solid crystal. Even she thought that was going too far. “That must be wrong. There’s no way that thing can be alive.”

The woman nervously swallowed as she tried to calm herself, not knowing what to do. Her eyes drifted across the statue then back to the surface of her scanner. Her thumb brushed over the button that would force additional parameters and the machine whirred to life once again, until it was dropped from her hand as she gasped in shock, not realising she had pressed the button.

“Fuck!” she squeaked, gasping as the scanner collided with the floor. “Damn,” she mumbled a second later, picking the thing up and noticing a crack along its outer surface. “At least it’s not broken.”

Then the report appeared, causing Alice took a step back. “Magical,” she whispered, staring at the statue with half shock and half curiosity. Brushing her hair back behind her ear, the girl moved closer and held her hand out, placing it on the statue’s shoulder. Closing her eyes, she focused and could indeed feel a tingling sensation of power. Pulling her hand back, Alice gazed into the statues eyes, mentally debating whether she should resurrect whatever this was.

On one hand, it could help her, but on the other it could have been crystallised for a reason. Conflict was evident on her face when she placed her hand on the statue once again, focusing on her magic to well up. “How much worse can life really get?” she thought, a half-hearted smile appearing on her face.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I know this one was mainly focusing on Alice, but I wanted to flesh her out before anything happens.

As usual, if you liked it, please hit that thumbs up and have a great day/night/morning! <3