VANHOOVER, EQUESTRIA
YEAR: 1390, ACD (AFTER CELESTIA'S DEATH)
A shadowed figure darted out of the mouth of the alley, carrying a bundle in one hoof. As the figure stepped into the gas lamps of the street, it was revealed to be a male earth pony. His coat was a scruffy grey, and he had a drab brown mane. In fact, the only colourful thing about him was his vibrant, orange eyes.
The stallion trotted into a large building. A sign on the front of the building read 'ALICORN LABS- VANHOOVER BRANCH'. Just inside the entrance was a bored-looking pegasus mare. The mare was turqoise, with an emerald mane and cerulean eyes. She looked up, hearing the whoosh of the automatic doors.
"Ah, I see you've returned Sweeps," she said, garnering a nod from the grey stallion.
"Can ye call the boss, Blue? I've go' another fer 'im." The pegasus, Blue, tapped a button on the screen in front of her. An echoing ring buzzed through the building. Soon, Blue and Sweeps heard the hum of the moving elevator. With a ding, the elevator doors swooshed open, revealing another pegasus, this time a red stallion with a golden mane, wearing a crisp, white lab coat.
"Yes, Blue Bells, what did you call me for? Oh Street Sweeper, you've returned!" The red stallion cheered in a thick Trottingham accent.
"Boss, I got 'nother one fer ye," Sweeps began. "A wee filly this'un."
"Yes! Fantastic! Excellent! Fillies take so much better to the process than colts! Pass her over, if you would," he cried ecstatically. Sweeps passed the blanket-wrapped filly to the stallion. As he did, a bit of the blanket fell back, revealing a violet coat and indigo mane.
"Found 'er on the street, I did," Sweeps said, almost proudly. "No name or nothin'. Been callin' 'er North Star." The red stallion pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Seems fitting," he said. "Seeing as how she will lead us out of this dark time."
ALICORN LABS
VANHOOVER, EQUESTRIA
1395 ACD
North Star stood nervously before the laboratory, shuffling her lilac hooves nervously.
"Come on then, little Star. Doctor Burner awaits," said her adoptive father, Street Sweeper. Star looked up at him with her brilliant turquoise eyes, pleadingly.
"Are you sure I need to go? I heard from Keys and Brass that he experiments on unwary colts and fillies!" North Star exclaimed, small pink sparks dancing across her horn. Sweeps laughed in his deep baritone, mussing the filly's indigo mane before scooping her up and trotting through the automatic doors.
Blue Bells, the emerald maned pegasus, looked up when she heard the sound of the door opening.
"Hello Sweeps, little Star, shall I call Dr. Burner for you?" Blue said, looking affectionately down at the unicorn filly. North Star huffed and sat on one of the waiting room chairs, front hooves crossed indignantly.
"I don't see why she don't like Bunsen much," Sweeps said. "I mean, 'e's the one that 'elped put the papers through! She wouldn't be with me if it weren't for 'im. Ah well, can't 'ave everythin' I suppose." He blew an errant strand of his brown mane out of his eyes. Blue Bells tapped the call button on the screen of her computer, and soon the soft ding of the arriving elevator startled North Star out of her sulk.
Out of the elevator stepped a red pegasus stallion in a lab coat. His gold mane was slightly singed and he had some soot on his face.
"Always in the middle of an experiment with you isn't it Ms. Bells," Doctor Bunsen Burner griped, adjusting his singed mane into a semblance of his normal style. "Well? What did you call me for? Get on with it!" Sweeps let out a small, polite cough, helped along by the soot Dr. Burner had shaken loose.
North Star got up off the soft, cushiony chair and walked over, her hooves making dainty taps on the tile.
"I'm here for my check-up Dr. Burner," she mumbled quietly, kicking one hoof back and forth.
"Oh, I'm sorry North," Bunsen said. "I utterly forgot that today was your appointment. Come along then!" Star grumbled under her breath, she absolutely loathed being called North. Anyone foalish enough to try already, besides Bunsen Burner, had learned the hard way that, while she was a unicorn, she could buck like an earth pony.
Bunsen led Star into the elevator. The mirror at the back let Star see her curly, indigo mane, and her utterly blank flank. She sighed lightly. While she knew cutie marks were practically a myth these days, there were tales of a time when every pony had one. Once, when every pony got a cutie mark, they usually based jobs off of them, but now jobs took much more work than just finding your talent. Most didn't even find theirs. Her friends, Ivory Keys and Bright Brass, were unique. Keys had a grand piano resting on her flank, whilst Brass had a shiny trombone.
North Star sighed sadly, catching Bunsen's attention. He glanced down at her. His scientists mind quickly and emotionlessly assessed her, filing each trait away to be ready for the grim experiment he was about to perform. His civilians mind was a different story, with emotions running rampant and guilty thoughts scampering in circles. Through years of practice, he let none of his emotions through to the surface, hoping that the filly wouldn't hate him after today. He loved her like the daughter he had lost to the last dregs of a disease he had worked so hard to cure. He had saved many lives, but not those of his wife and daughter.
Finally, the elevator arrived at its final destination, Bunsen Burners office. The doors slid open, and both ponies entered quietly. Star spotted a shadow out of the corner of her eye, but before she could act she heard a strange voice yell "NOW" and her vision went black
When North Star came to consciousness, she saw Bunsen Burner standing over her, an apologetic look in his eyes. She stood, wobbling lightly and catching sight of two other pegasi, an earth pony and at least three unicorns. She then registered the mirrored wall of the room. A gasp slid out of her mouth as she took in her reflection.
She had gained substantial height, putting her at Bunsen Burners shoulder, when before she had been at his knee. Her mane and tail shifted slightly, as if blown by an ethereal breeze, catching the light and shimmering like stars. Her turquoise eyes were less round and childish. A pair of lilac wings, paler than her violet coat, sprung from her shoulders. Finally, her flank was no longer bare. A large, blue, four pointed star, surrounded by five smaller, white, four point stars adorned her flank. Seeing all these changes, North Star did the only logical thing. She ran around the room shrieking, before promptly knocking herself out by running into a wall.