Astrolabe/Αστρολάβος

By Anneal

• October 7, 2013

Age: 37

Gender: Female

Species: Unicorn

Appearance: Astrolabe has a yellow mane and tail with yellow orange highlights; the mane slightly curls upward and has a ponytail, and her tail curves in a circular manner inward. Her eyes are a dull, teal color.

Cutie Mark: An astronomical protractor-like tool; though her cutie mark and her name actually contradicts her actual talent, which is her talent with physics.

Personality: Astrolabe takes a more "realist", or really, cynical view of life. She can be difficult to befriend, as she may come out cold and condescending. She doesn't completely trust anything due to her skeptical manner; sometimes this escalates into paranoia.<br /><br />This also associates with her asocial behavior - though it doesn't mean that she has no friends. Though she doesn't trust many ponies, a few of them are able to get into her "inner circle"; one such pony is Blueprint.<br /><br />Astrolabe has a calculative and intellectual mind; though she is also manipulative in a way. She sometimes wants poniesto do things in what she perceived as the best way, and has a persuasive tongue that assisted her in this. Her IQ is relatively high, at 146, and her memory is profound and detailed.<br /><br />But she does have her weak side as well. Astrolabe is seen as uncaring and unattached to other ponies, seeing it as their problem, not hers. Her "Social Darwinist" views are associated with her realism, seeing the better ponies as the ones dominating the weak. She views herself as the "strong"; ironically, her athletic skills are poor.<br /><br />Her mind is supposedly stuck in the "old-fashioned" state. In her leisure time, she listens to ragtime and smooth jazz, collects records, and read classical books, along with mythology.

Backstory: Astrolabe was born in Asphodel City, a small city commemorated for the legendary deities that part of the populace believed came before Celestia. It was about three hundred and forty miles away from Canterlot, and two hundred and thirty miles away from the rumored Tartarus. It was rumored that this place was where ponies generally went to in their afterlife, if they did not receive punishment by being sent down to the pits of Tartarus itself; today, it is a mere suburban town of a ten thousand or so ponies. <br /><br />Back to the topic, Astrolabe's father worked as a meteorologist, who mainly studied about atmospheric changes and areas not contained by pegasi management; both her parents were unicorns. <br /><br />In her early years, she grew up as a quiet filly. Astrolabe did not like to talk with other ponies, and she often refused to cooperate with her peers, which ultimately led to her taking special education and counseling. <br /><br />Her interest in physics was sparked by curiosity. Astrolabe claimed to have visions of the unknown as she daydreamed. One day, she dreamed of the universe, all formed by specific particles, and bound to by certain laws. Yet she was unable to understand any of it. It was all alien to her classical experience, and eventually she woke up in horror. Her mother comforted her, reassuring Astrolabe that it was all a nightmare. Little did she know that it was the event that caused her to start her career in physics.<br /><br />The dream had given her a revelation; she now wanted to know more about everything. How something acts, why it acts, and in what conditions. She kept a notebook about her observations, and studied after school to widen her knowledge.<br /><br />Astrolabe acquired her cutie mark at a late age; while most fillies and colts got their cutie mark below the age of eight, Astrolabe got it at ten. She got it at a science fair, where she created her own atomizer nozzle and explained the effects behind it all. It was like magic, though it in fact was not. She decided on the spot that she would devote her life to science. Almost coincidentally, a cutie mark appeared on her flank.<br /><br />She made several other experiments in her life, from one case, creating a Foucault pendulum (at age fourteen), along with . Several other experiments she had done included finding the perfect angle to catapult something at the furthest range and measuring magnet strength based on temperature. <br /><br />When Astrolabe graduated from high school, she was accepted into the West Equestrian Institute of Science; she got her masters degree at 23, and officially became a Doctor of Philosophy at age 28. Currently Astrolabe works as a physicist and professor.