The Generator was loud.
Its constant rumbling, screeching, and whirring made Rainbow Dash's ears constantly flatten against her skull as she finally took off her extra scarves and coats, feeling warm underneath the surplus layers of cloth. The noise of the Generator, combined with the constant flapping of the tent cloth, the muttering of the crowds of ponies around the Generator and inside the tents, and the noises of work that still persisted.
Rainbow just tried to ignore the constant racket of her new home, navigating the streets between the tents stockpiles, eyes peeled for a specific tent standing out among the crowd.
She eventually found it, her eyes coming across a tent standing a bit taller than the rest, built in a hexagonal shape with an Equestrian flag hanging on one of its outer walls. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash walked out into the opening before the Captain's tent. Lowering her head, she ducked through the flap that made up the tent's doorway, before looking around at the scenery within.
The most prominent feature of the room was one of the Generator's vents, mounted firmly in the floor. The tent was filled with hot air coming directly from the giant furnace their home was built around, making it almost feel like a hot summer's day within the tent's canvas walls. A few bookcases lined the walls, with what looked like manuals and some old texts neatly ordered within them. A globe sat on top of one of the shelves, showing the world of Equus mapped out on its wooden surface.
An electric lantern from the Lorries hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a dull, orange glow. Just below the lantern was a wooden desk, although the desk was entirely absent of a chair to sit at. On top of the desk were several stacks of paper, along with a typewriter and a bottle of ink.
Two ponies were already inside of the room as Rainbow entered. The first was the ever recognizable face of the expedition's Captain: a unicorn stallion who currently wore a simple brown leather jacket, his coat shed and lying in a corner of the room due to the tent's comfortable warmth. Next to him was a bespectacled earth pony stallion, his winter coat laid folded on his back. The two of them seemed to be discussing a blueprint of some kind laid out on the desk.
"And this will be the Bath House. Many of us have gone too long without a chance to clean ourselves, and not to mention we cannot allow ourselves to simply dump our manure in some random snowdrift somewhere. These are just approximate measurements, but I believe this is enough space to house both a proper latrine and a space for us to collect condensated steam from the Generator in warm public baths. Not only will the baths be able to provide our ponies relief and comfort, but they will also promote cleanliness and health," The bespectacled earth pony explained, his hoof running over the blueprint.
Neither of the ponies seemed to notice Rainbow Dash, who for now decided to stand still and wait for them to be finished talking.
"And what of cleaning solutions?" The Captain asked, his gravelly, "inside voice" sounding a lot different than the voice he used to order the ponies of New Ponyville around.
"We can use charcoal derivatives. If we ever get the luxury in the future, we can use plant oil and sodium to create real soap, however I doubt that is a priority for us at the moment," The earth pony, who Rainbow now reasoned could only be one of the Engineers, moved his hoof to indicate a different part of the blueprint, "The latrines will have no plumbing, of course, so the crew of the bath house will need to clean those out daily too. We can use the waste in a composting chamber elsewhere to create fertilizer for the Hothouses."
It was at this moment that Rainbow decided to raise a forehoof to her muzzle and cough respectfully, causing the two ponies to look up from their work.
After a small pause, the Captain responded, "May I help you, miss...?"
"Dash. Rainbow Dash," Rainbow gave a salute, "I wanted to ask a... question, sir."
The Captain tapped a hoof on the desk, "Yes? What is it?"
"When are we going to send out scouting parties to find the ponies we left behind by the canyon?" Rainbow asked, her voice firm and eyes locked onto the Captain's gaze, "We left one of my best friends behind. She was gravely wounded, and I can't stand to have her waiting out there in the cold while we sit comfortable next to the generator!"
The Captain stared deep into Rainbow's magenta eyes, before eventually breaking her gaze. Turning back towards the engineer pony, he took a breath to speak.
"I suppose while we are on the subject, Doctor-" The Captain began.
Rainbow, gritting her teeth angrily, "Captain! Just gimme an answer, please!"
The Captain spared a stern look towards Rainbow, before continuing, "-While we are on the subject. Why don't you present me with the concepts for the Beacon we need to construct before we dare throw impatient, hotheaded pegasi out into the Frostlands without any way to navigate or communicate with us."
Rainbow wilted slightly at the Captain's words, before deciding to keep her mouth shut.
Blinking a few times, the engineer eventually reached into a knapsack full of scrolls, before rolling one out onto the table for the view of both the Captain and Rainbow.
"This is the Beacon," He began, adjusting his glasses once again, "Due to the fact that the pole's magnetic field makes compass navigation impossible, and that oftentimes it is too overcast to depend on astral navigation, we have come to realize that we need to have some kind of landmark in order to dependably navigate the Frostlands."
"Don't we have the Generator?" Rainbow mumbled, walking forward a bit to stand right next to the desk.
The engineer sighed, "Yes. However, the valley walls are too high and obscure the generator tower itself. That, and the smoke of the Generator may not be visible at times due to whiteout and visibility issues. So, I devised this solution..."
He tapped the blueprint. It appeared to be a giant hot air balloon, attached by cables and pipes to a base anchored into the ground. At the base of the balloon itself, a set of two huge lenses seemed to be mounted on a swivel, like a lighthouse.
"The Beacon will be a hot air balloon, made to fly higher than the walls of the valley. We will salvage the two high voltage lamps from the front of our two Steam Lorries to be uses as the beacon's lights. The lanterns on the lorries are specially enchanted with Piercing Light, and the light from them will be able to pierce ice and snow particles in the air... and even solid matter, for that case," The engineer gave a short cough, "They will spin, giving a constant signal of our location."
His hoof moved to the top of the hot air balloon, where Rainbow vaguely saw what looked like a balcony mounted on top, "Up here, there is a pegasi-accessible balcony. We will post lookouts here both to monitor changes in the weather, and to track our scouting parties while they are on the move. The Scouting Parties, using a combination of their Lamps and a spyglass lens, may use Mares Code to communicate to the lookouts on top of the Beacon, and vice versa. In this way, we can keep a constant track of those exploring out in the wild, and make preparations accordingly."
"If I am to understand correctly, Doctor Hooves," the Captain finally referred to the engineer by name, "This Beacon, an absolute necessity to safe exploration of the Frostlands, will be constructed over the following few days, correct?"
"Yes. We need to finalize the designs on the Beacon, and then actually construct the special parts for it in the Workshop that is currently under construction," Hooves rolled up the beacon's blueprint, "Then we will be ready.
"Well. There you have it," The Captain nodded slowly, turning back to Rainbow Dash, "Are there any further questions?"
Rainbow looked down at her hooves, "No, I guess not..."
"Then perhaps you should get some rest. There will be plenty of work to do tomorrow," The Captain made a shooing gesture with his forehoof.
Rainbow silently made her way back out to the tent flap, before stopping and turning her head to look back at the desk one more time.
"Please, hurry," Was all she said, before she disappeared through the doorframe.
Rainbow Dash ducked through the flap of her assigned tent with exhaustion. All day, she had been moving ponies from the Lorries down to the surface, then helping to construct tents and the base of that damn Workshop the engineers wanted to badly (although, she supposed now that if that workshop meant they could build that Beacon faster, then she was all for its construction). While her energy was great, she was never known for her stamina. Even on her long hauls out in front of the Convoy in the Frostlands, her stamina quickly dissipated.
She supposed it was more her pegasus blood, made for quick metabolism and short bursts of power, that she owed to for that.
While the air inside of the tent wasn't as warm as the stuff inside the Captain's tent, it was still decently warm, being in close proximity to one of the vents that sat outside in the alley. It was definitely warmer than the subzero temperatures of the Frostlands, and a lot less crowded and suffocating than the interior corridors of the Steam Lorries.
There were three hammocks hanging from the wooden beams that supported the canvas walls. Each one had a burlap sack for a pillow, and a cloth blanket messily tossed alongside it. The third one, on the far left side of the room, was currently occupied by a sleeping form that Rainbow couldn't quite make out.
A few bedframes, lined with a thin mattress of cloth, also pressed against one of the walls. An electric lantern was sat in a corner, giving a small glow to the corner of the dirt floored-room. A single, thin wire snaked from the top of the lantern then out under the tent wall.
Other than that, there was only a few footlockers for the resident's meager possessions, and a wooden bucket in the corner that currently had a bunch of clothes tossed in them.
In the back right corner of the tent, she saw Rarity sitting with a book facing three familiar fillies, all of whom turned around as soon as they heard the sound of the tent flap rustling.
"Oh! Hey! Rainbow!" Scootaloo got up, zipping to Rainbow's side in a blur of orange and purple, "You won't believe the crazy day we've had!"
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow kneeled down, brushing the little pegasus's mane with a smile, "Must've been pretty awesome, huh?"
"Totally!" Scootaloo nodded emphatically, "When we got lowered down, we got lowered down with the Captain and his friends- though you already kinda knew that since you were there to help us onto the cart! But what you didn't know is that he told us to come and visit him at 7:00 every morning to have hot chocolate with him! And after that we went and explored the entire Generator in one day! The adults didn't even yell at us for it, it was so cool! We looked down into the big hole for the smokestack and I hovered over it for an entire fifteen seconds!."
Rainbow Dash's smile deepened. Despite all the two of them had been through since abandoning their home, Scootaloo still managed to keep the innocent, child-like spirit like the rest of the fillies. She brushed through Scootaloo's mane once again, "And did we all get the same tent too?"
"That was big sis's doing," Sweetie said from the corner, pointing up at Rarity.
"Really?" Rainbow stood up from her kneel, "Well that's.. probably the best thing that's happened today."
Rarity closed her book, giving a faint smile, "Family are assigned to the same tents, even if they are adoptive. And... well, I told them that young Scootaloo was your own," Rarity coughed sheepishly, "We couldn't have the poor darling crowded into the orphan's tent, could we?"
"Especially 'cause she ain't an orphan!" Apple Bloom added.
Rainbow quieted. She remembered that day at the docks of Manehatten, where everypony loaded onto the Dreadnought. Where a hundred royal guards held crowds of desperate ponies at bay while the few departed to safety in the north. How she had to wrap her hoof tight around Scootaloo as the guard brought down a baton on her parents, them having no reservation aboard the ship. The little one couldn't see what happened. As far as she knew, her adventuring parents were far away, safe by another Generator.
She couldn't know. Not yet.
"Is AJ already asleep?" Rainbow asked, trying to move on from the subject as she gave a glance towards the pony sleeping in the third hammock.
Rarity shook her head, "That's not her. Don't you remember? Applejack's out on a 24 hour shift putting coal in the furnaces. This is another random pony who's staying with us."
"...Oh," Rainbow scratched her head, "...Right."
Poor Applejack, the hardworking country pony had been slaving away to keep the boilers of the Steam Lorry running, and now she had to keep the massive Generator alive too? If the boilers on the lorry were insufferable, how much worse would a boiler the size of the Generator be?
"Apple Bloom will be staying with us for the night," Rarity explained, "I'm sure her and her friends don't mind sharing the bed."
"It'll be warmer, anyway," Sweetie Belle shrugged, and the other fillies muttered general affirmatives.
Rainbow sighed, before walking over to the same corner as the rest, Scootaloo following closely behind. She took off her coat, before tossing it in the bucket along with the rest of the winter gear. The air was still nippy, biting through her fur, but when compared to the slog through the snow at -70, the temperature of the tent was comfortable.
With a relieved exhale, she sat down next to everypony else, leaning against one of the beams of the tent for support.
"Did you manage to talk to anypony about the rescue mission?" Rarity asked, looking towards Rainbow inquisitively.
Rainbow nodded, "I just walked straight up into the Captain's tent and asked."
"What did he say? What's holding us up?" Scootaloo inquired, sitting down by Rainbow's side, leaning into her wing.
"They said the eggheads up in that Workshop we were building need to build a Beacon of some kind so that we don't get lost out in the wilderness," Rainbow grunted, annoyed, "I personally think we should've just used the maps we used to get here and just retrace our steps, but then again the other scouts don't think it's a good idea to go out there without a way to get back... and I can't rescue them all myself."
"Nah, you totally could," Scootaloo poked Rainbow in the barrel, "You were the bestest Wonderbolt Equestria had ever seen, Dash! You could go out there and then show them the way back, easy peasy, I'm sure."
"Yes, I'm sure she could, darling. But, have you thought about those who can't walk? How about the supplies they have?" Rarity asked of the foal, "And what if a blizzard hits and Rainbow can't retrace her steps? They could just end up more lost than they were already."
"Ah just can't stand the thought of Pinkie Pie being stranded out there for a moment longer," Apple Bloom frowned, eyes averting from everypony else.
"None of us can," Rainbow shook her head, before closing her eyes and reaching up a forehoof to rub them.
"Is it true that there's other cities out there?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking between Rainbow and Rarity.
Rainbow nodded, "Yeah. That's priority number two once we find Pinkie, apparently. We're going to try and scout out to find the others."
"Of course there are other cities. Twilight built hundreds of Generators, it was just this one that she had a more... direct hoof in planning," Rarity added, crossing her forehooves, "But now, it's getting rather late, and the adults would rather be getting to sleep after a hard day's work. Let's get you all tucked in..."
Rarity got up in order to herd the foals over to the beds on the far end of the room. Rainbow gave Scootaloo one last brush through her mane before wishing her good night, deciding herself to relax in the corner for just a bit longer before going to bed.
She thought of what the future held for her. Up until they arrived at New Ponyville, her mind had been solely focused on forging a path before the convoy, with the promise of being able to return to some form of regularity upon arrival at the Generator. But now, it was starting to become more apparent that New Ponyville was no promised land, and that their toil had only just begun.
She was sure that she wanted to go out and rescue Pinkie Pie and the rest of their lost expedition, but after that? Did she really want to spend her life endlessly searching the Frostlands? Was there even any real hope of her being able to do what she wanted to do in life? Sure, she had lost everything meaningful to her... her home, two of her best friends, her dream career in the Wonderbolts... but was it really worth pushing through a life of endless suffering through the cold and toiling to her work?
"My friends are counting on me, though," Rainbow reminded herself, looking down to her forehooves as they crossed over her chest as she sat.
Before the frost had split up the Element Bearers, Rainbow had been a solid bearer of Loyalty. She had never been one to chicken out when it was her friends' lives on the line. However, in this extreme circumstance, she found her faith in loyalty being tested continuously. It was easy to make the decision between her own life and the lives of her friends once, but when she was asked to make it ten thousand more times? Day by day? For the rest of her life?
She wasn't sure if she could really stand up and make that sacrifice.
For a moment more, Rainbow held her eyes closed, her ears faintly picking up Rarity tucking the foals into bed beneath their thin blanket. The ever flickering flame of Hope in her heart stirred once more, though, and she continued her determination.
"I'll keep pushing on. Every day might be hard, but it'll be worth it. If I can die for my friends, I'll die happy," She chanted the words in her mind like an incantation, or almost a prayer. It wasn't the first time she had done this, either. She had found herself questioning her own motives many times since they left the harbors of Manehatten. Every time, it came back to this. A sermon to herself, a prayer to her own faith.
A few minutes passed, before the sound of the dirt floor rustling sounded out from Rainbow's left. She cracked open an eye to see Rarity had sat down next to her.
"Tired?" Rarity asked, reaching her magic down to the tent's lantern to turn down its light until there was only barely enough for the two of them to see.
"Not really..." Rainbow sighed, "Just..."
There was an awkward silence as Rainbow's words failed to make it past her lips. Eventually, she shut her mouth, giving a slight shrug. She just wasn't in the mood to do any soul-pouring at the moment... nor had she been every other time this had happened.
Rarity quirked an eyebrow, but moved on, "Are you excited for a full meal tomorrow?"
Rainbow Dash snorted, "You really think it's gonna be a full meal?"
"Well, I surely hope so! After all, I think we only deserve it after being left hungry for an entire night!" Rarity huffed, "Honestly, is not having a proper place to eat really an excuse to not feed us? Surely we could've been given some raw food to cook over the campfire and distributed among ourselves. This is supposed to be a civilized city, do we really need bread lines?"
A grin spread across Rainbow's face, "I never thought I'd hear Rarity openly asking for more food to fatten herself up," She punched the unicorn on the shoulder.
Rarity gave Rainbow a glare, before eventually softening her gaze and rolling her eyes, "I suppose not."
"Tell me something, Rares," Rainbow continued her jovial tone, "If you could make all the frost go away and just be back in Ponyville like nothing had happened, but be the fattest pony the world has ever seen, would you do it?"
Chuckling, Rarity shook her head, "If it all really could go back to normal, you know I'd do it in a heartbeat, darling," Rarity's stomach growled openly, making her look down at her painfully thin barrel, "Even if it did mean giving up the most effective diet I've ever been on."
The two sat in silence for a moment longer. Rainbow was secretly looking forward to having a stable food supply. Earth Ponies were geniuses, they could find how to grow, even in this climate. There might not be nearly as much food as there was back before the Frost, but at least they wouldn't be constantly cutting ration portions in half like they were on the Lorries.
"Rainbow, darling," Rarity eventually spoke up, breaking the silence. She turned her head to look towards Rainbow sincerely, "What do you think we'd be doing right now if none of this happened?"
Rainbow mulled the question over, tracing her tongue over her teeth inside her mouth as she thought, "Well... that depends. What time is it now?"
Rarity silently fished her pocket watch out of her coat, "It is around 10:00 PM."
"Well..." Rainbow shifted her position slightly, "It'd be autumn, so I'd probably be seeing Tank go into hibernation pretty soon. I think it's Saturday too, so you know Pinkie'd probably be throwing a party of some kind. And we'd all be there, even if it was one of the smaller parties she threw just for a few ponies..."
"I'd probably still be hard at work at the Boutique. I'd be getting the winter dress lineup ready, but I'd like to think I'd always have enough time to spare to go to one of Pinkie's gatherings," Rarity smiled faintly, eyes averted and gazing off into a distant reality.
"Twilight would be there. She'd probably have read a book on punch or something, I don't know," Rainbow chuckled, "Fluttershy would come into Sugarcube Corner all like," Rainbow did her best to imitate Fluttershy's timid voice, "O-Oh, I'm so so sorry for being late, everypony. I needed to feed my deadly snake and wish the birds goodnight before coming over. I really hope I didn't inconvenience you or anything..."
"And then Pinkie Pie would appear from behind the refrigerator somehow and yell 'surprise' at the top of her lungs," Rarity chortled, "And then, she would have a big cake, made with sugar and real baking ingredients..."
"And it'd probably actually have yeast in it too," Rainbow nodded, "And there might have actually been fruits there too. And maybe soda, or maybe even cider..."
Rainbow trailed off as both of the ponies' stomachs growled at the same time. With a shiver, Rainbow stopped her food-fueled train of thought, and Rarity looked away.
"...When Pinkie Pie gets back," Rarity muttered, "She absolutely must throw a party for us- for the entire city. I don't care if it interrupts the work shift. I don't care if just for once we burn through more food than usual..."
"I think we could all use a bit more of Pinkie's spirit right now," Rainbow's face turned even more somber, "Even though we're safe from the cold, things are as dark as ever."
Rarity didn't respond, instead she audibly stifled a yawn. Shaking her head, she looked apologetically at Rainbow, "Sorry, darling, I've really tired myself out today. I'm rather excited to get into my own bed, so I'll take my leave now..." Brushing herself off from the dirt floor, she got up.
"Fair enough. I should probably get rest too. There'll be a lot of work to be done tomorrow, I'm sure," Rainbow also got up.
"Goodnight, Rainbow," said Rarity.
"Goodnight, Rarity," answered Rainbow.
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
Rainbow woke up in a startle, wings unfurling before slamming against the heavy canvas walls of her hammock. Twisting and turning, the pegasus eventually stood up, eyes still burning to sleep.
Rarity also stirred in the neighboring hammock, the unicorn mare not looking too pretty without a full night's sleep. She reached her forehooves up to plug her ears before plunging back down into her hammock to ignore the shrill cry of the steam whistle.
Yet, just as Rainbow considered doing the same, the same noise pierced the tent's thin walls.
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
"ATTENTION EVERYPONY!" Cried a voice through a megaphone outside, causing everypony in the tent to groan in frustration, "RISE AND SHINE! THE WORK SHIFTS FOR TODAY BEGIN! EVERYPONY PLEASE REPORT TO THE FOOT OF THE GENERATOR FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!"
Rainbow Dash gave a frustrated snort, before turning over in her hammock, slowly making her way out. Rarity also shuffled in her bunk, rolling out of it onto the floor with a yawn.
"Dear Celestia, can't a lady get her beauty sleep?" Rarity rubbed a bloodshot eye, and swatted away stray strands of her stringy mane away from her eyes.
Rainbow grunted, before her eyes were caught by the cutie mark crusaders jumping up out of their bed. They ran out the door, chattering about being late for something. For the life of her, Rainbow couldn't remember what they could be late for, considering they weren't the ones working.
The third pony stood up in her bunk. A mint green unicorn with a frazzled mane and yellow eyes. She wore an undercoat that looked befitting to the Engineers, with a tiny silver chain near the collar. She looked between the other two ponies with wide eyes, before standing up out of her hammock as well.
Not paying the stranger much mind, Rainbow followed Rarity out of their tent into the cold, morning air.
The Generator still steamed away as the crowd gathered before the podium set up on top of the balcony attached to the Generator's tower. The Captain stood at the top of the balcony, overlooking the gathering crowd, flanked by two administrators. One of the administrators Rainbow recognized as Doctor Hooves, the engineer that had discussed the plans for the beacon yesterday.
"Attention! Everypony!" The Captain's voice projected over the crowd, followed by the slight electronic whine of his megaphone's feedback.
"As we make our home in this city, we must adopt a more formal governance!" He continued, "From now on, we will have an official collection of laws that our city will run by! These may be publicly reviewed from the Administrators, and will be distributed to the Overseers as they come in!"
Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. New laws? She supposed Equestria no longer existed, so it wasn't like they could reasonably follow Celestia's old order... but still... something made her uneasy about the entire situation.
"There is a new law in the city!" The Captain continued, before looking down to a yellow piece of paper floating in his magic, "We will now extend shifts in certain areas from a 8-6:00 shift, to a 6:00-10:00 shift! For now, these shifts will apply only for the Overseers, whose attention is needed for longer periods of time during the day!"
Rainbow looked to Rarity, who simply bit her lip.
"The Workshop will also be working a 24 hour shift!" The Captain added, causing a ripple of discontented murmurs to go through the crowd.
"Are you trying to work us all to death?" Cried somepony from the crowd, "First those workers on the wood piles, now us engineers?"
"...In better news," The Captain continued, ignoring the crowd, "The completion of the Cookhouse is scheduled for tonight! Full meals will be served after the shift is over."
The faces of ponies didn't change, the appeasement in the Captain's words being obvious to everypony.
"Disperse to your workplaces. There is plenty to be done if we want to see a better tomorrow," The Captain ordered, before beginning his own descent down the stairs of the balcony.
Rainbow gave another snort. She knew they needed to work hard to survive, but at this point the Captain was doing nothing but confirming that she'd be living the life she feared.