//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - Doctor Hooves // Story: Frostpony // by The Original Gaston //------------------------------// Doctor Hooves scratched the end of his pen across the parchment, the tip of the implement riding against the ruler he held steady with the opposite forehoof. His mind, consumed in his work, ticked along steadily with the rhythm of the clock that sat on his desk. A cold wind blew in through the nearby window, which hung open, causing the engineer to twitch. The thought to reach up and close the window floated around in the back of his brain for but a moment, before being pulled under and drowning amidst an ocean of calculations, dimensions, and specifications. On the collar of his shirt lay a small pin, stamped in gold, with "Equestrian Exploration Company" imprinted on the front. His signature bowtie brought together his undershirt, and his overcoat lay draped over a nearby chair. His sleeves were rolled back, as to not get in the way of his delicate designing, and his spectacles lay low on his muzzle as his tired eyes constantly stared through their lenses, examining his work for flaws. Before him lay the blueprints to a miniature internal mechanism for a heavy duty steel coupling. On the surface, the collection of springs, gears, and pins seemed irrelevant, but the engineer knew that eventually the tiny piece he designed would eventually become part of a greater whole, meant to hitch together gigantic loads for large locomotives. Why they would need such a large coupling for a train? Hooves couldn't know. It would be impractical, in his opinion, to make Equestria's locomotives any larger than they already were. The designs he was a part of were for something much larger than even the artillery trains used in the war, and those were already oversized by modern standards. What was there to gain from spending so many more resources to make a single, large, overengineered locomotive rather than just making twelve normal sized ones? He shook his head. The Company had been working on some, big secret project for a long time now. First, there was the Hope Project earlier, where plans for gargantuan furnace parts were commissioned... and now there were plans for a huge train of some kind... It wasn't his place to question. Hooves reached out for his cup of coffee, putting down his pen and ruler for just one moment. He took a sip, only to taste the bitter drops of coffee that only collected at the bottom of an empty cup. With a snarl, he withdrew the cup from his lips, turning the top towards him to inspect the inside. It was like he suspected: Empty. Sighing, he got up, his chair creaking as he stood. He gently took his cup from his hooves to his mouth, before turning and walking towards his window, where cold air seeped into his warm room. Maybe at some other time, Hooves would've been more inquisitive of the motives of his employers. But right now, Hooves was only concerned with keeping his well-paying desk job, safe in EEC's Manehatten branch office. Even now, as he gazed out the windows, he could see another light snow falling from the heavens. Even despite the best efforts of the weather team, the cold in the atmosphere had caused the water to crystalize in the clouds on their own. That, combined with the increasing wildness of the frequencies of the weather magic, meant that even without the ponies doing their winter ramp up... snow was beginning to fall all across the country. The harvest had wilted overnight. The situation was apparently no better in Equestria's colonies, either. New Mareland apparently had it even worse than Equestria did, despite them being close to the equator... Now there were bread lines forming everywhere. Riots on the streets, ponies storming stockpiles to secure winter clothing for themselves. The price of a good meal had skyrocketed, along with the price of firewood and coal. So, as Hooves brought the windows closed, latching them shut, he tried to count his blessings. He was still employed, with a good paying wage, and he still had his cushy job of sitting at a desk doing what he loved. "Furthermore..." He thought to himself as he looked down into the cup he had secured between his teeth, "There's still free coffee." Coming out from his office to the common area, the distant sounds of typewriters clattering, employees murmuring, and hoofsteps tracing between offices all flooded his ears. He held his gaze to the floor, avoiding contact with the other engineers and EEC employees who walked past him. He was in no mood for socializing. In the break room, a kettle was already simmering above a stove, with an opened pack of coffee grounds sitting on the counter nearby. In the sink, approximately thirty-two dirty cups sat on a dish rack, waiting for one of the office assistants to come along and wash them. A few others sat around at nearby tables, passing around a few words of conversation. Hooves initially tried to ignore them as he began to prepare a fresh cup of coffee. "They say the world's gonna freeze over, and that it's all the Princess's fault," Said one, making Hooves's ear rotate towards them A grunt from his companion followed, "Why would it be their fault?" "My friend, he works up in the Canterlot office, he's saying that the Princess's magic is failing," This time, Doctor Hooves turned his head slightly to look at the pony talking. "You've got it all wrong. It's those damn Griffons. Whatever they have that affects their weather to go all crazy over there, they've spread it to us. It's a ploy, to weaken the Empire y'see?" Another voice in the break room chimed in. "Nonsense. They're in just as bad a shape as us," Another, more skeptical voice called from the back of the break room. "Wouldn't put it past the squawkers to hurt themselves trying to get back at us. Proper enemies of real civilized peoples, you know!" Hooves, stirring his cup of coffee with a spoon, turned around with the cup firmly mounted in his forehoof, "You're all incorrect." Every eye in the break room turned towards him. "Emissions from volcanoes, along with recent pollution from factories has compounded with some natural cooling effect. That's all it is. if we're lucky, it passes in a few years," Hooves said dismissively, before taking up the cup in his mouth again and beginning to walk out of the room. "Emissions my left flank," Hooves heard from behind him as he left the room, "Bloody ash doesn't dim the sun!" He tried to put the thoughts of the cooling behind him as he made his way back through the halls of the office building back to his own space. He tried to gear his thoughts back towards his work, and slowly his vision was taken up by images of equations, cogs, pressure valves, and force calculations... Thump Hooves's head suddenly smacked against something soft and furry, causing his cup of coffee to spill, with some of it going straight up his nose, and some audibly splattering on the floor. Shaken from his thoughts, he looked up, beginning to apologize. "Sorry, I didn't meant to-" His eyes froze as he saw who he bumped into. The purple alicorn stood a few inches taller than him, with a slightly upset look on her face. She was rather different from the pictures Hooves had seen of her. Namely, she was missing her tiara, which was replaced by a cloth cap, pulled down over her ears. Instead of a regal dress, she wore a simple jacket, with its collars pulled up to protect her neck from the cold. A knapsack hung near her hip, currently packed with unseen objects. Under her jacket, she wore a simple vest and shirt, with the logo of the EEC sewn over the right vest pocket. A very recently-acquired coffee stain also made a large, brown blotch on the left breast of the vest. Cheeks burning red, Hooves bowed his head, "I- Uh, Erm. Your majesty, I am- I sincerely apologize, I was just- I didn't-" Twilight Sparkle's annoyed face eventually softened into a smile, "It's okay. I have spares. I can understand being a little distracted, especially in our line of work." Hooves gulped, but eventually mustered the courage to just nod, eyes still glued to the floor. After a moment, Twilight's hoof pressed against Hooves's chin, lifting up his face to look at her properly, "You don't happen to be a Dr. Hooves, do you?" Hooves nodded shakily, looking up into her eyes, "Yes, ma'am- erm, Your Highness. Doctor Hooves, doctorate in applied mechanical engineering." "Well, I suppose it's fortuitous that we..." She adjusted her ruffled jacket, "Bumped into one another. Can we meet in your office? There is something important I must share with you." Hooves nodded once again, before meekly walking past Twilight on his course back to his office. The alicorn followed his every step, the clack of her hooves against the floorboards sounding loudly in Hooves's ears. "What in damnation does the Director of the EEC want with me? Did I do something reprehensible? Were my designs insufficient?" Hooves's hearts thundered in his ears as he clutched his now empty cup of coffee harder in his teeth. Finally, the two of them reached the doors to his office. He reached out a hoof, twisting the door handle and creaking the door open to reveal his office. Not knowing what to do, Hooves simply stood beside the door and waited for Twilight Sparkle to enter. The door, being held open by Hooves, was suddenly forced closed by Twilight after she walked inside. She stood beside his desk, before gesturing to him, "Go ahead. Sit down." Hooves blanched as the door clicked shut, before slowly beginning to walk over to his chair to sit down. As he did so, he looked up at the royal mare, a droplet of sweat running down his brow, "...Am I in trouble?" Twilight gave another light smile, "No. Should you be?" Hooves laid down his coffee cup, before tapping his forehooves together, "...I don't believe so... no..." "Well that's good to hear," She smiled, making the poor doctor only more nervous, "Tell me something: you worked on the Hope Project, right?" "I... suppose I did," Hooves nodded slowly, "I made a singular part... an emergency overload release valve..." "I see," Twilight reached towards her knapsack, opening the top to withdraw a blueprint, "Are you at all familiar with the greater meaning behind the Hope Project?" Hooves's eyes traced the blueprint as she levitated it slowly out of her pack, "I know it was a design for a large furnace of some kind..." Twilight Sparkle nodded, before rolling out the blueprint and laying it on his desk. Before Hooves, sat a huge design template for a massive machine. The design seemed to start underground, with a huge pump system designed to force water up high capacity pipes. A gargantuan spherical boiler in the center made a core, with huge heating rods feeding into it from a multitude of furnace modules. A system of risers, pipes, turbines, and pumps in the head of the system seemed to be made to circulate steam at extremely high pressures. Finally, a huge, over-engineered steel composite hull capped the entire thing off. Doctor Hooves blanched as he saw the scale of the design printed on the margins of the blueprint. The entire thing was over a hundred meters tall, with the above-ground portion of it being nearly forty meters. The machine would dwarf a single pony- would dwarf even the spires of Canterlot Castle. "If I am correct..." Twilight Sparkle asked, reaching out a hoof to indicate a small area near the top of the boiler, "This is the part you designed?" Hooves's eyes focused in. A tiny valve connected to a vent. He had designed it to blow if steam pressure around it grew too high, thus hopefully avoiding an explosion when the main boiler was under stress. If it hadn't been indicated to him, though, he would have missed the tiny little component among the gargantuan inner workings of the machine. "Yes... I did," He nodded slowly, "I... couldn't have imagined it would be used in something so large, though..." Twilight tapped her hoof over the component thoughtfully, "I reviewed the design myself. Don't undersell it, for such a tiny component, it's very important overall. It was designed well, too." "...Thank you," Was all Hooves could think to say. "Doctor, I must ask you to not repeat what I'm about to say to anypony else outside of this room. Not even your own local superiors," Twilight Sparkle retracted her hoof from the blueprint, her face growing grim. Hooves blinked, before nodding dumbly. "The world is ending, Doctor," Twilight said bluntly, "The reasons why are irrelevant, but the fact that our world is about to fall into another Ice Age is inarguable." Hooves nodded again. "The Hope Project was a project to construct several large scale furnaces, dubbed Generators, across several sites in the arctic circle. Your design is present in all of them," Twilight continued, "Eventually, life here is going to become unbearable, and it's only going to get worse. The EEC is planning expeditions to take ponies from every city in Equestria to these Generators, which are powerful enough to resist the freezing cold temperatures of the new ice age." The doctor mulled over Twilight's words. Looking down at the Generator blueprint, he found validity in the Princess's claims. The furnace was obviously built to be large enough to heat an entire city, and could most definitely powerful enough to resist most subzero temperatures... "Why the arctic circle? Certainly the equator would be a better pick?" Hooves inquired, tapping his forehooves together once again. "Soon enough, the equator will be just as bad as the rest of the world," Twilight dismissed, "The reason we have chosen the arctic circle is because the distribution of coal deposits, required for fueling the Generators, as well as large aquifer networks have made them more ideal spots to place the furnaces." Hooves pushed his spectacles up his muzzle, inspecting the marvelous design of the Generator closer, "...And... how can I help?" "You are able bodied and young, Doctor," Twilight placed her hoof over his, stopping his forehoof from tapping against the other one nervously. "I am 32 years old..." He muttered. "-Much younger than other engineers who worked on this project, Doctor. You will need all the strength you can muster should you choose to accept this assignment. You have an innate knowledge of the technology the EEC uses, and you have had your part in designing the Generator, even if you were unaware of it," Twilight pulled in a bit closer, "I want you to sign on as an Administrator on the New Ponyville expedition. You will be educated on the full operation and maintenance of the Generator, and the other technology you will employ. Not only will you lead them when it comes to engineering knowledge, but you'll also preserve the knowledge of the Generator and steam tech for future generations." "...Future generations..." Hooves said, voice hoarse as he processed the information. "This is a one way trip, Doctor. You, and the rest of the survivors will be expected to live there on a permanent basis... or until the ice age ends," Twilight intoned. The wind rattled against the window behind Hooves, making him turn away as he saw the snowfall outside intensifying. With drawn lips, the engineer turned back towards Twilight and the Generator blueprint. "Yes. I'll do it." Doctor Hooves stared down at the paper before him. His drafting pencil was idle, stopped in the middle of a line outlining a pipe layout system for the Hothouse basin. "Every harvest... providing only a few tonnes of gross product..." He tapped the butt of his pencil on the paper nervously, "That barely leaves a margin for error in case we have a bad crop, which is very likely with the unpredictability of the weather..." His new office space in the Workshop was cramped, ugly, and didn't even have a window. He lived in a glorified attic, with a single desk and a crudely crafted chair made out of a stack of manuals. A tiny lightbulb dangled from the ceiling, providing constantly shifting light for his designs. Hung around his desk were blueprints for the Hothouse, designs commissioned only a few hours ago by the Captain. It was a fairly easy job, considering the designs for the Hothouse were already theorized by the EEC prior to his departure from Manehatten, but in the engineering world, "easy" meant an entire three shifts of work. This was the reason he asked the Captain to declare a 24 hour shift at the workshop, even if it meant he himself would need to stay up, without rest, for the entire night pouring over his designs. Yet, as he reviewed the compilation of designs and specifications that he and the other Engineers had drawn up, he was beginning to realize something. They just weren't big enough. Another engineer on his crew, a botanist, had warned of the amount of square footage the plants needed to put down their roots without choking each other. Yet, at the same time, Hooves found that, even through multiple redesigns and the entire day's shift working together, there was no way to make a single Steam Core cover a large enough area to meet the harvest demands of the city. Even with two seperate Hothouses working together, it only barely met the needs of a single full meal a day. The fact that the plants had to be tended to with earth pony magic, heated with enchanted steam, and even then would only harvest every other week... They couldn't survive on just the food grown in Hothouses alone. Not until they built at least five. There was the possibility that they could create a more industrialized version, with plants stacked on top of each other and a more reinforced structure giving more vertical growing space, but that wouldn't necessarily solve the problem. Besides, with their resources, they currently didn't possess the means to really put anything of that caliber together. All they had were primitive tools, nails, duct tape, and drawing boards. Taking off his spectacles for a moment, Hooves rubbed his eyes. He hated to admit that he couldn't solve the problem, but in these circumstances... The door to his office squeaked open, the hoof-crafted door swinging on rope hinges as a small purple-colored unicorn peeked through. She held a lunch tray, with a cold pot of vegetable stew and baked potatoes sitting on top of it. "Amethyst," Doctor Hooves sighed as the unicorn came inside. Amethyst gave Hooves a faint smile, "How's it going, Doctor?" Looking down slightly, Hooves examined Amethyst's boots. They were caked with snow, that was now slowly melting in the slightly warmer environment of the workshop. Amethyst followed his gaze, before giving a shrug, "Snow had already recollected on the path to this place by the time dinner was over. Wasn't much of a bother, though," She levitated the dinner plate over to Hooves's desk, placing it on an empty space of wooden planking next to his blueprints. "Are you feeling warm enough?" She asked, looking around the cramped office, "You're out of range of the Generator out here." Hooves nodded, "I'm quite alright. We're quite well insulated," He eagerly reached out to take a fork from the plate, stuffing a potato in his mouth and savoring the bland taste. Like the rest of the new citizens of New Ponyville, he hadn't eaten in over an entire day. He wasn't quite starving, but he was definitely feeling hard hunger pangs, especially after being on half rations in the Lorries for so long. "It'll probably get a lot colder at night. Haven't you got a fireplace or something?" Amethyst wondered, drawing her coat closer at the thought. "This place was not built with central heating in mind, Miss Star. We light a fire here and it warms a single room..." Hooves paused for another bite out of his dinner, "...Well, that is, until the entire place burns down because it's made entirely out of wood." The two sat in silence for several minutes, with only the sound of Hooves chewing on his potatoes and taking sips of his stew to accompany their ears. Eventually, Hooves reached the dregs of his stew, his gnawing hunger, for once, entirely absent. "How is the situation of the ill and injured? I heard we finished the medical post today," Hooves asked, taking a hoofkerchief out of his pocket to dab at the crumbs and broth still clinging to his lips. Amethyst shook her head, "The ill from our journey are lining up in droves. We've run completely out of beds for them, and the doctors not working in the post are doing house visits for the rest... and even then we still have so many needing attention." "The medical post is filled completely to capacity?" Hooves raised an eyebrow. "Every bed is full, yes. There were a lot of sick transferred from the medbays of the Lorries," Amethyst nodded. Hooves huffed, "Every bed. Why aren't we putting them on the floor?" "We aren't going to treat our ill like that," Amethyst frowned. The doctor shook his head, "If they're at least in the posts, they can get their needs checked. We shouldn't be squeamish about these kinds of things." Amethyst went silent for a while, before eventually looking down at his blueprint, "Are those designs for those garden buildings?" "Hothouses, yes," Hooves nodded, "I wanted to ask your advice about that, actually." "I'm... not a botanist," Amethyst mumbled. "No, but you're a logistics expert," He tapped the blueprint with his pencil, "How many more days of food do we have in reserve?" "Five days. We were hoping you'd have the Hothouses open by then," Amethyst raised an eyebrow, "I mean... these blueprints look almost complete anyway, right?" "That's not the problem, Amethyst," Hooves shook his head, "Forcing all of our earth pony magic into the soil, using fertilizer from our own manure, and using the enchanted steam core heating solutions... all of it only makes the Kale mature in a week. And even then, it's a forced maturity, it's not going to taste good or even be that healthy." "The solution is clear," Hooves continued, "We need to cut our rations in half again. And even once the Hothouses are open, that's not going to get any better, not until we have a lot more Steam Cores and a lot more heating space from the Generator." "Half rations? Hooves, that's no way to live," Amethyst shook her head, "This is a city, we're meant to be living actual lives, not just trying to survive for the sake of surviving." "Do you suggest survival is not a valid reason to endure?" Hooves asked, raising his pencil to chew on the end. "Well... yeah, but at the same time, you're a smart pony. There has to be a way for you to figure it out. Isn't there any other way to get food?" Amethyst insisted, leaning up on the desk to stand above Hooves. With a frown, he shook his head, "Nothing out there to forage. Ground's too hard to plant in, even if it's in the Generator's range..." A thought popped into his head, and he blinked, before waggling the end of his pencil towards Amethyst, "There is actually something we could do, but it's not pretty." Amethyst gave a frustrated moan, "Well? You literally said there wasn't any other way, it sounds like you're talking about an alternative option." "There are animals out in the Frostlands. Polar bears, seals, penguins, the like..." Hooves gave Amethyst a grim frown. Amethyst's coat turned green as she suppressed a gag, "Meat?" "...And blubber, and coats, both of which we can use for other purposes. But yes, meat," Hooves nodded. "Isn't that bad for us?" Amethyst backed away slightly from his desk. "If we eat it alone, yes. However, we can grind it up and use it as a food additive. They will pad out our meals, and they do provide... some nutrition. The famous arctic explorer, Ice Cap, survived off of seal meat and potatoes for months," Hooves noted. "Didn't he end up dying, though?" Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows. "Well... yes... but from completely unrelated causes," He shook his head dismissively. Amethyst suppressed another gag, "We may as well just eat half rations instead of... that." "That's what I'm saying, though," Hooves finally laid down his pencil, "We can turn half rations into full rations with food additives. It would taste off, but we would get used to it eventually. The health risks would be minimal as long as the meat is properly prepared, and aside from maybe a few health problems after repeated use..." "I don't think so," Amethyst shook her head again, "Nope, nope nope nope." "I don't think it's your decision either," Hooves picked up his pencil, trying to focus his mind again as he continued to draw, "That's for the Captain to decide." The dawn of the next day revealed a promising sight. As Doctor Hooves slowly walked out the door of the Workshop, sleep deprived and sore, he stared upwards to see the sun shining down over the City. "The blizzard has lifted," He noted, watching the light snow drift down from the sky. A blanket of icy snow had already covered the street leading back towards the Generator hub. The engineer waded through the snow, shivering as his breath came out in icy puffs. Even though the Workshop was well insulated, there was no shortage of numb hooves and shivering spells without a proper heating system. Now, as Hooves came back to the inviting warmth of the Generator, he knew his incessant shivering was a clear sign he was becoming hypothermic. It didn't matter much to him. The safety of the Generator's heat was only a bit farther now. The air slowly turned warmer as the snow turned to wooden streets again as Hooves grew closer to the Generator. Giving another shiver, the engineer appreciated the life-giving warmth of the giant furnace once again as he tried to comfort his freezing body that it would only be a bit longer before he was fully warmed up. Most of the tents were deserted, with ponies having been long gone out to work on collecting more resources, building more buildings, and salvaging the last dregs of the Steam Lorries' cargo bays. Last time he had checked, the huge locomotives that had carried them this far were turning into steel skeletons, with most of their internals ripped up and cabins salvaged. The only ones that scampered around were the foals, finding ways to occupy themselves with games of pretend and hide and seek. Hooves bit his lip, looking up to the Generator. He hoped none of the children, foolish in their young age, would try and tamper with the furnace. He knew just how dangerous fiddling around with the components of the giant machine could be, especially to the untrained and uneducated. He frowned as he made his way to the Captain's tent to deliver his report, "The foals should be working, instead of standing around and watching the snow fall all day." The Equestrian flag lay limp on the western wall of the Captain's tent. Despite its journey, the Sun and Moon was still shining bright on the turquoise field of the flag, giving penance to rulers and a nation long dead. Ducking inside the low bearing frame of the front door, Hooves made his way inside. What met his eyes inside made the doctor pause. Gathered around the Captain's desk were three fillies, ones that he could've sworn he recognized from somewhere. The Captain was expressively regaling them with a story of some kind, and was currently holding a service rifle as a demonstration of some kind. "And I had that damn polar bear locked down in my sights, and it couldn't even see my cloaked in the snow-" the Captain reached up to pull the bolt back on his rifle, before he noticed Doctor Hooves's entry into the tent. Hooves suddenly remembered where the three fillies were from, "It's those thieves that stole the valuable silk for their capes." With a booming, jovial voice, the Captain gave a toothy grin towards the engineer, "Hooves! You came just in time to hear about my daring polar bear hunt!" Unimpressed, Doctor Hooves just frowned at his Captain, "...Is this really the most important use of your time?" The Captain was quick to respond, "Yes! Yes it was... for as long as you were holed up in your office, anyway. I assume you've come to talk about something important?" Hooves opened his mouth to speak, but just as he did, he felt a bump on his flank as somepony else pushed through the tent flap behind him. He heard a female squeak, before he clambered to get out of the way. There was a clatter of porcelain, before eventually the dazed head of Amethyst poked out through the tent flap. Floating behind her in her telekinesis was a silver platter with a tea set upon it, with a kettle steaming steadily. Amethyst regarded the room for a moment, before noticing Doctor Hooves and immediately dropping into a frown. Trying to ignore him, she turned towards the Captain and said, "I've brought your hot wat- errr, Your hot cocoa, Captain." The Captain delicately laid his rifle down against a wall behind his desk, before nodding towards Amethyst, "Well, lay it down by our guests. If you wouldn't mind staying and watching them for a moment, Amethyst, I've got to have a talk outside with the good Doctor." "Alright..." Amethyst mumbled, laying down the tea set by the foals before going to sit down by the desk herself. Beckoning to Doctor Hooves, the Captain began to walk through the flap of his tent. Sparing one final look towards the three fillies and Amethyst, Hooves followed the Captain out silently. "This doesn't look like hot cocoa..." He heard one of the fillies say from behind him as he left. "Oh... it's white chocolate. That's why it's clear," Amethyst made the excuse just as Hooves exited the tent. Now back out in the cold air outside, the Captain turned to Hooves, "So, what's our progress? Do we have our food solution yet?" Settling down into the comfort of talking business, Hooves relaxed, "First of all: The Beacon has recently completed construction. We're making sure it's installed to specifications, and then we're going to launch it this afternoon. There's already volunteers lining up outside the Beacon to go on the rescue mission to the citizens we left behind." "That's good news. We needed a win," The Captain sighed, "And about the Hothouses? I heard from Amethyst that you said we might need to cut our rations in half again?" "...That was one of the solutions, yes. With our current supply of Steam Cores, we cannot build enough Hothouses to properly feed everypony a singular full meal a day," Hooves nodded, "...But I suppose she may have failed to mention the alternative." "An alternative?" The Captain shook his head, "She didn't, no. What is the alternative? I'd rather not cut our rations again, our ponies are becoming tired of their long hours and toil, I don't need to add starvation back onto that list again." Hooves nodded, "Agreed. Captain, on your expeditions, have you ever been forced to eat meat?" The Captain paused, adjusting his coat collar idly, "...Yes. Polar animals are sometimes the only thing edible. We lack the capabilities to digest meat, though, so it tends to just make you sick the more you eat it. Or, Celestia forbid, you get a true taste for it..." "Well, the suggestion I made to Amethyst that she despised enough to not even bring it up to you is that we hunt seals and polar bears. We process their meat into thin strips, remove the fat, and mince the strips. Then, we serve it disguised within soups and with other normal mealtime elements. Even though our citizens will know what they're eating, hopefully not just serving it up front will serve to stop any disgust. If we strip it and then grind it, it may counter most of the digestive side effects of consuming meat. In the end, there are proteins we can derive from it that makes it a valid component of our meals. There might be some that get ill from eating it... but once we solve our food issues we can stop adding meat into our diets and just hunt animals for their skins and blubber," Hooves proposed. The Captain frowned, "...While I do agree that it may be more efficient, for our ponies this may be a worse option than giving them half rations." Hooves shook his head, before reaching up a hoof to adjust his glasses, "For some it may be bad, but for many others they won't taste the difference. Eventually, some might find it as a preferable part of their diet." The Captain's lips curled as he gave a wince, "It is not at all preferable that ponies get a taste for meat, Doctor." "Perhaps traditionally, no," Hooves disagreed, "It is a myth that consuming animal meat automatically leads into ponies becoming cannibals. Again, aside from a few medical side effects that can be easily treated, there is nothing wrong with extended consumption of meat." "...I suppose, like you said, that the coats and blubber would be useful in crafting winter clothing and using chemically..." The Captain sighed. "Indeed," Doctor Hooves nodded. After a moment, the Captain gave a grim chuckle, "What a state. Proud Equestrians considering living like savages with real fur coats and eating meat." Hooves remained silent, simply staring up at the Captain and waiting. Secretly, he wondered just what kind of pony the Captain was, and if he had the stomach to make difficult decisions. Eventually, though, the Captain made his choice, "You're right, though," A sigh, "Alright. But: I want to know, when can we solve our crop situation and give ponies full, normal meals?" Doctor Hooves responded automatically with his calculations from the prior night, "We solve it when we find more steam cores. We'll need around four hothouses to barely eek out the food we need for our full expedition. There's one steam core per hothouse... so..." "Is there any way to produce them here?" The Captain quirked an eyebrow. With a firm shake of his head, Doctor Hooves responded, "No. Not without a dragon. Dragonfire is an extremely important component of the Steam Core. For now, we'll have to make do with salvaging all we can." A slow nod followed, "Alright. I will announce the law change to allow meat food additives tonight. For now, you may go back to your studies." The Doctor nodded as he watched the Captain duck back into his tent, with the sounds of the foals within cheering his arrival emanating from within. Looking up, Doctor Hooves watched the black smog of the Generator's smokestack drift forever on into the sky. Reaching up, he adjusted his cap, sighed, and walked away.