//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 - Overseer Rarity Belle 
// Story: Frostpony 
// by The Original Gaston 
//------------------------------//

Rarity had thought that Coal would have been the backbone of the resource game in New Ponyville.

Yes, while fuel for the Generator was of course incredibly important, as they sort of required it to not freeze to death in their sleep. However, currently, there was not exactly a shortage of coal. Indeed, New Ponyville technically had enough coal to last about 4 days at this point if every last coal worker except the ones fueling the furnaces directly were to quit their jobs. Not that this was an excuse to stop trying to gather coal, of course. The more fuel the merrier, in Rarity's opinion...

But no, currently Coal was not the first and foremost on the Captain's (and thus the Administrator's and Overseer's) mind. Currently, it was Wood.

They had left behind a sizable amount of wood cargo when they abandoned Lorry Seven. In fact, the only wood they really had from the start was from recycled wooden crates that they had been using to store other, important things aboard the surviving Lorries.

Coal did not build tents. Coal did not put together the resources required for research. Coal did not build the Cookhouse. Coal did not construct the Gathering Posts that made consolidating the expedition's old cargo much more efficient. Coal did not construct streets. Coal did not build the workshops.

Coal, ultimately, wasn't going to get ponies anywhere if they couldn't also do any of the above. Wood was going to do the above.

So, Rarity, trussed up in her winter coat, walked and waded through the snow, teeth chattering as snow continued to fall in sheets from the angry clouds above. In the distance, far away from the warmth of the Generator, was a row of the city's buildings that were far away from the Generator either by choice, or by necessity.

The Sawmill was one of the latter of those.

The short, stocky building stood next to a canvas-covered Hunter's Hut, and lay a short walk down from the Beacon. The Sawmill was dedicated to cutting down and processing the frozen trees that lined the outer edge of New Ponyville's valley, the city's currently only source of natural wood.

Rarity instinctively grabbed at her clothing as she came towards the door of the Sawmill. She straightened her woolen cap, and grabbed at a button near her neck. She frowned as the button came loose, the thread holding it on having worn down and snapped in two. For a moment, she looked down to appreciate the tears, rips, and stains her once beautiful coat had sustained.

A past Rarity may have cried at such a travesty, but the current Rarity could only bite back tears and try and straighten up her coat as best she could. One day, she'd get thread and needle and go to work repairing her coat once again. Right now... well, she was required to do things other than being a seamstress.


The door opened with her magical touch, and the sounds and smells of a sweaty, grim, dusty workplace assaulted her nose and ears. The interior of the building was lit with pale lamplight, and the floor was covered in a thin layer of sawdust. Wind whistled through glassless windows, and in some places the light of the city simply shone through the gaps in the walls. The only thing that made the temperature livable in there was the Heater.

Heaters were a new design cooked up by New Ponyville's engineers. They were modified mobile furnaces, the same things the Scouts used, that were hooked into the pipeline system that lead in towards the Generator. Even though the Generator wasn't powerful enough to get hot steam all the way out to the outskirts of the valley, the Heaters could re-heat the cold, wet steam somewhat and provide cheap central heating more powerful than a simple wood fire.

The sounds of sawing, murmurs, panting, and slow, steady hoofsteps echoed through the cramped, ill-insulated workplace. Several of the workers already were sat down against a wall, hooves cracked, clothing torn, and dust and grime staining their coats and faces. A few brave few still continued to saw away at the logs laying on a shallow groove, creating planks of wood that were being slowly carried away to be added to a stockpile.

Rarity raised her whistle to her lips, and blew long and hard, the shrill screech of the metal instrument causing the resting workers to turn their eyes to her immediately, and the workers on the sawmill to sigh and let go of their long, specialized tools.

They looked at her expectantly, their eyes pleading for permission to finally go home and rest. To go and warm up close to the Generator and to try and shake off the saw dust caking their bruised and scuffed coats. 

Alas, Rarity could not provide that solace as she raised her voice for the room to hear, "I have a message from the Captain!" her blue magic grasped a folded note in her coat pocket, unwrapping it as her eyes turned down to read it, "Sawmill workers, an Emergency Shift has been declared-"

The room instantly erupted in shouts, hoof stomps, and groans of outrage. Rarity grimaced, but continued anyway, "You will work for the next 24 hours. You will be allowed an hour break to report to the Cookhouse for your rations, starting at the second horn after this message ends," fortunately for Rarity, the discontent in the room was silenced slightly by the promise of rations. With Heaters installed in the Cookhouse just like they had been installed in the Sawmill, the cooks were finally able to cook food again. Tonight was going to be the first night where the ponies of New Ponyville were going to be able to eat again.

"As you will have missed the nightly announcements by now, they will be repeated for you once again," Rarity cleared her throat and took a breath, "A new law has been passed. Citizens of New Ponyville will now be allowed to bathe at the newly-opened Bathhouse. You are required to do so by your city, as the lack of bathing could cause plague and sickness. A latrine is also installed at this Bathhouse, and now in the future you will be required to do your business there, both to prevent contamination and to allow our ponies to reuse your refuse for the purpose of fertilization-"

A worker spoke up, "Eh? What? You mean we're gon' have to walk all the way back to the damn Generator to take a piss?"

Rarity looked up from her note and frowned, "...Err... I suppose so..."

"Buck that right up the tail," Another pony sneered, "This damn mill is hard enough work without needing to walk a quarter mile just to drop a road apple."

"What are you minute-takers going to do if we don't, anyway?" Somepony else pointed out, bringing mutters of general agreement from the workers.

Rarity gulped, reaching up with a hoof to nervously brush one of her stray purple locks to the side, "Well.. I'm not sure. I'm just... I'm just a messenger, you see? I really don't make the rules."

The same pony snorted, crossing his hooves, "We deserve better."

Rarity frowned. It wasn't the Overseer's job to enforce the rules. In fact, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure who exactly she'd call if the workers just straight up refused to do what the Captain said. Currently, the only motivator the workers had for the extreme conditions they were being faced with was that, without them, the city would die and their foals would die with it. And, while that was a powerful motivator for most, Rarity could understand many thinking their workloads were unfair.

Even as an Overseer, an objectively easier job than most of the grueling ground-level work the populace faced, Rarity felt the weight of her hours. She spent most of the day running from place to place, starting and ending shifts, overseeing resource distribution, and passing messages between workforces. She barely had the time to eat before she had to find what rest she could back at home. The concept of free time was completely gone from her mind, and even the concept of getting off to see her little sister was crushed down under endless work hours.

What Rarity wouldn't give for a day off.

Biting her lip, Rarity sighed, "...I know. I've been on my hooves all day as well, and when some of the other Overseers took ill I've had to work emergency shifts for them too. But we need that wood in our stockpiles. If we don't get it, we cannot build the facilities we need to farm, we cannot build the workshop expansions needed to upgrade the Generator to heat our homes, and we cannot build sturdier homes out of hopes and dreams. I know this all requires a lot of sacrifice," Rarity grimaced, "...But the city must survive."

The sawmill was silent for a minute, and Rarity felt herself shrink away as the exhausted stallions and mares around the room fixed her with judgemental stares. She was secretly glad the workers were already so tired, as some of the burlier stallions looked like the unkindly types that made her shy away from dockyards and factories back before the Frost.

Rarity was saved, however, as one of the stallions finally shifted from his seat in a corner and walked back towards the log groove. Grabbing one end of the sawblade resting halfway through a frozen log, he gave a glance around the room, "...You heard the pretty lady. Are ya gonna be part'cularly upset 'bout yer aching bones when yer skeleton is under fifteen feet o' snow?"

He was met with grumbles from around the room. However, eventually a mare got up and worked her frame up to the top of the groove and set herself up on the opposite end of the saw. With the two's muscles flexing, the saw began to continue its work of chewing through bark and wood, sawdust flying off the groove and onto the ground once again.

It had only taken two, because soon after that the rest of the workplace got back to their job. Another log was loaded onto another groove, and another saw began to work through it. Planks were planed, then tossed onto the stack. Then, others began to work to tie the stack together with the provided cables.

Rarity looked at the stallion who had stood up first. He noticed her look, and paused for a moment to return her glance. 

Smiling, Rarity mouthed a "thank you" to him.

He only managed to return a neutral look and a shrug. Rarity supposed it was the best she could hope for, and eventually readjusted her coat, folded up her paper once more, and turned tail back towards the door.

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM

The Generator's horn rumbled through the valley, signalling the end of an hour. Without it, those ponies without a watch wouldn't be able to tell the time. With the storm clouds looming over the city, it was impossible to judge the time through the passage of the sun and the moon...

Rarity fussed with her mane for a bit, now standing outside the sawmill, before sighing and setting her sights back on the road that lead towards the city and the Generator. The horn had signalled the end of her shift, and every minute she spent out there was a minute of rest wasted.

Her mouth watered as she was once again bombarded with the concept of rations being served at the cookhouse once again, and her hooves hurried despite their tiredness to carry her back to the city...





The Generator had stopped glowing as brightly as it had been the night before. According to the engineers, the extra warmth was only granted by a test-run of the Generator's Overdrive system, and it had to be shut off again lest the Generator be stressed enough to damage itself. 

Rumors were still circulating that those crazy ponies that spent their free time praying rather than sleeping had something to do with it. Rarity had simply brushed them off as what they were; Rumors. While she could understand the quaintness of the Generator being some sort of motherly figure, trying to protect the citizens of New Ponyville of its own mind, she knew the Generator was just a machine. An amazing machine, surely, but a machine nonetheless. It was going to be the ponies of New Ponyville that would save themselves, not some ghost in an oversized space heater.

The Cookhouse was barely more habitable than the Sawmill had been, with its thin, uninsulated walls doing no favors to fight back the cold outside. However, the introduction of the Heater inside helped recycle the Generator's steam, so the lukewarm glow of the Generator outside wasn't the only thing to help keep the temperature livable.

Little blessings. Small favors. That's all anypony could hope for.

Rarity subconsciously adjusted her red sash as she approached the counter where the meals were being served. She grabbed a tin plate and a spoon from the tray at the beginning of the long line in front of the servers. 

Her eyes wandered to the entrance of the Cookhouse. "Where have those little rascals gotten off to, they were meant to be here by the start of the horn..." Rarity bit her lip, shuffling forward as the line moved.

With Rainbow Dash out of the city looking for Pinkie Pie and Applejack barely having enough time in the day to come home and fall into bed, Rarity had been left as the defacto caretaker of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo (as well as her own little sister of course). They would usually spend the day running out and about around the city, and sometimes the Captain himself would spend some time with them. 

Bless their souls. The little ones were safe from the horrid reality the adults needed to slog through.

Rarity's turn in line came up. Placing her plate on the counter, she watched as the cook mare placed a knife in the middle of her plate. She then took a ladle, dipping it into a strange-smelling stew and filling the plate until one side of the knife was filled. Then, with a nudge of her hoof, the cook pushed the plate back towards Rarity.

Rarity sniffed the scent coming off the stew, and instantly her stomach turned in a knot. She was far past being a Canterlot gourmet, but there was definitely something more offputting about tonight's rations than the usual slop served ever since they left Manehatten.

Rarity looked up at the cook and raised an eyebrow. The cook met her gaze and rolled her eyes, before grunting, "Right. Overseer. What-buckin'-ever," she groaned before dipping her ladle in the stew and giving an extra spoonful onto Rarity's plate.

Blinking, Rarity shook her head, "Er- no, dear. What's- Excuse my manners, but what is in this stuff!?"

The cook frowned even deeper, "Meat. From some arctic avian flock that was taking shelter in a nearby cave I think."

Rarity's pale coat turned even paler, "...M-Meat?"

Behind her, the rest of the line muttered and murmured, and some other eyes turned to the cook and the "food" on Rarity's plate.

The cook sighed, "Remember? Captain said we'd have some meat in our diets to supplement our limited supply of vegetables?"

"But- I thought he said it was only a little bit mixed into our usual meals?" A teenaged colt in line right behind Rarity commented, and general affirmatives were muttered from behind him.

The cook shrugged, "We don't have any vegetables until that Hothouse gets built and starts harvesting. Listen- do you want to eat or not?"

Rarity held back a gag, "B-But... won't we get sick?"

"I've tried it myself. It's not that bad if you hold your nose," The cook gave Rarity a hard look, "Listen. This is just my job. I can guarantee you it's much better than starving."

Rarity looked down at the stew, and her lips quivered. The bits and bobs floating around in the murky, muddy broth were crushed down and grinded, but now that she studied them closely, they were clearly picked pieces of an animal's carcass. An almost guilty feeling washed over her as she realized she was still ravenous for food after laying eyes on the rations.

The cook tapped the counter impatiently, "Listen, Minutes. Either take your plate and eat it or leave it for somepony who actually wants a full belly tonight. Don't just stand their gawking, some of these ponies are only here on a limited break and you know it."

Cursing herself mentally, Rarity floated the plate away from the counter towards her chest. Her manners suggested she say "thank you", but between the taste of rising bile and the knot of hunger in her stomach, she couldn't bring herself to even mouth the words.

As she went to find a free space at a table to eat at, dodging through the crowds of ponies going to and fro, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Hey! Big Sis! You won't guess what happened today!" Sweetie Belle squeaked from behind Rarity, her warm body bumping up against her hind leg.

Shuffling onto a nearby bench, one bordering an only half-filled table, Rarity put on her best smile and turned towards the three fillies that had somehow managed to sneak their way behind her, "Oh? I'm sure I cannot."

Scootaloo hopped up on the bench next to Rarity, "The Captain came to see us again! He said we couldn't come into his tent for some reason, but he let Apple Bloom shoot a gun!"

Rarity choked slightly, having not even managed to consider actually trying to eat her rations as she turned a side eye towards Apple Bloom, "She did what!?"

"Yessum!" Apple Bloom nodded from behind Rarity, "He took us out near them rocks by the valley edge and let me shoot some tin cans!"

Rarity smiled weakly, "...I'm glad you had fun, why don't you run off and get your rations now before they're all gone?"

Scootaloo scarpered off the bench, leading off into the crowd as the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders disbanded.

Rarity was left to ponder her rations. The stew hadn't gotten any more appetising as it got colder in front of her, and she sure wasn't salivating at the idea of trying to choke down cold meat. A few years ago, she would have considered it a crime to consume meat in any form.  Now, though...

Ugh, how bad could it really be?

Rarity bit the bullet, dipping her spoon into the broth and shakily raising it to her muzzle. She caught a whiff of the horrid scent wafting off of the brew, and she gave a long, dry heave, her magic quivering as she doubled over and causing some of the broth to drip onto the table.

After her heave ended in coughs, Rarity gave the spoon a wary look as it floated in her magic. Taking the cook's advice, Rarity pinched her nose closed with her magic before opening her mouth and hesitatingly pushed the spoon towards her tongue.

Her muzzle closed around the tip of the spoon as she finally tasted the brew. The meat within was a gummy, too-soft texture that stuck to her teeth. The broth tasted like it stank, and caused her to shiver in disgust. She decided very quickly to swallow as soon as possible, for the longer she had it in her mouth the closer she was to involuntarily spitting it back out.

Taking the spoon out of her mouth, she let it fall back into the stew as she felt her stomach twist painfully at its new contents. She clamped a forehoof over her mouth, trying to suppress vomit. After all, what was the point of eating if you just threw it all back up?

From a nearby table, Rarity heard somepony else fail to keep their dinner down as the sound of them spitting a fresh mouthful out, followed by the sound of vomit hitting the floor assaulted her ears. All around the cookhouse, ponies were turning from their normal palate of bright, pastel colors to various shades of green as they tried to stomach the new rations.

Shaking her head, Rarity tried to muster the courage to raise another spoonful to her lips. Eventually, she managed to clamp her mouth around another spoonful, choking it down with an audible slurp and gag.

Trying not to think of it, she plunged her spoon back into the soup and brought it back up rapidly to suck it down, before repeating the process before her brain could process the strips of squishy, gummy flesh suspended in the broth.

About halfway through the bowl, Rarity regretted her position accidentally getting herself an extra spoonful as she was forced to stop to gag once again. Bile rose through her throat and into her mouth, but fortunately (or unfortunately - she couldn't quite decide at this point) she managed to swallow before she was forced to spit. 

She considered waiting to let her stomach calm down, but a sudden cramp through her midsection made her realize that she wasn't going to be getting better any time soon. It would probably be better to try and muscle through with a full stomach than to throw up half of it and forcing herself to eat another half.

Her eyes watering, nose sore from being clamped shut, and her stomach churning and making concerning noises, Rarity slurped what remained of her meal before finally releasing her nose and doubling over empty plate. Forehooves clamped over her muzzle, she went through the process of waning between vomiting, burping, and coughing as her body tried everything to reject the foreign food source.

"Rarity, yer lookin' greener than Applejack did that one time Granny mixed up her cold medication fer applesauce," came an accented voice from behind her.

Rarity removed her forehooves from her face for a moment, just to see her own saliva and tears staining her hooves. In disgust, she removed a hoofkerchief from her pocket to wipe them off, only to realize the piece of cloth was more filthy than her hooves could be. Unwilling to simply wipe them off on her coat, she simply laid her hooves down on the table as she tried to regulate her breathing, focusing on calming the turmoil in her gut.

"Wow. The food smelled bad, but I didn't know it was 'I bought my sister hokey pokey instead of mint cream by accident' bad..." Sweetie Belle said as she hopped up to sit down next to her.

Her little sister made Rarity crack a smile, only for it to be ruined by a rotten-feeling hiccup to suddenly wrack her body, "...I... I'd suggest you darlings cover your noses while you eat..." she managed to say as she tried to take a deep breath of stale, -20C air to calm her innards.

Scootaloo, who sat down the farthest from Rarity, with Apple Bloom being in the middle and Sweetie Belle being the closest,  shrugged as she put her spoon in the soup and took a sip. Her young friends watched her reaction closely, and Scootaloo gave a nervous look over to them as her face scrunched up in disgust.

"...Ew..." Scootaloo grunted, "...What's in this stuff!?"

Rarity raised her forehooves again, the muck on them having fortunately dried, and placed them back up to support her head, "...It's just a bit of processed meat. The Captain says we're going to have to get used to it if we don't want to starve."

"Didn't yer parents have to eat a whole crocodile once, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked, turning her head towards Scootaloo as she put her spoon in the soup.

"Ugh..." Scootaloo stuck out her tongue, wringing it out with her hooves, "Yeah but... but that didn't mean they didn't hate doing it! Yuck!"

Apple Bloom gagged, before spitting out her spoonful, "Urk! I thought Granny's cold medicine pie was bad!"

Sweetie Belle didn't even manage to get one into her mouth, she only sniffed it before slamming her spoon down back into her soup as she gagged.

Rarity lowered her hooves to clamp around her stomach, trying to give her gut pain some sort of relief, "Please, children..." she started, "...You... you need to eat."

"Eat meat though?" Sweetie Belle looked at her big sister pleadingly, "Shouldn't you be really against this, sis? You thought french fries were a crime against hay! We're eating animals now!"

Scootaloo tried to bring another spoonful to her lips, before shaking her head and placing her spoon back down and pushing the plate away.

Rarity sighed, "...Sweetie, darling, we all would do anything for french fries now. And if it means I have enough food to be able to walk and do my work, I can eat the remains of some dumb, uncouth animal, okay? Try and eat, it's a lot better if you close your nose."

Sweetie Belle looked down at the stew again, before back up at Rarity with eyes that screamed for an alternative. 

Rarity reached out a hoof to brush Sweetie Belle's delicate, if not slightly overgrown, mane, "Listen, dear. If you eat now, you'll have enough food in your belly to last you until the Captain builds the hothouses and harvests real vegetables for us to eat. We won't eat meat forever, but we have to eat it for now, okay?"

Sweetie Belle eye's fell back to the stew, where tiny bits and bobs of carcass floated in the broth. She still frowned, and her eyes watered as she sniffed again and gagged.

Scootaloo nosed at the soup again, before shaking her head vigorously and pushing the plate even farther away. 

Apple Bloom, however, took a look at Rarity, before turning her eyes left and right to her friends, "Listen, girls. It may not be that appetisin', but we're tough, right? We can get it down. Just think about th' future: Applejack will be able to get to workin' in them gardens the Captain's building. She'll grow real apples, and it'll be just like back in Ponyville. Heck, if we're lucky, we might be gettin' apple pie. Isn't that worth somethin'?"

Apple Bloom turned to Scootaloo, "And Scoots, y'all ate an earthworm from the playground one time just to show you'd eat just about anythin'. Y'all saying some stew is too much fer ya?" Then, to Sweetie Belle, "At least try an' eat some of it, Sweetie. If ya can't eat it all, maybe we can take it to some of the lumberjacks out in the rim. They'll be grateful for some extra supper!"

Scootaloo scrunched up her nose at Apple Bloom's words, but slowly and surely she nudged her plate back towards herself and took another sip. She made a face again, but eventually she took another spoonfull.

Sweetie Belle looked between Apple Bloom and Rarity, but eventually gave a short shrug and dipped her spoon back into her plate and tried to take a taste. 

Apple Bloom seemed to want to one-up them both, and raised her plate to start guzzling down a gulp of the stew all at once. Rarity could see the shock in her eyes as the taste hit her palate, and after one swallow she slammed the plate back down and made a sound ranging between a cough and a heave.

The other two fillies couldn't help but giggle as Apple Bloom made a variety of noises, and the gloom in their eyes lifted slightly as they tried to go about working their way through their meals.

Rarity smiled and gave Apple Bloom a grateful look.

Apple Bloom gave a sickened hiccup, but managed a smile back.





"So you'll be in charge of instructing the ponies throughout the first bathroom shift today," Amethyst Star said in her usual, hurried tone as she lead a very tired Rarity through the darkened halls of the newly-opened Bath House.

Rarity had been awoken an hour early, and thusly had only gotten a grand total of 3 hours the night previous, having spent a good few hours of the night thrashing and feeling feverish in bed as her body tried to digest her dinner. Of course, Rarity had been to sleep deprivation and done it. However, after about two weeks of only managing 6 hours of sleep a night, getting that amount halved for one night was doing a number on her faculties.

The already existent bags under her eyes had grown deeper, and under her cap her mane had only gotten more and more frayed and frazzled. She felt like falling asleep on her hooves right next to her superior, and actively fought to stay conscious every second. She tried to pay attention to the Administrator's words as she lethargically nodded whenever a question was asked.

"You will explain that they have 15 minutes each to undress, and submerge themselves in the water. Tell them to use the charcoal derivatives by the side of the pond to scrub themselves with. It'll leave stains, but it'll clean them. If you see one of the pools getting too polluted by dust and grime, you'll go and call an Engineer immediately because that means there's a malfunction in the plumbing," Amethyst continued, her checklist held out in front of her as she went through each item in order, "Their 15 minutes includes going to the latrines."

The two of them reached a slightly raised platform in the middle of the room, "This is where you'll stand. When they undress, order them to place their clothes near your hooves. Make sure nopony steals anypony else's winter clothes, okay?"

Rarity nodded dumbly, a thought passing through her head asking what she'd do to try and stop a thief before said thought fizzled out under a stream of sleep-deprived static.

"Your own bathtime will be at the end of your shift. You get the same amount of time as everypony else, alright?" Amethyst finished, placing her pencil in the holder at the top of the clipboard and turning towards Rarity, "Any questions?"

Rarity tried to think, but all she could do was let out a yawn as her brain fuzzed over once again, "...ergh... no, I don't think so, madame."

Amethyst ignored her yawn, and put her clipboard back in a pocket within her coat, "You'll do it 4 times for 4 different groups until the end of the hour. Don't let ponies stay in the pools for longer than their allotted time. Once you're done, report to the Captain's tent, the Captain wants to speak with you."

Rarity's brain, although it felt like it was running through molasses, did manage to make her raise an eyebrow at that, "...Personally?"

"Apparently," Amethyst nodded, before briskly turning on hoof and walking towards the door, "Good luck. Try not to fall asleep on duty."

Rarity grunted, as she rubbed her eyes. She went to sit down next to the platform. Maybe just a short rest was in order...

Her eyes had barely closed before she suddenly startled back awake as the door opened.

A crowd of ponies were slowly filtering into the bath house in front of her. Stumbling to her hooves, Rarity coughed and blinked rapidly, trying to stimulate her dry eyes. 

One of the ponies, clearly a coal worker, looked at her with disdain, "Damn Minutes can't even do their job without dozing off."

Trying to ignore the crowd, Rarity tried to remember what Amethyst had said. Then, taking out her stopwatch, she focused her frazzled magic to set the timer on it to 15 minutes.

"Erm... uh. Females go to this side, and males go to the other side," She indicated left from right with her forehoof, "Undress before you enter the water and leave your dressings on the platform behind me, and I'll uh..." she blinked again, rubbing an eye, "...Right. I'll make sure nopony steals them."

The workers, about 8 males and 8 females, stared at her untrustingly. 

With a short cough, Rarity continued, "Use the charcoal derivative lumps by the edges of the pool like soap and scrub your coats. It will stain, but it'll get the germs and dirt off of you."

"Your coat doesn't look that stained," One of the mares said, "Where you keeping the real soap?"

Rarity frowned, "I erm- haven't gotten the chance to bathe yet."

She was met with mutters and grumbles. But, she cleared her throat and continued anyway, "You have 15 minutes to bathe, scrub down, and wash yourselves off as well as go to the latrines and do your business. It's not private, but it's what we'll all have to deal with. Plumbing and private bathrooms are, decidedly, a thing of the past!"

She raised her stopwatch before the crowd and gave it an authoritative click as it started its countdown. Any complaints the crowd would have had were dispersed as they hurried off to the pools, undressing and throwing their garments towards Rarity.

Rarity tried her best to organize the clothes into their sets as her watch clicked and ticked away on the chain attached to her chest. There were some shouts of concern as the patrons of the new Bath House realized, suddenly, that the water was decidedly not very warm. However she ignored them as she placed the clothes in rows on top of the platform.

Some got out, looking around for a few moments before realizing there was no towels to be had to dry themselves off, and walked their sopping wet selves through the doors to the latrines. Only a few remained in the pools by the time Rarity's stopwatch went off.

She had only just finished throwing the last set of clothes in an organized heap as she climbed up on top of the platform and raised her whistle to give it a long, clear blast, "That's enough! Get back to work!"

"Seriously? I work for so long and I get thrown into a ponypiled excuse for a pool and I don't even get to relax before I'm told to go run back to work?" A mare shouted.

Rarity winced, sympathizing with the mare. She'd hoped the bath house would be at least somewhat like a spa she could rest in.

With a sympathetic frown to the mare who shouted, she shrugged, "Sorry, I don't make the rules. Get moving!"

The wet, still slightly dirty ponies climbed out of the tubs as the wiser, faster ponies came out from the latrines to collect their clothing. Rarity, unable to tell who owned which coats, simply watched as the citizens in front of her grabbed one set of clothes each and left.

With a sigh, Rarity sat down with her back against the platform as she took a breath. However, before she could get a break, she noticed another crowd of sixteen ponies begin to push into the Bath House, making their way around those leaving...

No rest for the wicked, Rarity supposed.





Rarity trudged through the snow outside the bath house, eyes wandering around the surroundings as she walked down the now familiar roads towards the Captain's tent. The Generator continued its steady chug, whistle, and cranking noises as it radiated its soothing warmth.

Despite the downright freezing weather, the Generator's constant rattle and rumbling reminded Rarity that it could be so much worse. The valley shielded them from the wind, and the Generator kept the snow from piling up, as well as warming the air. 

Little blessings, small favors...

Rarity's eyes travelled down towards the base of the Generator, where ponies continued to labor to haul cartloads of coal towards the furnace bins. She could see Applejack among them, the hardy earth pony still dragging her cartloads hour after hour. Her teeth clenched in worry as she was reminded of the mare's brush with death, and brought back memories of her laying on the ground, coughing up black phlegm and being wholly unable to stand.

Rarity adjusted her coat. She'd have to take this opportunity for a face-to-face with the Captain to vouch for her friend. That mare was going to get taken off of the coal depot, if she wanted to or not. The Captain would understand. Applejack was the best farmer in Ponyville, and she'd know what was best for his gardens in New Ponyville.

"That's settles it, then," Rarity affirmed as she adjusted her cap again, heading towards the final turnoff towards the Captain's tent.

What met her, however, was not the usual clearing in the New Ponyvillian's tent clusters, making way for a circular command tent with an Equestrian flag on it. Instead, what she was met with was the skeletal structure of a wooden house. Several ponies, ponies she recognized from the construction team, trotted and flew around the half-built structure, hauling wooden beams and steel bracers up and hammering them into place. Piles of shingles, made out of folded bark, were laid off to one side, and bricks were being placed for a foundation on the hard, frozen ground.

The familiar form of the Captain stood out in front of the structure, flanked by the head engineer, Doctor Hooves. Both of them looked rather unweathered, unlike the rest of New Ponyville. The dust and grime that stained even Rarity's coat and fur was nearly completely gone from the Captain and the Doctor's clothing.

As she approached, Rarity's ears perked up as she caught their conversation.

"-iron deposits here, and here. Combined with carbon from coal, we can make steel foundries here. Also, we can use those foundries to process silica sand into more glass so we aren't just depending on what we salvaged from the lorries," Doctor Hooves said.

"This all sounds like a grand idea, Hooves, but where are we planning on getting those workers from?" The Captain responded as Rarity slowed her pace, walking slowly up to the duo, "We're spread fairly thin as is."

"Well we won't need ponies in the gathering posts salvaging our cargo for much longer now that we're running out of stored supplies. That along with the rest of the eighty from the expedition camp would make this more than doable," Doctor Hooves reached up to adjust his bowtie.

The Captain shook his head, "We won't be getting eighty from the expedition camp, Hooves. We're lucky if we get twenty."

Rarity and Doctor Hooves's eyes widened in shock at the same time, but ultimately it was Doctor Hooves who asked, "...Sir?"

"Well-" The Captain's eyes turned towards Rarity, "...Well I think it's rather rude to sneak up on ponies like that, Miss...?"

"Rarity," Rarity gave the Captain a hard look, "What do you mean twenty ponies, Captain?"

The Captain coughed nervously, "I'm not sure myself. Scout Unit 1 told us they were coming back with 'about 20 survivors in tow', and that they were 'uncertain if all of them can survive the trip'."

Rarity bit her lip. Oh dear Celestia, what if Pinkie Pie hadn't made it? The thought of another one of her friends being ripped from her drove a sharp barb through her heart. She couldn't lose her. Twilight Sparkle was hard enough, and even Fluttershy had been a tearful departure... and the latter of the two was at least still out there somewhere!

"How can that be?" Hooves furrowed his brow, "We left them with more than enough firewood, and their provisions should have lasted with proper rationing!"

"Maybe an accident happened, maybe the weather is worse out there than it is here despite the weather pegasi telling me that's impossible- I simply don't know," The Captain shook his head, "It is what it is. What matters is what we do now. And- well, speaking of the here and now, would you mind giving us some privacy, Hooves?"

Hooves obliged, turning tail and walking back towards the construction site.

Rarity watched Hooves go, before looking over to the Captain with worried, curious eyes, "...What's going on over there, Captain?"

The Captain looked back at the construction site, "Oh, there? They're building a proper house for me. The Engineers have rolled out a design for architecture that should hopefully be able to make the most of the Generator's steam pressure while resisting the weather," Rarity frowned, and the Captain seemed to take notice of her displeasure, "Don't worry. As soon as mine is completed, they're going to move on to make bunkhouses for everypony else. It should solve the issue of ponies getting sick in their homes, as the insulation will be far superior to any little tent."

Rarity nodded slowly, it made sense, she supposed, for the Captain to get the better lodgings first. As long as it eventually rolled on to include everypony else, there was no reason to complain.

"Well, that's good news, I suppose..." Rarity's thoughts went back to Pinkie Pie, and she fought to try and not be overcome with emotion, "...I-I don't suppose... I don't suppose you know who any of the survivors were that the Scouts recovered... do you?"

The Captain grimaced, "No. I do not. I'm sorry, Miss Rarity, but our time is short. If I remember right, Amethyst told you to report to me? You're an Overseer, right? Your full name is Rarity Belle?"

Rarity shook her head, "..Well... no. It's just Rarity."

The Captain quirked an eyebrow, "Forgive me. That's what I remember it saying on our manifest..."

"I know- when the time came to leave, I needed to bring my little sister along. She depended on me. Her last name was Belle, but she wasn't listed as my dependent and I didn't have her birth certificate, and as you know you weren't meant to bring non-dependents with you on the Dreadnought. So I had the Company Officer list my last name as "Belle" to make it more believable that we were in the same family."

"Sweetie Belle is your sister?" The Captain smiled, and Rarity responded with a nod, "...Well I suppose that explains that. Don't worry, we're far beyond being angry at ponies for little lies like that. Well, Rarity, I've called up all the Overseers personally to give them some news."

"Oh?" She brushed one of her strands of mane aside.

"Overseers have been a vital part of keeping our city together so far. And, as it stands, we're going to have to have more and more organization in our labor force in order to keep ourselves alive. So, while before Overseers were picked randomly and were just messengers, we're making them more official now. You have a certain level of authority now. You can adjust breaks, end shifts early when quotas are met, issue citations for unruly laborers, and award bonuses."

Rarity's eyes traced around the area, before settling back on the Captain nervously, "...Citations? Bonuses?"

The Captain noded, "Citations if workers are intentionally violating the rules. I'd suggest doing it if you catch them soiling the environment outside the designated latrines, or if they're intentionally slacking off or causing fights. It means they get less rations, so it should be a good motivator to behave. As for bonuses, if you see workers doing exceedingly well, or purposefully putting in hard work, you can recognize them and give them double rations through a bonus. Just don't be too generous with the bonuses part, or else it might come at the cost of your own meal," The Captain chuckled.

Rarity frowned. "Bonuses", "Citations", it all sounded suspiciously like the cruel methods the factory managers and dockyard supervisors would use to force their minimum wage workers to work themselves to death. She remembered news articles about ponies being whipped, or tied up in workplace stocks just because they failed to shovel coal fast enough. 

The Captain must have noticed the look on her face, because his voice took on a much more sympathetic tone as he continued, "...Listen, Miss Rarity. I know how you feel. I can assure you, though. I don't want tyranny. You are to treat those ponies underneath you like every other equine. If I see you, or any other Overseer using their authority unjustly, I'll have you or them stripped of your sashes and authority before you can say 'Pecan Pie'."

Rarity hesitated a moment, "...Then why give the authority to do so at all? What is so wrong with the current system?"

"Because I can't be everywhere at once, and because our survival might depend on it," The Captain said grimly, his eyes locking with Rarity's, "Overseers are necessary to make sure jobs are done, on time. If Overseers can't take the fair measures necessary to make sure ponies don't slack off, and that the right ponies are rewarded, we won't be able to get the job done. And I don't believe I need to tell you what happens if we do not get the job done?"

Rarity sighed, and nodded, "...I understand, Captain."

"Good," The Captain smiled, before extending a forehoof for a shake. Rarity took it and felt the Captain's strong, firm shake, "There's a few more things you'll need first, though..."

The Captain dug through his pockets, before first revealing a long, black baton, "A standard police baton. Place it in your belt at your side. I don't want to see workers coming home with bruises on them - it's purely for self defense, understood?"

Rarity gulped, but took the nightstick in her magic, turning it over a few times as she examined the painted, wooden baton. She had to admit, it was slightly comforting knowing she had something she could put between herself and a rowdy worker, like one of the ones from the sawmill yesterday.

"You'll also get one of these," The Captain brought out a small, metallic pin. On it read "EEC" in block letters, "Technically, this means you're now an employee of the Equestrian Exploration Company, if that means anything to you."

It didn't mean anything to Rarity, but she took it anyway and pinned it through her sash, "...Thank you, Captain."

"You've done good work so far, Miss Rarity," He gave a smile, "Now, why don't you go back to your tent and take a nap. You look like you're about to fall asleep on your hooves."

Was it really that bad? Rarity's hoof instinctually reached up towards her eye, and she suddenly became aware of just how sore (and probably bloodshot) her eyes were, and how baggy the skin beneath them had grown. A yawn wracked her just as she remembered something...

"...Captain?" Rarity asked, coming out of the yawn.

The Captain turned and blinked, "...Yes?"

"I... I have a request," Rarity gulped.

The Captain raised an eyebrow once again, but stayed silent.

"I have a friend, her name is Applejack," she looked back towards the Generator, "She works in the coal driver team at the Generator. She is... determined to work herself to death. The doctors said she suffered a heart attack and lived through it the other day, and if she continues to work her job with her hours, she's going to die..." Rarity trailed off, feeling her eyes water.

The Captain sighed, "...Yes? And what do you want me to do about it?"

"...I've heard you are finally opening the Hothouses soon. To grow crops. Applejack was a farmer before the Frost. She ran an entire farm on her own: Sweet Apple Acres. You might have had their apples before? They were known for having the greatest quality in the heartlands...?" Rarity said, hope dripping through her voice.

The Captain pursed his lips, "If I take her off of coal duty, she will just be replaced by somepony else. Nopony wants to work the coal driving job. It's dangerous for everypony."

Rarity gave an exasperated sigh, "I know! But- oh, dear Celestia please, she's going to die over there. Can you at least make her shifts shorter? Do something? She's not just any other farmer, she's an expert!"

"We're only going to need more ponies on coal driving soon enough. We must expand the Generator's range and power if we want to survive future weather changes. The scientists believe it's going to steadily get colder and cold-" The Captain's voice was interrupted by Rarity stomping her hoof, tossing up snowy powder.

"I don't give a damn about your scientists!" A previous Rarity would have fainted at her use of unladylike language, "Applejack is my friend, dammit all! I'm not going to let her kill herself out there!"

The Captain raised a hoof, "...Calm down. You're not getting yourself anywhere just getting mad at me," The Captain frowned and turned his head away, clearly thinking.

Rarity opened her mouth to continue, but eventually clamped her jaw shut. He was right, she wasn't being very diplomatic at all. She wanted to facehoof. She must've made herself sound like a lunatic...

"Every passing day we just need more and more labor. More hooves to build. More hooves to chop wood. More hooves to fuel the Generator. More hooves to run the mines..." The Captain sighed, "...I'm sorry, Rarity. I cannot promise anything, but... I'll try and look into it. Maybe a kind soul will volunteer to take her place, but you have to understand that I can't bend the rules just for you," The Captain locked Rarity with sincere eyes.

Rarity's heart fell, but she eventually nodded, "...I understand, Captain. I'm sorry for my outburst. It was most unladylike..."

"We're all stressed. I know I would be upset if it was my friend on the line," The Captain nodded, "You should get some rest. Somepony will cover for you. You have no business being on your hooves while this sleep-deprived."

Rarity surrendered the point, and simply nodded and turned around. As she walked away from the Captain's half-built house, she adjusted her sash and felt her new nightstick bounce against her flank. 

For some reason, she just felt inexplicably... heavier...