Dustin Hoofer

General Information
Commander Dustin I. Hoofer, MD, PhD, is the chief medical officer aboard the USS Endeavour (NCC-0326). He is a human/equine clone, one of nine created through a joint effort by Starfleet Medical and the Royal Equestrian Medical Association.

Early years
He was born in Canterlot General Hospital, named Dustin in tribute to his father's real name (Dusty, a fact rarely known as he is more commonly known as “Longhaul”) and developed as any normal human infant would. From an early age, he showed a fascination with his mother's knowledge of medicinal and palliative herbs and traditional zebra medicine. As with all infants born under this program, he exhibited a greatly-increased intelligence level as measured by standard Equestrian and Federation IQ testing.

Dustin was briefly allowed to attend public school in Canterlot, despite hazing from the pure equines. He showed a quick wit in defusing potential violent and hostile situations without resorting to physical means. After an attempted abduction by changeling infiltrators, his education was moved within the walls of Canterlot Castle, with tutelage supervised by Princess Luna.

Manifestation of Magical Powers
It was during an outing with a friend in the royal botanical gardens that his friend was stung by a rogue patch of nasty nettles. In the course of finding the proper plants and herbs, Dustin “ponied up” for the first time, using his latent magic to drastically slow the spread of the nettle venom until he was able to successfully carry his friend to the royal physician. Dustin's interest in pursuing a medical career began in earnest from this point.

Medical Education
At Princess Celestia's urging, Dustin took the MCAT and scored a perfect 528 on the multiple choice sections, with a very high mark in the writing sample. He was admitted to Royal Medical College following completion of his secondary school studies, which made him the youngest student in the school's history (at 15). It was during his time at this school that he received the nickname “De-fib” due to an incident with a frog used for dissection.

Dustin interned at Royal Canterlot Hospital, and despite some initial unease with his appearance, was well-liked by staff and the patients he saw. However, discrimination based on his species was still a troublesome issue, and after learning of Equestria's encounter with the Federation, and the possibility of being with others of the same appearance, he petitioned Princess Celestia to be allowed to apply to complete his residency elsewhere. His request was granted, and he was accepted into the residency program at the Mayo Clinic on Earth.

Life on Earth
During his residency, and while studying for his doctorate, he wrote six research papers on the topic of therapeutic and palliative thaumaturgical healing in both equines and humanoid species. The publication of these papers by the Mayo Clinic sparked Starfleet Medical's interest in Dustin. Upon successfully completing his residency and his doctorate, Dustin entered the Starfleet Medical Fast-Track Officer's Candidate School at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, California, Earth.

Career in Starfleet
Upon completion of the program at Starfleet Academy, Dustin was commissioned as a full Lieutenant due to his doctorate work at Mayo, and posted to the USS Hornet in the Gamma Quadrant, where he was able to use his magical abilities to save the life of a Bajoran diplomat who had been targeted for assassination by Cardassian spies. He received the Starfleet Surgeon's Decoration for his actions, as well as the Medal of Valor and a promotion to Lieutenant Commander.

After serving aboard the Hornet, he was reassigned to the USS Lexington as assistant chief medical officer, and performed honorably in developing a synthetic version of the vaccine for Rudellian plague, which was threatening a Bajoran farming colony on the outer limits of the Gamma Quadrant. He used native Equestrian plant analogues to mimic the ingredients in the vaccine, and aided the farming community in the cultivation of the plants and the compounding formula to make the vaccine. He received a promotion to full Commander for his service, as well as the Starfleet Medal of Honor and special commendation from the Starfleet Surgeon General.

Due to the makeup of the crew on board the Endeavor, Dustin was assigned to that ship as chief medical officer. He serves there to this day.

Temperament/Relationships
Dustin believes in a firm hand in running his sickbay, and often comes across as prickly and sarcastic upon first meeting. He is, however, a very caring individual when dealing with his patients and staff, and a firm proponent of helping an individual reach higher goals in their intellectual and educational life, and will often push his protégées to the edge of mental breakdown.

Racist/species-ist slurs will more often than not invoke some form of retaliation by Dustin, all of this mostly verbal or intellectual. He doesn't believe in using violence to solve issues, with the caveat that if there is no other choice, he will use his magic to quickly incapacitate his foe.

He has had several relationships while studying at Mayo, neither of which lasted long-term. He met Ensign Sonata Dusk aboard the Endeavour, and the two began dating not long after. They are currently engaged to be married.

Trivia

 * The middle initial “I” has no name attached to it. Dustin took it when he graduated medical school in tribute to his mother, whose encyclopedic knowledge of zebra health and curative potions sparked his early interest in medicine as a whole, and because he needed an initial on his diploma. The name “Imani” is Zebrican for “faith,” and has its roots in ancient Saddle Arabian languages.
 * Dustin developed an affinity for ancient Earth music, specifically music from the late 20th century, more precisely from the 1960s to the 1990s. He has a soft spot for mid- to late-1970s funk and disco, and can usually be found in his office or his quarters listening to archival performances from that period.