Virtigogo

A train chugged it's way across a small bridge over a river on it's way to Ponyville. Its smoke stack puffed little clouds up into the cool, early morning air before dissipating  in a gentle breeze. In the rear car sat one lone pony, his head dropping to the side every couple seconds before he would catch himself dozing. After nearly falling out of his seat with the last one, the stallion stretched his legs out with a loud groan before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he gazed at the rising sun.

Early mornings were not uncommon for Howitzer Flintlock, although the only time he saw them were during late nights when he had to stay and clean up a mess an impetuous pony or some other ignoramus created towards closing. Howie yawned and stood up so blood could flow freely to his stiff joints. He looked out of his window, sighing at the task before him. After what happened a few nights before, this was one morning he couldn't afford to sleep through.

Howie made his way across the empty car and slid into the next one. Such an early train rarely had many passengers, and this train was no exception. That car, and the two after it he found to have less than five ponies each. He kept quiet through each one so as not to disturb the others, and eventually found himself at the second to last car behind he engine. Pulling this last door open he found it to be the dining car. It was nearly as empty as the car he was in, with the exception of one server and a quiet mare on the other side of the car, facing away from him. He walked up to the server and made his presence known with a cough into his hoof.

The server turned around and greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, Sir! What can I get for you?"

"Mornin'. Glass of scotch please," Howie said.

The waiter's smile faltered slightly before he asked, "Um... sir you do know it's not even seven a.m. yet?"

"Yeah it is pretty late in the day. But might as well have a night cap before the sun fully comes up, eh?"

The waiter's smile fell only a bit further before he perked right back up. "Anything you say, Sir. One glass of scotch coming right up."

Howie nodded and took a seat at one of the booths. He closed his eyes and rubbed a temple with his hoof. The bright light of the day was nothing like the flashing strobe he was so used to. A headache started to form in the back of his head. "Ugh, maybe I need to stop doing these things if this is what I have to do afterwards," he quietly whispered to himself.

A nearly inaudible noise whispered across the car over the din of the train clacking along the tracks. Howie looked across the car. It was nearly a squeak, the noise he heard. His eyes drifted to the waiter preparing his drink. "huh, wasn't him. So who..." He shifted his gaze again onto the only other pony in the car. She had her back turned to Howie but her quivering body told all to a pony used to seeing ponies drink away their sorrows. Her lithe frame shook a little harder with a suppressed sob.

He suddenly became aware of a presence next to him and looked up to see the waiter there at his side with his drink, which the waiter set down on a coaster he produced. "Will that be all for you, Sir?" he asked.

Howie grumbled a response and he turned back to the mare whose body had stopped shaking, but was still breathing heavily. "Very well, Sir. I'll be in the other cars taking orders, if you need anything I will be back in about ten minutes." Howie didn't speak but waved his hoof. The waiter took this as his cue to leave, and with a muttered phrase about inconsiderate passengers and how he should find a better job, left through the train door.

Howie lifted his glass and took a sip, his eyes not wavering from the mare. Feeling the honey brown liquid sooth his aching head, he steadied the glass on his back and slowly walked over. As he got closer it was made painfully aware she had been drinking, the smell of tainted breath waged an attack on Howie's nose. He scrunched it up and shook thoughts of ignoring her away as he stopped at her side.

The mare, who he could now see was a unicorn, slowly became aware of his presence and turned her bloodshot eyes to him. She rubbed a beige hoof across her nose and stared, blinking up at the stallion. Howie turned and slid into the seat opposite her. Setting his drink down, he met her gaze with a comforting smile. The mare gave a halfhearted smile of her own and tried to run her other hoof through her tangled, grey hair.

"Beautiful morning, huh?" Howie asked.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I suppose it is," she agreed, her voice cracking. The mare glanced through the window briefly but turned to look anywhere but Howie and his beautiful morning.

Howie leaned over in his seat, trying to make eye contact with the mare. "Might I ask your name, Miss?"

She continued staring around the car, but replied with a whisper Howie had to strain to hear, "I-it's Apple Polish."

Howie scooted back closer to the edge of the seat. Apple Polish had to nearly twist her head like an owl to keep her eyes from meeting Howie's, but her attempts were all for naught. "Well Apple Polish, my name is Howie. It's very nice to make your acquaintance." Howie held his hoof out, forcing Apple Polish to turn and lock eyes with the stallion. Unblinking, she reached out and gently tapped her hoof against his.

Howie's smile grew brighter as their hooves touched. "Miss Polish, I do hate to intrude, as it's not my business and there's a very good chance you want nothing more to be left alone..." Now Howie's smile faltered as Apple Polish's eyes seemed to mist up more and more with each word. "...but it hurts me something awful to see such a beautiful mare crying all by her lonesome."

The faintest of blushes crept across her face, but if the compliment had cheered her up, she sure didn't show it much. "Now I'm a stallion of my word. And that being said if you want me to leave, say so and I won't bother you anymore."

After a moment, she closed her eyes and shook her head briefly. "No, being alone is why I'm like this. B-but, you don't want to hear about some mare's troubles..." She smiled weakly, her gaze flickering between Howie and the floor.

"Heh, well it's true where I work the bartender usually listens to most of ponies' problems, but I've been known to help a pony or two, here and there. So go ahead, you've got a story, I've got ears, and we've both got the time!"

"Um, okay, where to start? I mean, it's all about my coltfriend, or rather ex-coltfriend."

"Ah, colt troubles. Been there, my dear." Howie nodded sagely.

"You... never mind." Apple Polish shook her head. "Anyway, we both work at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He's a professor of music history, and I work in the biology research department identifying plant diseases and ailments. Normally we'd never see each other on campus, but we both work for the entrance exam board."

Howie smiled. "Ooh, so you decide..."

"Yeah, we decide who's talented enough to enroll. Granted, very few actually fail a test, especially recently with the surge of musicians enrolling, much to Arpeggio's joy."

"Ar—"

"My coltfriend."

"Oh. Sorry, please continue."

"Anyway, with so many more unicorns taking musical courses, he's become so busy with work we rarely had time to see each other. Naturally, I dove into my own work to take up the time, and to take my mind off things. Then, just yesterday, he came to me right after a class, which was weird since he always grades papers, then comes home. He didn't even bother dancing around it, just came out and said he met somepony else, some cellist named Octavio or something like that."

"Oh no... my dear I'm so sorry."

More tears glistened in her eyes. "I had been so caught up in my work I didn't even realize and when he said it it hit me so hard, and... and..." Apple buried her face in her hooves as wracking sobs overcame her. Howie quickly slid into the seat next to her and gently wrapped her in his own hooves.

"Shh, it's okay, it's going to be okay," Howie whispered. Apple nestled her face into Howie's shoulder, the tears soaking his coat. The sobbing slowed, and after a minute her head lifted back up. Her eyes were bloodshot and she sniffled a bit to rid herself of the runny nose.

"I-I really don't know what to do. I know my cousin here in town could help me get through it, but..." Her eyes glazed as she trailed off. "Magic got me here. But now it's all I have. I love doing magic, but I love Arpeggio. But now he's gone off with somepony he loves more. I guess... I just need to focus on only magic from now on. It'll be my life, my only life. What I couldn't live without."

Howie's gentle smile slid off his face, and he slowly removed his hooves from around the mare. He gazed off into space, a hoof rubbing his forehead under his hat.

"W-what is it? Howie, are you okay?"

"What about your family? Friends? Can you live without them?"

Apple was taken aback for a moment, her jaw slack as she contemplated his words. A moment later, her gaze hardened. "I don't have much family left, just an uncle in Manehatten and all he cares about is the high society. That's the only connection I have to family, minus the cousin in Ponyville. As for friends? No. No, friendship and relationships will only bring me pain. I need to focus on the only thing that matters. The only thing that should matter to a unicorn!"

Howie turned to stare at her, his gaze cold. "You think you can't live without magic? That magic is the only thing that make a unicorn worthwhile? Tell me, what would you do without magic?"

Apple Polish had flinched when Howie's eyes locked onto hers, and now she sat on the furthest side of the seat from the stallion. She blinked and seemingly regained her senses, staring down at the floor as her hoof drew circles on the cushion. "I don't know. My life would be so different. I doubt I could continue at the school if I did. And if that happened... I doubt I could live with myself."

"So you'd end your own life because you'd be less of a pony?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So what are Earth Ponies then? Or Pegasi? Are they less of a pony because they don't have a horn on their head?"

"N-No! I don't mean it like that! I mean, they have their own magic. If a pegasus loses their wings, then they could still technically manipulate weather, work in Cloudsdale, or even if they're desperate, join the Princess' Night Guard and get those bat wings. If an Earth Pony were to lose all four legs, they would still have that connection to the earth and soil. But a unicorn... would just seem diminished."

Howie's face softened and he reclined back into the seat, propping his hind-legs up on the opposite seat. "Miss Polish, friends are what would keep you going. Not magic. Do you really think you'd be better off without any friends or seeing any family, however sparse you say they are?"

"Yes," she responded without hesitation. "Magic is all I should have. I'll just stop talking to my friends, and I'll move so Uncle Orange won't know where to send letters. In fact, I'll even turn around and take the next train back to Canterlot. My cousin won't even know I've been in town."

The two were silent for a moment, letting the gentle rocking of the train calm their nerves. Howie took a sip from his scotch, only to put it back down after noticing the ice had melted.

"Miss Polish, I have to, respectfully, disagree. Would you like to know why, or rather, would you care to hear a story?"

Apple Polish didn't answer for the longest time. She only sat there, her eyes closed and head against the window. Howie almost thought she had fallen asleep, until her eyes opened and she nodded. "Okay, go ahead and say what you must."