As Button walked with his head drooping onwards to the next car, still trying to figure out how to get his number down, he noticed that this one was far more dark, cool, and sleek. Even with his lowered mood, he had to admit that the cyberpunk design of the metal platforms was incredibly well done, as the walls stretched beyond his vision, even while simple and straight for the most part. He continued on, stepping on taller and taller platforms, as he recalled his past experience with playing VR platformers. In a way, it was exhilarating to do it for real. He wasn't truly into parkour, but as he lightly jumped from one platform to the next, he felt free for the first time in ages. Turns out his mother had a good point after all that being outside could help you sometimes. Feeling the wind against his mane, he sped up, running from one to the next, each spin and stop trickier than the last. He was so absorbed that he didn't notice as he ran into another pony.
"Ouch!" The ... mare? Stated, goggles on her face, her frizzled mane covering her ears. She carried a pack on her back, and her cutie mark seemed to be some kind of machine. She seemed to squint at him in the dark, and looked behind his shoulder to see if any other pony was following. "You're a fast one, I'll give you that."
Button shook himself off as he sheepishly grinned. He wasn't certain how to interact socially; it had been quite some time since he had needed to in real life. As the mare glanced at him, seeming to judge him, she offered her hoof to shake. Button wasn't certain how old she was. He recalled his classic hoof bump and executed it, though the mare raised an eyebrow, clearly not up to date on the modern standards. "Huh. I guess that's what colts are up to these days, inventing new ways of shaking hoof. Anyways, my name's Willow. What's yours?"
"My name's Button," he said, still feeling a bit awkward, but remembered his purpose. This mare seemed to have a better experience than him. "any idea why we're on this train?"
She seemed to think about it for a while, then responded: "Did you not hear the robot's introduction?" She sighed at his shaking of his head. "Alright, so... it seems to me that your flaws and troubles are represented by the number on your hoof. Once you resolve your inner turmoil, you can get off the train."
"Well that certainly makes things clear..." Button said, hope ignited, "but if you know this much, why are you still stuck on the train? Is your number really high?"
As Button looked down, he noticed the mare had a glove covering her left hoof. Seems like his suspicions might've been correct. "Yes..." Willow responded slowly, her face darkening, "many ponies like me have a lot of problems that are much harder to solve. " As she walked down one of the slopes, Button realized that his number might've actually been low in comparison to those with true problems. Well, as long as he could help her, he figured that he might also find a way off the train himself.
As the dark platforms shifted, surprising Button and unsettling his balance, Willow supported him with a hoof. "Ah, I probably should've mentioned some of these trains shift around a lot. It can be pretty unpredictable."
Button laughed, puffing his chest. "This amount of RNG is nothing!" He said, referring to the popular game mechanic of randomizing events and enemies. As Willow blinked blankly, he coughed as they continued on to near the end of the train car.
"Well, I'm getting a bit tired. This seems like a good train to sleep in," Willow remarked, unpacking her backpack, which luckily contained two sleeping bags, as Button reacted wide-eyed, "the next one's a bit bright."
"The next one?!" Button asked, astonished that Willow had returned to this train.
But Willow was already dozing off, dismissing his exclamation with a mere: "Ah, yes... I had to return. This train has much resources for... extraction."
Did she mean archeology? Button thought, as he laid in the blanket. Why would a pony with a machine for a cutie mark know how to "extract resources"? There must be more to her than meets the eyes...
As Button laid in his bag, absentmindedly glancing at his hoof, which read "476", he scratched his head, trying to remember if his number went lower or not. He only just realized, the magnificent white blocks resembling stars scattered across the sky, the platform ceiling that extended across the entire landscape. Such a mystical car, and yet, the pony beside him was arguably even a bigger mystery. He was excited for the next day.