The small, cluttered recreation room of Halley Research Station was dark save for the flicker of its HDTV, the displays of its vending machines, and the red glare of the large digital clock above its heavily pockmarked dartboard. Long, gloomy shadows crept under the tables and behind the seats, contrasting sharply with the bright, electronic lights. The room dimmed further when the television screen faded to black as the credits of the movie it had been showing began to roll.

At this, the room's sole occupant rubbed his eyes and very slowly pulled himself to a sitting position on the couch in front of the TV and set down the empty shotglass that he had been loosely gripping. He then refilled it from a nearby bottle of vodka. He preferred whiskey, but he'd run out yesterday.

Such had become the nightly routine of Andrew Harris. It had become a bizarre ritual to him, as if drinking and watching goofy action movies in the dead of night, like he'd done so many times with Eddy, would somehow bring him back if he kept it up long enough. Sometimes Karen would join him, but he was usually alone. He was so absorbed in this that he'd grown very unaware of his surroundings; as small as the base was, he couldn't really guess where Karen was when she wasn't with him. Maybe in the gym? She'd always put time in on the treadmill when she needed to work out stress.

Lately, he hadn't even had the energy to post to his blog, not that "today I got wasted and watched movies again" would make for very compelling reading anyway. If and when something came up that required his talent as an electrician, he doubted he'd be able to handle it.

He lifted himself off of the couch, staggered over to the television, ejected the DVD he'd just finished watching, and put it back in its case. As he did so, he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 3:30 in the morning. He should've been asleep hours ago, but he hadn't cared about such matters for days. He turned back to the sizable pile of discs beneath the television and began picking through it, looking for one he hadn't watched in the last few days. He wasn't having much luck.

He heard a sound coming from the adjacent room and jerked his head towards the door, not having expected activity at this time of night. It sounded like footsteps, and for a moment he'd hoped it was Karen, but he soon realized it was the clip-clop of a pony's hooves. Almost reflexively, he clenched his eyes shut and turned his head back away. The last thing he wanted to deal with now was that thing that used to be Eddy, now known as Thunderhead.

"...Andrew?"

That wasn't Thunderhead's voice! He turned back to face his visitor and saw a cornflower blue earth pony, one of the eight that had come to the station so many months ago. Over time, he'd learned his name was Ice Breaker. This didn't improve his mood much, since he didn't want to see any ponies at all. For a moment, he just stared. Ice Breaker looked away.

"I...I came here to..."

It was probably going to be the same thing the other ponies had told him. He'd probably tell him Eddy was happier now, and that he should stop being sad, and that he was being rude to his friend.

"...to...Andrew...Andrew, I'm s-so sorry..."

Andrew looked up with interest for the first time in days.

"I...I just wanted to help him...I didn't know the potion would..."

Ice Breaker stared at the floor. Andrew, meanwhile, was wondering if he was really hearing this. He decided to prod.

"You didn't know what?"

Ice Breaker gave a long and drawn-out sigh, as if trying to put off his response. He began pawing at the carpet. "I know you probably won't want to hear this, but Eddy was my friend too. I'd known him for months before the potion. I didn't know it would do that to his mind. That it would just...erase his personality. They never told me that. I gave him the potion. I..." His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "I killed him."

For the first time since Eddy had been ponified, Andrew felt the anger, frustration, and depression that had plagued him begin to ebb away ever so slightly. For once, the haughtiness and arrogance that the ponies had always radiated about Eddy's ponification weren't there. Instead, Andrew was seeing a person who had essentially killed another person and was now horrified by what he had done. His expression softened slightly, and he spoke.

"Still smashing the potions?"

"...No. I won't. You humans should have the honor."

Andrew dragged himself back on the couch and shut his eyes.

"I like the idea."

Having done what he could to make amends, Ice Breaker considered this as good a time as any to leave. Slowly, he turned around.

"Take care, Andrew."

There was a pause. Then the reply came, albeit rather stiffly.

"You too."

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