What Happens In Las Pegasus Stays In Las Pegasus

A torrent of water rushed in the car from the vents. The interior of the vehicle was quickly becoming a swamp, filling up past my hooves with polluted river water. I struggled to unbuckle my struggling partner.

"Get up Rubber!" I yelled,

"Can't you see I'm busy dying?" He groaned back.

"Not today Rubber, now unbuckle your damn seatbelt."

He complied, floating out of his seat in the rapidly rising waters overtaking the car. I grabbed ahead of the door handle, but the car doors wouldn't open.

"Pressure, it's because of the air pressure." Rubber said. "You'll have to bust open the back window."

I reared back to kick out the window, my mouth submerged. I kicked, but the glass didn't break. I tried to come up for air, but my head banged against the roof. The car was completely filled to the brim. I began to feel dizzy, realizing how easy it would be to end it here, leave behind the pain from the gunshots, the injuries and regrets of life.  But then, with a final buck, the back window shattered, the last few remaining air bubbles stampeding into the river. I unbuckled Rubber, and pulled us through the broken window. I burst through the surface, bubbles coming up around me. The night air chilled me to the bone. I scanned the surrounding streets, not a car to be seen. I pulled Rubber onto the dock, checking for a pulse. His veins throbbed softly, but he didn't look like he was in that good of shape. I slapped him, hard and on the cheek. The sound resonated, echoing off the sides of warehouses.

"What was that for?" Rubber yelled.

"I thought you were... I mean...what happened back there? Why do they want to kill us? What's going on Rubber?"

"I should have been honest with you from the start." He replied with a sigh. "C'mon, let's call a taxi, I need to get a room, and then I will set things straight."

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The Silver Saddle was nowhere near as nice as the Party Brothers Ballagio, but it was something. Rubber was just washing up, and I was sitting on the bed, looking at the skyline. The place was so tacky, a gambler's heaven. It was like a flower, beautiful to attract ponies and their money. How many ponies had given their lives to construct this place? It was beyond me. Rubber got out of the shower, and sat down on the bed next to me.

"Listen, I should have told ya this from the start, but Card Counting isn't the whole story." He said. " y'see, Wheel and I, the fancy pantsy casino manager, have some history. About seven years ago, I was down at the cider store. It had been a long day cab drivin, and I needed to get my mind off of things. Well, I didn't know him then, but Mr. Wheel was down at the store as well, with his wife and daughter. They were coming in just as I was driving out of the parking lot." He paused. "I was drunk, too drunk to think. I hit her, you hear me?! I killed Mr. Wheel's daughter, and I didn't realize what happened untill I was in prison, locked behind bars for 5 years." He sighed, walking over to the window. "Pip, don't ever make the same mistakes that I did. It ruined my life, and if I was Wheel, I'd want me dead too."

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Mr. Wheel paced around his office. In front of him were the guards he had assigned to capture Rubber and his small sidekick. The guards stood there nervously, anticipating punishment.

"What did I tell you clowns about splitting up?" He yelled, clearly very stressed. "Your foolishness has cost us two very wanted ponies, and has left a black mark on the entire Casino." He said, thinking of his raise. Mr. Wheel thought he deserved another house after all this stress.

"It was the rookie's fault." Said the Senior guard.

Mr. Wheel walked up to the rookie. "You, my friend, you need to go down to the kitchen, and for the next five days, you guard nothing but the dishes. As for you.." He said, pointing at the Senior Guard. "I want to have a chat. The rest of you, get out of my office. I don't want to see you again untill you find those ponies!!"