Las Vegas; famous for its bright lights, big casinos, and expensive atmosphere.

Some come to test their luck and strike it rich in the casino, though these people often leave with more disappointment in their hearts than money in their wallets. Others walk around aimlessly and take in the sights, the many flashing signs and occasional fountain displays never failing to mesmerize. Still others come to attend live performances by some of their favorite artists, mostly singers and illusionists.

For some, this metropolis is a beautiful oasis in an otherwise desolate sand pit.

For others, however, it’s the site of a power struggle that has raged for decades.

There is an underground society of kingpins, thugs, thieves, and mercenaries. Blood is constantly spilled as warring factions fight for dominance in one of the wealthiest cities in America, no faction ever gaining more than a few inches of ground before the chips turn in another’s favor. A small percentage of this society remains neutral, never taking a side in the never-ending conflict and instead feeding off of it.

Money, power, sadistic pleasure…all of these are reasons people involve themselves in the dark happenings of the underground.

Then there are the very select few who don’t have a choice.

This story begins with one of those select few, on the night when his life began to rapidly spin out of his control.

((((((*******))))))

White staggered out of the open double doors, following two of his four bodyguards while the other two held the doors open for him.

“Kroger? Buddy? You-hiccup-you look fantastic tonight.” he said to one of the guards holding the doors.

“Thank you, sir.” responded Kroger. He then proceeded to grab his charge gently by the arm and escort him to the curb to wait for the valet to bring the limo around. He continued to support the man in the white tuxedo as he began to look around.

“Heeeeyyyy...where’s Janey? She missed out on all the-hiccup-fun.”

“Ms. Wilde went to get your ride, sir.” Kroger replied.

“Such a sweet, sweet lady…” White thought out loud. “She deserves a-hiccup-raise. She works too hard.”

“I’m sure the casino staff would agree if you put it to them.” Kroger suggested.

Eli squinted in thought for a minute. “Yeah…yeah. I think-hiccup-I’ll do that. Tomorrow. When I’m-hiccup-sober.”

“Hold your breath, sir.”

“Yeah, good idea. Good idea.” he muttered before complying.

Kroger shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. Though his boss might have a habit of hitting the bottle too hard, he enjoyed working for him. Appreciation for hard work aside, White was one of the last honest tycoons left in the city. He could haggle, argue, and shout over most anyone in the city; but in the ten years they'd known each other he'd never resorted to filthy under-the-table nonsense to get his way.

Which, unfortunately, made him a target for the people that did. Which was why Kroger tapped his foot anxiously whenever they stood out in the open like this.

What is taking that woman so long? he thought impatiently. She should have been here when we left.

Anxious as he was, he looked down in surprise at the sound of his charge chuckling quietly. Said charge noticed his senior guard’s questioning look.

“You want to hear a joke Kroger?”

Kroger got the feeling the joke he was about to be told would have all the comedy of keys being jingled in his face, as was typical of White’s drunk jokes. However, he shrugged and did his best to play along.

“Alright. So…a guy goes to the movies, right? He sits down, ready to watch the movie. A few moments later a pig sits down right next to him and he stares at it like…”

Kroger zoned out as he pretended to be amused, silently wondering if there was ever a time when this joke had actually been funny. Well, I guess anything’s funny when you’re drunk.

“…to which the pig replies, ‘Well, I liked the-’”

He was interrupted by a sniper round passing through his head, painting the sidewalk behind him red.

“OH SHIT!!” Kroger yelled. “TAKE COVER! CALL AN AMBULANCE!”

One of his men slid behind a car and began punching numbers into his phone, leaving the other three to drag the rather pudgy man behind the safety of a nearby car. While two of them stood up and aimed handguns up and down the street, Kroger pulled off his suit jacket and began the seemingly futile endeavor of trying to keep the blood in his employer’s head. He looked up to find one of his men staring at him in confusion and scowled heavily.

“What!? Do you have a better idea!?” he growled, then in a more authoritative tone, “Did anyone see where that shot came from?”

“Negative.”

“No, sir.”

“Shit.” he repeated. “Connelly, when’s that ambulance getting here?”

On a rooftop six blocks away, a shady figure lowered his rifle to inspect the grisly scene he had created.

“And people wonder why honesty is such a rare commodity here.” Allen said as he turned away, unscrewing the silencer. He packed the rifle and silencer inside the timeworn guitar case next to him, clasped it shut, and swung it onto his back. “Sorry White. Nothing personal.”

With that he turned and ran towards the edge of the building, slowing just enough to catch the service ladder and slide down to ground level. He landed in the alleyway below with a brief stumble and resumed running, gray scarf flowing behind him. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the scene of the crime when the cops showed up. He’d have a lot of explaining to do if they stopped him, even more if they searched his person or the guitar case currently on his back.

Running slowed to jogging after a few minutes, then to walking as he lowered the scarf from his face and adjusted the fedora atop his head. He looked behind him briefly to ensure he wasn’t being followed, then faced forward and stuck his hands in his pockets. He was now a guitar performer at some backstreet bar that nobody had ever heard of, just trying to get home to his crappy house in South.

He definitely hadn’t just killed one of the richest men in Vegas.

((((((*******))))))

Twilight slowly woke up, groaning as she did so.

“Well, that definitely didn’t go as planned.” she said, taking a glance at the shimmering ring of white runes in front of her. “I guess I calibrated the Breach wroooooh my goodness...”

The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer a pony. Instead, she’d turned into some kind of bipedal creature with almost no fur and more clothes than she had ever worn in her entire life.

“What in Equestria…?” she said to herself.

She got up and attempted to walk, discovering to her relief that she had absolutely no trouble whatsoever.

“Oh good.” she said, sparing the runes another glance. “I was worried a thousand years might have been too long.”

She looked around and noticed the shattered remains of a mirror not far away from where she’d awoken. She picked up one of the larger pieces and examined her face. It was slightly flatter than it had been before she’d gone through and, like the rest of her body, lacked any fur. She was even missing her horn, which made her even more uneasy.

Her mane and eyes hadn’t changed at all, though. Twilight took comfort in the fact that there were at least two things about her that were still the same.

She abruptly snapped back to the matter at hand. “Come on Twilight. Stop admiring yourself in the mirror and get busy. You don’t have long.” she said to herself, beginning to explore her surroundings.

She’d awoken in a dark alleyway, the only source of light coming from a fire burning in a barrel a short distance away. Trash littered the ground, and the walls were covered in strange symbols. They looked like letters organized in strange patterns, but apart from that she had no idea what they could possibly mean. There were also strange sounds coming from another path to her left, like something big was flying past.

Finding nothing else noteworthy, she picked up the pad and paper that she’d dropped after landing and proceeded down the alleyway toward the noise.

What she saw upon rounding the corner was absolutely breathtaking.

Huge signs emblazoned with colorful lights were everywhere, and the buildings they belonged to towered above her. She could have sworn a few of them surpassed even Canterlot in height. The source of the rushing noises was the occasional large metal contraption moving up and down the street, humming as it went past. Everywhere she looked, there was more to be seen. More lights, more buildings, more crazy contraptions. Twilight began to wish she had five more pairs of eyes.

“This is…wow!”

It had taken her months to figure out the relic discovered by Star Swirl so many centuries ago. Months of frustration and, more often than not, pain. There were many who believed it couldn’t be done, including her mentor. Still, she had persevered, and now she could appreciate the fruits of her labor.

“Enjoying the view, I take it?”

Twilight looked to her right and saw another of the creatures approaching her. He was dressed in a yellow jacket and a baggier, more worn-out looking version of the denim article she now wore. He gave her a friendly smile, which she returned.

“It’s amazing.” she replied, to which the stranger nodded in agreement.

“I sometimes wish I could just grab a lawn chair and a cold one, set up right here, and drink in the majesty of it.” he told her. “Yeah…Vegas at night is Vegas at her finest.”

“Vegas?” Twilight asked, not understanding.

He looked at her quizzically. “Yeah, Las Vegas? You know, the city we’re currently standing in?”

Twilight laughed embarrassedly. “Sorry, I’m…uh…I’m not from around here.”

“I can tell.” he replied. “For one, you sound way too nice.”

“Too…nice?” she repeated, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Yeah.” said a new voice to her left. “Also, anyone from around here would know enough not to go wandering around alone, especially after dark.”

The grey-maned newcomer wore the same basic attire as the man Twilight had been talking to. However, he appeared to be heavier in build and was holding a baseball bat in a manner that unsettled her. She looked to her right, only to find the good-natured man she’d been talking to stalking towards her with a knife. They slowly started backing her into the alleyway she’d just come out of.

“How much green you think she’s wearin’?” The large one asked his companion.

“I think we’re about to find out, Baird.” replied the shorter one.

Twilight's panic was growing. “Why are you doing this?” she asked shakily.

“It’s nothing personal, sweetheart. A man’s gotta eat, is all.” the one called Baird answered. “Now do me a solid and hold still, will ya?”

Suddenly the shorter one feinted a lunge with the knife. Twilight turned to face him, but the real danger came from Baird and his baseball bat. It was a tactic the two goons had used on countless people; one that was one-hundred percent guaranteed to incapacitate the average victim so that they could mug the unfortunate soul with little to no issue.

Unfortunately for all three of them, Twilight was not the average victim.

Before the bat came within a foot of her, she shrieked and sent both men flying back with a pulse of pink energy. They landed hard on the concrete a couple meters away with two loud ‘oofs’.

She stared for a moment, not sure how she’d managed that without her horn. She quickly decided not to question it, however, and ran as her attackers began to stir.

The first to speak was Baird. “Jase, what the hell just happened?” he asked as he sat up, rubbing his head.

Jase didn’t respond. Baird looked over, thinking his friend to be unconscious. What he saw instead made him slightly nervous.

Jase’s nose was crooked and bloody from their target’s defense, and he had a maniacal look in his eye as he suddenly took off after her.

I’m getting too old for this. Baird thought as he got to his feet and ran after him.

((((((*******))))))

What were you thinking, White? Not paying back money someone lent you is one of the fastest ways into a coffin in this city.

White had recently opened an opera theatre, the funding for such a project having come from some rather…questionable…sources. The theatre had been thriving for close to a month now, but for some odd reason White had placed budget priority on things to keep the theatre afloat rather than repaying his creditors.

Which was incredibly stupid for someone as experienced in the Vegas economy as White.

Unusually stupid.

Allen suddenly felt that his definition of “questionable” could use a little refinement.

He was dragged out of his thoughts as he caught sight of a beautiful ’69 Mach 1, waiting patiently for his return.

“Hey there gorgeous. Miss me?” he said with a small smile. Naturally, the car remained silent.

“You too, huh? Don’t worry sweetheart, we’re going home right now.”

He stuck the case in the back seat and was about to get in and drive off, pausing only when he heard a loud clang come from a nearby alleyway. He stared at the offending alley for a moment, then shrugged. It was probably just some stray animal, and quite honestly he was too tired to care. He’d been up for the past two days tracking White down, and he was tired beyond tired.

He got in the car, shut the door, and leaned his head back with a sigh. Then he shook himself awake and started searching for his keys. “C’mon, just a little longer.” he said to himself.

He rolled down his window, hoping some fresh air might keep him awake long enough to get home. He was just about to start the car when he heard another clang from the same alleyway as before.

He stopped and listened intently once more, wondering why on earth that alleyway was so noisy tonight. He strained his ears for another sound, and finally heard something he had not expected to hear tonight.

Another clang, closely accompanied by a scream.

“Dammit.” he said as he shot out of the car and bolted down the alleyway.

As he ran, he was conscious of the silenced pistol and dagger strapped to his person. Since he rarely got into any close confrontations, these two weapons were all he carried around.

That’s fine. I won’t need anything else.

Probably.

((((((*******))))))

Twilight was by no means an athlete, owing to years of holing herself up in her study. So it came as no surprise when she saw one of her pursuers quickly gaining on her. She was barely five meters away from him, which was close enough for her to tell that he was well and truly after her blood.

Even so, Twilight was confident that he could outrun him; because while her opponent definitely had the upper hand in terms of cardio, Twilight made up for her poor physical conditioning with outstanding magical talent.

She sent a burst of energy at his feet, with the apparent intent of tripping him. He easily jumped over it, but was helpless to dodge the surprise second burst that caught him midair in the upper body region, effectively clothes-lining him and sending him flying into the side of a dumpster. Seeing her attacker sprawled on the ground once again urged Twilight to keep going.

Jase sat up with a groan, then glared angrily at the girl as she continued to retreat. He got to his feet again and dialed a number in his phone as he resumed pursuit. “Frank! Are you still at the bar?” he panted.

Twilight’s mind raced as she tried to work out a plan. If she could knock her pursuer down again, maybe she could double back and reach the Breach in time to reopen it and escape back to her dimension. Then, next time she did something like this, she’d be sure to bring-

PANG

Her mind got no further as a pipe swung out and met her forehead, knocking her to the ground.

She tried to stand back up and continue running, a task made extremely difficult by the fact that she couldn’t tell which way was up. Come on Twilight, before he catches up!

But by the time her dizziness began to subside and she was able to stand up, it was already too late.

“Jase, what’s-”

“Shut up, Frank!” yelled Jase.

And that was all Twilight heard before her right leg exploded in agony, tearing a pained scream from her lips. She felt herself being hauled up and dragged before suddenly being tossed against a wall, which only added to the intense pain she now felt.

She looked up and could just barely see Jase, standing over her like some predatory animal with Frank's pipe in one hand and his knife in the other, blood seeping from his nose. He was staring at her with almost psychotic intensity, which only seemed to grow as he dropped the pipe and raised his knife to slash her open. She squinted as she tried to use her magic to defend herself, panicking even more when nothing happened.

Luckily for her, at that same moment, Baird caught up to them and grabbed Jase’s wrist.

“Jase, this is going way too fucking far!” he yelled as he also grabbed Jase by the back of the neck.

“GET THE HELL OFF ME!!”

There was a moment’s struggle, and then Jase managed a hard elbow to Baird’s ribs. As the giant fell to his knees, Jase approached Twilight, knife glinting ominously in the low light of the alleyway. He kneeled down and pressed the blade against her throat.

“Please,” Twilight begged, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks. “Don’t do this.”

“The world will thank me for this.” Jase said, maniacal eyes fixated on her. “The world will be better off without that voodoo shit, princess.”

Twilight shut her eyes tight, preparing for the end. Her family, Princess Celestia, her friends…tears began to flow freely as she realized she’d never be able to see any of them again. She wouldn’t even get to say goodbye.

She was going to die in this dark, filthy alleyway, and her only company would be her crazed executioner and his friends.

“Good b-”

PING

Twilight opened her eyes slightly as she felt the knife suddenly leave her neck. She started as she saw Jase lying a few feet away, groaning. His friends stared slack-jawed for a moment at his unconscious form before shifting their gaze upward. She followed their gaze and found what held their attention.

Another figure stood close to where Jase had been a moment ago. He was dressed in a long black coat, matching hat, and a grey scarf which covered his face. In his hand he held another, slightly longer, knife. His stance was calm, and he spoke to them in an equally calm voice.

“Good evening, gentlemen.”

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed! This is my first story, so criticism is both welcomed and appreciated!
Remember to click that thumbs-up if you enjoyed and leave me a comment with your thoughts!
Thanks!
Also, in case you're wondering what a Mach 1 is:

Nothin' like good ol' fashion American muscle.