Neon Dancer leaned back against the pole, slowly extending a leg towards the audience as loud music pounded all around them. She could feel every beat pulsing through her body as she gyrated around the pole with a come-hither look at the crowd, having no idea what was about to happen. The stallion behind the bar swirled his pen, concentrating on the drink he was mixing, waiting for the precise moment to put the finishing touches on it and deliver it to the customer.

It was another day at the bar, or so both thought until the moment gunfire interrupted the show, and ponies began to scream and panic as some kind of struggle took place between two groups of unicorns. In all the chaos, only the unicorn mixologist noticed that Neon Dancer was still dancing; if he hadn't known better, he'd have sworn she was oblivious to the danger.

Neon threw her body backwards just in time to miss a spray of deadly bullets. Her horn glowed as she grabbed one from the air, redirecting it back at the group of thugs who'd just burst into the bar. Her attacker spun away, looking to shoot at her again, but she teleported herself right behind him and slammed his face into the wall. "My bar. My rules," she purred in a tone that implied more sultry tones rather than angry ones.

The pony didn't respond, and Neon pulled her head away, allowing the blood to run down her hoof and onto the floor. She leaned in, kissing him gently on the cheek before he could pass out from the shock of having his brain leaking out of his skull. "The rest of you want to get out of here? You're not wanted," she growled.

A stallion rolled a grenade at her from behind a stack of boxes, and Neon slammed it back at him with a small blast of telekinesis. It exploded, knocking everyone away, including her. She sprawled across the ground, but she was laughing. She was bleeding, which exposed chrome bits beneath the surface. Looking back, she could see her assailants had done far worse. Most of them wouldn't be getting up again.

That was when Neon saw Spike come into view. He'd emerged from an alleyway, stepping into the middle of the street to survey the scene. "Huh, that's a throwback look for sure," he muttered. He hopped over the fallen attackers. "Giving me more work, as usual, Neon?"

"You know me," she replied. She smirked as he leaned down and picked up a rifle. He held it against his shoulder, aiming at a prone unicorn about to fire at her. She put a hoof against it, gently nudging it away. "Enough red in my bar for one day. Pretend you're a cop and actually arrest her."

Spike snorted at that. "If I arrest her, do you have any idea how much more paperwork that is?" He nudged at the fallen body. "Fine. You're up on your payments to the police. I'll take them in, and we'll be even."

Neon laughed, brushing herself off as if she hadn't just had a life-threatening situation. "See, that's why I keep you around. Thanks, Spike. I mean it." She picked up her coat and draped it over her shoulders, striding past the terrified patrons and out of the front door. "My shift's over."

The mixologist knew this wasn't true, but didn't argue it with Neon. After all, it wasn't like she'd bothered to clock in or out, so there was no way to prove otherwise. He slid a drink over to one of the stunned customers. "That'll be ten bits."

Neon walked down the glittering street, the bright nights of Neo-Canterlot blaring around her with the thumps of many different beats and actions all around her. Her long pink mane and tail swirled behind her as she pushed her way through crowds of ponies who barely even seemed to notice her, though some did take the time to stare and wonder where they knew her from.

She gave those a little wink, but she had a place to be. There, just to her left, she veered through the crowd towards one of her favorite quick-fix shops. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an old envelope. It was worn, but the black ink still stood out. "A Full Chrome Reboot. One for me, doc."

The doctor leaned forward, pressing his horn against her neck. "You got roughed up again?" He reached out and she didn't stop him from inspecting. "They got you a few good times. Damn. I thought you were faster than that."

Neon chuckled, running a hoof through her hair. "I guess I'm not as young as I used to be." She let him examine her wounds before walking to the back. There was an operating table and a screen on the wall that displayed her vitals. She calmly slid onto the table. "Get me back in one piece. The gawkers don't come to see their girls all full of holes.

"Alright, so how much is this going to set me back?" she sighed, imagining the price in her mind with far too many zeroes in it.

The doctor paused, glancing up at her from his screen. "With the damage to your hooves? The sensors are shot, so I'm gonna have to replace them entirely." He tapped at her hoof. The disturbing part was that she didn't feel it. "Surprised you came in here so smoothly with that damage. What about a hoof? Did they get it, too?"

Neon cringed as she tried to lift it, only to realize that she could barely do that. She lifted the edge of her leg, finding that it looked as bad as it felt. "Wow." She wondered how she had missed that. "Must be the adrenaline, and that's running out, so that's starting to hurt. Put me together and let me wail about the price afterwards."

"Got it." The doctor nodded as he closed up the coat, then glanced at the door. "Give me half an hour." With a hiss of a needle, a drug ran into her system. Far from the first, this one sending her into a dreamless void where he could do his work. It was easier that way for all of them.

When she awoke, she found herself staring up at a completely different room. This one was dimly lit by the neon light of the bar sign just outside, pouring in through the slats in the blinds over the window. She sat up with a scowl. "Doc? You park me in the back to get other patients? Rude, but I get it." She slid to the ground, testing each hoof. She was intact. "Thanks for that, but where the hell are you?"

She found the doctor sitting on a stool near the door. It was clear he'd been watching her, his hands stained with blood. He smiled and motioned to the mirror across the room. "You were unconscious for the process, so I'd like to show you the results before you go back."

Neon smirked. "You really did shove me in the back to make room for more customers." She turned to the mirror and did a little swirl. "I look great. Good job, but I'm insisting on a discount for being put away like a dang sandwich you plan to get to later." She checked herself over, noticing there was nothing missing. That had been her first fear. "That'll do, I guess."

"Wait. Before you leave," the doctor muttered, leaning forward. "The shrapnel cut your wires in several places. It took me hours to splice them all back together. But more than that." He thrust a hoof at her. "You're getting to retirement age. Your body can't handle what you're shoving on it. If you keep this up, you'll lose far more than some circuits and wires. You'll lose yourself."

Neon scoffed. "Sure, doc. Whatever you say." She winked and blew him a kiss. She was all better, she could feel it. She trotted out onto the street with a whistle, melding into the thick crowd of ponies. There was a cacophony of voices, advertising, and various noises as they filled the streets with their day-to-day activities. Neon let herself flow through it all, a bit like the tide itself.

She pressed through the chaotic storm of noises until she felt a hoof brush her rump. She coiled almost instantly, but her guard fell. "Ruby! You'll get me in trouble." She grinned as the familiar mare stepped forward, then wrapped her up in a hug. The red coat, dark red mane and tail, along with those intense eyes...

Neon shook that off. "Some punks trashed my place over a turf scuffle. You should have seen it. Took out half of the front. I think there's still a body wedged into one of the booths." She was coy as she flashed a grin at Ruby. "You should come see. I miss having you around."

Ruby laughed gently at that, guiding Neon to a slightly less crowded place to stand. "I would, but I have bills to pay. I'm glad dancing that pole gets you your bits, but that isn't my job and you know it. Maybe when we were young, but that ship sailed a long time ago." She rubbed a hoof over her cheek, revealing some wear on the area.

Neon noted the minor wear. She knew there were prosthetic replacements for those things, but Ruby hadn't yet bothered to get them. "A little chrome could rewind your clock." She leaned in, almost touching. "I'd like to keep you around."

"We're both too old for that, Neon," Ruby murmured, gently pushing her away. "I still remember those early days with you. I mean, how could I forget? We went through everything together." Her eyes went distant, thinking of long-ago events. "We gave them hell, and got some in return. Look, I'm not cut out for that anymore. I need my sleep and comfort."

Neon threw her head back. "Are you saying you've grown soft? What happened to the wild mare who gave us that nickname? All because you found a damn store called Neon Dancer that sold outrageous clothes!"

Ruby shoved Neon, but there wasn't any real force behind it. "You loved it so much you stole their name, damn it." She laughed almost painfully. "I miss those days, but they're gone." She glanced away and back at Neon. "Look, I need to find somepony to spend some quality time with. If you aren't paying, I have to go. I've got bills, remember?"

Neon scowled, shaking her head. "Yeah, I get it." For just a moment, she considered paying her own friend for her time, but that felt like a step too far. "Visit, when you're free. You know where I usually am. Please?"

Ruby stared at Neon. "Alright, if it means that much to you. I've got a show tomorrow night. It's been awhile since we talked, and I'd love to catch up with you."

They exchanged a hug, warm, but too brief, and Ruby vanished into the wave of flowing ponies, lost to the city. Neon let out a sigh as she began walking down the street, trying not to think about the feelings Ruby had dredged up from her past.

Neon reached the corner of the street and walked to a specific door in the middle of the street, slipped through, and quietly locked it behind herself. Other ponies just walked past it, not seeing it, but also refusing to crash into it. The door didn't exist.

A soft light flickered to life, showing the crime-ridden interior. Everywhere were stains and bullet holes, a few bodies and old bloodstains that probably didn't belong there. "You're getting messy." Neon smirked as she picked her steps among the cleaner parts of the floor. "Place somehow looks worse every time I come visiting."

Author's Note

Say hello to Neon. She is facing a few things, but she means to keep her eyes on it and march ahead. How well will it go? Let's take a walk at her side.

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