Chapter 4: The Big Bad City

Dave yawned as he looked out of the train window, the trees with zero leaves providing little interest as the landscape went by and a city in the distance was rapidly approaching. Many skyscrapers standing above the rest of the modern city.

The human never understood how a few areas were as advanced as cities on Earth yet most preferred the old fashioned homes like in Ponyville and Canterlot. Maybe he was putting too much thought into it.

Celestia had been confused when Dave had told her that he had to go but reluctantly she had to let him go. But thinking back Dave could have grabbed something to entertain himself before his long train ride that had drained three hours of his time away.

The train eventually slowed as it passed through a train yard. Dave looked amongst the abandoned train carriages that had built up to the side of a few warehouses. As the train slowed even further it passed through a short tunnel before emerging inside a huge building with numerous train platforms along one side then various shops and café’s along the other.

Dave stepped off the train and looked around the grand train station as he heard the ponies behind him waiting to get off the train but none had the courage to get Dave to move. The human rolled his eyes as he walked out of the way and headed over to a small coffee shop.

“Small coffee to go please,” Dave asked as he pulled a few golden coins out of his pocket and placed them in front of the mare serving coffee. The brown mare had a swirled cream mane and a pair of hazel eyes.

She basically looked like the coffee she was serving and probably as full of caffeine as she smiled at Dave. “Oh you are that human that married Princess Celestia aren’t you?” The mare said excitedly as she made Dave’s coffee.

“Uh yeah I am,” Dave smiled politely but groaned as she turned away. “About as energetic as Pinkie aren’t you?”

“Did you say something?” The barista looked over her shoulder at Dave with a confused look.

“Uh just wondered if you had heard about anything going on in Manehatten,” Dave smiled as he was given a coffee in a polystyrene cup.

The mare leaned forward with an enthusiastic grin. “Well I have been hearing that somepony has been breaking into some of the shops in the station during the night when most are closed.”

Dave thanked the mare before leaving with his coffee, his eyes darting to the tunnel that led to the train yard. If a human was hiding then an abandoned train would be reasonable shelter with decent food supplies nearby.

Regardless if his hunch was right, Dave had to be somewhere else and would have to come back later. The busy streets of Manehatten awaited Dave as he looked from his position at the entrance to the station.

Large stallions pulled large carriages that could carry at least twelve ponies around the city. Small children ran around in small groups and large advertisements were resting at the top of nearly every building.

Dave shivered as the winter winds nipped at his skin and he began to follow the route that he had planned out. His direction of travel taking him away from the busy shopping areas and towards the quieter residential areas.

The adverts eventually disappeared from the buildings as the streets became quieter, a huge skyscraper was standing above the other buildings and Dave looked up to see the various construction happening.

“The alley must be near here then,” Dave walked around the tall buildings until he found a short dark alley and he slowly walked down to where Battering Ram’s body was found. A few lines of chalk were still present on the ground from where the crime scene had been documented.

As Dave searched he found a small spec of blood on the side of a dumpster, but the blood was on the side facing the alley opening and not where Battering Ram’s corpse was found. He must have been injured before coming down this alley.

Dave stood as he backed out of the alley, knowing that this crime scene had been planted and the decapitation could have just been for the killer’s own amusement. The human growled quietly as he headed down the streets and towards the police station.

His walk took him to a wide and busy road. Ponies of every type weaved and hurried past each other, even a few zebras and gryphons could be seen around the main road that went all the way down the middle of the city and ending at a wide opening to the sea.

A pony version of the statue of liberty was standing proud at the end of Dave’s vision. “I still can’t believe some similarities this place has to Earth.” Dave sighed before finishing his coffee and throwing the cup in the trash before heading towards an older fashioned building that stood amongst the modern towers around it.

The atmosphere inside the police department was not much different from outside, with ponies hurrying everywhere and a few odd customers that were cuffed between one of their front hooves and one of their rear hooves.

Needless to say it made running away from the escorting police seem like a bad decision. Dave looked away from some of the criminals as he walked over to a receptionist that seemed oblivious to the chaos around her.

“Excuse me, has anypony sent out a letter from this station to Canterlot?” Dave asked the receptionist that slowly peered over her thin glasses to look at him.

“I am afraid questions like that can’t be answered without proper access,” The receptionist narrowed her eyes at Dave. “Even if we know you are royalty.”

Dave rolled his eyes as he pulled out the envelope containing the information and passed it to the receptionist. “Well somepony sent this letter to a pony called Strong Shield so if I don’t get answers then I am gonna be a little pissed.”

The receptionist glanced at the letters, “So he sent you instead of coming himself… I should have known he wouldn’t want to bring up any old ties, even if his friend had died.”

“Uh you know my dad?” Dave asked as he leaned on the desk. “And you were the informant?”

“My name is Quarry, I worked with your father once,” The mare looked down as she swept a grey hair from her face. “When he knew Battering Ram had died he called in a favour to pass on confidential files.”

Dave hummed, “Well is there any other information you can give me?”

“Battering Ram had been dead long before his body was placed in the alley,” Quarry looked around at the officers that stood around the busy police station. “We found that his ribs had been fractured as if something was crushing him and we found traces of salt in his fur.”

“Salt?” Dave tapped his chin. “Maybe he was near the harbour when he was attacked? Maybe splashed with water or fell in?”

Quarry shrugged, “I wouldn’t know, but that is all the information I can share right now.”

“Well why was I informed on this ‘Nitro’ dude?” Dave asked as he pulled a photo out of the envelope. “Was he connected to the murder?”

“No,” Quarry shook her head. “He is just… somepony to look out for, seeing as he is capable of dangerous things.”

The human finally sighed as he returned the envelopes to his pocket, “Well thanks anyway, I am gonna look around the city so if anything big happens be sure to get in touch with me if I am not already involved.”

“I will try, Dave Shield,” Quarry stared into Dave’s eyes. “I can see why he adopted you… you have a pain hidden behind those eyes just like he did.”

“Pain is something that I forget about,” Dave turned away as he stepped back out of the police station and headed back to the train yard. The construction site of the massive skyscraper was still buzzing with activity as construction ponies continued to work on the massive building.

The train yard was easy for Dave to access as he climbed over a few metal fences and began to walk amongst the abandoned or broken train carriages, the lights around the yard slowly powering up to illuminate the dark area.

The carriages all ranged in size and use, some large enough and with enough protection to provide reasonable shelter. If any human was hiding it would have to be in one of these types of carriages.

Dave tapped on the wall of one before pulling open the large door and peering around the empty box on wheels. Hmm, maybe they moved on. Dave pondered as he began to check another carriage and found nothing.

His thoughts were cut short as he heard a quiet sound of metal slapping against wood. Dave’s feet swiftly carrying him along the rows of carriages and spotted a door that was slightly open and the latch was swinging freely.

Dave walked over to the carriage and slowly pushed the door aside as he looked into the carriage and heard shuffling and whimpering down the other end. Dave stood in shock as he saw a frightened little girl looking at him in fear as she clutched a blanket in front of her face.

“Looks like the reports were right,” Dave muttered under his breath as he waved gently to the girl. “Hey, I am not going to hurt you.”

As Dave tried to be reassuring he heard the creaking of wood above him, his hands pushed him back in time for a crowbar to rush to where his head was. His hands immediately caught the wrists that swung the weapon at him before pulling the assailant down from the roof of the train.

The shadowy figure yelped as she fell towards the ground but Dave caught her before pinning her against the floor. The little girl jumped onto Dave’s back before weakly trying to pull him away, her futile efforts made Dave sigh as he kept a foot pinned on the older human and used his long arms to wrestle the girl off his back.

“I’m not here to hurt either of you,” Dave sighed as he held the little girl under his arm and glared down at the taller one that was face down in the dirt. “My name is Dave.”

The girl that was face down gasped, “Another human? We never thought we would see one again!”

“Huh?” Dave placed the child down as he helped to pick up the older girl. The taller girl’s auburn hair was swept aside by one of her slender fingers and she stopped as she looked at Dave. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I’m sorry I tried to attack you,” The older girl blushed as she looked down to see her hand sat in Dave’s palm. She quickly pulled it away as she hurried to the little girl’s side, “This is my little sister Sasha, and my name is Sarah.”

Dave smiled warmly to the girls, “Well I am sure you have a ton of questions but unfortunately you won’t get any just yet.” The male hummed as he scratched his head, “Truth be told I can’t be sure until you let me know what you have been doing so far.”

The younger sister stepped behind Sarah’s legs as she hid from Dave, her eyes watching him carefully until her stomach gave a loud growl.

Sarah looked down at her before smiling, “Sorry Sasha but I couldn’t find any food today, you will have to wait until later.”

Dave hummed, “How long have you both been in this world? I mean you must have noticed the talking ponies.”

“Oh them,” Sarah looked around as she took Sasha’s hand and began to hold it for reassurance that her little sister was around. “We have been here for a little over a week, we didn’t know what to do and I had to steal food wherever I could.”

“Can you help us get home?” Sasha asked Dave with tears in her eyes.

Dave knelt down to smile at Sasha, “I will do my best, but before I can take either of you anywhere I have to do one thing.”

“What’s that?” Sarah froze as Dave rested a hand on her head and another hand on Sasha’s head. “W-what are you doing?”

“Hmm I was hoping either of you were magical,” Dave tapped his chin. “That would have explained your arrival.”

“Magic?” Sasha’s eyes seemed to open in joy, her legs shaking as she beamed up at Sarah. “I told you that the unicorns used magic!”

Sarah rubbed her eyes as she gave a weak smile, “Good work Sasha.”

Dave watched Sasha celebrate her victory by jumping on the spot in joy. “Anyway Manehatten is a bit of an intimidating city to arrive in, the similarities to Earth’s cities is weird.”

“How long have you been in this world?” Sarah asked as she picked up an excited Sasha and carried her on her back as she followed Dave towards the train station.

“Almost two years now,” Dave hummed. “Yeah and I haven’t seen another human since then.”

Sarah hummed, “Really? I saw another human almost immediately after I arrived here with my sister.”

Dave froze his two followers stopping to look back at him. A third? And a week ago would make it long enough for them to kill Battering Ram. And if there is a third then there might be more. Dave thought to himself before he felt something poke him.

“Hey you kinda zoned out for a minute there,” Sarah froze as Dave clutched her hand tightly. “Hey are you alright?”

“Listen, where did this human go to?” Dave asked as he stared down at Sarah’s face. “I need to know.”

Sarah hummed as a look of concentration crossed her face. “I would have to say… towards a tall building that looked like it was under construction.”

My hunch was right then, Dave thought angrily to himself as he kept delaying his visit to the tower. “Listen, I have to go but I want you to take these tickets and get a train to a city called Canterlot, and from there you should see ponies in gold armour… you can trust them.”

“Woah you are not leaving us after just finding us,” Sarah gasped as Dave thrust an envelope into her hand. “We have no idea what this world is like!”

Dave rolled his eyes, “Listen, I will be back soon but this world is safer than Earth and Canterlot is one of the safest places ever.”

“W-where are you going?” Sasha asked as her fear-stricken eyes looked at Dave, pleading him to stay.

“Listen I will see you tomorrow at the latest,” Dave smiled reassuringly. “You are gonna meet a real princess and stay in a real castle.”

“Castle?!” Sarah and Sasha both gasped. The young girl jumped down from her sister’s back and began to cheer as Sarah rubbed her head in disbelief.

Dave smiled at the pair, “Listen, I promise I will see you both very soon.”

Sarah smiled at Dave as she stepped forward and gave him a hug. “Alright, see you soon.”

And this just got weird, Dave gulped as he slowly felt Sarah pressing against him more and more. “Alright see you soon!”

The male pushed Sarah away as he darted back towards the city and the tower that held possibly his biggest clue. As Dave disappeared from their view and the girls were sure he wasn’t coming back before their disguises fell.

“Urgh men are either disgusting pigs or nervous around women,” Sarah sighed as she rubbed her eyes. “At least you managed to keep up appearances while he was around.”

“We should have just killed him there and then,” Sasha sneered at the older girl. “You could have held onto a dagger and stabbed him while you pressed your boobies against him!”

Sarah glared down at Sasha, “Now if I did that then we would never get into Canterlot as easily and it would make out objectives a bit harder.”

“But still, isn’t Dave supposed to be our only problem right now?” Sasha pouted as she turned away in disgust. “I just can’t believe that I have to pretend to be your sister.”

“And being yours is sooooo much better,” Sarah said sarcastically and turned away with a snarl. “And I can’t believe that Steven gets the satisfaction of erasing that pathetic excuse of a human, how the heck did Dave get to where he was?”

Sasha looked up at Sarah, “Well he noticed your attack with the crowbar, maybe he knows how to fight a bit.”

“Well whatever it was I think his little tricks aren’t going to be a problem for us,” Sarah smiled as she saw Sasha’s confused looks. “Think about it, he rested his hands on our heads and then left.”

“Do you think he detected the gifts Discord gave us?” Sasha gasped until she noticed the sly grin of Sarah’s face. “Oh… the opposite… that makes it better.”

Meanwhile…

Dave quietly climbed over the fence surrounding the tall construction site. The huge building only having walls for the first few floors before the rest was just a cold grey skeleton of what supported the building.

The lobby was protected behind a thick plastic sheet that Dave pushed aside as he walked into the wide lobby, the metal stairs covered mess that came with large construction. Large planks of wood were piled against the walls and large power tools sat at one end of the room.

Dave walked over to look at the tools, not seeing any that could do enough damage to decapitate a pony. As he continued to search Dave heard a small laugh come from above, he looked over at the silver stairs to see a human sat at the top of the stairs, something resting in his lap.

“So you are the other human,” Dave sighed as he stood up. “Did you come here with Sarah and Sasha?”

“Oh the two girls?” The stranger hummed. “Nah I don’t know them, just a coincidental passing.”

Dave narrowed his eyes at the young man, his arrogance and appearance made him seem to be in his late teens. “My name is Dave, I can help you if you aren’t too sure what is going on.”

“My name is Steven,” The human stood as he flicked his long black hair out of his eyes. “I don’t believe we are going to be friends.”

“Well why not?” Dave’s eyes opened in surprise and his body froze as he saw Steven pick up the axe that was resting in his lap and the sight of dried blood confirmed Dave’s suspicions. “That blood… where did it come from?”

Steven smirked as he began to walk backwards into an elevator, “Well you can find out on the… sixtieth floor!” Steven tapped a button with the end of his axe and the doors slid shut before Dave had a chance to even climb the stairs to the elevator.

Crap, Dave thought angrily to himself as he looked around and saw a stairwell, his anger made him charge up the stairs in pursuit of the strange Steven.

Steven whistled in the elevator as it opened up and the cold winter wind rushed to greet him. His gaze overlooked the city before him, the construction hadn’t reached this point so al that surrounded Steven was metal support beams, the central shaft that housed elevators and the emergency fire escape stairs.

The grey stone floor and ceiling gave a cold and trapped feeling, even though the roof was high enough for Steven to raise his axe above his head and still have enough space to jump in an attempt to reach the ceiling.

“This should do nicely,” Steven sighed happily to himself as he began to look at the city of Manehatten from his new vantage point.

The city was bathed in artificial lights, all the office buildings slowly turning dark as workers headed home. Advertisements on buildings flashed and sparkled to attract the attention of everypony near and far.

The large harbour that led out onto the sea was reflecting a large and bright moon, the skyline a light blue line as the sea stretched well past the horizon. A small clanking noise made Steven turn to see Dave running up the stairs and stop to catch his breath.

Steven laughed as Dave fell to his knees and began to pant, his agitation clear in his angry expression. “Well Dave you certainly are a mystery.”

“How so?” Dave growled as he stood up and walked towards Steven.

“You have managed to reach the top, marry Princess Celestia and have a child!” Steven laughed as he pointed his axe at Dave. “Yet you deny yourself a position of power and it disgusts me.”

How the heck does he know all this? How long has he been in Equestria? Dave thought in a panic as he kept glancing at the sharp axe that was pointed at him. “Well to be honest that is my life so I would prefer it if you didn’t insult me.”

Steven sneered, “Humans are the apex of all creation, we are supposed to be at the top of the food chain, and we have earned the right to be gods!”

“You are actually nuts,” Dave rolled his eyes. “If you are such a god then why are you here?”

“There are too many humans on Earth so nobody is special,” Steven lowered his gaze to Dave. “But here we have been given gifts by our saviour that is allowing those dedicated to him the chance at power.”

Dave took a few nervous steps back as Steven clutched the axe tighter and began to slide into a fighting stance. “Listen Steven, I am not here to hurt you.”

“We all find your attitude towards power disgusting, you must embrace everything you have and grab the reins of fate!” Steven dashed forwards and swung his axe down, Dave evaded to the side and watched as Steven’s arrogant expression was switched with one of pure rage.

“Woah! Stop!” Dave avoided another slash as he stepped away from Steven. “I don’t wanna fight you!”

Steven closed the gap between himself and Dave, raising his axe high. As Dave’s eyes looked up to follow the blade, Steven kicked his knee to knock him off balance before bringing the handle to Dave’s face.

Steven pushed Dave to the floor as he snarled, “How the hell did you ever get to where you are now?”

Dave rolled away as he rubbed his face, “Well if I said funny personality then you might not believe me.”

“You truly are disgusting, a slave dressed as a king,” Steven shook his head. “I was told to offer you a chance to join us, take your rightful position and rule your own empire.”

This guy is crazy as hell, but who is helping him? Dave thought as he stood up. “Well I don’t think that forcing others to do as I say is a good way to live.”

“A good way?” Steven snarled as he bared his teeth at Dave. “It should be the only way you insect! If you have power then you should use it!”

Dave and Steven stood glaring at each other before Steven’s arrogant smile returned and he began to laugh. Dave continued to watch the sharp axe nervously as Steven began to laugh even more.

“What is so funny?” Dave growled as his patience was stretched.

“Do you want to see what true power is? To see how much better I am than you? All because I have no quarrel making others my slaves,” Steven began walking backwards until his feet almost reached the edge of the building, his back to the sea.

Steven’s mouth opened wide as his throat seemed to expand, his lungs filling with air before releasing it in a deafening cry. Dave slammed his hands over his hears as the roar echoed around the city.

“What the heck was that?” Dave snarled as he stood up to glare at Steven.

“The one who gave us gifts took them from his own body, giving us some of his traits or skills,” Steven chuckled as he glanced back to the sea. “Mine was his ability to control the minds of others, and that coupled with his many language capabilities gave me the unique skill in controlling the minds of dragons.”

Dave’s jaw dropped as the water in the harbour exploded as a long grey dragon broke out of the water. Its lack of wings and its long slender body made it seem perfect for its water environment, the leviathan roaring as it looked up to Steven and Dave’s position and began to crawl over to the tall building.

The salt on Battering Ram's fur could have been from the dragon if it grabbed him... actually this all fits! Dave realized Steven's past actions before taking a few deep breaths and giving out a low growl. This is the guy that killed Battering Ram.

“Power,” Dave sneered as he looked at the approaching dragon. “You think that by controlling others that you are better than them?”

“Exactly,” Steven smirked as he began to walk towards Dave. The long leviathan reached the building and began to climb the side of the building, the support beams groaning under the extra weight as it ascended towards the one who called it.

Dave hopped to the side as Steven swung with his axe again, smirking as the building shook and Dave lost his balance and fell to the floor. Steven saw his chance and rushed to strike down at Dave’s head.

The axe barely missed Dave’s face as he rolled to the side and scrambled to his feet. “Seriously Steven you don’t want to fight me!”

“And why not?” Steven ran at Dave, swinging his axe frantically as Dave avoided each swipe. “If you managed to get to the position where you are now you must have some power to help you!”

Dave froze as a large shadow filled the floor and he turned to see the leviathan looking at him. “Steven stop this.”

“Nah,” Steven said with a coy smirk. “I think I will let the dragon dine on your flesh or my axe spill your blood!”

Steven and the dragon both rushed at Dave, the dragon’s horns scraping the roof as its large jaws opened in preparation to attack. Dave gritted his teeth as he glanced over his shoulder, “You asked for this.”

Dave turned to catch the axe with his hand before his foot swept around to collide with Steven’s side, the human feeling a few ribs crack before flying across to slam into one of the metal beams dotted around the floor.

As the leviathan closed in, Dave turned and threw the axe into the dragon’s mouth. The leviathan’s roar stopped as it coughed on the axe, giving Dave a chance to get his hands under the dragon’s chin and slam its head against the roof.

As the dragon’s head fell from being slammed upwards, Dave brought his fist into the dragon’s fangs. The force sent the leviathan’s head back out the floor and the rest of the body lost its grip and the large dragon tumbled to the ground below.

Steven coughed as he looked over at Dave, “W-what the hell was that!?”

“I was given healing when I arrived to this world,” Dave sighed as he looked at his fist. “As a result my survival instincts was no longer needed and became dormant, my self-preservation slowly becoming and unused part of my brain.”

“B-b-but that strength!” Steven growled as he painfully stood up to glare at Dave. “How could you have that much power?”

“Well you know those stories you hear where men have pushed boulders off themselves to survive falling off a cliff?” Dave smirked as he looked at Steven’s fearful expression. “Well I could do that at will, and my body caught on to that fact.”

Steven growled as he limped away from Dave as he saw the human begin to laugh. “So this is the strength you have?”

“More or less,” Dave chuckled. “But let’s say I have had lots of chances to reach my limits and surpass them over my time in Equestria…. And the results…”

Steven turned around to see Dave had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. “What the heck?”

“And the results are quite something,” Dave whispered into Steven’s ear.

“H-how did you? That speed was…” Steven smirked. “Shame you didn’t get smarter,” The human stepped forward as the leviathan’s tail wrapped around Dave and yanked him off the side of the building.

“Shame you weren’t smart to begin with!” Dave called back as Steven looked to see the support beams supporting the sections of damaged ceiling were now broken.

Steven looked up to see cracks rapidly forming above him, “Oh you want a fight do you?” Steven took the only choice he had and leapt from the building, the cold winter air rushed past his ears as he fell past Dave and into one of the leviathan’s waiting claws.

Dave smirked, “You started it!”