Chapter 24

Dave laughed as he was handed another drink, the mares with him were all fairly drunk as they swayed in their seats and held their various drinks. The only one that was still on the line between sober and tipsy was Octavia, who still held her second cocktail

“Alright Dave has weird hooves” Lyra called as she lifted Dave’s hand and tapped his fingers “These just confuse me”

Dave nodded as he wiggled his fingers and received a giggle from the mint mare “these things can do nearly everything” he looked at his fingers for a few moments before he returned to his drink

Octavia finally drank the few last drops of her drink before she stood up “Well I have enjoyed our small party but I have to do some practice before I go to bed” She was pulled back into her seat by Vinyl as another drink was poured for her

“Please stay” Vinyl begged as she kept her hooves around the earth pony’s neck “You are always practicing or going to group rehearsals” the DJ smiled happily as her friend started drinking again

“Yeah stay” Dave chuckled “I’m sure Vinyl would ‘wub’ you to stay a bit longer” he laughed as Vinyl stuck her tongue out at him. The white unicorn levitated her drink over to her mouth and tipped the rest of the alcohol down her mouth, some missing and going down her chin

Spitfire walked over from the private bar with a large glass of multicoloured liquid joined by large cubes of ice. She glanced at her old spot before she decided to keep walking and sat down next to Dave “So why are you back in this little club?”

“Little club?” Vinyl blurted as she wiped the alcohol from her chin “I will have you know that this is the biggest nightclub outside of Las Pegasus!” she crossed her hooves proudly as the other girls raised their drinks to her

Dave had a swig of his sixth drink as he placed his arm over the back of the sofa “I have a few… responsibilities now, but I fancied taking a short break and relax” he placed his drink down on the glass table as he burped

Spitfire smiled as she sipped her drink “Well the Wonderbolts are in Canterlot for the next couple of weeks… maybe I could persuade you to attend, I could get you some backstage tickets” she shuffled closer as Dave rubbed his tired eyes

“Yeah that sounds great” Dave smiled enthusiastically, his smile faded as he felt a chill run down his spine. Dave looked around the room as he felt a pair of eyes watch him, his arms pulled back to his sides as he shuffled nervously in his seat “Did it get colder in here or is it me?”

Spitfire shuffled closer so Dave could smell her drunk breath “Aww, if you’re cold then this fire could warm you up” she whispered as she neared Dave’s ear

Dave shivered as the chill in his spine returned, he glanced around the room as his face turned into a frown. Lyra and Bon-Bon were huddled together as Vinyl and Octavia continued to share quiet words, but Dave could not figure out where the stare was coming from

As Dave turned his attention to the one-way mirror behind him, he caught a glimpse of Swift Mix serving some drinks to a few of the dancing ponies. Dave stood up as he remembered his task and made his way to the door

“Sorry everypony but I have something that I have to do” Dave held up as hands at the collective groans “If I see any of you again, don’t hesitate to say hello” he waved as he stepped out of the room and into the loud and busy club

He made his way over to the bar as he came up with a quick plan, when he had an idea of what he was going to do, Dave sat at the bar and indicated for the bartender to come closer

“What can I do for ya mate?” Swift Mix cleaned a glass as Dave lowered his voice so only the bartender could hear

“I understand that you have some… substances in your possession” Dave applied a smirk as Swift Mix glanced around the bar and gave a small nod “How about you meet me in the back alley in five minutes” Dave left a few bits on the table as the stallion took the coins and began to wipe his hooves clean

Dave to the back of the nightclub and stepped into the dark alley that rested at the back of the building, a small light hung over the back door to illuminate the damp and smelly alley

The back door crept open as Swift Mix joined Dave “So, you are looking for some of the good stuff?” he held the door open as a larger stallion joined him, his mane was messy and his yellow body was barely distinguishable in the dim light

“Yes I am indeed looking for stuff of incredible quality” Dave pointed at the new stallion “Why is he here? This is a deal not a gang war”

“Well… you are special with the princesses” Swift Mix stroked his chin “You would be extremely valuable as a hostage” he smirked as the large stallion walked towards Dave, teeth bared

As Dave got ready to fight the large stallion, Strong Shield jumped out of the shadows and kicked the large stallion off balance before tackling Swift Mix. Dave grabbed the stallion in a headlock as he held his grip around his neck. Strong Shield dragged Swift Mix over to the alley wall as he pinned him by the throat

“Do you deal in criminal activities?” Strong Shield glared as Swift Mix struggled against his hoof “Tell me, I can easily cut you and leave you to bleed”

Dave placed his free hand over the large stallion’s mouth and nose as he resisted the stallion’s struggles “How the hell did you fit a message into my pocket?” he looked up at Strong Shield as the black unicorn threw Swift Mix against a bin

“I was the bouncer, I had to change my disguise” He nodded to Dave before hitting Swift Mix across the face “Tell me what has been going on,” he demanded as he forced the bartender to look at him

“T-there was a big deal coming in, lots of product and handovers” Swift Mix threw his hooves over his head as Strong Shield lifted his hoof “that’s all I know I swear!”

Strong Shield sighed as he looked at Dave “I will be two seconds” his horn glowed a dim white as he levitated a syringe and stabbed it into Swift Mix, the black substance was injected in as Strong Shield hid the syringe again

Swift Mix screamed as his legs buckled and he collapsed to the floor, his voice weakened as his face began to droop. Dave’s jaw dropped as the bartender seemed to become lifeless, the stallion in his arms had stopped resisting as he passed out

“What the hell was that?” Dave asked in a panicked tone as he dragged the large stallion behind one of the bins. He hurried to Strong Shield’s side as they looked down at the twitching body

“That potion stopped most muscle movement, just enough for him to say a few things” Strong Shield tapped the paralyzed stallion to get his attention “in ten minutes he will be dead unless I give him the antidote”

Dave stepped away from Strong Shield as he saw his serious face “Wow, dad that is pretty messed up” he turned away as Strong Shield grabbed Swift Mix’s head

“Has any trades gone down? Anything big?” Strong Shield snarled as the cripple shook his head “What about store houses? Labs? Farms? Warehouses?”

Swift Mix’s eyes popped open “Yyeashh” he managed to slur as his eye lids began to twitch and his mouth began to drool. His chest moved irregularly as Strong Shield shook him again

“Which Warehouse?” He glared at the drug dealer “Private property or gang territory?” he moved his ear closer to the dying stallion as he gurgled a few last words

“F-Foul…. Play…. Grrgghh…. D-Damn Rich…. Blugghh…. Train yarrr…. Bought by… by…” His head bobbed from the effort required to keep his head up, his heart was visibly quivering by the amount of stress it was under

Strong Shield roared as he punched the bartender “WHO BOUGHT IT?” He yelled as he hit Swift Mix again “You have about two minutes until your heart stops and you die so hurry up!”

Swift Mix had to concentrate as hard as he could as he forced out a final name “M-Max… P-P-Power” he gasped as he fell against the bin and looked sympathetically at Strong Shield

Strong Shield’s face dropped as he stood up and walked over to Dave “Go home, forget everything” Strong Shield sighed as he kicked the wall in frustration “We aren’t going to the vault anymore”

Dave grabbed Strong Shield by the shoulders “We are giving up? All this effort and we are dropping it?” he laughed in disbelief as he pointed to the dying Swift Mix “And are you going to give him the cure?”

“There is no cure” Strong Shield spat “Even if there was, I wouldn’t give it to a criminal” he pushed Dave away “And I am telling you, as you father, DROP IT!”

Dave managed to refrain from lashing out as he took a deep breath “Who is Max Power? What is this Train yard? And why are we giving up?”

“I don’t have to tell you” Strong Shield stepped up to Dave and poked his chest “Forget everything, the vault is way out of our reach, I know where it is but the danger is much greater than either of us” he turned as he walked away

“So that’s it?” Dave looked around the broken alley, the dead body of Swift Mix was propped against the bin, the other stallion was still unconscious but breathing slowly. He buried his face into his hands as he took a few calming breaths

Strong Shield looked around as well “They fought, Swift Mix won but had a heart attack soon after and died” he looked at Dave with his serious eye “That is the story and that is what happened here tonight”

“You murdered somepony and you are fine with that?” Dave began pacing along the alley “What happened to you being a guard and following the law?”

“Bigger things are at stake” Strong Shield groaned as he turned away again and rested his head against a wall “Just let me take care of Flux and Battering Ram, once they are gone then we will have no problems”

Dave threw his arms in the air as he laughed, “Yeah, let’s go home and pretend that nothing happened” he shook his head at Strong Shield “You know what dad? You were completely different to how I thought you were”

“And I thought you would have learnt to do as I say” Strong Shield responded with a cold voice “Now respect my decision as a father”

Dave shook his head as he walked down the dark alley and towards the castle “Leave me alone and never speak to me again… Strong Shield”

Meanwhile…

Luna flew back onto her castle balcony, her hooves instantly covered her mouth as she landed. The things she saw an hour ago almost caused her to be sick

She had just raised the moon when she noticed Dave leaving the castle. The princess of the night had followed Dave to a nightclub called ‘Shade’. She used magic to turn invisible and follow Dave through the club and into the back room, where she watched him flirt and drink with a group of mares

Luna did not stay for long as she saw Dave place his arm around the wonderbolt called Spitfire. The dark alicorn had left the club and had made her way to the castle where questions filled her mind

What was Dave doing in a nightclub and not with Celestia? Why was he in a soundproof room with a group of mares that were getting him drunk? Was he cheating on Celestia?

Luna quickly shook the thoughts from her head as she rubbed her eyes “Silly Luna, Dave wouldn’t cheat on Celestia… would he?”