//------------------------------// // Choices - Once Made // Story: The Return of Mare Do Well // by L_Wolf //------------------------------// Chapter 25 After Nightshade left her apartment, and she had time to get the pain in her shoulder to stop hurting she started to think about what she was going to do. It would be easy to just pack up and move to Ponyville, leave Manehattan in the hands of Nightshade and spend her life in Ponyville with her friends and family. "But... would Nightshade be happy staying in Manehattan?" She asked herself moving to her hooves slowly grunting softly looking at the painting on the wall. "My gut tells me, she wont be happy till she has all of Equestria in her hooves." She frowned moving to her bedroom and looked at the files on the dresser using her magic to pull the over and opened them looking through them. "It's not much but maybe...." She went to Sweetie's studio and searched around before finding what she was looking for. She made copies of the files, twenty five of each putting them into envelops and addressing them to different news papers around the city, and Equestria, including Canterlot and Ponyville. She also made the same number of copies of the pictures and the audio recordings putting those in to the envelops as well before sealing them and put them into her saddle bags. The originals she put in an envelop and addressed to Sweetie Belle before going to the post office and used what money she had left to send them express. Once that was done she left the post office and took a deep breath closing her eyes. She hoped her plan would work, just enough to buy her some time. She made her way to the police station and went inside up to the front desk looking up at the large red unicorn stallion behind the desk. "I'm here to turn myself in. I'm Mare Do Well." She said looking up at him, keep her expression straight to show she wasn't joking. "My costume is hidden in a sewer access point behind some loose brick at the corner of White Tail and 67th street." The office just stared at her for a few moments before looking at one of the other officers. "Alright, book her, then send some officers to check the location see if she's lying." He looked down at Starbloom. "This better not be some joke kid, or your in serious trouble." She kept her eyes fixed on the stallion behind the desk as the officer came around and fixed a large collar around her neck followed by the front ankle cuffs which would keep her from running. "Joke or not, I'm already in serious trouble." She replied to him before feeling herself being pulled away and to one of the processing and interrogation rooms doing her best not to stumble, the cuffs making it hard for her to walk with her injured shoulder. Outside the police station standing on a roof top dressed in a outfit similar to Mare Do Well's outfit was Nightmare, this one had darker royal purples and blacks instead of blues in it. "Not the move I was expecting from you Starbloom," she said narrowing her eyes. "But it wont help, I still own most of the judges and police officers in this city. You just saved them from having to hunt you down." Starbloom sat quietly in the small processing room shifting a bit trying to get comfortable with her shoulder. Looking out the window into the main lobby of the police station. She could see as one of the officers brought in a saddle bag with her suit in it showing it to the stallion she first talk to. The stallion looked back over at her sitting in the room before nodding at the officer taking the saddle bag with him to the interrogation room. He opened the door and dropped the bag on the table closing the door as he took a seat. "So, after all this running and avoiding us. Why turn yourself in now Mare Do Well?" "You can call me by my real name, Starbloom." She said looking at her suit then back at him. "I didn't have a choice, the one who really killed Silver Ghost.... threaten to tell everyone who I was and put my friends in the city at risk. I'm sure you know her, Nightshade, or Nightmare." The stallions red fur went noticeably pink at the mention of Nightshade. "W.. what you know bout Nightshade?" He asked looking down at her glaring at her. "Even if she was real, plenty of police ponies saw you kill Silver Ghost and you have history with her." "Just like I supposedly killed her in the prison, when Nightshade helped her escape?" She said looking up at stallion, "Warden Pollesk told me everything about it. I checked the prison out myself, I use the be a police officer, I know a staged crime scene when I see one." The stallion looked flustered for a moment then sighed looking around before moving to close the blinds to the interrogation office and turned back to her. "Look, I'm not on the take like most of the officers here. Even if your story is true what can I do? I can't let you walk out, right now your the most hunted pony in Manehattan," He said looking at her. "Then do what your suppose to do officer.... lock me in a cell, then get to work proving Nightshade is behind the corruption and clear my name." She said moving to her hooves. "And.. if you can... make sure Dr. Westluck and Sweetie Belle don't get mixed up in this..." she said softly looking up at him with a desperate look in her eyes. The stallion nodded at her. "I... I'll do my best. Starbloom, and my name is Gold Shield... you can call me Officer Shield." He said leading her out of the room and to hold cells finding her a private holding cell opening it for her and removed the collar and cuffs. "I hope you know what your doing, I was routing for you." She went into the cell and climbed up onto the cot settling herself onto it so she could rest her shoulder. "So do I... this isn't my first choice." She said quietly resting her head on the pillow and turned her to watch as he closed the door. "What was your first choice?" He asked after closing the cell door tilting his head curiously. "To go to Ponyville and be with my family.... I just couldn't leave the city in the hands of Nightmare though." She said softly closing her eyes. "But I couldn't let her put my friends in danger either." "I see...." he said softly watching her before nodding. "I'll do what I can to help Starbloom, I promise." With that said he turned and left her to start on his own work.