Bootlegging

by L_Wolf

Chapter Eleven: Back to Manehatten

Chapter Eleven
Back to Manehatten

Apple Bloom started towards Manehatten after leaving the farm, she was going to stop at a fuel station to refuel the car and check her map to decide on her route before leaving town. She had a decent idea of the route she wanted to use but she wanted to make sure of the turn offs first.

She pulled into a small station just outside of Ponyville's city limits and got out, this station had full service so she let the pony refuel the car and clean the window while she went in to get a drink and snack.

While she was waiting for the pony to finish putting the fuel in her car she noticed he was eying the back seat causing her to frown slightly. If he found the cider she would have to deal with him, as well as the cashier. She really didn't want to though, her hoof raising to the shotgun under her duster. She heard a ding as the tank was full and the pony turned to put the nozzle away recapping the tank before moving away from the car.

The cashier gave her the cost for the fuel, drink and snacks. She paid before heading back to her car sighing softly in relief. Once she got back in she pulled away from the pumps and parked in a parking spot checking her map to decide on the route.

The route she used last time was the fastest, but she wasn't sure if that one would be the best to use. Looking over the roads she found one that seemed to be good and memorized the turn offs before pulling out of the station.

She drove along the main road towards Hollow Shades keeping to the speed limit before spotting the turn off onto the back road she starting to speed up keeping her eyes open traffic, sharp turns, and police cars.

The first set of back roads seemed pretty quiet which caused her to relax a little as she went faster, she could feel the car bounce bumps in the road. She was starting to enjoy the drive until she heard the wail of a police car behind her.

“Horse apples.” She growled glancing in her rear view mirror seeing the car pull out from behind a bush onto the road behind her. “Should've been paying attention.” She growled as she started scanning the road up ahead for the next curve.

The road was rather straight for a while so she reached a hoof under her duster taking out the shotgun frowning. She wasn't sure if she was ready to use it, but she had it ready if she needed it.

She saw a sharp turn coming up and prepared to take it, turning the wheel sharply to go around before her eyes went wide she quickly turned in the other direction seeing it was a switch back. The back end sliding out causing her to turn quickly and works the throttle to keep from spinning out.

As she got her car under control the police car went flying over the road missing the first turn. She winced hearing it roll down the hill as she continued on following the switchbacks until she came upon the wrecked police car.

Apple Bloom folded her ears back seeing the wreck. “I need to be more careful...” She told herself, “That could have easily been me...” She started to drive away before spotting one of the police ponies start to crawl out of the wind shield.

She pulled over parking and got out putting the shotgun back in it's holster going over to police pony. “Y... you... your... under... arrest...” The police pony panted reaching for her foreleg cuffs. “Don't resist.”

Apple Bloom folded her ears back sighing, “Your hurt, just relax and I'll help you.” She states softly moving closer but saw the police pony reach for the revolver at on her belt. “Don't do that...” Apple Bloom warned her.

The police pony didn't listen as she pulled the revolver out, however being hurt the police pony's aim was unsteady as she took a shot at Apple Bloom, causing her to yelp and duck pulling out her shotgun and fired back killing her.

The act of killing another pony and recoil from the shotgun stunned Apple Bloom causing her to drop the shotgun in surprise. She stared at the now dead pony for a moment before quickly grabbing the shotgun and putting it back in her holster.

She ran back to her car getting in and pulled away quickly wanting to put as much distance between her and the wrecked police car as she could. “She left me know choice... she shot first... I had no choice...” She muttered trying to convince herself she did the right thing.

She quickly moved off the current back road onto the main highway before getting onto a different set of back roads which ended up getting her lost. She slowed down looking at the road signs before spotting a gas station.

Apple Bloom pulled into the fuel station and stopped at the pumps topping off the tank before going in to pay. While paying for the fuel and a cup of coffee she also got directions back to the main road going to Hallow Shades.

Soon enough Apple Bloom was back on the road following her original route she planned out for the evening. She hadn't gotten to far off her route so she didn't have a lot of time to make up. The earlier fuel stop also meant Apple Bloom didn't have to stop in Hollow Shades.

Apple Bloom already knew which roads she wanted to use between Hollow Shades and Manehatten, she just hoped there wasn't anymore trouble between the two locations. She knew the face of the police pony she had shot was going to haunt her dreams for a while, long with the faces of the two she ran down the night before.

Apple Bloom tried to push the thoughts from her head as she drove on through Hollow Shades and towards Manehatten. In the back of her mind she wondered if she would ever have a good nights sleep again.