Shorter chapter again. Tie-in with Four Echo Niner though. More soon, hopefully! :D

Savannah walked over to the door and peered out the peephole. Immediately she drew back in surprise. "Maybe you'd better leave, girls."

"Whatever is the matter, Ms. Swift?" Rarity inquired.

"The police are here. Looks like the same officers who talked to me after I reported Tara to be missing. I don't know if they'll want witnesses for this conversation." Savannah sighed. "Of course, it'd look odd to have all six of you leaving at once right as the police arrive."

"We can move to the kitchen while they talk to you," offered Fluttershy.

"Especially if there's CAKE in the kitchen!" Pinkie squealed excitedly.

The officers knocked again, seemingly impatient. Savannah sighed. "Don't worry about it. We'll see if they want you to leave. I hope not, but they might." She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Back in Equestria…

I got a better look at the man as I approached him. He looked about six foot tall, with dark hair cut in a military style. It was by now too dark to make out the details on his clothes, but I could see his belt was bulky and heavy. He looked like a policeman. It was a safe bet he had dropped the picture I now held in my hand. "He must have been looking for me," I whispered.

As I leaned forward for a better look, the bush I was hiding behind rustled. The man reached for his belt. Suddenly I was blinded as a powerful flashlight beam was aimed my direction. Shading my eyes, I watched as the policeman scanned the surrounding bushes nervously. After a moment he turned the flashlight off and kept walking. I followed as silently as I could manage. My mind was racing. How had he gotten here? What had he seen? How could I approach him?

He halted without warning and I took another step without realizing what I was doing. It turned out to be a mistake as a twig snapped rather loudly. The man didn't move, but I saw his shoulders heave for a second. He seemed to be preparing himself. Then abruptly he turned and his flashlight turned my field of vision to solid white. "Police!" he shouted.

"Don't shoot! I'm not armed!" I cried. Of course, I could always use my magic to render myself bulletproof or break his gun, but I couldn't summon that particular spell when I was in my human form. Besides, he already seemed pretty tense. A transformation right then would probably make him shoot.

"It's you," he stated in seeming surprise as he lowered his flashlight and his gun. "You're the girl that we've been looking for. Swift; Tara Swift."

I wiped my still-watering eyes and nodded. "Yep; that's me."

"How'd you get here? It was that creepy shopkeeper, wasn't it? Don't worry; I'll have him arrested as soon as we're both back in Mt. Christopher."

I was genuinely confused. "Creepy shopkeeper?" Then it hit me. I had told Savannah about going to a pawn shop in Mt. Christopher to sell the jewelry—no, they were the Elements of Harmony. Had the shop owner known about the magic mirror? Did the police suspect him of kidnapping me?

But the officer kept talking. "Now, all we need to do is find a ranger station, or someplace else with a phone. I'll call the department to send a car to pick us up, and we can get you back where you belong."

Now I understood. "Clearly, he's absolutely unaware of his current situation," I thought. But that was easily remedied.

I spoke up to get his attention. "Look, officer, I think there's something that you need to see."

"Oh? What's that?"

My nerves tingled as I realized what I was about to do. This officer did seem a bit trigger happy—easily understandable, but still not very safe. "Promise that you won't freak out…and shoot me."

The officer raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm not going to hurt you," I insisted quickly, "but you might be a bit…surprised."

He eyed me analytically for a second before holstering his gun. "Alright."

"You, um, might want to close your eyes too," I advised rather sheepishly.

The officer gave me a look of "Are you kidding me?" Clearly he did not want to do that.

I shrugged at his decision and summoned my transformation magic again. An instant later I levitated slightly in the air before him, transformed into my anthro form.

His eyes widened as his flashlight hit me again. He stepped back in wonder and fear. "What…are you?"

As I drew breath to respond, we both heard the distant howl of a dragon emerging from his lair to hunt in the night. As the officer looked around nervously, I knew I had to get him out of the Everfree Forest before the night completely overtook us.

"I'll tell you, but not here; the forest is very dangerous." Hesitantly I reached a hand toward him. "Here; take my hand."

He looked from my face to my hand and back to my face, nervous and worried. "Why?"

I thought that was obvious. "Because if you don't, you'll be stuck alone in the dark, with no answers."

He immediately grabbed my hand in a vice-like grip that reminded me of the tight bands of dark magic Sombra had used to tie me up. "Ow! Not so tight! You're not apprehending me."

"Uh…sorry." He loosened his grip but I could tell he was still nervous. "So…what now?"

"This." And with a snap of my fingers and a little more pony magic, we teleported and left the dark forest behind.