A quiet darkness hung calmly over the empty grassy patch of earth that lay beside the police station, next to a grate on the wall that was propped diagonally against the opening. Somewhere beyond the wall it lay against, there was a great deal of commotion—yet that was all only a faint barrage of noise through the thick barrier, of little concern of anypony who would be standing in that grassy patch. Not that there were any ponies standing there, mind you.

Or at least there hadn't for the last several minutes. From where she sat inside a bush on the far side of the grassy patch, there had been absolutely no motion, save for a few lightning bugs here and there that zipped quickly down the way, faintly breaking through the darkness with their bursts of bioluminescence. One even flew over towards the mare, landing delicately on the tip of her muzzle, forcing her to cross her eyes as she looked down at the insect. Yet with it came a burst of dust, and I'm sure you can guess what happened next.

"Ah... ah... choo!" Mochi sneezed, alarming the insect so that it fluttered its wings and twisted and turned a new path through the air, between the trees and into the darkness. Mochi shrugged and turned back to look at the empty patch of ground. She wasn't sure how many minutes it had been, but she was definitely certain that it had been way too many. Yet just as she was about to give in to her drooping eyelids, a loud crack resounded through the air, coupled with a burst of light on the grass in front of her.

As the mare rubbed her eyes and the afterimage of the burst faded, she gasped in shock and jumped forward out of the bush. "Scootaloo! Mochi! You alright?!" she exclaimed.

"Shh!" Scootaloo whisper-yelled, looking up as she stumbled to a standing position. "We're fine... I think." She finally righted herself, standing steady, no longer looking like she would topple over. "Gahh... I'm just glad Later was able to teleport us outta there."

"Nnnngh... yeah..." Later spoke through clenched teeth, wearing a pained expression as she stood with Clove's body draped over her back. Her front legs wobbled and then, rather than letting them give way, she leaned over to let Clove Hitch fall onto the ground with a soft thump. "He'll be fine," Later croaked. Her expression hadn't changed.

"What's wrong?" Mochi asked, looking concerned as she approached the mare.

In reply, Later merely lowered her head and gestured towards her mane, which was dripping with some sort of liquid Mochi couldn't make out in the dark. She reached her hoof up to brush aside Later's mane, which made her realise instantly what the red liquid was as it stickied her hoof: blood. She flinched as Later's left ear came into view, or at least what was left of it; the bloodied stump twitched as it was exposed to the air.

"Wh-what happened?" Mochi managed, unable to take her eyes off the stump.

"Think I splinched," Later replied, exhaling. "I'm gonna be fine, but it... hurts. Hurts a lot."

"'Splinched'?" Scootaloo asked, cocking her head. "What's wrong with Later, anyway?"

"It's an accident that can happen when a unicorn without much experience tries to teleport," Mochi replied calmly. "What happens is... a part gets left behind."

"My ear," Later groaned. "I left my ear behind."

Scootaloo's face contorted in horror.

"She's gonna be okay," Mochi replied. "We just need to get moving so we can take a look at it. Honestly, I'm surprised that that was the only damage."

"Me too." Later adjusted her head. "We've gotta go—they're after us."

Mochi nodded. "That sounds about right. Here, I'll carry Clove 'n' you can go on ahead. Scoots, you too," she said, gesturing. Both smaller ponies started cantering off through the bushes, leaving Mochi behind to start picking up the stallion who was lying in what was almost a pile on the ground. It took her a few tries, but finally she was able to muscle Clove's body onto her back, trotting off as quickly as she could while ensuring he wasn't going to fall off.

Not five minutes after Mochi had disappeared through the bushes, there was a soft rumbling coming from the soil beneath where the four ponies had stood and lain just minutes prior. This rumbling continued until the earth churned and moved aside, revealing a beige hoof that reached up to the heavens. The grass and dirt tumultuously moved to either side more and more until the hoof's owner, one Ms. Haze, had pulled herself completely out of the hole in the ground. She stood there panting, coughing up dirt.

"That's the last damn time I try to teleport along with somepony who doesn't know what they're doing," Haze grumbled to herself as she finished coughing up the last bits of earth. She raised her foreleg and pressed a button on the breast of her vest. "Hello, this is Haze. I was unable to stop Scootaloo and the others from making their escape."

"No matter," the gruff voice on her comlink replied. "We can intercept them later. Officer Gloss has arrived."

"Wonderful," Haze replied. "I'll be in there in a moment. And please look up anything we have on that mare, Even Later. I swear last time I saw her, she was an earth pony."

"Yes, ma'am. Anything else?"

"No, that'll be all. Haze out." Haze pressed the button on the comlink and took a deep breath.