Frank watched the proceedings of the race with great interest. He could see why Jarod had his eye on the creature. Strong, mysterious, and ripe for helping the right people get even more power. As the race ended and he got into his S.U.V., he pulled out his phone.
“Yeah boss?”
“We’ve found our next job. Deadline is a week. See me at the usual place.” He answered, then hung up the phone. “I repay my debts Jarod. You’ll see you can rely on me.”
----------
Dawn enjoyed a quiet trip home, being sent out into the fields once they arrived to get out her ‘stir crazy’ as the dad put it. He and Erin were going to the bank to handle the redemption of their prize winnings. Erin was already thinking a new family truck and equipment for the farms, and the father was proud, but encouraging holding off on too much spending too early.
Dawn went to the stable and proceeded to let her form rest, feeling worn out from having to maintain it close to her limits. There was no time to recover while still at the derby from all the pictures that were had during the day. The ride home she could risk some rest in her natural form like on the way there, but she felt even more tired than usual in spite of it. She felt something 'pop' inside and a habitual reach into her magic filled her with relief that she finally had access to her other equipment in her magical storage, her armor, her weapons, and yes, finally bacon.
It was practically evening by the time Erin and her father came back, and Dawn felt rested enough to don her disguise once more until she knew they would go to rest for the night.
Erin came to the stables elated.
“Oh my god, this has been the best time of my life!” She squealed, coming up to Dawn and giving her a hug before smacking her forehead and rushing back out, coming back with the saddle and saddlebags. “Sorry about that.”
Dawn shifted in front of Erin as she had many times before, turning into her human self and dug out the notebook and pen, -Not a problem. I get more worn out from travel than antsy, so I’ve been napping in here.-
“I hear ya!” she laughed, “Dad doesn’t get that issue. No idea how he does it!”
-So, are you back to being broke already? I heard a different engine park in the yard.-
“No, I’m not broke yet.” Erin chuckled, “Figured I’d hold onto most of our winnings until we figure out what we’re going to do. Could see getting you a place closer to my plot of land, have a bedroom above the stable or next to it or something so if someone comes you can turn back but be yourself whenever.”
-I have warned you that my stay isn’t permanent.- Dawn relayed.
“And you’ve also said you don’t know when you’re going back.” Erin countered. “No, you and I are meant to be together for good. I can feel it. Everything turned for the better when you came along and I’m not about to stop looking after you.”
-Right… Erin, even if you came with, there’s no guarantee- Dawn scribbled before Erin stopped her.
“Hey, sorry I can’t stay long, we’re about to go have dinner and celebrate as a family. If you want, I can say I’m inviting my friend over so you can walk in.”
-That’d be nice. I’ll see what I can do. If I come, I should be there in about half an hour.- Dawn said, making sure that Erin had to see her earlier warning as well.
“All right.” She said eagerly, smirking, “So I’m coming with huh? Better pack a few things for when that comes!”
Dawn could only sit there and facepalm as Erin quickly dashed out and their ATV roared to life to head back home.
‘That girl…’ Dawn sighed.
Half an hour later, Dawn got up and walked to the family’s home to join them for dinner, grabbing their second, more public version of the notebook so their other conversation wouldn’t be seen.
She knocked on the door, appearing to wear a lime green v-neck shirt and khaki pants.
“Coming!” Erin said eagerly before smiling at her friend. “Glad you decided to join us. Come on, meet the family.”
-----
The next two days were peaceful, Erin looked over the catalogues for what kinds of crops she’d be able to plant in the fields she was thinking of purchasing while her father went out to work the fields they already had.
The second night, the father didn’t come home for dinner.
“I’m sure he simply lost track of time and wanted to get the last bit of field done.” Erin’s mother said.
“Mom, he’s never been late to come home since you chewed him out for staying in the fields too late ten years ago!” Erin protested.
-I concur.- Dawn wrote out, visiting once again at Erin’s insistence. –One of us should check in on him.-
“Now children, He’s an adult, I’m sure he would call if there was trouble.” She replied, ignoring the phone ringing until she had finished. “Gothard residence”
Erin and Dawn watched as the mother seemed to freeze in place, then silently hand the phone over to Erin. Erin took the phone and put it on speakerphone. “Hello?”
“Am I speaking with Erin, owner of the green horse?” a distorted voice asked.
“Yeah…” She said, “I’m not selling her.”
A laugh seemed to come through, distorted to the point it sounded more sinister than she was prepared for. “I’m not looking to buy, I’m looking to trade.”
“You couldn’t possibly have anything I-”
“I’m sure your father will be disappointed you aren’t willing to get him back.”
“Wait… what?” Erin said, deflating as she felt a cold sense of dread.
“You have two choices and twenty-four hours. You can agree to get me your horse for your dad, everything goes back to normal for your family. You fail, and you will never see your father again. Contact the police, and we’ll end the deal early.” The caller said, before a familiar sound of a gunshot could be heard. “Hm… pulls slightly to the left. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The phone call ended and Dawn took a deep breath before scribbling her message.
-I do believe it’s time I let your mom know everything she needs to before I prepare our rescue mission.-
“Erin…” The mother asked, “What is going on?”
Erin turned to her friend, who was furiously writing out her message and spoke while they waited, “So… The horse that arrived suddenly before the derby stuff? I’d like you to meet her.”
“Erin… Erin don’t be ridiculous. This is your friend who is visiting like you said.” She protested, “What does that have to do with your father?”
-Greetings, I am Princess Meadow Dawn, Alicorn of Hope, Legate of the Ridgeback Hive, Queen of the Sunrise Hive. I am the horse you found in your fields some months ago, and regret that my unique nature has brought this upon your family. I have spent several years training under the Equestrian Defence Force and am equipped with a variety of equipment that is suitable for situations from skirmishes to SWAT-level tactics and emergency rescue operations. In exchange for your hospitality and care, I am prepared to assist in your husband’s rescue to my fullest ability.-
The pair of them looked at the paper, stunned as Dawn gestured with a hand and levitated it with magic. After a brief moment, the mother turned to Dawn, blinking.
“What?”
Dawn sighed. This was going to be a long night.
-----
An hour later, and several drinks for the mother, they finally had reached an understanding when a knock came to the front door.
"What now?” Erin’s mother sighed, rubbing her temples before walking to the door and seeing an African American in a short sleeved collared shirt. “Look, this is not a good time whoever you are.”
“I know.” James answered, “I saw everything.”
“Wait… what?” Erin’s mother asked, stunned yet again.
“Look, I’m posing as a friend right now, can you let me in so I can help?” he asked quietly.
“I suppose.” She sighed, rubbing her head and stepping aside.
“Thank you.” He said, closing the door behind him before speaking up. “Forgive me, but I couldn’t risk being overheard. You have at least one person I was able to spot watching the place and for all I knew, they could be able to pick up what we said outside.”
“You said you knew what happened to my husband.” She said coldly.
“I do. I’m James, a Private Investigator who was passing by on my way to another job when I saw what happened.” He introduced, pulling out his small camcorder with a screen and played back the footage.
Erin and her mother watched as the footage showed, at a distance, how the father’s fertilizer spreading machine was surrounded by three dark SUVs and three men with guns stepped out and yelled at him. The father slowly turned off the machine, took his keys and left the vehicle before being knocked out by one of the men and dragged off into one of the cars and they drove off.
“I’ve already called the police and as far as I can tell, these guys have no idea I reported this in. Have you gotten any calls for demands yet?” He asked, pausing as he looked over to the kitchen table, where a peculiarly colored scimitar-like blade with leather handle was being polished by a familiar figure.
“Yeah… can’t call the police or they’ll know.” Erin said quietly.
“I… see.” He said as he looked to Erin, then looked back and the sword had been replaced with a rifle of an unfamiliar make. “Excuse me, who is this and what are they doing with weapons?”
Dawn paused her preparations to field strip her equipment and pulled over her notepad and pen, writing her answer. –I am Meadow Dawn, and I am preparing to perform a rescue operation.-
“Like hell you are.” He said with a raised brow, “What kind of weapon is it? Where’d you get it, and where’s your license to use it?”
-You want the truth or what’s comfortable?- Dawn asked with an amused smirk.
“The truth, of course.” He said.
Erin tried to answer as Dawn wrote. “James… this is kinda a family secret, we can’t just go over that-”
-I am a creature from another dimension that is awaiting for rescue. It started as a standard military issue rifle with Zebrican origins, then underwent some modifications inspired by the Griffon Empire for my use in coordination with the Equestrian Defense Force. – Dawn wrote, sliding the paper over before resuming her work on disassembling the equipment.
He read the paper and snorted, “Fine, let me see the serial number.” He paused as he suddenly had the relevant piece floating in front of him at a comfortable reading distance stating ‘Serial 0348ZK742-PE’ “I’ll run that through the system…”
-Not going to question a floating object?- Dawn wrote before levitating the piece back and cleaning each one thoroughly.
“I think I have more important questions right now.” He said.
-Good.- Dawn wrote, -Then answer one of mine. Since you have already reported the crime to the authorities, can we coordinate through you since we cannot?-
“Yes, I’m required to report this sort of thing, they were planning to dispatch a car here.” James said before pausing, “I’d better call that off if I can and explain the situation.”
-You do that. I have every intent to assist with the rescue and if they’re able to help, all the better.-
James took a deep breath and went to the front door to make his call and Dawn continued to clean. He immediately relayed that the cop car should not arrive and ran the registration of the rifle while he was at it. As soon as the serial number was stated, Dawn let out a snort, only to hear the confirmation that the registration did not match any formats, claiming the device was simply a fake or a replica.
Dawn wrote her message and then finished up her rifle maintenance, moving on to the pistol in her magical storage as James continued to discuss how to proceed before he came back.
“I’m still on the phone, I’m going to switch to speakerphone but keep it quiet in case the uninvited guests are listening.”
“This is Master Sergeant Jorgensen. Is this the Gothard family?”
“This is Erin,” Erin spoke up first, “I’ll have to speak for Dawn since she’s mute.”
“My friend here tells me you have a kidnapped individual being held ransom for property. Is that true?” He asked.
“It is, and they said if we reached you, they’d know.” Erin answered.
“All right. First thing’s first. We will not be permitting any vigilante actions here. Let the trained professionals do their job or there will be charges.”
-I will comply, even if you would be unable to enforce such threats.- Dawn wrote, which Erin read only the first part.
“Good. Now, do we know when this is going to happen or where?”
“Not yet, it seemed like they were going to reach us in 24 hours to find out what out what our answer is.”
“Good. Since this situation is delicate, we are going to let James be our eyes and ears on this.”
-Suggestion: I can be the bait, have some equipment to keep myself and your father safe when rescue comes so they are able to enter, should they not accept surrender.- Dawn offered.
“Negative. We will not trade a hostage for a hostage.”
-So you’re telling me that you’d keep a civilian who is unequipped for capture nor have any way to fight back in a bad situation and not improve your odds of success by sending someone to be an inside agent?- Dawn countered.
“And what kind of skills would you bring to the table?” He asked.
-Military training, military grade equipment fit for protection of royalty, Special weapons and tactics training for three years, primarily with riot shield position, not to mention other classified skills- Dawn had Erin relay.
“Uh huh… give me the authorization code to view it and I’ll see about considering it.”
-Unless you have access to the Equestrian Defense Force’s network, you won’t find anything.- Dawn replied. Any more she was writing was cut off by the sergeant.
“So you’re playing make believe. All right, Ms Gothard, send the children away so the adults can work please.” He said dismissively.
Dawn rolled her eyes, -I’m fifty years old already, but sure, let’s listen to someone who is willing to ignore sense. Come on Erin.-
Erin said nothing of the message and at her mother’s command, went off to her room with Dawn, planning out how they would handle everything.
“So, can you type?” Erin asked, pulling up their laptop.
Dawn motioned to see the keyboard, then nodded when it was the same format that she was used to.
“Good, if you’re faster with typing, use it. Now, let’s come up with a plan to save my dad.”