Twilight's breathing was heavy at this point, her hands raised high above her head in a gesture of surrender. She didn't blink, for she was too fearful to do so, and so, all she could do was look ahead, seeing the concerned expressions upon the faces of her two companions. Spike especially seemed worried about her, and for good reason. Whoever it was that was now behind her, it was clear to the young mage that they had no good intentions towards her. The sharp feeling in her back was all the more pronounced as time went on and she remained silent. Then, after a few moments more of this, Spike, having apparently put up with this as much as he was willing to, took a step forward, setting his hands blaze and looking at Twilight's assailant with anger. But, all that did was cause the point in Twilight's back to go just a millimetre further.

"Ah ah ah! I wouldn't if I were you, kid."

The voice, which Twilight could now recognise as that of a woman, had a somewhat gruff tone to it, but nevertheless bore no sign that it was bluffing. As for Spike, he was looking to Twilight, his expression softening as he saw the fear in her eyes. There was hesitancy in him for a while, but, in the end, he let out a sigh, putting out his fire and once more taking a step back. To this, the point in Twilight's back seemed to relent, but only a little, as the unseen voice then spoke to the girl once more.

"Now then, I'll ask you again. What do you three think you're doing in this neck of the woods?"

Nervousness overwhelmed Twilight, and she started sweating a great deal. The need for secrecy battled in her mind against her desire to, in all honesty, avoid being hurt like this. But, after another poke in her back, it was the latter instinct that won out.

"We're...we're on a mission. We came here because we were attacked last night. We...we're trying to get answers."

Silence followed those words, and for a brief moment, Twilight feared that what she'd confessed to would not be enough to help her. But, after staying in this spot, and in this position, for some time, she eventually found, to her relief, that the point in her back finally began to relent in earnest. In time, she couldn't feel anything back there at all, but again she said nothing. That is, until that voice spoke again.

"Alright...fair enough. You can turn now."

At long last, Twilight put her arms down, and slowly, she began to do as asked, turning around so she could finally so who, exactly, had done this. As she'd expected, the one who stood before her was indeed a woman, though at most she was only a year older than she was. Her garb was that of light armour, including a metal-plate skirt, leather bracers, and sandals. All of them were coloured a dark blue, a stark contrast to the lighter tone of her skin. In her hands was a long bow, complete with what, Twilight assumed, was the arrow that had been poking into her back not long ago. But, all of these things paled in comparison to her most distinctive feature, that of her rainbow-coloured hair, which was tied back into a short ponytail.

"So...are you going to say anything or are you just gonna stare at me all day?"

Realising that she'd been spending a great deal of time analysing this girl, Twilight suddenly noticed that somewhat annoyed look on her face, leading to a slight blush on the part of the young mage.

"Oh! I'm...I'm sorry!"

But, before the new person could respond to that, Twilight was taken aback by the sudden arrival of Spike, who stood beside her with an angry look on his face.

"You're sorry?! She just attacked us!"

To this, the other girl, gave the Prince a scornful look.

"Don't forget, kid, I also saved you, remember? That is, unless, you feel you could've handled those wolves without me?"

The girl bore a smirk at that, prompting no end of frustration for the young royal, who gave her a frown of his own soon afterwards.

"If you really wanted to save us, why did you just scare them off, instead of, you know...killing them?"

The archer shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't go killing stuff unless I have to. Besides..."

Looking away briefly, the girl put on a thoughtful look.

"...let's just say I know some people who'd probably never forgive me if I actually hurt the things that live here."

Though admittedly interested in such words, Twilight, who had been staying silent through most of this, still had one question, above all, that she couldn't get out of her head.

"Then why save us only to go ahead and threaten us afterwards?"

The other girl looked back to them, narrowing her eyes somewhat.

"Simple answer? It's kinda my job to look out for odd-looking folks around here. And no offense or anything, but you three look pretty odd."

Though somewhat irritated by such words, the three looked to one another, still clearly unsure of how to deal with this newcomer. Then, at the end of it, Spike took on a look of realisation, stepping forward and pointing to her.

"Wait...your job? Then...you're a ranger?"

Another smirk emerged on the girl's face, and she gave a nod to that, firmly panting one end of her bow in the ground as she did so.

"Yep! Rainbow Dash. Ranger, at your service."

Those last words were punctuated with as fake-looking bow, and when Rainbow rose again, she watched as Twilight approached, looking to her friend with confusion.

"Um...a what?"

Spike turned to her, and started to explain.

"I heard Mother talking about them a few times. Our nation is big, Twilight. So big that we can't just go sending armies and fully-armoured squads to every single spot on it. So, the soldiers stay at the cities, and the wild places, well..."

Slowly, he turned to Rainbow, gesturing to her as he continued.

"...those places are left to these guys."

Rainbow nodded, adding her voice to the mix.

"Yep. Our job is to go to the less...pleasant parts of the kingdom. Scour it out, keep an eye on things. If we see trouble, maybe some helpless travellers in danger..."

Her words were mixed in with a glance to the three before her, causing Spike to roll his eyes somewhat, before she then carried on.

"...we get involved. Bandits planning bad stuff? Take em out. Some nasty beasts gathering to attack nearby homes? Deter them. We're not soldiers...but we still fight for this nation."

Twilight looked on, clearly interested in hearing this.

"How many of you are there?"

Again, Rainbow shrugged her shoulders.

"No idea. Probably not that many, since you apparently never even heard about us till now. Only our leaders in Canterlot probably know for sure."

Turning, Rainbow gestured to the forest around her.

"I could travel through a place like this forest and not see another like me for weeks, or even months."

Twilight opened her mouth, no doubt to ask even further questions, but, she soon closed it again. Her mind, while gripped with curiosity as always, nevertheless collected itself, allowing her to become focused once more. She frowned, having now remembered her purpose here, and she took another step towards Rainbow.

"Rainbow...have you seen anybody...um...strange in the last few days? A group of men, perhaps?"

Looking to the girl, Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing they looked pretty mean, kinda muscly, that kind of thing?"

Twilight nodded, causing Rainbow to continue.

"Yeah, I saw them. I trailed them for a bit, but...since they were just walking through, I had no reason to stop them."

There was a pause for a moment, and Twilight prepared herself to speak further. But, before she had the chance to do so, Pinkie, at long last, started to speak up, heading straight for Rainbow and pointing to her in an accusing manner.

"Oh yeah? Well, let me tell you something, ranger! Those three burned my home down! So maybe you'd want to work harder at your job!"

This was, by far, the angriest Twilight had ever seen Pinkie be, and she saw the fearsome scowl she was giving Rainbow right now. As for the latter, she took a step back from this, clearly taken aback by this woman. From the look on her face, Twilight could see that Rainbow was intimidated right now, something that, perhaps, the ranger had not known for a long time. There were other feelings there too. Surprise, and shame aplenty. It was a sentiment reflected in her voice when she spoke.

"I...I'm sorry. I had no idea that's what they were planning. They never said a word, never did anything besides walk."

Pinkie stared at her, her face still one of anger. But, after a while, she let out a sigh, and began to walk away. Twilight and Spike watched her, clearly concerned, but never said a word. A minute passed, and then another, before the older woman finally did something, though it was not what they were expecting. She turned, and, to their surprise, once more bore a smile, though a smaller one than they were used to.

"It's...it's fine. You couldn't have known...so I can't blame you."

There was still anger in her voice, though it was, admittedly, far less than what it was. Rainbow looked confused at this turn-around, for which Twilight could not blame her. But, rather than dwell on the matter, the young mage cleared her throat, gaining the former's attention once more.

"Do...do you know where they came from?"

To that, Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah. Given their direction I'd say the only place they could have come from was the old castle."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Old castle?"

Rainbow nodded.

"Yep. It's a good day's march from here. In the east from this spot. If you like...I can show you."

Twilight considered that, offering her new acquaintance an inquisitive look. Briefly, she turned, looking upon Spike and Pinkie. The two of them seemed just as hesitant, but, in the end, they seemed to be deferring to Twilight's choice on this one. The girl thought long and hard, considering the prospect of going with this girl, but, in the end, she realised one important thing. Rainbow knew this forest better than she did. If there was any chance of finding answers, it was by going with her. Realising this, she let out a sigh.

"We...we accept."

Rainbow grinned.

"Great. But first..."

Raising her bow once more, she pointed it straight at Twilight, bearing a now-serious look as she did so.

"...why don't you just go ahead and tell me what you're really doing out here?"