Walking through the Everfree Forest was, admittedly, pretty difficult even under the best of circumstances. Now, the group had to contend with traversing this dangerous place whilst also helping along a girl with an injured ankle. Needless to say, Twilight was feeling more than a little guilty right now. As Spike helped her along, letting himself be used as a means to let her lean against something as she walked, the young mage couldn't help but look very down at the whole situation. Rainbow, as usual at this point, was up ahead, taking point and looking out for any dangerous creatures that might attack them. Pinkie was bringing up the rear, and she too was looking out for dangerous-looking sights, though she seemed to do so in a less focused manner than their guide. While all had been silent through this stretch of their journey, it was now Spike who finally spoke up.

"So...this person you spoke of...who is it?"

Briefly, Rainbow looked over her shoulder, glancing at the young Prince before looking ahead once more.

"She's an old friend of mine. Normally, she doesn't really care for meeting new people so...so she lives here."

To that, Twilight, at last, spoke, as she looked to Rainbow with surprise.

"Wait...she lives here?"

Rainbow nodded.

"Yep. There's a place up ahead that usually goes ignored by the beasts and bandits around here."

For a moment, Rainbow stopped walking, prompting the others to respond in kind. A silence fell once more over the group, ended only when the guide turned to them, her expression one of seriousness.

"My friend is pretty wary of visitors, so when the time comes, let me do the talking, alright?"

Hesitancy crossed the faces of her companions, and they looked to one another. After a while, Twilight, having made her mind up, gave Rainbow a nod of agreement, which was promptly returned by the ranger soon afterwards. And with that, they were off, with Twilight continuing to occasionally flinch as her twisted ankle continued to give her grief. Spike tried helping her long as best he could, but he knew at this point that his friend needed more that just a crutch right now. She needed real help. Fortunately, said help didn't seem that far off, as they saw Rainbow halt once more. The three of them stared at her, at the back of her head, for quite a while, before, at last, she finally turned to them, her expression softer than it had been before.

"We're here."

And with that, she took a few steps forward, moving past a particularly dense-looking collection of branches and bushes. Though nervousness crossed the faces of both Twilight and Spike, one look at the eyes of the former gave the latter all the encouragement he needed to continue onwards. Though difficult, they eventually made it past the same collection of plants Rainbow had, followed shortly by Pinkie, and, once on the other side, all three of them opened their eyes with surprise over what they now saw before them. It was, for all intents and purposes, a cave of some sort, right in the side of a small grassy hill. But the front entrance, which would undoubtedly have once been a gaping dark hole, was instead boarded up, creating the illusion of the front of a wood-panel house of some sort.

Nearby, there was a stream flowing from out of the woods, as well as a few smaller, not to mention younger-looking trees. The whole image was one of tranquillity and clam, a stark contrast to the grim and ancient image of the forest that they had grown accustomed to at this point. The three looked to each other, clearly sharing that same sense of surprise, but looked ahead yet again as Rainbow continued to walk forward. The ranger, for the first time since they had met her, placed her bow upon her back. And the others knew, if she was willing to do that, then this must be a safe place. Realising that, they moved forward to join her, just in time to see her raise one hand, ball it into a fist, and give a gentle knock upon the front door of this place.

"Flutters? It's me."

For a time, there was no response whatsoever from the other side of the door, leading some among the group to wonder if there was even anyone in there at all. But Rainbow stayed where she was, waiting patiently until, at last, something happened. There was the distinct sound of something being unlocked on the other side, and, shortly afterwards, the door began to open. It was slow, and there was a loud creaking sound accompanying it, but eventually, there was a small opening. Twilight squinted her eyes, trying to see who was there on the other side, and while she did indeed see some shadowy figure within, she couldn't make out any real detail, That is, except for a single, bright eye peering out from those shadows. As for Rainbow, she cracked a smile at this.

"Hey. Good to see you again."

The eye was focused on her for a time, but slowly, it turned, looking to the three behind her. Twilight saw, at this point, that there was fear in that eye, as evidenced by the slight shaking it gave, and Rainbow, realising this, turned, gesturing to the rest of the group.

"They're with me, Flutters. You can trust them. And..."

The ranger looked to Twilight in earnest, gesturing to her foot as she did so.

"...one of them is hurt."

The eye looked down, seeing the hobbled way Twilight was standing, and for a moment, there was yet further silence amongst them all. Then, after a long wait, the figure within seemed to give a short nod, after which, the door, finally began to open fully. As before, Twilight and the others could not see the home's occupant, as she had apparently moved to the side when opening the door. All they knew was that Rainbow was now entering the place herself, and that, after a brief moment of hesitancy on their part, prompted them to follow her. Spike made sure to be extra careful when helping Twilight in, keeping her off that first step before leading her into the house. And here, now that they were inside, Twilight could see what this place was really like.

It was not something she ever expect to find in the kind of bleak and dangerous place as this forest had proved itself to be. This house looked, for all intents and purposes, cosy. It was the kind of soft and comfortable-looking place one would usually expect to find as the abode of a kindly grandmother, with teacups and doilies aplenty, as well as old and well-kept chairs and sofas. One looked at this place, and they couldn't help but feel relaxed. But, before Twilight could dwell too much on their surroundings, she was distracted once more by the sound of Rainbow to her side.

"Twilight. Spike. Pinkie. Allow me to introduce my friend. Fluttershy."

The three turned, and finally, they were able t look upon their new host. It was a woman, about Pinkie's age, clad in an abundance of greens of many different shades, in the form of a long, all-encompassing dress. Twilight's image of this being the home of an old lady was not too far off, given that outfit, as it would not go amiss on such a person, to the point where Fluttershy was even wearing a shawl over her shoulders. Atop her head was long light-pink hair, which was tied together into a pair of braided pigtails, hanging from either side of her head. Her pose and way of standing was that of someone who was incredibly nervous about something, as she clasped her hands together, all while avoiding their gaze. After a while, Twilight cleared her throat before offering a smile.

"It's...it's nice to meet you."

Fluttershy gave a nod, but, for the time being, said nothing. Instead, and to the surprise of everyone, Twilight then let out another yelp of pain, having put just a little too much pressure on the offending ankle. Their new acquaintance took on a look of concern, and immediately, she started to take action, raising one hand and pointing to a nearby sofa. Spike saw where she was pointing and gave a nod, understanding her meaning, and so led Twilight over shortly afterwards. It didn't take long for the young mage to sit herself down upon the soft pillows of the thing, a welcome relief from her journey over here. Moments later, Fluttershy walked over, kneeling down before Twilight and looking up to her.

"It's...it's my ankle," Twilight explained.

Her host nodded, and then reached forward. Carefully, she took hold of Twilight's lower leg, and with her free hand, slipped off her boot. With that limb now exposed, both Fluttershy and Twilight could see that, as they'd suspected, there was a large red patch over her ankle, causing the former to narrow her eyes slightly. She looked up, giving Twilight a small but sweet-looking smile, which, somehow, caused the mage to feel all the more relaxed. Placing Twilight's foot gently upon the ground once more, Fluttershy stood up, making her way over to a nearby cupboard that was fastened to the wall. Opening it, she began to rummage within for a while, before finally pulling out a small bottle.

"Ah, the green stuff. Always the best-tasting one," Rainbow said in a somewhat humorous fashion.

Fluttershy gave her a brief disapproving frown, before moving over to Twilight once more. Reaching out, she offered the girl the bottle, and Twilight, gratefully, accepted it. With the bottle in hand, Twilight gave it a brief sniff, finding that it had no real odour to it. After just a second of concern, she took a sip of the liquid within. The effect was surprisingly immediate, as the pain in her ankle began to dull a little bit. Seeing the relieved look upon the girl's face, Fluttershy offered her that same smile, which Twilight herself soon returned.

"Thank you, this...this really helps."

Fluttershy, as always, said nothing, merely giving a slight bow to her guest. Twilight, for the first time since coming here, suddenly became all-too aware that her host had not actually spoken, either to her or to anybody else thus far. Turning, she looked to Rainbow, who had already seen the wheel's turning in the girl's mind. The ranger stepped forward, giving her friend, Fluttershy, a glance. The two stared at each other for a time, but, in the end, the latter gave a nod, as if giving permission for something. Though Twilight was, admittedly, confused by this, all became clear when Rainbow turned and spoke to her.

"You'll have to forgive Fluttershy's silence, Twilight. She's..."

A brief look of hesitancy crossed the rangers eyes, before finally finishing her words.

"...she's mute."