The next morning came into Ponyville. Everything was normal, well as normal as Ponyville can be these days. Twilight was waiting at the end of a trail, pacing back and forth. A shadow in the sky caused her to look up, her face now gleaming with glee. Downward from the sky came a carriage drawn by two Pegasi. On the carriage itself, stood Princess Celestia. Twilight waited for the carriage to stop and the Princess to get off before approaching. She kneeled on one leg and bowed her head, "I am grateful that you came under my request Princess."

Celestia laughed slightly at Twilight's behavior. Even if she was the Princess, Celestia didn't mind being treated with some recognition under her authority. "So my student, have you found anything interesting?" she asked. "According to the letter you sent me you found somepony capable of using a different and interesting kind of magic."

"Yes Princess, this is true" replied Twilight. "I am not entirely sure of the facts, but I do believe this magic is one of the ancient magics from long ago. He calls it Puppetry Magic…"

Celestia's eyes opened wider, "Puppetry magic…that is one of the lost arts. I would be honored if you would introduce me to such a talented pony."

Twilight's eyes sparkled with glee as she turned around and headed towards the shop. As Celestia walked through town, several ponies bowed their heads in respect. The Princess nearly returned a nod to confirm her loyal subject's gratitude. On the corner of a street, Twilight and Celestia entered a small shop. The name, as indicated on the sign in front, was called Strung Puppets. Celestia was taking notice of all of the hanging puppets up for display. Each one was carefully crafted and well painted. But, something about these hit something in the Princess's mind, something that seemed…familiar about these puppets's construction. Before Celestia could think about it more, she caught onto what Twilight spoke out. "Hey Lightning…are you here?" she said. "I have somepony for you to meet."

Lightning…as in Lightning Strings?! That cannot be possible…Lightning Strings cannot be alive in this time… He would have to be older than me!

In a response, a voice shouted from the door leading to the back room. "Hey Twilight," Lightning replied, "So who did you want me to me…"

Lightning stopped once his eyes landed on Celestia. His body froze completely, not even showing signs of him breathing. The room was filled with an awkward silence, one that even Twilight was getting worried about.

"Eh, Twilight…" said Celestia breaking the silence, "Could you please step outside for the moment? I need to…speak with this esteemed shopkeeper…"

Confused but regarding the Princess's orders, Twilight walked out of the shop and the door closed tightly behind her. With Twilight gone, Lighting could show his true emotions. His eyes glared at Princess Celestia, taking on a little red hue of anger. His tail angrily whipped behind him, knocking over some shelves and items. "What are you doing here Sun Chicken?!" growled Lightning.

Celestia ignored the comment and returned her response. "My student said she had found somepony that has found one of the lost arts" she replied in a calm tone. "However you're the last pony I would have ever expected it to be. How have you been for the past eon?"

Lightning huffed and kept his glare at Princess Celestia. "You know darn well how I've been you backstabbing featherbrain!" His eyes seemed a different emotion of anger. It's more than hatred, a level of anger where somepony has lost something very dear and important to them.

"I take that you are still sore about Fiery then…" Celestia seemed rather surprised by what she said. But, Lightning's reactions and behavior show her guess correct. "I trust you will not mention her to the current elements. Otherwise this quaint little shop might be closed down. Something revolving around the owner being dragged off by the royal guards…" Celestia held her voice high and mighty as a princess should.

Now Lightning, on the other hand, was very upset. He was practically on the verge of steam coming out of his ears. His horn started to glow a green color, but it was so faint that no one could have seen it. "Get…out…" he said with the utmost anger. Princess Celestia lowered her head towards him, unsure if what he just said. Lightning repeated himself, but not in the same way. His eyes were glowing slightly and his horn was nearly blinding. "GET…OUT…NOW!" he roared. With a sudden beam of light, Princess Celestia was hurled out of the store through the front door. The door immediately shut afterwards, nearly breaking off of the hinges from the sheer force used to close it. Lightning as still mad, but sadness soon came over him. He slumped over, tears falling from his eyes to the floor and his mouth quivering, trying to keep the greatest reminder of her in decades. "Of all the ponies in this lousy kingdom, I HAD to make friends with a student of CELESTIA?!"

Outside of the shop, everypony was in panic. The force of the spell caused Celestia to crash into a building on the other side of the street. Twilight seemed too shocked to say a single word and the royal guards began to head towards the shop.

"Guards…stand down" said the Princess as she got to her hooves. "It was…an accident, an experimental spell gone wrong. Lightning was trying to show me something new, but it backfired. Do not arrest him for a mere accident." The guards took it as an answer and stopped advancing. Princess Celestia bowed to her student and Twilight returned it. The royal carriage flew back out to Canterlot. Twilight looked back at Lightning's shop, but never entered. She returned to her library to look for more books on this strange magic.

Later during the day, Midnight and the other main six were walking towards Everfree Forest. Fluttershy was leading, which is not usually the normal routine. The others seemed to be upset and scared, unlike Fluttershy. She seemed determined for something. The path they took through the forest seemed unused.

"Now suga cube, I know you like animals and all…but why are we doing this again?" asked Applejack.

"My animals have been avoiding this area" she replied. "Something is wrong here, so I'm asking you guys to help out." When it came to animals and their safety, Fluttershy's usual shy behavior was replaced with bravery.

"Even so…Fluttershy, you should-" Twilight spoke but Spike closed her mouth. "Something is out there…" he said. Everypony was on edge, especially Midnight. He crouched low to the ground with his wings covering his sides. A bush began to rustle and everypony turned to see a tail dart into it. Fluttershy walked towards it slowly.

"Oh, come here little one…" she said, trying to coax the creature out. The bush shook some more, but then the animal revealed itself. A large cobra head rose from the bushes. Its hood opened, revealing a very terrifying design on the inside. Fluttershy reared back and let out a small scream. "FLUTTERSHY!" shouted everypony.

"Face my fire!" shouted a voice. Before anypony could look around, a flaming comet slammed into Rainbow and crashed into the ground. The flames dispersed, revealing the shouter. It seemed to take the shape of a phoenix, but its body seemed to be made of wood. Rainbow was on the ground, burned and under its talons. The wooden phoenix did not seem like she would ease her tense grip around her neck.

"Hold on sugar cube" shouted Applejack, "I'm a comin!" She galloped straight towards the phoenix. The ground beneath her leveled and large claws grabbed Applejack. Some wooden puppet covered in gemstones stood above her. "You ain't goin anywhere 'Sugarcube'" said the puppet. The puppet placed Applejack on her back so she could see her captor.

"My my, why must there always be such violence?!" shouted Rarity. "It is SO unladylike!" While she was talking, a puppet walked up right next to her in a similar manner. The puppet took the appearance of hyena. "Yes, of course" it said. "The others do disgust me with their intense brutality. But, what must be done must be done. Now, please stay still so I will not hurt you." The hyena held her in place, showing her large bone crushing teeth in Rarity's face.

"Stay back!" shouted Twilight. "I'm warning you! I know spells that can break you into shambles!" Spike was clinging onto Twilight's back in fear. His eyes darted around the path quickly, trying to find some sign of victory between the rivals. "You do not know such spell" said a voice. Twilight and Spike looked around, only seeing a pair of yellow eyes in the darkness. "There is not a spell that does that" the feminine voice continued. The puppet jumped out from the bushes, revealing her form. The puppet was a wolf with saws on the surface of the wood. She lunged at Twilight, knocking Twilight down and Spike off of her back. All Spike could do is stand in fear.

"Wow!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "With all of these new friends, I can throw more parties!" Her remark received a groan from everypony, including the puppets. "Great, we have another one!" shouted the phoenix puppet. The small pond beside Pinkie Pie bubbled. A dark figure burst from the surface, landing on the dry land beside her. The puppet looked like a crocodile. "A party, where?!" shouted the puppet. "If there's a party, I'm the gator you wanna call!" She looked around as the smile dropped. "Oh, they're just intruders. Did you guys at least save me one?" The other puppets pointed to Pinkie, who was right beside her. The puppet licked her lips and grabbed Pinkie Pie. A door on her stomach opened like a treasure chest as the croc stuffed Pinkie Pie inside. The others now had a look of disgust from the actions they have seen. The puppet lay on her back, "Ah…it's good to be full."

"Yes, but you're going to be empty soon" said a voice. Everypony turned to see Lightning step out from the bushes. "Let her go…everyone, let them all go."

"Alright Lightning!" they all said. One by one, the puppets let their victim go. The croc opened her stomach and rummaged through it. She didn't pull out Pinkie, but she pulled out a lot of stuff. Balloons, streamers, noise makers, confetti, even a three layer birthday cake with lit candles. Pinkie Pie was finally let out, but she blew out the candles before joining her group.

"I'm sorry my friends…" said Lightning as he approached them, "Looks like you've stepped into my area…"

"YOUR…area…?" asked Rainbow.

"My house is within this area, and this is considered my territory. But as you know, it's dangerous out here in Everfree Forest. So, I made some puppets to help protect my home. I guess you all got caught in the cross fire. Let me introduce you to them." The puppets got in order by which they appeared every one of them except for the cobra, who went last/ Lightning walked in front of the phoenix first, "This is Firestorm; she is very loyal to me and her friends. She will do basically anything or everything to save them. The next one is Jewelripper, she is very honest and sincere, but she can be a major threat when needed."

Spike walked up beside one of Jewelripper's legs and stared at the gemstones covering her. He reached out for a large blue one, but Jewelripper lowered her head and faced Spike, "Careful sugar, I'm not like the gems you eat. I bite back!" Spike backed up and hid behind Twilight.

"This is Windrunner" continued Lightning. "She cares a lot about beauty and can run pretty fast." Windrunner smiled at the remark her creator gave her. "This is Sharpfur; she knows nearly every single spell out there." Twilight caught onto the whole magic thing, not really believing it at all. "This is Ginger. Don't let her looks fool you, she's a real partier." Pinkie Pie smiled when she heard that. "And finally…this is Hebihime. She is very caring, but also very defensive."

Everypony said their hellos to each other so they would be properly acquainted. It seemed that the puppet that attacked the main six have similar personalities. Well, more or less at least. Midnight was less tense because of Lightning, but the other puppets still scared him. Lightning offered a tour of his home, and everypony else seemed very excited. As they traveled, all of the puppets took notice to Midnight. Midnight felt uncomfortable as they all stared at him. It's not like he wasn't used to being looked at, it was just the puppet's eyes. Their eyes were all black with a glowing pupil. But, the travel wasn't that far. Lightning's house was an average two story building, painted neatly and built properly. One by one, the ponies went inside. The puppets stayed outside to guard the house. As the others followed Lightning, Fluttershy felt something calling her. The feeling was coming from this one room. Fluttershy stood in the middle of the hallway while the others continued. Fluttershy slowly walked towards the room, and opened the door. What she saw surprised her. A large puppet the size of the Princess stood in the room. The puppet had a hole were the horn and wings should be in place. The puppet seemed to take on a crimson color. What really impressed Fluttershy were the puppet's azure glowing hooves. The puppet slightly moved, causing Fluttershy to move up to its eyes. The eye sockets flashed green, showing a deep emotion of pride. Fluttershy gasped and quickly ran out to catch up with the others.

Unknown to her, Stormstrike was watching from the opposite room. Azure responded to that pony…Fluttershy I believe… Should I tell Lightning…?

After the gang finished the tour, they all said their goodbyes and left. Fluttershy seemed a little tense, but she seemed fine to everypony else. Lightning, on the other hand, saw through her fake emotion. She was nervous about something. She probably went into a room that he never showed or something.

"Stay here and retire for the night" Lightning told his puppets, "I'll be right back."

Lightning tailed Fluttershy almost silently, keeping his distance. He accidentally hit a rock and stubbed his hoof. He stayed there, trying to ease the pain away. But, the pain instantly vanished once he heard a scream from the dark forest, it was Fluttershy's scream.