Lightning galloped through the woods with great speed. He had the greatest motivation, his crush was in danger. He could sense it, almost like it was his sister. He shook that horrid memory out of his head but continued. Lightning saw something in the opening and stopped short of the bushes. In the clearing, was a injured Fluttershy.

Fluttershy wasn't the only thing in that clearing. There was also a Cockatrice. A Cockatrice is a creature that is half dragon, half chicken. Weird combination I know. But these have the ability to turn things to stone with a cold stare. Fluttershy could easily beat their stare with her own, but this one was different. This Cockatrice hurt her before she could even look at it. Now, Fluttershy was too weak to try and dominate over. She looked at the beast, its stare slowly working its way through her. Lightning could see that her back hoof was beginning to turn to stone. This set him off. Lightning stepped out of the bushes, making sure he was noticed.

The Cockatrice turned around, hearing the sound behind him. Once it saw another pony, the hybrid instantly began its stare. However, the stare was not working. Lightning was staring at Fluttershy, not the monster. Seeing her cut like that, it boiled his blood. His crush…his love…no, his hoard…

"What do you think you're doing on MY property bird?!" he yelled, "And what do you think you're doing to MY LOVE?!"

Fluttershy seemed to wake up after Lightning said that. Although the Cockatrice was no longer looking at him, the stone freezing still took place. Now, her entire back half was stone. This made Lightning's anger rise even more. "You are about to see what happens when I really get mad!" he shouted. His entire body became surrounded in a red light. Then, a large cloud of smoke exploded from his body. The Cockatrice and Fluttershy seemed surprised. Then, the Cockatrice turned to the bushes, seeing what looked like a wooden tail. But the hybrid was not paying attention to what was really happening. But, Fluttershy saw it. If she had feeling in her legs she would run. But two things prevented that; her injuries and her legs were now stone. A large snake was appearing behind the monster. One thing that was different was that the snake appeared to be made of wood. It almost seemed to be like a puppet. It was pale green and had a white underbelly. It was also very large. It could wrap around Applejack's barn and still rest its head on its coils. Its head alone appeared to be capable of swallowing two ponies whole. Fluttershy shuttered as its all black eyes with yellow eyes stared down at her. But the massive Basilisk wasn't staring at her. It was staring at the Cockatrice. The Cockatrice noticed the massive shadow looming over it. Not sure if it was fear or curiosity, but the hybrid turned around. It instantly froze in place from the stare. It was greater than his. The stone process was now up to Fluttershy's neck.

"Do you understand now…little bird?" asked the snake. Its voice was harsh and cold. "Do you see now that you've entered a BASILISK'S territory?! That you've harmed a BASILISK'S HOARD?!"

When a Basilisk's hoard is even touched by an unknown being, a Basilisk will do anything to protect it. The results vary from injuries to simply turning to stone. The Cockatrice wanted to run, but its legs wouldn't move. Its eyes never left the snake's eyes. The Basilisk lowered its head dangerously close to the Cockatrice and placed its large eye in view. Something finally kicked in the Cockatrice's instincts and it ran. The Basilisk, however, wasn't finished. It lunged at the fleeing bird and closed its large mouth around it. Fluttershy closed her eyes and turned her head away. She would have curled more, but only her head was free, but even that was slowly turning to stone. But, her area turned to stone glowed white and slowly revealed her normal coat color. The stone was now completely gone. Fluttershy felt like opening her eyes, but she could feel the presence of the Basilisk still near her. The large snake was beginning to coil around her, but not tightly. The snake was actually giving Fluttershy more than enough room. The snake lowered his head close to hers.

"It's okay Flutters…everything is fine…" said the snake.

Fluttershy opened her eyes, but made a small whimper when she saw the Basilisk's head so close to her. But it was showing no anger or aggression. Its eyes seemed happy for her to be in their sight. Something about its eyes changed; it went from yellow slits to green pupils. Although the pupils were still like slits, they weren't just as narrow. Fluttershy remembered that shade of green from somewhere. It then hit her; she has met someone with those eyes.

"Lightning…is that you?!" she exclaimed.

The snake chuckled, "In thissss form, I prefer to be called Staredown, my little Fluttersssss…"

The long drawn out S sounds caused Staredown's tongue to stick out. It tickled Fluttershy, causing her to giggle. All of her fear vanished as she spoke to him. "How exactly can you do this?" she asked with a greater voice. "It's all a part of learning Puppetry magic" Staredown replied. "I learned how to transfer my conscious to a puppet's body. It's helpful in some cases…like now…"

Fluttershy giggled and blushed. But they went away and she looked up at him, "Why exactly did you save me…? You made me sound like a treasure to you…"

Staredown's head raised a little and his eyes diverted from Fluttershy. "I…uh…I…sorta…l-l-love...you…"

Fluttershy was taken aback by this remark; she never would have guessed that Lightning…or Staredown would have a crush on her. She smiled and gestured for him to lower his head. Staredown lowered his head closer to hers, curious to what she has to say. Fluttershy nuzzled Staredown, almost causing his head to shoot back. But, he returned it the best that he could. A giant snake and a small pony probably wasn't the greatest pair, but Lightning wasn't always Staredown. Staredown lifted his head up, only to be replaced with another cloud of smoke. Lightning appeared from the smoke, almost like the event never happened. Fluttershy needed to get home, so Lightning escorted her.

"So…you can talk to all animals…?" asked Lightning.

"Most animals give trouble to others, but I can calm them down so they understand…" replied Fluttershy. "My gift is just as unique as yours…"

Lightning simply nodded, not wanting to get into his powers or past. Fluttershy would learn about it in time. Soon, they reached her house. Lightning smiled as it looked like a tree, all of the animals running in and out of it.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow Flutters…" said Lightning.

Fluttershy went up and kissed Lightning's cheek, "I guess so Stormy…"

Fluttershy left Lightning stunned by the kiss as she entered her home. Lightning began to walk away, but looked back. "She's perfect…"