Chapter 185: Kingdom Peril Pt. 1

The courtyard and the rest of the castle were currently being decorated as the royal family prepared to host an important event in just a few days. Twilight was shown helping her father put some banners up. The girl was on a ladder as she put the finishing touches on her half of the banner. Some birds chirped and passed by the princess as she giggled before seeing them off. Below the pair were several tables, all decorated as well.

"Oh, confound these infernal streamers!" said Night Light, having difficulty putting them up because his arms were covered with the stuff.

"Aww. Is the mighty king of Equis having a hard time?" teased Twilight at her father as she got down from her ladder.

"It's not funny, Twilight. Have you any idea how difficult it is to-"

Twilight cleared her throat as she flipped her hair, showcasing how hard she had to get it brushed daily to avoid tangles.

"Oh, right," said Night Light as the girl giggled.

As the Jedi princess went to grab another stream, she noticed a lantern floating about the sky, which made her smile. She turned away just as dark storm clouds rolled by, followed by a flash of lightning. Twilight looked at the ground and found herself on a barren wasteland. The girl was confused as she looked about.

"Twilight! Stay here, with me, where you belong."

The girl turned in the direction the voice came from, as it belonged to her father. The King stood there with the streamers in his hand but spoke in a monotone-like voice.

"Dad!" shouted Twilight as she rushed to her father, who was putting his hand out.

Just then, spikes came out and blocked the path between the girl and her father.

"Dad!"

The girl ran as spikes began to emerge from the ground; Twilight could avoid them as she continued to make her way toward her father to help him. The Jedi Knight ducked under the spike that came out from the ground as she finally reached where her father was, but once she got there, she gasped. There was her father, now encased into the spike.

"Dad?" called out the girl.

"Oh, Twilight…"

The princess turned, and standing a ways off was Starlight. The evil girl had her weapon in hand as she eyed her archrival. Starlight began to run at Twilight, and the spikes followed behind her. Twilight put her arms up to protect her, and a huge magical explosion occurred just when Starlight reached her.

The girl awoke as she seemed to have suffered from a bad dream. However, the dream was so powerful that her Jedi senses took over as she floated above her balcony.

"Hey, Sparky, you want- Aah!" said Storm as he entered Twilight's room and saw his partner dangling above her balcony, encased in her magic.

At that moment, the girl began to drop.

"Twilight!" shouted Storm as he rushed to catch the princess. He grabbed her shoulders before she plummeted below and pulled her back onto the balcony. "Aah! Ah…" The Jedi Knight set the princess down on the balcony floor as she was relieved her partner arrived in time.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I- I- I- I don't know," said the girl, unsure of what just transpired. She merely looked toward the rising sun before looking back at her partner as she crawled into his arms, which he held tightly. "Oh."

After taking some time to collect her mind, Twilight had a painting of Starlight in her hand as she looked at her journal.

"You're still worried about her?" said the boy.

"How can I not be? She said the whole reason her family suffered is because of what mine has done to her," responded Twilight.

"Come on, Twilight. You can't let her get to you."

"I know, I know. It's just… it's hard not to ignore what she said."

The princess sat on her window still and buried her head into her knees. The girl's owl was seated on her shoulder as he tried to cheer up his owner, but to no avail. Storm sat in front of his partner. He could see Twilight's distress with the Starlight stuff; he wanted to do something to take her mind off of things. He then grabbed both of Twilight's hands, forcing her to lift her head to look at her partner.

"Hey. I know what will cheer you up," said the boy.

The girl raised an eyebrow, unsure of what her partner was planning. The pair were now walking in the hallway, Storm's hands covering Twilight's eyes while the girl's owl rested on her head. The pair arrived at their destination, two guards opening the door for the princess before returning to their posts; the pair stepped inside. Once they did that, Storm removed his hands from Twilight's eyes to allow the girl to see.

"Surprise!" said Storm.

"Goodness!" said Twilight.

The pair were in the castle's throne room, which was littered with presents upon presents. They were all sectioned off by who the villagers intended them for, as there was a pile for Twilight's mother, a pile for her father, and so forth. But the girl had the largest collection of gifts given to her, given that she would be the future heir to the throne.

"Are these all for me?" asked the girl as she couldn't believe how many gifts her people gave her, let alone how much they must have spent giving her stuff.

"Seems the people love you after all," chuckled Storm as he walked alongside Twilight to her gifts section. "By the way, I figured out what some of your gifts were by shaking them. Look, look." said the boy as he grabbed a small skinny box and shook it to produce a sound. "It's a set of painbrushes." The Jedi Knight then grabbed another box, which was smaller, and shook it to produce a jingle. "Looks like someone got a new necklace. And this…" Storm turned to grab a present that rested on a nearby stack, and when he shook it, a shattering sound was heard, which Twilight didn't like. "... clearly something that probably shouldn't have been shaken."

Storm smiled sheepishly as he just put the box down. Twilight gritted her teeth before looking up at Owlowicious, who saw her partner's actions. The owl shook his head at his owner before he took off and landed on another present.

"Oh, how about that one next?" suggested Storm as he grabbed and shook another box. "Come on, socks. Even that's cheap."

Twilight began to walk as she explored some other fancy gift boxes, wondering what kind of other presents she received. The girl then came across something that wasn't wrapped like all the others. A small music box with a ballot dancer was on a table as there was only a note to accompany it.

"Wind Me?" said Twilight as she read the note.

The girl picked up the music box and turned the key attached to it as the music it played began to be ominous of sorts while the dance moved in a circle.

"Kinda creepy," said the girl, wondering who would send her a gift like this.

"Twilight, here's one you might like!" Storm called out as he got the girl's attention.

The princess left the table as the windup box was shown. Nothing happened for the first few seconds after Twilight turned the key until… a tinking sound went off as if some gears locked into place, and the music box began to play on its own. The ominous music the princess heard when it was playing occurred as the note fell off the table. Nearby, a much larger box was shown as it shook and seemed to respond to the music playing. The wrapped box then fell to the side as a large orb rolled out from it. Similarly, another orb had rolled out, and the two were now beginning to attach to one another. Soon, several other large wrapped boxes began to shake and, in some cases, move. The different pieces responded to the music as if telling them what to do. One by one, the pieces formed some kind of giant mech robot. There lay a box that was ripped off, and inside was the head, which came online and looked at its body.

"Twilight!" said Moondancer as she managed to spot her mistress and her partner leaving the throne room.

"What is it, Moondancer?" asked the princess to her friend.

"Your father…"

Before the handmaiden could finish what she was saying, the door to the throne room burst open as all three saw the giant mech that had assembled. It turned to spot the teenagers and threw a fist as they all moved, and the fist made contact with the wall, leaving a hole.

"What the heck is that?" asked Storm as he drew his lightsaber.

"I don't believe it. That's an automaton!" said Twilight.

"A what?" responded the boy.

"An automaton. My ancestor…"

"Look out!" shouted Moondancer as the three all ducked the next punch the robot threw.

"Tell me after we survive!" said Storm to his partner.

"How did it slip past the guards?" wondered Moondancer as she had her hands glowing with magic.

"That's a good question, but I'm guessing it's not here for the party," said Storm before rushing at it with his lightsaber.

"Storm, wait, wait, wait. They're incredibly-"

The princess tried to warn her partner about the machinery as a metal thud was heard, followed by her and Moondancer ducking as Storm flew over their heads and crashed into the wall. He splatted and made another hole in the shape of his body.

"Strong," said the boy with a groan. Nope. I got it. There's no need to finish that thought."

The boy fell to the ground as Moondancer went in and began to blast all sorts of magic beams. However, the machine's armor caused them to bounce off as it turned to deal with the handmaiden and raised a fist.

"Moondancer!" shouted Twilight as the handmaiden rolled out of the way at the last second. The automaton made a crack appear when it lifted its hand as it traveled upward to where a banner was hanging above it. At that moment, the princess had an idea before turning to the owl on her shoulder.

"Owlowicious, the banner."

The owl hooted as he understood his owner's words and flew off toward the thing. He flew up, used his talons to unclip one end of the banner, and dropped it down to where Twilight was as she reached up and grabbed it.

"Hey, Tick-Tock! Over here!" said the girl as she got the automaton's attention.

The robot heard that, shifted its head to where the girl was and began to approach her. Twilight quickly used her speed as she circled the robot's legs with the banner.

"No, no, this way!" said Moondancer as she got the robot's attention.

"Moondancer!"

Twilight threw the banner just as her friend sidestepped a punch from the robot and got the banner around its arm to hold it in place further. However, that didn't last long as the automaton broke free, ripping the banner to shreds. The machine turned to eye Twilight, who was now backed up against a wall with Moondancer on the other side. The handmaiden saw her mistress was in trouble before eyeing the small music box on the back that seemed to be powering the robot. Just as the automaton brought its hand up and looked to bring it down on the princess, Moondancer grabbed a candle holder and jammed it between the space of the music box and its gear.

Twilight covered up as she saw the robot's fist coming down. The girl then opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself unharmed. She looked and saw the robot had shut down. Moondancer wiped her forehead as the candleholder stuck out of the machine's back. The handmaiden, Twilight, and Storm began to push the thing to the window.

"And push!" said Moondancer as the thing came crashing through the wall and to the ground below.

It was a long drop as all three peered out of the hole they made and saw that the thing didn't land on anybody, but a few nearby guards and citizens were questioning what just fell from the sky. The robot lay in pieces as all three teens were catching their breath from surviving a fight with a tough foe.

"So… what was that?" asked Storm as he tried to catch his breath.

"An automaton. My ancestor Theory was the brains behind such a creation," explained Twilight.

"Oh, another ancestor of yours, great," groaned Storm.

"The thing is… they were thought to be long gone since my ancestor destroyed every trace of the designs and blueprints. He even committed those plans to memory so nobody could ever use them. So… how is it possible that there's one that exists? Oh, no," said Twilight.

It didn't take long for word to reach the royal family about what had happened. Night Light sat down on his throne as several guards stood beside him.

"Our first priority is getting to the bottom of who was responsible for this attack!" said Shining Armor as he stood before his father and addressed the royal army.

At that moment, the door to the throne room flung open as there was Twilight. The girl's sudden appearance didn't go unnoticed by her father and brother as she walked in with a serious look.

"There's no question who's behind this," said the princess, as she had a feeling who had sent the automaton to attack her. "The question is… what was Starlight after?"

"That girl is a threat to us all, father. And I assure you, she'll be dealt with!" said Shining Armor to his father.

"Listen, Dad. She is up to something. I don't know what it is. But I've been having dreams and nightmares about her. We need to get to the bottom-"

"We needn't do anything!" said the King as he cut off his daughter. "The situation is being handled, Twilight. In light of this vicious assault, it is with a heavy heart that I make this decision. Until this threat has been neutralized, you are to remain under constant surveillance in the most secure room in the castle!"

Twilight gasped as she stood in front of a set of bars. The girl looked out of her now locked window. Her father had basically put her under house arrest and made it clear to any and all guards and servants that she was not allowed to leave nor see anybody unless they were the royal family. In short, Twilight was now being treated like some locked-away princess in her tower.

Morning came as Twilight was still locked away in her room. The girl didn't get much sleep as she sat on her window, still flipping through her journal, and Owlowicious was in front of her. Per her father's orders, the owl felt sorry for his owner having to be trapped and locked away in her own room. The bird made a hooting sound as he could see how sad she was and tried to cheer her up. Twilight smiled as she knew her pet was trying to lift her spirits. It worked a bit as she grabbed her owl and pulled him in for a tight hug as he nuzzled against the girl.

At that moment, the door to her room opened, and the girl's mother came as she shut the door.

"Mom!" sighed Twilight, relieved to see her mother, and rushed at her, and Velvet hugged her child.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," said Velvet to her daughter as she pulled back to look at her child. "I tried to talk him out of it, but you know your father can be… immovable." Velvet did her best to speak reason with her husband about holding their daughter hostage, but it fell on deaf ears. The queen then petted her daughter's pet as Owlowicious let out a sad hoot.

"What is Dad so afraid of?" asked Twilight, knowing her father was doing all this because he was scared of something. "Why is he doing this to me?

"Twilight, in the years since you first left Equis to be a Jedi, not once did your father sleep through the night," said Velvet as she placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder to get her attention as she told a hidden secret about the girl's father. "Your absence haunted him every minute of every day."

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. To think that when she left at a very young age with Celestia, it caused her father to go restless nights thinking about how he lost her. And how… he might never see her again. However, she still doubted what drove her father to do this.

"And you saying that makes this right?" said Twilight to her mother as her mother walked past her.

"I'm asking you to consider that despite how rash and drastic his actions may seem or how much you disagree with them, they come from a place of love," said Velvet as she told her daughter that Night Light was doing what any father would do, and that was to keep their daughter safe from harm. "But I agree with you. This isn't right." The queen approached her child to hold her hands before pulling her in for a hug.

The girl's mother left her daughter as Twilight stared at the door. She couldn't take it any longer and took a deep breath.

"Owlowicious, we're getting out of here," said the girl to her owl as she began formulating her plan for escaping her room.

Nighttime had fallen as Moondancer was shown moving about the castle grounds. The girl had a bag over her shoulder when she heard a sound. She looked up as Twilight's pet was perched on a ledge, and it dropped the scroll in its talon before flying away. The girl caught the piece of paper the bird dropped and unfolded it. She began to scan and read the contents of the piece of paper before smiling.

"Uh… quick question. I'm not sure that I see the part of Twilight's escape plan that specifically says, I… have to be the one who gets launched from a catapult," said Storm as he was inside the holder as Shenran was cranking the device back while Moondancer stood on one of the wheels as the lookout and awaiting the girl's signal.

"Keep looking, Jedi. It's there," said Moondancer as she having fun messing with the boy.

"I'm sorry. Don't you have handmaiden duties to take care of?" said Storm, still holding the piece of paper as he looked at his partner's servant.

"Yeah. Just my luck. I guess I got the night off," smirked Moondancer.

Twilight opened her door slightly to see the guards outside her room. The two guards seemingly fell asleep, as the girl knew she only had a few minutes to execute the plan. She turned to her owl and gave a thumbs-up, as that served as his cue. The bird slipped through the bars and perched itself on the balcony as it spread its wings. Moondancer was looking through a telescope. She looked toward Twilight's room and saw the bird flapping its wings.

"That's our signal!" said the handmaiden as Shenran had just finished adjusting the catapult.

"Ha! I knew it! There's nothing in here that said I have to-"

"Oops! My mistake!" said Moondancer, taking the ax from her blacksmith friend and ignoring Storm to cut the rope with one swing.

"Wait! No!" shouted the Jedi as the catapult flung him forward and high into the air as he screamed.

"Man, that felt good," smiled the handmaiden for what she did to the Jedi Knight.

Storm flew through the air, landing face-first on the tower next to Twilight. The boy groaned as he pushed his face off of the structure.

"That's the last time I let her take advantage of me," mumbled Storm as he'd get Moondancer back for this. The boy then saw Twilight's tower as he picked up the bag flung with him and pulled out a crossbow. He aimed the weapon and pulled the trigger as the arrow flew forward and embedded itself into the side of Twilight's tower. The Jedi then wrapped the rope's end around him before he jumped off and swung to it. The boy landed on the girl's balcony as he untied himself before approaching the metal bars. The Jedi Knight pulled out his lightsaber and sliced the ends off. A few seconds later, he managed to cut through the bars as Twilight stood by her room's door for any sign of the guards coming in.

"Hey, Sparky!"

"Storm!"

"I've come to rescue you from a tower, which kind of sounds cliche," said Storm as the princess hugged her bodyguard. He put his arms around her. "Ready?"

The princess nodded as the pair approached the balcony and stood on the railing. The girl grabbed hold of her partner as he tied the rope around him before he jumped over the edge. The boy was now running down the side of the tower as Twilight held onto him. Within seconds, the pair landed on the ground before Moondancer and Shenran.

"Thanks, you two," said the girl to her castle staff.

"It's no trouble at all, Twilight," said the teen blacksmith to the girl.

"What's that?" said Storm, pointing behind the pair.

Twilight and the other two looked toward the Jedi, pointing as they saw it. What appeared to be some kind of purple smoke was slowly creeping through town and heading straight for the castle. Within seconds, the smoke entered the castle gates and began to envelop the entire structure as it came over the four teens, who all closed their eyes and flinched, expecting the worst. However, the fog remained there as they initially coughed before getting accustomed to it.

"What is this?" asked Storm as they saw the entire smoke around them.

At that moment, a voice echoed through the fog as it seemed to be amplified.

"Hello, Equis!"

"It's Starlight," said Twilight as she recognized that voice.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Moondancer.

At that moment, some of the citizens in town awoke and stepped out into the fog. Night Light emerged from his room's balcony as he looked out to see his daughter and the fog that covered the town and the castle grounds. Some guards emerged as they took positions around the teens and kept an eye out for any danger.

"Something dark is coming for you," echoed Starlight's voice. "The royal family has refused to acknowledge it. In the hope of keeping their secrets, they have lied to you and vilified me.

"Get more men!" shouted Night Light to his son.

"On it, Dad!" said Twilight's brother as he ran to the gates, instructing some of the guards to back him up. Three details from the West Hall are on their way."

"In a matter of days, Equis, this kingdom, and the castle itself will be overcome by this growth. The destruction that's to come can only be solved by a key. And that key is Princess Twilight herself! I will not be ignored any longer! And to make sure that I have the attention of the royal family, I developed something special for you all that I think… you're all gonna like!"

As if on cue, a growl could be heard as the teens and the guards looked in the direction it was coming from in the fog.

"Uh, guys? There's something in the fog!" said Twilight.

The guards, Shining Armor, gathered together to where Twilight was and pushed forward while Storm stood behind to protect the girl. Night Light jumped over the balcony and landed on the ground as his hands glowed with magic, ready to fight as well. As everyone looked in the direction from where the growling came from, in the back, something moved quickly. A nearby guard was then picked off, followed by another guard as they were thrown away. Everybody was slowly moving among the fog as it was so dense they couldn't see much of anything in front of them. Twilight kept her senses on high alert as two eyes pierced through the fog, and it had its target in sight. A growl was heard before it took off and picked off a guard near Shining's squad; they noticed it at the last second and turned around to form a circle. A yell was heard as the guard that was picked off landed on their feet as he was unconscious.

"What is this, your highness?" asked a female mage guard.

"Whatever it is, it's fast!" said the prince.

"Keep your guard up, everyone!" shouted Night Light over the fog. They were separated by the dense fog and couldn't regroup to stand a better chance. "Twilight!"

"I'm with Storm, Dad!" said the girl as she assured her father she was safe with her partner.

As if on cue, a shadow rose over the princess as she was unaware.

"Twilight, watch out!" shouted Moondancer as she fired a beam from her hands.

The girl turned as the beam just hit the chest of the shadow, who didn't flinch. The girl quickly put up a magic shield to protect herself, but the arm of the thing hit the shield and pushed her back, resulting in her skidding along the floor and stopping before her partner.

"Find the princess! Get her to safety, now!" Night Light yelled to the guards near him, as Twilight's safety was the top priority.

"At once, your Majesty!" said the guards with him as they all disbursed to do their assignment, leaving their King alone.

"Move, men!" shouted Shining Armor as what appeared to be a claw grabbed him suddenly and pulled him in, surprising the guards he was with.

A yell was heard before Twilight looked up and saw something flying through the air before landing on the ground next to her.

"Shining!" shouted the girl as she rushed to her older brother's side to check on him.

"My children," said Night Light as he rushed to find his kids to protect them.

"Twily!" grunted the girl's older brother.

"Moondancer, Shenran, get my brother to the infirmary!" said Twilight as the two teens grabbed the prince, put his arms around their shoulders, and led him away.

The girl then turned to look at the nearby guards as she took control of the situation.

"Give me four guards covering the south gate, four at the north. Nothing in, nothing out!" commanded Twilight as her soldiers obeyed and went off to do their assignments. "Containment, people!" stated the princess and this time, she pulled out her lightsaber.

"It's like it's playing hide-and-seek!" shouted Storm as he swung at a shadow running by, unable to tell where the thing was.

Twilight looked about as she spotted a huge rope tarp to serve as a catching net for the acrobatic circus set to arrive for the special event. The girl got an idea as she smiled.

"Then it just picked the wrong game. I have an idea!" said Twilight.

Watching above from their bedroom was Velvet, who looked from their window to see her husband and children dealing with the thing in the fog. The queen's handmaiden came in to check on her lady and informed Velvet what was going on.

"Check on Spike! Make sure my son is safe!" said Velvet to her personal handmaiden as she was concerned for her youngest child. The woman nodded as she left her lady to ensure the young prince was okay.

As Velvet turned to look back at the window, a shadow with bright yellow eyes peered through the dark and appeared behind her.

"Hello, Your Majesty."

Velvet gasped as she turned and was blasted by some magic dust.

"Sleep!" said the figure before everything went dark.

Storm was now riding on his horse, as he'd been informed by Twilight's idea. The Jedi was riding through the fog when the thing inside the fog noticed the boy and began to chase him. The shadow stepped into the moonlight at certain parts, and it was revealed to be some kind of giant mutant raccoon. The creature was chasing the boy as he raced along the massive courtyard, with the creature getting rather a little close for comfort.

"Men, drive him to the right!" instructed Twilight to a set of guards.

Some guards carrying torches appeared as they waved up and down, swinging their arms, and the creature turned direction to the right to avoid the fire.

"Now!" said Twilight as she came out from behind a barrel and ran.

Another set of guards did the same as they emerged from the fog. They waved their torches to the side up and down as if to corral the creature. The raccoon creature was heading toward the castle door as it looked to escape.

"Trampoline, now!" said Twilight.

The guards near the gate emerged from the fog as they lifted up a giant trampoline and held it in front of the creature's path. The animal saw it and tried to stop to change direction, but it couldn't in time as it went into the trampoline before it ricocheted the creature back as it flew through the air and landed on the ground on its stomach. Twilight and the rest of the castle guards all began to toss rope over the creature to hold it in place as they held it.

'What is this?" asked Storm as the creature roared and growled, not a fan of being captured.

"Why would Starlight do something like this?" said Twilight as she looked the creature in the eye as her reflection was shown.

The creature began to glow with light as everybody temporarily looked away to avoid being blinded. When the light died down, there laid a pile of rope. A second later, a sound was heard as a raccoon's head popped out. The creature looked at the humans looking at it before it jumped out of the pile and took off, scurrying away. It stopped just before the castle gates, took a left turn, and took an apple from a nearby crate before running away.

"Three cheers for the princess!" said a guard as they began to applaud Twilight's heroics.

The girl was taken aback by the attention, and she soon smiled. The girl looked around as her citizens praised her for her leadership skills. Watching from a few meters behind the girl was Night Light as the King smiled, seeing his daughter command like a true ruler. He had a grimace before he began to approach his daughter to discuss something. However, at that moment, a guard came at them as he got everyone's attention.

"Princess Twilight, King Night Light… it's the queen. She's gone." said the guard.

Night Light and Twilight gasped upon hearing that Velvet was nowhere to be seen. The King looked worried as he feared for his wife; Twilight had the same before quickly realizing who was behind all of this.

"Starlight," growled the princess.

To be continued…

Author's Note: Starlight is finally back into the fold and already she's an even more of a threat than before. Not only was she able to cripple most of the royal army with her tactics, but she managed to capture Velvet. Now the question is, what does she plan to do with the Queen and more importantly, Twilight herself.