All original characters, dialog and situations used from Star vs The Forces of Evil are ? 2015-2019 The Walt Disney Company.

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All original characters, dialog and situations used from the fanfics are ? 2015-present by their respective authors.

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This is a work of fiction portraying alternate universes; all similarities to beings living, dead, or undead are entirely convergent.


Prologue

In the Dimension of Humans with Cat Faces, Bob sighed, closing the All-Seeing Eye. She had watched as Meteora was defeated but did not care to watch what was happening afterward.

Bob pulled back her hood, revealing short, bluish-silver, hair, parted on the side and combed over. Her face was careworn, lined by age, stress, and exposure. Her eyes were dull, bereft of any sign of kindness, and her Magic-Pips were spiderwebbed with purple veins. A livid, vertical, scar creased each pip, giving them the appearance of having cracked and broken.

Although Meteora had failed, Bob's plan was on track. Bob expected Meteora to fail; it was a story repeated across a hundred alternate universes. Working through another always failed. She thought back to her first partnership, with Mina Loveberry. In the end, that proved to be a colossal mistake, and Bob had to destroy her. Bob realized then that she could rely on nobody but herself, so had to take all matters into her own hands. From then on, she made the failure of others part of the plan, usually to their deaths.

Bob had deceived, and outright lied to, Meteora about many things. Her biggest deception was destroying the parts of the transformation parchment that told of needing a fixing spell to make the transformations permanent; that without the fixing spell, the transformations could be undone by killing the spellcaster. Bob knew that a copy of the spell likely existed somewhere and would be found. How this AU's Butterflys and their allies made use of the information told Bob to what lengths they were willing to go.

Bob was powerful, but she was neither omnipotent nor omniscient. Although each universe was similar, there were always differences, some subtle, others less so. By playing the long game and working through another at the start, she was able to anonymously learn those differences in strengths, weaknesses, tactics, powers, and personalities. She then tailored her plans to those differences. If it also resulted in removing some of her future foes, all the better.

Bob rubbed her left arm thoughtfully. Of all the alternate Mewnis she was working to destroy, or had already destroyed, this was the first where she made use of Meteora. Typically, she worked through Toffee, but Toffee wasn't always available; either he or the universe was sufficiently different that he was not a threat or, because timelines among AUs didn't always line up with each other, it was too late to use him. This time she chose Meteora as her pawn in no small part because all the alternate Eclipsas Bob faced never once killed their daughters. Bob wondered if the surprise killing meant this AU would be more difficult to destroy than the others.

"Something to keep in mind, as I begin the next phase of this AU's destruction," Bob said to herself. She chuckled. "An infinite war against infinite Mewnis requires infinite things to be done." With alternating blue-, pink-, purple-, and yellow-magic dancing flame-like around her hand, she opened a space-time portal. With great strength of purpose reflected in her stride, she stepped through.


I

The early-Sunday-afternoon peace and quiet of the Diaz living room gave way to the sound and light of an opening dimensional portal. Marco walked out of the portal, closed it, then pocketed his dimensional scissors.

Angie and Rafael walked out of the kitchen to greet their son, Angie hugging and kissing Marco, while Rafael gave him a manly hug. Mariposa toddled over to Marco from where she had been playing, latching on to his leg. Marco lifted his kid sister above his head to her squeals of delight, then kissed her on the cheek. He then handed her to his mother, who turned and set Mariposa down by her toys.

Addressing his parents, Marco said, "I hope you don't mind, but I invited a friend to our family lunch. I think she'll be happy to see you."

Both parents completely missed that Marco had said "see you," not "meet you." Focusing instead on a single word, Angie asked, "She? One of your other girlfriends?"

"Yes."

"So ... you're no longer waiting for Star to come back?"

"Something like that."

"Oh mijo," Rafael said, "I am so sorry. We are missing Star too, but perhaps moving on is for the best."

Marco smiled. "I think you'll like her. She's a lot like Star."

Marco pulled out his dimensional scissors and cut open a dimensional portal. After a few moments, a woman stepped out of the portal.

She was about five foot six, toned and lithe. She wore an almost-off-the-shoulder white blouse, embroidered with flowers, and birds, in a rainbow of colors. Rafael immediately recognized it as one his mother wore in her younger days. The visitor wore a skirt the same style and color as Angie's, although it extended only slightly below her knees. On her feet were a pair of light-blue cowgirl boots with fringe. She wore no makeup other than a touch of sparkly pink eye shadow that complemented the pink of the hearts on her cheeks. Worn prominently down the front of her blouse was a large, golden, heart-shaped locket, covered in red and blue gems.

Star stood silently, nervously clutching a stuffed toy for Mariposa to her chest, seemingly drawing comfort from it for herself. She smiled shyly at the heads of the Diaz household.

For their part, the Diaz parents were also silent, staring at the stranger in front of them. Finally, their hearts accepted that this was indeed Star, having grown into a young woman from the fifteen-year-old girl they last saw. "Star!" they cried, rushing to her and simultaneously hugging her hard.

Hearing a sniffle, Marco asked, "Dad, are you crying?"

"No," Rafael responded, "it is not me who is crying, it is you who is crying."

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After a delightful lunch, including generous portions of Marco's Super Awesome Nachos and Corn Wallace, with Blackwolf Forest Cake and Ronatouille-Wallace Tart for dessert, all four adults pitched in to help clean up, then retired to the living room to talk. Marco brought his parents up to date on Meteora, Star, and himself.

"How much of the last year-and-a-half do you remember?" Angie asked Star, who was holding a sleeping Mariposa snuggling with her new toy.

"All of it, but it's fuzzy, like a dream. I remember the emotions more than anything. The time in Hekapoo's Dimension is even more indistinct, a dream within a dream." Star paused, thinking. "My magic changed and slowed the transformation, but I was fighting a losing battle. That's why I ran, when I was still largely me, because I was afraid I would be under Meteora's control when I finally lost, and be made to hurt everybody."

"Um," Marco interrupted, "then why in the multiverse did you nest in the castle?"

"Rude! Interrupter! Anyway, turns out the time in Hekapoo's Dimension showed I was fighting it better than I thought, but I was still losing. I don't think I would have held out more than another year or two."

"How are you dealing with it all, mija?" asked Rafael.

"One day, one hour, at a time. But ... I have my rock and his rock-hard abs to help me through it. It was my memories and love of Marco that kept me fighting, that kept me from giving up and letting the monster take over completely."

Marco blushed, as Angie and Rafael exchanged a knowing look. "She's there for me, too," he said. "We both have years ... decades if you include our times in Dimension X-103 ... to work through. It's going to take a long while, I think."

"The nightmares?"

Star and Marco glanced at each other. "Still having them," Marco replied, "and they're still pretty bad."

"What about you, Star?"

Star sighed. "The same."

Angie had noticed the glance so knew they were both hiding something, but decided not to pry ... yet. Instead, she said, "Well, you know Rafael and I love you both. We're here for the two of you, for whatever you need, whenever you need it. And Star, we all insist you join us for every family Sunday lunch from now on." Marco and Rafael nodded in agreement.

It was Star's turn to blush. "Thank you," she said shyly. Angie and Rafael exchanged another look, this one of concern. This was not the girl, full of upbeat, lively, energy they once knew. They hoped it was only a temporary situation as Star adjusted to being Mewmin again.

Pointing at Star's hair, Angie asked, "So, are you going to do anything about that?"

Neither parent had noticed it at first. Since neither Star nor Marco brought it up, both Angie and Rafael kept their silence, until Angie could no longer contain her curiosity.

Star ran her fingers through her hair, which for once was not constrained by a hairband. Her long bangs were now bluish-silver, the color of her mother's hair. "I don't know. If it doesn't disappear on its own, I'm thinking of keeping it; it reminds me of Anna Paquin's Rogue."

Marco kissed Star on the cheek. "You're beautiful no matter what you do with it," he said, making Star giggle.

Angie rolled her eyes and said, "Please stop, you two are going to give us old folks diabetes."

Marco snorted. "Yikes, like you two can talk."

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Several hours later, back on Mewni, Marco lounged on the couch in Star's room, while Star stood, rubbing her left arm as she gazed out the window.

"I don't think I can put it off any longer," Star said.

"Put off what, Sugar Wings?" Marco asked.

"Well, Captain Abs, now that I've had a few days to get used to being Mewmin again, and we've visited your ... our ... family on Earth, I should start visiting our friends. I need to talk to Tom first, though, to give him the news about us, and to break up with him."

"Ah. Do you want me to come with you? Me and him are cool ... well, mostly cool."

"No, I have to do this alone, in private, I owe that much to him. It'll be hard ... you know I don't express myself well when it comes to feelings."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, you and me both, sister."

"I hope I'm not your sister, that would be really awkward. Anyhoo, it has to be done."

"Alright. Be brave, but I don't think it will be as hard as you fear. Oh, and it's General Abs, by the way."

Star nodded, walked over to Marco, then kissed him on the cheek, taking his dimensional scissors as he handed them to her. She cut open a rift to the Underworld and stepped through.

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Star and Tom sat in Tom's room in awkward silence. Finally, Star thought, Time to rip the bandage off.

"So," Star began, "I'm really sorry about everything that happened. But what I had ... have ... with Marco is so different from what we had. Don't get me wrong, what we had was great, but I think Marco and I are a better fit."

Tom nodded, quietly gazing at Star, face neutral. It made Star very uncomfortable that she could not read him at all ... although she quickly realized it was even more evidence they didn't work.

Star grasped her locket, continuing, "Now that I know Marco feels the same way about me that I feel about him, well, I'm together with him now. I'm sorry, but I'm breaking up with you."

"Okay," Tom responded. He turned, picking up a game controller and starting a game.

Although Tom's reaction made things easier for her, Star was nonetheless so surprised by his nonchalant attitude that she couldn't let it go. "Just like that?"

"Yup, just like that. Easy-peasy, taco breezy. No big loss."

Star's eyes grew wide with shock as she stuttered, trying to find the words to retort.

Tom paused his game, turning toward Star with a huge grin on his face.

Star scowled, her emotions turning to anger at Tom's apparent lack of caring.

Tom chuckled. "Now I'm the one who's sorry, that was really mean of me. I guess Janna's sense of humor is rubbing off when she's rubbing on ... me."

"TMI!" Star cried. "I love Janna, but ..." Star shuddered involuntarily.

"Star, do you remember that just after the war council I wanted to talk to you?"

"Um ... yeah, I do."

"Remember I said, 'I think we should' and you interrupted me?"

"Yeah? So?"

"What you interrupted was, 'I think we should break up.'"

Star was stunned. After a few seconds she began to laugh. With the tension breaking, Tom joined her.

"I'm sorry, boo," Star said, gasping for air. "I'm not laughing at you; I'm laughing in relief."

"Me too, Starship. I hope this means we're still friends."

"Of course it does! Hugs!"

The two gave each other a quick hug. Something Tom said earlier suddenly broke through to Star's consciousness.

"Wait ... are you dating Janna?"

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Moon and River sat abed, Moon working on some last sheets of paperwork. Try as she might, though, she couldn't concentrate, and it wasn't because of the gnashing of teeth caused by River's obsession with the Rainbow Cube of Madness from the Earth Dimension.

"Dear," Moon said, "could you please put that down for a minute? We need to talk."

Without putting down the cube, River asked, "What is it, Moonpie?"

"With the war over and Star returned to us, it is time to make good on the knighting ceremony we promised Marco."

"Quite right," said River, as he continued to fiddle with the cube.

"I'll get with Star and Janna in the morning to begin planning. There is, however, another matter to discuss. Star and Marco will be of age by Earth standards very soon. I think we can expect things to get serious in an adult way, if they haven't already. You know what that means."

"Yes, I'll have to include Marco in our father-daughter hunts. We'll need to have him sized for a new loincloth."

"No, dear, the other matter."

River now put down the cube, turning toward his wife.

"Oh, right, that."

"With Marco's contributions to Mewni still fresh in the minds of the citizenry, there may be no better time to announce it than at his Accolade."

"Wonderful idea!"

"Remember, this must remain our secret. We can't have it getting out ahead of time and feeding pernicious gossip."

"As Eclipsa says, bugger that." Moon scowled at her husband. "Relax, my love, I meant the gossip. I'll keep the secret, but only because it will make for a more raucous celebration." River turned his attention back to the cube. "Now, you foul beast, I shall defeat you!"

Moon rolled her eyes as River picked up the cube. She was satisfied with the decision, and River's assurance of secrecy. She knew they could pull it off in the short amount of time they had; she'd actually been working on it since the first time she saw, in person, Star and Marco interacting. She had to admit, she was quite happy to put in the extra work needed to complete the plan and finally make it happen.

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On the other side of the castle, where Star and Marco continued to keep their rooms far from the royal residence wing, Star sat up in bed with a despairing grunt, a single tear escaping one eye. She rubbed her chest, which actually hurt, and could feel a slight burning in her Magic-Pips, all thanks to the nightmare she'd just woken from.

She lay back down, reluctant to return to sleep, when she heard a shout from across the hall. She wasn't surprised, as Star's and Marco's nightmares, in the days before they were separated, almost always occurred on the same nights. She swung out of bed, put on her robe and slippers, then tiptoed out of her room and across the hall. She reached out to knock on Marco's door, then hesitated. She knew he would be decent, still insisting on wearing his "jam-jams" at almost eighteen, but she knew from personal experience that being jerked out of the nightmare could make the experience worse. Given their general nocturnal history, she also knew Marco wouldn't mind ... much ... if she entered unannounced, so decided to go in silently.

Carefully opening the door, she walked in, grabbing Marco's desk chair on the way to his bed. Despite the shout, Marco was still asleep, talking unintelligibly, a note of sadness and desperation in his tone. Star sat, then took his hand. Marco immediately quieted, a small smile appearing on his lips and a slight glow appearing in his Magic-Pips.

It was the third night of the four since Star returned that nightmares resulted in Star ending the night in Marco's room. The teens had expected the nightmares to diminish, if not stop entirely, when she returned, but they continued and their intensity had actually worsened. The only thing that quieted their night-terrors was being physically together.

Star brushed back Marco's hair so she could gaze lovingly at his beautiful, sleeping, face. Star thought she knew what the solution to their problem was, and if their nightmares continued, she would soon broach the subject. She situated herself as comfortably as she could in the desk chair, soon drifting off to sleep.

Their terrors continued that night, but in these nightmares they were facing the horrors together.

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Yesterday...

As Marco walked past the Hall of Remembrance, crying caught his attention. Star was standing before the Ponyhead memorial, weeping. Marco walked up to her, placing his arm over her shoulders.

"Marco," Star said, sniffling, "why?"

"You know how Pony was," Marco explained, as he moved his arm off Star's shoulders so he could rub the small of her back. "She wasn't ready to be queen, and the pressure just made her worse."

"That doesn't mean she deserved to die; that they all deserved to die."

"I know; I agree. You have to remember, though, Seahorse was a demon, so an extreme reaction to Ponyhead's treatment of him was not out of character. That said ... even a demon shouldn't commit genocide." Marco dropped his voice to a whisper, and shaking his head, said, "He should have been punished, not made a hero."

Star turned and indicated the Pigeon memorial. It consisted of Rich Pigeon, carved from white marble, atop his actual mechanical legs. "That's just tragic," she said, "becoming food for 'the turned.'"

"Yeah," Marco agreed, "but unlike the pony-heads, the Pigeons were casualties of war, and an argument could be made it was their own fault."

Shocked, Star said, "What? Why?"

"They allowed their prejudices against Mewmins to lead them to refuse any help when the creatures invaded their kingdom. Rich tried really hard to make his parents and their war council see reason, but he just didn't have enough time to sway them. They were quickly overwhelmed ... and eaten."

Star sighed, then said, "Hey, wait, I remember eating a bunch of birds, and I think they were pigeons." Star paused, then pulled a tiny, maroon, plumed, hat out of her purse. "I found this in my nest. It seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it, so I carry it in case I see something that makes me remember." She held it up to the stone representation of Rich's ubiquitous hat. It was a perfect match. Star turned to Marco, wide eyed, as realization hit. "Did I ..."

Marco quickly took the hat, turned Star, then pushed her gently toward the exit. "Say, why don't you take a walk with me down to Castle Village? I'd like to show you something."

As they walked away, Star kept glancing over her shoulder at the Pigeon memorial, so Marco tried to quickly think of a way to take her mind off what she might have done. Not quite succeeding, he asked, "Say, have I mentioned yet that the pixie empress did eat Alphonso and Ferguson?"

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Star stood in the street, in shock, almost having an unpleasant run-in with the south end of a north-bound unicorn. She knew, vaguely, from watching the Monster Corps of the LDG when she was still a monster, that there had been some Monster integration into Butterfly Kingdom society. What she was seeing now, however, went far beyond her expectations.

The last time Star saw this shopkeeper he had angrily driven a potential Monster customer away, as if the Monster's money would despoil the shop somehow, before turning on Tom for the same reason. The proprietor had backed off only when he realized he was addressing 'Prince Lucitor.' At the time, he had worn a green tee shirt and patched denim overalls; this day he was well dressed, in what on Earth was considered business-casual. He, and several well-dressed employees, including a Monster, were happily helping many customers, not all of them Mewmins. It didn't appear as if the salesbeings were being friendly only for the hard sell; the shopkeeper in particular was laughing with a Monster couple and showing what seemed to be sincere conviviality.

The wares the shopkeeper was selling ... the clothes in particular ... were appropriate not only for Mewmins, but also for Monsters. A very prominent sign stated that if a Monster couldn't buy off the rack, simply ask a salesbeing about custom tailoring.

"Do you want to do a little shopping here?" Marco asked.

"Uh, sure, I need some more new clothes for tomorrow, to go with your granmama's blouse you gave me," Star replied.

The two browsed for a bit, Star eventually choosing blue cowgirl boots and a skirt that looked exactly like Angie's, if a bit shorter. On the way to pay for the items, Star saw a darling stuffed toy she just had to buy for Mariposa.

As a clerk wrapped Star's purchases, the shopkeeper noticed Star and Marco chatting together while they waited. Cheerfully, he called, "General! And, my word, Princess Star, welcome back!"

As the shopkeeper walked up, Star, warily, said, "When we're out and about like this, it's just Star and Marco. Please."

"Yes, ma'am," the grinning shopkeeper said jovially. "I'm so happy to see you as your beautiful self again. Not that there's anything wrong with Monsters, but ..."

Blushing, Star said, "I understand." Making a sweeping gesture, she added, "You're doing well."

"That I am. I want to thank you. That embarrassing little incident with you and Prince Lucitor made an impression on me. Not to say it changed anything at the time, but the memory of it made me receptive to change when the late troubles began."

"Receptive?"

"Walk with me?" The shopkeeper gave instructions to the clerk to deliver Star's bundles to the castle, then offered his arm, which Star took with only a moment's hesitation. The three left the shop, then walked deeper into the village down the middle of the street, to the annoyance of the occasional rider.

"Look around. You'll see the trappings of war; even though they were well disguised to keep morale up, it's hard to miss them if you know what to look for." The shopkeeper pointed out arrow slits in many of the buildings' shutters, low, nested, walls to allow for defense and fighting retreats, weapons caches, and even portable palisades with abatis that could be moved quickly to barricade a street.

"Even though the unfortunate creatures weren't directly attacking Monsters, they were still a threat to them, especially when the creatures started raiding Monster villages for food and materials. Many Monsters sought refuge here. There was a lot of resistance at first, but when the Monster Corps was formed in the LDG, and Monsters showed a willingness to fight not just for their own kind, but ours as well, attitudes began to change." The shopkeeper glanced at Star and grinned. "Even mine."

As Star walked, she realized she wasn't seeing just a few Monsters here and there, but many, and out in the open, running businesses, shopping, or eating at the cafés. Star still wasn't buying what the shopkeeper was selling, though.

"Would you be so accommodating if you weren't making so much money as a result of the integration?" Star swept her hand over the front of the shopkeeper, indicating his fine new clothes.

The shopkeeper stopped and faced Star. "My dear Prin ... my dear Star, my kids gotta eat. Would I have been as open minded if I wasn't making so much more money because of the Monsters? No; I'm an old soldier, I once fought against Monsters. But as an old soldier, being willing to fight and die for us is not something I can ignore, and it gave me incentive to suppress my prejudices and treat Monsters like any other being. I'm glad I did; just like with Mewmins, some are absolute geniuses, some are absolute corn-heads, some are sweethearts, and some are unmitigated assholes. And the money I make? Through the magic of commerce, it also helps Monsters ... helps them when I use it to hire Monster workers, stock and sell Monster-made products, and buy wares from Monster shops."

The trio continued their walk. Star said, in awe, "So it all worked out. We're done."

For the first time during their walk, the shopkeeper's smile faltered. "Not exactly. Carefully, so they don't see you looking and change what they're doing, look over your left shoulder."

Star looked, seeing a young couple, not much older than Star and Marco, staring daggers at a trio of nearby Monsters. Though she couldn't hear them, Star thought she could read a few unfriendly words in their mouth movements, and their gestures were decidedly hostile. Green magic appeared around Star's free hand.

"No, no, child." Star powered down, looking sideways at the shopkeeper. "Force is not the way." The shopkeeper chuckled. "I'm also an old salesman, so maybe I was painting a prettier picture than what the reality actually is. Although not all soldiers, past and present, feel the same way I do, there's enough that, thanks largely to them, Mewni has changed and it's likely not changing back. If you, your boyfriend the General there, and your other boyfriend Prince Lucitor, keep up the pressure from the Crowns, I'd say it's guaranteed."

"Eclipsa, too," Marco interjected.

"Actually, I recommend she not." Star and Marco looked at the shopkeeper in surprise. "Despite what she did to end the war, Eclipsa is still not trusted, even by Butterfly soldiers. Other kingdoms trust her even less. I think it's the other kingdoms where the troubles will lie. I'm pretty sure the Lucitor, Waterfolk and Jaggy kingdoms will be on board, but the Mewmin kingdoms will be harder. Having Monster soldiers was a key factor here, but none of the other kingdoms had any. As a Johansen yourself, you can probably get them on board, leaving the Spiderbites, and I'm certain they will be difficult; if Eclipsa is involved, they will be impossible. The new Monster Kingdom could help or hurt; I think it will depend on how strong King Brudo is, and how much influence the Monster soldiers have in terms of influencing how the subjects of other kingdoms view Monsters going forward. There's also the possibility that regardless of how well they get along, the other kingdoms will use the Monster Kingdom as an excuse to evict Monsters from their territories, since the Monsters'll have somewhere to go."

The shopkeeper stopped. Addressing Star and Marco, he said, "The four P's ... Politics, Passions, Prejudices, and lust for Power ... will determine our common future, as will the strength of old grudges." He bowed, saying, sincerity evident in his tone, "I thank you for this opportunity to be the one to show you how things are changing. You two started it, ya know?" With a smile, the shopkeeper turned and headed back toward his store.

"How're you feeling?" Marco asked.

Star was a little misty eyed. "I dunno. I want to believe I made a difference, but I just don't."

Noticing they had stopped in front of a pub he knew, probably a deliberate choice by the shopkeeper, Marco said, "C'mon, maybe actually seeing some of the things he said will convince you."

The two teens walked into the dimly lit pub. It was brimming with soldiers, both Mewmins and Monsters. In a sight Star thought she'd never see, the two groups were not segregated, but were spread throughout the pub, interacting affably, and even sharing tables.

The soldiers, many from the two corps of the LDG, noticed their former commander. Almost as one they stood, raising their drinks, yelling, "General!"

Marco grinned, and said loudly, "It's just Marco now."

The soldiers paused, then again raised their mugs, yelling, "General!"

"Alright, you ruffians. I'm sure you know my girlfriend here, Princess Star?"

The soldiers, still standing, bowed, raised their drinks, then yelled, "Milady!"

Loudly, but in a friendly tone, Star said, "Please, it's just Star!"

The soldiers paused, then again raised their mugs, yelling, "Milady!" The soldiers all downed their drinks.

Grinning, Star said, "Okay, have it your way. Barkeep! A round for the house on milady!"

The soldiers cheered loudly.

As the barkeep and wait staff began filling the drink order, Star noticed a group mostly keeping to themselves. It was about half a dozen Mewmins, dressed in skins and leather armor, sitting around a table near the back, waiting for their free drinks.

"Who let those foul creatures in here!" Star yelled, pointing. The pub became deathly quiet. "Monsters are fine ... Monsters are great," the Monsters, and more than a few Mewmins, gave an ironic cheer, "but barbarians? How very low Mewni has sunk that Mewmins and Monsters alike are forced to mingle with their kind."

One barbarian stood. "Mighty tough talk, girl," he said. He was a little younger than Star, slightly shorter, had auburn hair, was buff like a human body builder ... and had a look of absolute fury on his face.

"Oh my, not only can it stand upright, it can speak!"

"Uh, Star," Marco whispered, "maybe overdoing it?"

Star whispered back, "Hup, bup, bup ... trust me, Marco."

"Wow," the barbarian continued, "can you back up that big mouth of yours with anything more than your little-girl magic? Or are you going to keep hiding behind your other boyfriend there."

Star reared back, screaming a battle cry at the roof. She then ran at the barbarian, the crowd quickly parting before her. She leapt onto a table, using it as a springboard to launch herself at the barbarian. The two flew back together, landing on the barbarians' table and smashing it into kindling, knocking themselves and the other barbarians to the floor.

The watching soldiers cheered and clapped, then went back to their own affairs. As Marco walked up, Star, laughing, helped the barbarian to his feet.

"Rock Johansen," Star said warmly, as she hugged him hard. "It's so good to see you, cousin."

"You too," Rock replied. "I can't tell you how worried we were about you."

Star blushed as the other barbarians echoed Rock's greeting and expressions of concern. Seeing a party vacate a table, Marco grabbed two chairs for himself and Star, then the group moved to the empty table.

"Hey," Star said, noticing a specific physical change in Rock, "the horns are gone."

"Yeah," Rock said, grinning, "Marco convinced me to go to one of the Earth doctors that were training the army's field surgeons, and she was able to remove them. I have to say, even though they made me look cool, I don't miss them at all. If nothing else, the constant itching is gone, it's nice not having to sleep exclusively on my back, and it's great to no longer have beings trying to hang their coats on me."

The pub staff having refilled the group's drinks, and brought full mugs for Star and Marco, Rock raised his, declaring, "A toast! To my dear cousin Star, no longer naked in public!"

Star replied in kind, "And to my dear cousin Rock, no longer horny in public!"

The group began chugging their drinks. Marco tried to keep up, but even after a year of experience gained drinking with soldiers, he was barely halfway through when the rest of the group finished their very large mugs full of ale, each one, including Star, slamming the stein onto the table and belching loudly.

Several hours later, Star and Marco staggered back to Butterfly Castle, Marco staggering far more than Star, even though she'd had far more to drink. They finally stopped at the foot of the grand staircase leading to the main castle entryway, flopping down to sit on a step.

"Well, did that lift your spirits?" Marco asked.

"It did ... and not just because I was lifting spirits," Star replied.

Marco rolled his eyes at the pun.

"While I was drinking ... and you were sipping, you lightweight ... I was watching the pub. It reminded me so much of the off-Mewni clubs me and the Bounce Crew went to, that catered to all beings no matter their species, dimension of origin, or hygiene taboos. If you, and me, and the other heirs, including Rock, were the start of that ... I'm glad. Wish I could have done more, but I'm still glad."

Marco embraced Star, kissing her on the cheek. "Good," he said, "because there's something we've been dreading telling you. The last Conference of Nobles didn't meet so the Petition of Friendship has yet to be presented. Moon tells me you're now old enough to address the next Conference and lead the effort formalizing what we saw today as the law of the land."

Star groaned. "Even when it's for the common good, I still detest princess duties."

"Heh, heh, you said doodies," Marco said, as he slowly slumped into Star, resting his head on her shoulder. He was soon completely passed out.

"Lightweight," Star muttered, as she kissed the back of Marco's hand.


Stay amazing!