PROLOGUE: Dreams of a Rebellion
Night had fallen upon the kingdom of Mewni and the Mewman people were just settling down for the night. Each house became dark as one by one the candle flames were snuffed out. When the last candle went out, there was a stirring from the nearby swamps and forests. Monsters great and small began to creep out from their hiding places and made their way towards a large cave at the outskirts of the forest.
Word had gotten around that Old Alberic had had a vision the previous night and called a meeting for all the monsters of Mewni. Being the oldest and wisest of monsters, the others were more than willing to lose some sleep in order to hear what he had to say.
The monsters began to file into the cave and settled down comfortably among the rocks and stalagmites of the cave with some bat monsters perching themselves upside down on the stalactites. Finally all the monsters were accounted for and their chattering fell silent as a monster slowly shuffled his way towards a raised flat boulder standing right in front of the crowd of monsters.
Alberic was a large stout monster with shaggy gray hair falling over his eyes and a shaggy gray beard growing from his chin. He had large white tusks which curved upward from his jaws. With a grunt he attempted to climb up the boulder and it wasn't until two monsters went up to help him up that he was able to get on and slowly sat down with a pained grunt, clutching his walking stick to steady himself.
Finally after heaving a huge sigh, Alberic looked around at the assembled monsters.
"My friends," He spoke in a hoarse voice, "my time is nearly ending and I shall not remain with you for very long. However, before I pass on I must share some of my wisdom with you all. I've had a very long life and have had time for thought as I meditated throughout the years. It is through this meditation that I began to understand the nature of life in Mewni."
Alberic paused to clear his throat but the monsters kept quiet in rapt attention and waited for him to continue.
"Friends, what is the nature of our lives? Our lives are short and miserable. We are born into poverty and starvation. We have grown so used to the hollowness of our aching stomachs and have grown used to being wet and cold from poor shelter. We work long and hard to support our families and sometimes we act out of desperation and try to steal enough food but when caught we are slaughtered in hideous cruelty. No monster in Mewni knows the meaning of happiness or freedom.
"But why is it that we continue living in this miserable condition? Who are the ones who prohibit us from gaining enough food to feed ourselves and our families? Tell me friends, what is the one enemy that all monsters have to contend with?"
"Fleas," A rat like monster spoke up.
The monsters with fur began to nod in agreement but Alberic merely chuckled with amusement.
"No, my friend, no. There are worse things than fleas, I assure you."
"Magic," A goat like monster offered.
The monsters murmured in serious agreement and even Alberic nodded a bit.
"That is nearer the mark. I will answer my own question. Mewmans. There is the answer to all our problems. We are poor because the Mewmans force us to remain in these unforgiving forests and forsaken swamps. They keep the food that we so desperately need under guard with their magic. It is Mewmans who trespass onto our swamps and forests so that they can hunt us down and mount our heads on their walls without a second thought."
Alberic looked around and pointed to a couple of monsters.
"You, Ierig, remember that day when you found yourself near a Mewman farm by sheer accident? The Mewmans immediately launched an attack on you and nearly blinded your only eye. And you, Vyanse…what ever happened to the father of your four children? He was slaughtered by a platoon of the Mewman Queen's soldiers. Your children will never see their father again. That is the fate many of our friends and families had fallen into. Death by the Mewman Queen and her soldiers."
As Alberic spoke these atrocities, the anger of the monsters rose for nearly all of them have had a negative experience with Mewmans in the past. Finally angry shouts and curses rang through the cave.
"It is the Mewman Queen who robbed us of everything!"
"The queen keeps us hungry and allows her soldiers to slaughter us!"
"The queen's soldiers slaughtered the father of my children!"
"Down with the queen!"
"Down with the queen! Down with the queen! Death to the queen!"
Alberic raised his hand for silence and the angry shouts died instantly.
"Friends, it is not enough to say 'death to the queen'. Death to Mewmans should be our motto. Remove Mewmans and all monsters will gain back the land we have lost. We will become rich and free. What must we do to achieve this? Why work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the Mewman race! That is my message to you all…rebellion!
"I do not know when the rebellion will take place. It could be in a week or maybe even in a hundred years, but I know as surely as I see the pebbles before me, that sooner or later justice for monsters will be done!"
The monsters roared and applauded in elation. Some even began to unsheathe their weapons as if the rebellion was about to take place right at this very second. Some might even have run off to rebel but it was Alberic who stopped them when he spoke again.
"But remember my friends, your resolution must not falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen if someone says Mewmans and monsters are the same. It is all lies. Mewmans do not care about anyone but themselves. And among us monsters, let there be perfect unity! All Mewmans are enemies. All monsters are friends.
"And remember, when fighting against the Mewmans we must never come to resemble them. No monster must ever live in a castle or use magic. All the habits of Mewmans are evil. And above all, no monster must ever tyrannize over his or her kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, big or small, fur or feathers, skin or scales, we are all brothers and sisters. All monsters are equal! Fix your eyes on that, my friends! Pass on this message to your children so that their children and the children afterwards shall carry on the struggle until the rebellion is victorious!"
There was an uproar of excitement and when it died down, Alberic continued.
"And now my friends, I must tell you of my vision. While I was on my usual meditation, a song came to me. I am certain that this song was sung by the monsters of long ago after the Great Massacre. I shall sing it to you now, friends. I am old and my voice isn't quite as good as it used to be, but once you learn it then you can sing it better for yourselves."
Alberic cleared his throat and began to sing. It was a stirring tune, soft and calm but soon began to rise in determination and triumph.
Monsters of Mewni, come and unite
The Mewman scum will fear our might.
So come, my brothers and sisters
The struggle must carry on.
Sooner or later, the day shall come
The Mewmans will be chased off
The great land of Mewni
A paradise for monsters it will become!
As Alberic sang in his gruff voice, the monsters slowly began to join in softly and their voices rose with wild enthusiasm.
Abundant food far than the eye can see
Corn that shall grow in a grand array
Farmlands rich with nourishing soil
Shall be ours upon that day!
The sun of Mewni will shine brighter
When the Mewmans shall flee
Days will be filled with joy and celebration
In the moment we shall be free
Let the Mewman tyranny be ended
The Mewman castles shall fall!
We shall fight until our dying breath
So that freedom can be enjoyed by one and all
So Monsters of Mewni, come and unite!
The Mewman scum will fear our might.
Come, my brothers and sisters
The struggle must carry on!
The song threw the monsters into a wild excitement and they burst into song in unison. The monsters howled along, they roared, they squawked. They were so excited by the message of this song that they would have sung it all night…if it wasn't for an interruption.
"My dear? My dear, wake up!"
The queen of Mewni awoke to the sound of her husband's voice. The king was sitting up on the bed and was pointing towards the open windows of the balcony.
"I think I heard something in the forest. It sounds like…a large army of monsters singing some dreadful song!"
The queen immediately sat up and listened. Sure enough she heard a faint sound of monsters roaring and howling. She got out of bed and reached for her wand.
"Do not despair, love. I shall deal with it."
Going over to the balcony, the queen pinpointed the direction on where the noises were coming from and pointed her wand towards the direction. The wand began to glow a bright purple light and a ball of magic shot out from it.
The wand's magic shot over the Mewman village, through the forest, and struck the cave where the meeting was taking place, blasting off a chunk of the cave's outer walls.
That was the end of the meeting and the monsters immediately hurried to their homes and the swamplands fell silent in a moment.
Alberic was the last one to leave the cave and he paused to glare contemptuously at the Mewni castle in the distant horizon.
"The Mewmans may rule over us now, but one day they shall pay the price for their treatment of monsters. I know deep in my heart that one day a leader will emerge and rebel against the Mewmans. One day…one day…"
Years passed since the night of the big meeting of monsters. Old Alberic passed on and his words were passed on through the monsters in Mewni. Some brave monsters were encouraged by Alberic's words and attempted to make the rebellion a reality. Unfortunately these small rebellions ended as quickly as they began and the leaders were executed. Because of the executions and harsh punishments, many monsters began to have uncertainties about the possibility of a rebellion against the powerful Mewmans and their magic. Rebellions continued erupting through the years but none of them lasted very long. Soon no monster was brave enough to go against the Mewmans and the idea of rebellion was soon forgotten by a majority of the monsters. Still there were some monsters who had not abandoned the dream of freedom.
Deep in their hearts they knew that it would come someday, possibly not in their lifetime but it was still coming. Even the song Old Alberic had shared was still hummed and sang to their children who then passed it on to their children.
For years the dream remained but as each generation passed on the dream grew fainter that is until the birth of one monster who would be known as a demon to the Mewmans and a hero to all monsters.
A/N: I've wanted to write Toffee's backstory even before "Battle for Mewni" aired. Once it aired, I had mixed feelings about it as a whole. There were some things that I did like about it, but I was disappointed that they killed off Toffee like that and didn't give him much of a backstory. But on the other hand, I was a bit relieved that they didn't do a backstory since I've been wanting to write this fanfic and I feared that it would contradict canon.
Reviews are very much appreciated!