Chapter 7: Tom and Pony Head pt. 2

Hey Stardom! I'm back with the long awaited part 2! Thank you all so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews they just mean sooooo much to me! I really appreciate your support! So I won't keep you long and let you dive right in. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: Star vs the Forces of Evil and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

"Star, Star are you in there?" Jackie called from the other side of the princess' door, knocking softly on the firm wood. Once again, the girl got no reply, just an empty silence. From next to her, Janna sighed with annoyance, leaning up against the wall with crossed arms.

"Why are we doing this again?" Janna muttered, pulling her phone from her pocket and swiping the screen to turn the device on.

Jackie turned to her partner, explaining, "Marco wasn't in his room and I thought Star would want to know."

"They're probably still on top of the tower, watching the stars or something," Janna said, her eyes never leaving the bright screen.

"Yeah probably. Wait," Jackie gave her roommate a glare, raising an eyebrow at her. "How do you know they went on the tower today?"

"I saw them," Janna replied, with a shrug.

"You were spying on them!" Jackie yelled. "What about our deal?!"

"Hey, I didn't interfere," Janna defended, raising her hands up in surrender. "I just observed."

"Well it's still wrong," Jackie scolded, whipping her head back to Star's door.

"Oh so you don't want to know what those two were doing up there," Janna said, leaning closer to Jackie with a knowing smirk. "All alone."

Jackie looked at her friend's face out of the corner of her eye, her obvious interest shining in her bright green irises, the temptation to ask almost too much to bare. Finally, Jackie turned away from the girl with a scoff, keeping her voice sounding as disinterested as possible. "Ha, why would I care? That's there business not mine," Jackie calmly said, with a roll of her eyes.

Janna shrugged, the smile still on her lips, as she quietly slid her phone back into her pocket. "Well when we get in there you can tell her that yourself," she said, reaching for the knob.

"Wait!" Jackie quickly grabbed her hand just before it touched the cold metal, drawing the girl's attention to her. "You can't just pick the lock of the Princess of Mewni, Jan. You have to have standards."

"Uh I wasn't going to pick the lock," Janna said, pulling her hand away and grabbing the knob once again. Keeping her eyes on the skeptic Jackie, she turned the knob and threw the door open with a flourish, reveling the status of the unlocked door to her friend.

Jackie looked sheepishly at the now opened doorway, simply saying, "Oh," following after her roommate into the dark room. The two girls looked around for any signs of the blond, calling her name often as they searched the room top to bottom. But after a few minutes it became obvious the room was empty and a disheartened Jackie sighed, leaning up against the opened windowsill in defeat. That was when she noticed the thick rope tied tightly to Star's bedframe, the rest hanging out the window blowing freely in the night breeze.

"Uh, Jan," Jackie started, lifting the rope up so she could inspect it closer. "I think you might need to see this."

The woods were dark and silent as the trio continued deeper into its heart, Tom and Pony in the lead, walking resolutely forward with no fear of the dangers that could lurk around every corner. Star followed a little slower, her eyes darting around constantly, on edge even with the knowledge that no monsters were in the area. The air felt thick with tension, though she wasn't sure if it was coming from her or the woods themselves.

Finally they seemed to reach their destination, Tom and Pony coming to a stop in front of a large cave. Star caught up with them, examining the cave with interest. It was massive, its rocky walls expanding above the treetops and stretching out into the dark treeline. As Tom had said, the entrance to the cave was blocked by a blood red magical barrier, a giant lock with chains stretching all around the cave covered the entrance, a bit of overkill in Star's opinion.

"Is this it?" Star asked pointlessly, mostly just needing to break the uncomfortable silence that seemed to consume the area.

"Yep, this is the place," Tom proudly responded, either not noticing the tension or (more likely) not caring. "Pretty cool, huh?" He turned to Star with a grin, waiting for a response.

She gave him a weak smile, unable to quite push away the unease she was still feeling. Pony closed in on her, leaning against the girl's arm, saying, "Cooler than anything that Mango ever did, right girl?"

"Come on guys," Star said, sounding defensive. "Marco's not that bad."

"Oh please the wimp couldn't even handle a little danger," Tom scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You know just because your parents make you keep those orphans in the castle doesn't mean you have to hang out with them."

"Uh, so you gonna open the cave, we don't really have all night," Pony interrupted, looking bored.

Star let out an annoyed sigh, resisting putting a hand to her aching head. "Let's just get this over with," Star muttered to herself, lifting her wand up, aiming it at the enormous lock. "Super Ladybug Lockpick!" she yelled, her voice with just a hint of irritation. A burst of magic shot out of her wand, taking the form of a giant, smiling ladybug, holding an equally sized key inbetween its legs. It flew up to the lock, inserting the key which began to glow with magic inside the locking mechanism. The lock and key disappeared, the magic chains falling to the floor before dispersing from existence, the shield following quickly afterward. Star lowered the wand, Tom and Pony looking into the now opened entrance to the cave, only shadows and darkness seeming to be lurking inside. Star kept her eyes on the floor, her thoughts on Marco, unable to stop herself from wishing he was there with her and still feeling guilty for leaving him behind.

But her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a strange chittering noise coming from within the cave. Star felt a chill run up her spine as it grew louder in volume, the noise echoing around the rocky walls of the cave, before projecting into the clearing where the trio stood. Tom and Pony were frozen in shock, Star feeling shaky and unsure of the strange noise, holding her wand tightly in front of her, waiting for an attack. Finally, the sound ceased, silence filling the clearing again, only Star's heavy breathing providing any noise in the quiet area.

"Well that was weird," Tom said. Just then thick blue vine-like things shot out of the cave, wrapping themselves around the boy's arm, making him scream. Star turned to her friend in shock, shooting a blast of magic at the ropes, forcing them to remove themselves from Tom. He panted, holding his arm in shock, staring in at the darkness of the cave with uncertainty.

"You okay?" Star breathlessly asked, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"What the heck was that?!" Pony yelled and in response more vines shot out, heading right for the floating head, before getting shot out of the air by another blast from Star's wand.

"Run!" she screamed, as more vines emerged from the cave heading right for the three teens. But her friends responded to her command, running away from the cave as quickly as possible. Star shot off a few incoming vines with her wand, trying to buy them some time, before turning on her heels and following after her friends. She ran as quickly as she could, her heart pounding away in her chest, not daring to look back at the vines that were probably still closing in on her. She just focused on getting her sore legs to move fast enough to escape the vines, her exhaustion from the long day and night now catching up to her at the worst possible time. She could see Tom and Pony in front of her, running into the forest undergrowth, now free from the unwanted vines and she tried to pick up her pace.

That was when she felt something wrap around her leg, instantly pulling back on her, sending her tumbling to the hard ground. She hit the earth with a loud bang, screaming in pain as her shoulder took the impact of the fall. She looked around her with bleary vision, trying to spot her wand seeing it laying just a few feet in front of her. She gathered her strength, reaching out a hand to grab the magical device but she felt the string go taut as it began dragging her back to the cave by her ankle.

"No, no, no," Star screamed in panic, trying to fight back against the long rope's pull and reach her wand, her hands feebly clawing at the ground. She began gaining ground on the vine, inch by inch coming closer to her wand. Finally, she was able to grab the wand, releasing a shaky sigh as she held it tightly in her hand. She aimed it at the vine wrapped around her leg, trying to come up with a spell in this panic-filled moment.

"Super Laser- Ahhhh!" Star screamed as another thick vine wrapped itself around her hand coating the wand completely, rendering it useless. Star tried to fight back against the remarkably soft vines, pulling and tugging, trying desperately to get her hand free, but she was unsuccessful as it dragged her across the ground, bringing her closer and closer to the darkness of the cave. She heard the chittering noise again echoing around the walls of the cave as she drew closer and she turned hoping to see Tom or Pony running toward her, ready to free her from her predicament. But she was alone and no one was coming to save her. "Tom! Pony!" Star screamed, calling to them, trying desperately to reach them. Star felt tears of defeat in her eyes as the vines dragged her to the very entrance of the cave. "Marco!" she screamed as loudly as she could.

And then she was dragged, still screaming, into the depths of the dark cave, disappearing from sight.

...

Marco sat alone at a table, feeling miserable, looking at the pretty plant set neatly in its small décor vase with solace. What was he even doing there, really? He should stop mopping and go back to the castle like he told Star he would. There was nothing really to do here, not without Star. But something was keeping him there, making him want to stay, though he wasn't sure what. The boy sighed in misery, placing his forehead against the cold tabletop.

Marco saw a shadow darken over his face and he looked up to see the hairy creature from before standing over him, giving him a blank, empty stare. The hooded boy opened his mouth to speak but the creature suddenly flipped its hair up, revealing the teenage girl beneath. She smiled at him giving a tiny wave. "Hey again," she said cheerfully.

"Oh hi," Marco softly replied, upon recognizing the girl. "Your the girl from before, right?"

"Yep," she replied with a small, courteous nod. "Name's Kelly."

"Marco," the hooded boy said. Then, suddenly remembering the casual greeting he was supposed to give, he thrust his hand out in the girl's face, making her lean back awkwardly. But she took his hand, shaking it softly.

The two stood shaking hands for a moment, Marco leaning uncomfortably on the table, as an awkward silence stretched out. "You can let go of my hand now," Kelly finally said.

"Oh sorry," Marco quickly apologized, pulling his hand away and sitting back down.

"So is this seat taken," the girl asked, gesturing to the chair next to Marco's.

"Uh no, go ahead," Marco said, a smile on his face and the girl pulled out the chair taking a seat.

"So are you from around here?" Marco asked, trying to make awkward small talk with the complete stranger sitting at his table.

"Actually I work here," Kelly explained.

"What? Where?" Marco asked, looking around.

"There." Marco followed the girl's pointing finger to the restaurant set up beside them, the boy just now realizing that he had sat down at one of the restaurant's outdoor dining areas.

"Oh," Marco said softly, feeling slightly embarrassed for the mistake.

"When I saw you sitting over here all alone, I wanted to come over and thank you for what you did," Kelly explained.

"It was no big deal," Marco shyly responded, shrinking a little into his hoodie.

"No it was a big deal. If it weren't for you, me and Tad would be dead."

"Tad?" Marco repeated in confusion. "Who's Tad?"

Suddenly, the top of Kelly's hair seemed to come to life, eyes and a mouth appearing out of nowhere, staring down at the boy with a relaxed smile. "Hey dude," her hair said.

There was a moment of silence as Marco just stared at the hair with wide eyes. But his smile quickly returned, as he gave the talking hair an enthusiastic wave. "Hi Tad!" he shouted, greeting him in a friendly manner.

"I really appreciate what you did for me, brah," Tad continued. "If it weren't for you, Kells could have been hurt. And I don't know what I would have done without her."

"Awwww, Tad," Kelly cooed, putting a hand to her blushing cheeks.

"It's true babe. I mean you are my whole world."

"Your just saying that because your stuck up there on my head."

"Well yeah. But what hair would want any different when it's already got the best."

Marco watched the two's flirting for a minute, smiling. But out of nowhere, his thoughts jumped to Star and he felt a lump wedge itself into the back of his throat. Instinctively, he turned in the direction of the forest, feeling a crushing weight begin to weigh heavily on his body as he thought of the girl. He knew he shouldn't, but he was worried about Star, hating the idea of her being out there in the middle of the woods, even if she was with her old friends. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that all was not right with the princess. He knew he was probably being paranoid, he was clearly afraid of the woods, but still...

"Marco?"

Marco jumped turning to Kelly in a daze. "What?" Marco's voice squeaked, still strained from the lump. "Sorry I was..."

"Thinking about that girl from before," Kelly guessed and she was rewarded by Marco's blushing cheeks.

"Yeah, maybe a little," he shyly responded, not looking the girl in the eyes.

"Did she ditch you?" Tad asked.

"Huh, ditch?" Marco asked, giving the talking hair a strange look. "What's that?"

"She abandoned you to go do something else," Kelly helpfully supplied.

"Oh," Marco said, nodding in understanding. "Yes... and no, I guess. I told her to go on without me, because I was in the way but now..." Marco's eyes began to glaze over with pain.

"Bad move, dude."

Marco gave Tad another confused look. "What? Why?"

"Trust me. You don't leave your girl's side, no matter what."

"But what if me being with her makes things worse?" Marco asked. "And what if what she's doing you don't like?"

"Then you have to decide," Kelly pitched in. "Which is better for both of you. Tad and I don't get along on everything, but we try to stick together. Sometimes it's important to know when you stay together and when you give each other space. But it has to be the decision that makes both of you happy."

Marco looked down at the table, deep in thought. Did he make the right call? Letting Star go had seemed like the right choice at the time, but he wasn't feeling good about it at all? So did that mean he made a mistake? Should he have gone too? Should he have told her to stay? Marco sighed, rubbing his sore eyes tiredly. "Your right I should have gone with her to that cave," he moaned.

"Wait, cave," Kelly suddenly blurted. "What cave?"

Marco heard the concern in her voice and removed his hands from his face, looking into the girl's obviously unsettled eyes. "The one that's sealed off with magic," Marco hesitantly said, feeling his heart rate begin to spike.

"The one in the Forest of Certain Death?" Kelly questioned, her voice quivering slightly.

"Yes."

"Oh, Marco," Kelly's face scrunched up, filling Marco with unease. "That cave is dangerous!" she continued, not daring to look the boy in the eyes. "They say there's a creature sealed inside, locked by an ancient magic. Though I doubt your friend would be capable of getting in or anything, I mean it would take a heck of a lot of magic to open that cave and only an idiot would be dumb enough to even try it."

Kelly looked up shooting the boy a comforting smile, only to switch to shock as she looked at the empty table in front of her, the chair the boy had been sitting in pushed out away from the table, it's occupant already running toward the certain doom that awaited him.

...

Tom and Pony ran as far and fast as they could, putting as much distance between themselves and the cave as possible. Until finally they freed themselves from the entrapping woods, arriving in town once again. The two came to a stop, Tom panting heavily from the exhausting run. The two took a moment to catch their breath, before breaking into laughter, relieved that they had escaped unharmed.

"Man that was crazy," Tom chocked out, inbetween panting and fits of laughter.

"Crazy, that was insane," Pony corrected. "Bet you wouldn't have seen that in your castle, huh B-Fly?" Pony turned, expecting to see Star behind her. But she wasn't. There was no sign of the girl anywhere around the two. "B-Fly?" Pony repeated, feeling slightly concerned.

"Star?" Tom called out as well.

The two's eyes were drawn to the dark woods once again, as Tom quietly whispered, "Oh no."

...

Marco ran up to the dark woods, already panting heavily. He brought himself to a stop just before he entered the thick foliage, looking into the dark woods uncertainty. He was scared, there was no doubt about that, but if Star really was going to the cave Kelly said she was then she might be in danger. And if something happened to her Marco didn't know what he'd do. He had to help her, he just had to.

And so despite the overwhelming fear that coursed through his body, he stepped into the woods, brushing the loose branches and bushes out of his way as he entered the dimly lit forest. Marco froze, looking around at the towering trees in terror, feeling like the woods themselves were closing in around him. He began to hyperventilate, the forest growing smaller and smaller around the boy, the edges of his vision going black as he began to lose consciousness. He tried to calm himself, to force his feet to keep moving, but they were planted in place.

"I'm sorry," Marco whispered to the forest around him. "I'm so sorry. Toffee told me not to leave, he said it'd hurt you, but I did, Buff Frog... Buff Frog made me and now you all probably hate me." He felt tears brimming at the edges of his eyes. "Now I can't see any of you ever again and I don't... even know why. And now..." Marco sniffed wiping the tears out of his eyes, as his breathing began to calm, the suns of his cheeks glowing faintly as he took a deep, shaky breath, determination anew in his eyes. "Star. She needs me. I can't lose her like I did my family. I have to help her."

And with that Marco, ignoring the overwhelming fear that still consumed his body, took off at a run, pushing deeper and deeper into the forest, hoping he would come across the cave. He had no idea how long he ran through the dark woods, every second feeling like an eternity as his worry for Star's safety grew, but eventually he came into a clearing were a large cave-like structure towered over him. He paused for a minute taking in the unsettling cave, his stomach doing an uncomfortable flip, before racing in to the cave without a second thought.

Once inside, he gave a quick survey of the room, startled by how warm and inviting the inside felt compared to the cold, dark exterior. The inside of the cave felt more like a proper living area, though on a giant scale. There was a sofa and coffee table, even a fireplace, though Marco did take note that almost everything in the room seemed to be made of a yarn-like substance expertly weaved together to create furniture. On top of that, there were large piles of socks everywhere in the enormous room, scattered all over the floor, making for a make-shift carpet. There were no lamps so it was rather dark in the giant's living room, the only source of light and warmth coming from the lit fireplace, but Marco's eyes adjusted quickly, finding the room still brighter than the woods outside.

He took a few steps forward, trying to spot Star or the others, making sure to stay close to the exit in case something unexpected came running in. He called Star's name gently, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. Finally, he looked up to the fireplace once again, noticing the stockings hanging over it, curious as to why these were being treated differently than the rest of its matching companions. That was when he spotted Star, poking out of one of the socks, her eyes closed. Marco felt panic and relief in a strange mixture as he resisted the urge to scream the girl's name. He ran over to the fireplace, no longer caring about the exit, as he quickly found a path up its side, using the uneven stone as footholes as he scaled the rocky hearth. Once he reached the top he ran over to the unconscious girl. He bent down to the girl's level tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

"Star." he hissed, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. "Star, wake up." The girl moaned, shifting in her sleep as she slowly peeked open an eye, looking at the boy with uncertainty.

"Marco?" she whispered, the exhaustion in her voice unmistakable. She blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the partially lit room. "W-Where are we?" She tried to turn so she could take surveillance of the room, but found her arms restricted. She gasped as she noticed everything below her shoulders was trapped within the scratchy sock. She tried to pull herself free, tugging against the relentless sock, but found herself unable to move. "I'm stuck," she whispered in worry. "I-I can't move."

She felt hands wrap around her shoulders, pulling against the entrapping weight of the sock and she looked behind her to see Marco, straining as he tried to pull the girl to freedom, his brown eyes filled with a raw determination. Star felt her cheeks blush, for just a moment forgetting to move, before she snapped herself back to reality, moving with hooded boy as one.

Finally, it became obvious to Star that there would be no escaping the sock, letting out a deep sigh. "It's no use," she whispered, slightly out of breath. "You should go before that thing comes back and gets you too." She looked to Marco with fearful eyes, but he didn't even budge, the determination never leaving his face as he shook his head.

"No way. I'm not leaving you here. There's got to be another way." He thought for a moment, putting a finger to his chin, Star just watching him in silence. "Hmmmm. Wait. Where are Tom and Pony Head? Maybe if I free them first, we can all work together to get you out."

Star eyes filled with sadness as she shook her head. "That won't work. Tom and Pony Head already escaped, I was the only one who got captured." She gave Marco another pleading look. "So please just go, Marco. There's no reason for both of us to get taken."

But Marco just ignored her, his brain tumbling as he tried to think of another plan to free Star. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head as he quickly asked the girl, "Where's your wand? Is it in the sock, too?"

Star's face seemed to brighten as she remembered her magical device. "Of course. Marco that's genius." But her face fell as realization hit her. "Oh no, I don't have it."

"What? Then where is it?" Marco asked, looking around the fireplace for any sign of it.

"I dropped it," Star said, shaking slightly.

"Where?"

"Down there." Star gestured with her head to the pile of socks in the middle of the room, looking like a sea of bright blue below. Marco followed her gaze, squinting as he tried to spot the wand. He took a deep breath, turning to Star. "Stay here," he said. "I'll be right back."

"Wait, Marco!" Star called after him in a loud whisper, but the boy was already climbing down the fireplace, his eyes jumping to the pile of socks that waited below.

Once he was on the ground he quickly went over there, digging around through the soft and scratchy socks for any sign of Star's wand. His hands were buried deep inside the pile, blindly grabbing around for anything that wasn't made of cotton or wool. "Come on, come on," he whispered, feeling pressured to rush it. Finally, his hands bumped up against something hard and Marco smiled in victory.

That was when he heard a chittering sound above him, looking up to see the creature of the cave. It was huge, towering over the room, its massive size suddenly making sense in Marco's mind. The thing was dark blue and made 100% out of thick yarn. It stared at him in shock for a second, Marco still bent over in the pile of socks staring blankly back. Then the creature released a massive roar, which seemed to shake the walls of the furbished cave. Marco screamed, pulling his hands out from the socks, now holding the wand.

"Marco run!" Star screamed from her stocking, still tugging against the scratchy fabric, trying to break free. Marco immediately obeyed, taking off from the creature as it shoot out webs made of yarn at the boy. The boy managed to see them coming out of the corner of his eye and dodged right, the yarn webs wrapping around the legs of the table, becoming stuck. The creature pulled against the table but its arm didn't budge and it released a sigh of annoyance.

While the creature was busy freeing itself Marco ran over to the fireplace, slipping the wand in his hood pocket, before scaling the structure once again. He made his way up quickly, keeping a weary eye on the creature which was still struggling to free itself. Once on top, Marco ran over to the trapped Star, his goal in sight.

But he was stopped as thick yarn webs wrapped around his body, pulling him off the fireplace and sending him falling to the ground. "Marco!" Star screamed, finally managing to pull a hand free from the sock. Marco screamed as he fell to the floor, putting his hands feebly in front of his face in hopes of providing protection. But it was for nothing as he crash landed into the pile of socks from before, breaking his fall and preventing any serious injury. Marco sat up from the sock pile to see the creature a short distance away and quickly closing the distance as it stalked closer.

Marco jumped to his feet running away from the creature once again, trying to make it to some form of safety in the room. More yarn webs shot out at him and he dove to the floor to avoid getting hit, the webs passing over his head uselessly.

He got up once again, running behind the couch, for a moment free from the creature's vision. He panted a few times, trying to catch his breath after the exhausting incident, peeking around the side, looking for any signs of the creature and was surprised to see nothing. Marco pulled back, leaning against the couch deep in thought, when a large shadow passed over his face. He looked up to see the yarn creature, leaning over the back of the couch, glaring at him. "You know that's really bad for your couch," Marco said.

The creature growled releasing more webs at the boy, who dropped down on all fours and crawled underneath the couch, barely avoiding getting hit. The boy crawled forward, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, trying to keep his breathing and racing heart calm as he pushed forward, trying not to think of the creature that might be waiting for him at the other end. He crawled out the other side, slowly sneaking away, the creature still looking over the back of the couch for any signs of the boy who seemed to just disappear.

Marco crept slowly forward, trying to make the least amount of sound as possible. But the creature, still confused, turned and saw the boy creeping away. Its eyes narrowed as it shot out more yarn webs, the boy too busy trying not to make noise that he didn't even notice. "Look out!" Marco felt something heavy bump into him sending him tumbling to the floor, the yarn webs passing harmlessly beside him.

Marco blinked, wondering how he had ended up on the floor, feeling a heavy, warm weight pressed up against him. He looked down to see Star laying on top of him and he felt his cheeks turn hot as her bright blue irises focused on his face, looking concerned. Marco opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him as Star moved a little closer to him, their faces becoming close to touching, her long blond hair tickling his face as she leaned over him, her eyes scanning his face for any injuries. "You okay?"

But before Marco could attempt to answer, another roar echoed throughout the cave and Star looked over to the see the creature, quickly losing patience, stalking toward them. Star grabbed the boy's hand, pulling him to his feet and dragging him behind her, as she ran for the exit.

But just as the two made it out the cave's mouth, a yarn web latched onto Marco's back, pulling him back into the depths of the cave. Marco screamed as Star tried to pull the boy out of the fabric's grip, but the two were being slowly dragged in inch by inch. The princess grunted as she dug her heels into the ground, tightening her grip on the boy's arm as much as she could without hurting him. "Don't worry Marco, I'm not letting go!" Star screamed.

But she began losing hope as the darkness slowly closed in around them, more webs wrapping around them beginning to encase their bodies in the scratchy fabric. Marco seemed to be realizing the hopelessness of their situation as well as he looked deep into Star's eyes, the two trying to enjoy what might be their last moment together.

"Hang on B-Fly!" a voice screamed from behind them and the two turned to see Tom and Pony Head racing toward the two.

"Pony!" the two screamed as one.

"Hey what about me!?" Tom yelled, fuming with anger, the flames on his cheeks igniting as he came to an abrupt stop.

"Not now T!" Pony yelled. "We gotta save B-Fly and Mango!"

"It's Marco!" Marco screamed.

"Yeah no one still cares. Charge!" With that Pony stabbed her horn deep into the yarn web, ripping some of it apart. Meanwhile, Tom snapped his fingers the rest of the webs bursting into flames and disintegrating. With the webs suddenly severed, Star and Marco felt gravity take hold of them once again as they were sent tumbling to the floor.

More webs continued to spring out of the cave, Tom and Pony laying waste to them, as they protected the two Mewmans who were still trying to recover from the terrifying ordeal. The two lay on the floor, hand in hand, panting, watching Tom and Pony in shocked silence. The two held their own against the never ending webs that seemed to shoot out of the cave's mouth, but it was obvious they couldn't hold out forever.

Until suddenly Star, logic returning to her frazzled brain, turned to Marco shouting, "Marco, quick my wand!"

"Oh right," Marco said, pulling the wand out of his hood pocket and handing it to Star. Once the wand was back in her hands, she took a deep breath, letting the magic gather.

"Hyper Rainbow Shield!" she screamed, as magic shot out of her wand encasing the entire entrance of the cave, a purple shield immediately beginning to form. Tom and Pony relaxed as the webs finally stopped coming, bouncing off the shield harmlessly.

The four friends all took a moment to catch their breath, as the dangerous situation was finally resolved. Star helped Marco to his feet. "You okay?" she asked, still panting.

"Yeah," Marco grunted, rubbing his head softly. "Thanks."

"I should be thanking you," Star said. "But how'd you know I was in trouble?"

"Someone in town told me that cave was super dangerous, so I came to make sure you were okay," Marco explained.

"Well we had your back too, B-Fly," Pony cut in. "There was no way we were letting our friend get turned into a sock mummy," Pony said.

"Thanks," Star said, giving them a grateful smile.

"So what should we do now, girl?" Pony asked. "There's still a massive rave happening in the Bounce Lounge if we hurry we can-"

"Actually," Star interrupted. "I'm gonna take Marco back."

"Ah come on, he's fine," Pony said, with a roll of her eyes. "You don't have to babysit him just because he almost died."

"Yeah why don't you send him home so you can hang out with your real friends," Tom blurted out, before his eyes widened, realizing his mistake.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Star stared at her two friends in disbelief, realization finally entering the girl's brain. Her eyes narrowed on them and Tom and Pony both backed up a bit from the girl. But Star took a deep breath, before turning back to Marco, who just stood there awkwardly unsure what to do, shooting him a smile. "Marco why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up."

"O-Okay," Marco said, before walking past the three giving them all concerned looks, heading in the direction of town.

Once he was out of sight, Star turned to her two old friends once again. "I'll right first off, Marco is my friend, one I choose to hang out with, not forced to," she began, her voice hard. "Secondly, I'm tired. I've been tired all night and you two never even took the time to notice it. And I can see that the only way this night is going to end is if I say something. So I am."

"But-" Tom began.

"But what Tom," Star cut him off, shooting him a glare.

"You never would have called it a night before," Pony said.

"Well I'm not the person I was before, Pony," Star huffed. "I'm not some crazy party girl who can go out and do whatever I want. I have duties and responsibilities and people who look up to me. And I don't care if that makes me sound like a rubber stamp princess, because it's true."

"Okay well, we were only trying to help," Pony muttered.

"No you weren't," Star exclaimed, her anger boiling. "You used me, all night long, to do all those stupid, dumb pranks. You never cared about spending time with me, you just wanted my wand so you could break the rules and rebel."

"Hey don't pin this on us," Tom defended. "You're the one who asked us to help you become the princess you were before."

"Yes I did," Star said with a sigh, her eyes for a moment looking to the ground, before jumping back up to them. "But I was wrong. I'm not the princess I was before... but maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the person I am now is better. And maybe I shouldn't be trying to change that."

"So what you'd rather hang out with that turd than your besties," Pony said.

"It all comes down to two options Star," Tom added. "Us or him."

Star looked down for a moment, thinking. Finally she looked back up at them with a hard look. "Fine." And with that she turned on her heels and began walking in the direction Marco had gone.

"Star!" Tom called, but she didn't respond, simply walking off, leaving her two oldest friends behind. The two turned to each looking shocked and confused.

"Nice going," Pony hissed at her friend, who looked at the ground sadly.

"She really chose him over us," he whispered in depression.

"Why did you even ask her to?" Pony scoffed. " Let's just give her a few days to cool of. She'll come around eventually."

"Your sure they went in there?" Jackie asked looking at the dark woods, uncertainly.

"Oh yeah," Kelly confidently replied. "He seemed pretty upset when I told him about the cave."

"Marco in the Forest of Certain Death," Janna pitched in. "No way. Gotta be someone else."

"How many other boys in bright red hoods with sun cheek marks do you know?" Kelly pointed out.

"Touche."

"I hope they're okay in there," Jackie said, her voice quivering slightly as she looked into the danger-ridden woods with concern.

"Well if there are about four different caves located just outside of town in the Forest of Certain Death and only three of them have dangerous creatures trapped inside," Janna stated matter-of-factly. "So we have about a one in four chance of them not getting eaten."

"I don't even want to ask how you know that," Jackie said, putting a palm to her forehead.

"What's in the other one?" Kelly asked the creepy girl curiously.

"Diamonds," she answered with a shrug. "Oh and gold."

"Oh, cool we should totally go there Tad for date night," Kelly said, looking up at her hair.

"Sounds good to me, babe," Tad replied. "I'll go with you, anywhere."

"I wouldn't if I were you, it's all kinda cursed," Janna said.

"Awww, why is there always a catch when exploring unknown caves in dark woods?" Kelly huffed in frustration. "Come on Tad, let's go home." The two girl's watched their informant sulk off, looking upset, until a voice yelled behind them.

"Hey guys!" Jackie and Janna turned as one, looking to the wood's entrance where Marco stood waving over to them.

"Marco!" they both shouted, quickly running over to join him.

"Where have you been?" Jackie asked in concern.

"With Star," Marco replied innocently.

"Where is Star?" Janna asked, looking around for any signs of the girl.

"She was talking to Tom and Pony Head."

"Those two?!" Jackie exclaimed, sounding disgusted. "They were behind this."

"Yeah," Marco said, a little put-off by Jackie's bizarre behavior. "They've been hanging out with me and Star all night."

"Well now the devastation makes sense," Janna muttered under her breath, a small smile on her face. "That had Tom's handwriting all over it."

"Don't sound so impressed," Jackie said, shooting Janna a look.

"Actually, that was me," a hesitant voice called from the woods and they all turned to Star, looking downcast.

"Star!" the two girls screamed, Jackie pulling her into a hug.

"Where are Tom and Pony Head?" Marco asked, looking around for them.

Star's eyes went dark for a moment. "I have no idea," she spat. Marco felt guilt clench his gut at Star's reaction, suddenly afraid he had upset her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" Star asked in confusion.

"For ruining your night," Marco said, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"Marco," Star said softly, taking his hands gently into her own. Marco looked up into her eyes with shock. "You didn't ruin my night."

"But what about Tom and Pony Head? Didn't you want to spend time with them?"

Star giggled a little. "Actually I'd much rather spend time with you" She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "My best friend."

"Your best... friend," Marco repeated, his cheeks blushing slightly.

"Yep," Star replied matter-of-factly. "Bestie for short."

"Bestie," Marco tried out the word, letting it sink into his brain. "I like it," he said, giving Star another cute smile that just made her heart flutter.

"I'm glad," she said, giving him a warm smile.

Jackie and Janna stared at the two in silence, giving each other knowing looks. Janna cleared her throat, capturing the two's attention once again. "Well you two besties might want to consider cleaning up the mess you and the others made out of town," she said. "The people are still in revolt over that possum statue getting broken."

"Oh yeah," Star said sheepishly, looking at Marco. "Guess I should try to get everything fixed before morning. So much for sleep."

"Don't worry Star, your bestie will be there beside you all night to help," Marco said dramatically, putting a hand to his chest.

Star laughed. "Why thank you, bestie," she said, equally as dramatic, curtsying.

The two shared a laugh for a moment before turning back to town, the two besties flashing each other a smile before heading off to spend the rest of the night together as friends.

Bestie status achieved! Pony Head was right Star did realize who her real bestie was. *Wink, wink* ;) And don't worry that won't be the final appearance of either Tom or Pony, I'm not done with them just yet. They are great characters who I want to do more with. And probably more Kelly and Tad too, because they are soooo adorable.

So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the new episodes of Star! I haven't gotten to see all of them just yet but I am loving every minute of them! And it is definitely getting my writing brain going! And thank you all once again for not spoiling anything, I will try to do the same. *cough, cough* …what? I had to cough. What did you think I was coughing because I was going to put in a spoiler?! I have allergies okay!

So I do have to go but I just want to thank you all once again for being the best fans possible! Please feel free to favorite, follow, or review, or just enjoy reading this little old story of mine, I love you all regardless. I will help tide us over until new episodes. Star may be over for a while, but this writer is only getting started! Woot, woot. *throws confetti into the air*

Guest- I know right. That's exactly what I was going for. I actually do really like these two but I do feel like they would try to change Star and pressure her into doing something if it meant her becoming the princess they were friends with before, not understanding that her change was for the better.

SJMT shipper- Aww, you are so welcome! I couldn't resist putting in as much Starco as possible and I'm so glad to know it helped cure you! Starco changes lives! I made a difference!

But seriously, both you and FG are super awesome and I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, just consider it my get well gift! Also you caught the reference! Yay! Eat as many cookies as you like on me! I do love Gravity Falls and I consider it, Star, and Steven Universe to be the best things on TV right now. You really can't have one without the others. So when I thought of the reference I couldn't not put it in there. Maybe I'll throw in a Steven Universe reference somewhere... who knows?

I actually did kinda wonder if that's what your name meant, glad to know I'm right. And don't worry cannon or not Jantom is cute! I may or may not ship them myself. *cough, cough* I do. And I may or may not have the idea of putting Jantom in the story somewhere *cough, cough* I totally do.

Janna: Wait what was that?

Nothing Janna I'm not talking about pairing you up with Tom because you two would be completely perfect for each other in every way possible. I just have allergies.

Janna: *pauses for a moment* *shrugs* Eh, whatever.

*Phew* So once again so glad you enjoyed friend and thanks so much for the compliment, I will continue to do my best! *W*

Next update: 2 weeks