Star finished brushing out her hair, watching her floating friend out of the reflection in her massive vanity. She had just finished changing into something slightly more suitable for an evening out, trading in her poofy blue and golden dress for a pink ruffled blouse, cream and sky-colored jacket and a simple aquamarine skirt. She couldn't go out without her ribbons, however, so she quickly used her wand to turn them a matching shade of rosy pink before tucking the heirloom into her signature hip bag and securely zipped the top.

"I almost forgot to ask, how did you get here, Princess Pony Head?"

"Oh, girl, I almost forgot to show you," replied her friend, practically glowing once Star told her they were going out. She all but forgot about her impending fate at St. Olga's, so surprised that Star was the one who suggested it that she immediately demanded they go to her room and apply as much glitter to her horn as possible. Star had to smile at that, pleased that her plan to help her friend let loose was actually working - though, she felt a pit of guilt in her stomach at not mentioning the finality of Marco's suggestion.

Mess* around one last time before it's over, you know? You could at least give her that.

Pony Head swished around her mouth for a moment, before making a sickening retching sound and sticking out her tongue. There, dripping from the tip of her candy-colored tongue glittered a a pair of dimensional scissors, complete with a platinum blade and an iridescent gemstone embedded in the center.

"Wow," Star breathed, thoroughly surprised to see a pair of scissors so close. Usually Manfred opened portals for her and her parents, so this was the nearest she had been to a pair in many years.

"Aih, aeh dow 'eight?" Her friend sputtered, utterly unintelligible as the magical item dribbled with spit from her mouth. Star scrunched up her face in mild disgust and nodded.

"Okay, yep, you can put them back…"

"Are you ready yet, Star?" Marco's voice interrupted her reaction as he lazily swung open the door to her bedroom.

"Marco!" She exclaimed, standing suddenly. His expression looked somewhere between annoyed and amused as the princess crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"First of all, you didn't knock. Please do so next time," she turned her chin away, showing her disappointment.

"Yeah, probably not happening. Next?" Marco crossed the room to stand adjacent to the mirror, eyes lingering over Pony Head's still jutting-out tongue.

"Err… well, you also didn't clean yourself up at all. Seriously, you could have put in a little effort." Star peeked at him through one eye and he shrugged, taking her seat at the vanity and earning himself a proper scowl.

"Looks like you put in enough effort for the both of us, Princess." He said, gesturing to her change of outfit and freshly brushed hair. Star flushed and turned away from him, "hmmp"ing and crossing her arms. Pony Head watched the exchange like a tennis match, invested in each counterpoint of the teasing and attitude shifts between them both.

"Aky, oen wi 'o ow?"

Marco and Star responded simultaneously.

"Sure."

"What?"

They looked at each other, Star's grimace only growing deeper while Marco stuck his tongue out at her, which was enough to break her resolve. She laughed so unexpectedly it made her snort, and Marco started to snicker at her embarrassment.

Pony Head spit out the scissors. "God you are both so annoying. Can we like, go already?"

"I already said sure," Marco replied smartly, notching a curious brow in her direction. Pony Head rolled her eyes at him as realization spread across Star's face.

"How did you understand her?" Star asked, grabbing the scissors from the ground and tested her grip, testing them in her fingers. Thankfully, they weren't as slimy as they appeared, as unicorn saliva only had positive magical properties.

Marco shrugged and stood up, coming closer to her again and examining the scissors. "I thought it was obvious. Context clues? But seriously, let's go already."

Star pulled the scissors away from his prying eyes, not in the mood for his condescension right now, and turned to her friend. "So, Princess Pony Head, where would you like to go? It's your choice tonight."

The floating head bobbed from side to side for a moment, evidently considering her options, before she twirled in midair and settled on a fierce smile. "Ohhhh girl, you know we gotta hit up The Bounce Lounge."

Star blanched at the suggestion and gulped hard on the lump in her throat. Sneaking away from Earth with Marco and Pony Head? To spend the night together dancing at a club?

Maybe she hadn't thought this through.

"Oh, ummm, riiiight, The Bounce Lounge…" she fiddled with her fingers, trying to stall, feeling their waiting gazes.

Marco let out a small sigh, not loud enough to draw much attention, and stepped forward. He extended his hand between them and gestured at the scissors. "May I, Princess?"

Star made a face at that his arrogant tone - she still didn't appreciate the nickname - but she could feel herself backpedaling on her promise to Pony. Star needed to do this for her friend, she reminded herself with a clenching of her jaw. This wasn't about her.

"Mmm, fine," Star made her voice begrudging, refusing to sound relieved as Marco slipped the scissors easily into his hands.

"So I just like, cut, up and down, right? I saw Ludo do it," he added when Star raised an eyebrow at him, and Pony Head nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go already. Just focus on 'The Bounce Lounge' in your head - even if you haven't been there, just think about the name, and cut. It should take us there."

Marco didn't respond, instead following Pony Head's directions and cutting a portal in the middle of Star's bedroom in one easy motion. It was actually pretty impressive to watch, Star had to admit, and she felt her mouth open slightly in surprise when he turned around and offered her the scissors again.

The twisting vortex kicked up just the slightest breeze in the still air of her room, causing papers to flutter and the trails of her hairs to dance around her shoulders, and she felt a smile automatically grace her lips as she watched Pony Head whoop in enthusiasm and dive horn-first into the opening.

Accepting the scissors from Marco, Star squeezed them lightly when she met his eyes. There was a simplicity to his gaze in that fleeting moment, a soft mocha that reflected an even more delicate shade of blue under the magical luminescence of the portal that took her by surprise. The ends of his hair, pushed up and away from his face in his sort of permanent bed-head, swayed ever so slightly in the artificial current, casting a tiny set of shadows over his forehead that seemed to dance under the portal light.

Star felt her heartbeat quicken, and she was unsure if her heart marks were fluttering or if the redness that crept into her face had caused her cheeks to prickle ever so slightly.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Star cleared her throat and hurriedly entered the portal, suddenly very interested in the idea of being stuck at The Bounce Lounge and not stuck in her room, alone with him.

"Damn," Marco said once he stepped out of the portal, blinking repeatedly as his eyes fell over the crowd. It was a cross between a club and a rave, set atop a kingdom of clouds and scuffed tiles. Lights of every shade animated the faces of alien creatures up and down the length of the floor, creating a sort of cacophonous kaleidoscope of sound and sight that pushed his adrenaline up by a few degrees.

"This is crazy, Star," he said, turning only to find no such princess beside him.

Eyes scanning for a floating pink mane or a delicate arrangement of blonde tresses, Marco frowned and skirted around the perimeter, wondering if the portal might have dropped them out at different places. Is that how that works? He really didn't have a frame of reference for this magic stuff.

"Marco, over here!"

He heard Star call for him, but the distortion of sound and light made it difficult to tell from where exactly, but he eventually found a waving thin hand above the heads of a dancing group of humanoids.

Marco made his way around the dancers to find the pair standing (well, one was standing, the other was idly floating) just outside of a photo booth, Star excitedly perusing the buttons and various background settings while Pony Head looked comparatively bored.

Marco jerked his thumb over this shoulder as he came closer, raising his voice over the noise. "Uh, Star? It looks like the party is this way?"

Star didn't look up at first, instead running her index finger down a massive list of photo settings available to the booth, eyes concentrated on the task at hand.

Marco groaned and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Star? Did you hear me?"

"...Huh?" The girl exclaimed suddenly, standing up straight and shaking her head. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Did you say something?"

He appraised her with a doubtful look, and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"You were the one who called me over here," he pointed out, which only made her appear more nervous.

Eh. If she wanted to talk about it, she could bring it up.

He shrugged to dismiss the subject. "Whatever. I was just saying that the party is this way. Pony Head is already getting into it." Marco pointed behind her, and Star gasped and turned crimson at the sight.

The cotton-candy-colored unicorn head had floated away from their idle chatter, dancing with some strangers, floating and twisting and winning in time with the music. She even got one male-looking creature to get on all fours and started to jockey him like a horse, and even Marco felt a little mortified at the demonstration.

"Huh," he said, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes to dispel the toxic image. Star was covering her mouth with the back of her hand, head bent away in chagrin.

"Pegasus feathers…" she muttered, although Marco wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear that. Was that a Mewnian curse word? The way she said it made it sound like it. The thought made him smirk.

"Well, Princess, we're here. Pony Head looks like she's got her own thing going on. Wanna dance?"

"Um!" She squeaked, pupils turned to terrified dots at the thought of going out into the sea of bodies and dancing with him, for more than a handful of reasons.

He's a human - he can't just - I can't just dance with him! I don't even know how to dance like this! There are so many people. What if word gets back to Mewni? This was a bad idea. I need to lay low. Oh, corn, what if I lose my wand? What if someone tries to take it! Oh, no, no, what if Ludo shows up? Oh, this is bad, bad, bad. Where are those scissors? Where did I put them? I need to get out of here!

Marco was watching her expression turn paler under the flashing greens and purples and blues of the party lights, frowning. "Star? You good?"

The princess's eye twitched once, before she blinked repeatedly and grabbed him by the front of his leather jacket. She shook him back and forth before dragging him backwards, into the photo booth.

"LETS-TAKE-A-PICTURE-TO-REMEMBER-THE-NIGHT-HOW-ABOUT-THAT-THAT-SEEMS-LIKE-A-NICE-IDEA-COME-ON?"

"W-whoa! Star, holy shit, calm down!" He yelled when they were behind the curtain, and it felt like they had walked through another portal. Within the tiny booth, a few artificial but standard white-yellow lights shined above a tiny camera embedded in the side paneling, and the compact walls helped block out some of the auxiliary noise. It was still loud, certainly, but the thumping bass felt a little more external to the privacy of the booth.

"I mean, fuck, if you wanted a picture you didn't have to drag me. Watch the threads next time, okay?" Marco brushed off the front of his jacket, refolding the collar to make the leather lay flat.

Star nodded and held her arms across her chest, but the action didn't have any of the usual attitude it did when the princess would reply with a cheeky remark.

Once Marco had readjusted, looking up and running a hand through his hair, he was surprised to find Star shaking like she'd just been pulled from a freezing lake.

"H-hey, whoa, what's going on? Sit," he instructed, kneeling while he gently pushed down on her shoulder, and her knees buckled at the slight touch.

Star was taking short and shallow breaths, eyes scanning the walls of the booth like they were threatening her, and Marco could tell she was starting to panic. He used to have these episodes when he was a little younger, but had thankfully taught himself to grow out of them.

"Okay, Star, look at me. Look at me," he repeated when her eyes flickered forward and away again, placing a hand under her chin and turning her to face him.

"You need to relax, Princess. Relax. I didn't suggest 'going out with a bang' so you would be miserable."

"I- I know that," Star replied, panting and closing her eyes, nodding her head. With his hand still against the edge of her face, Marco could tell her breathing started to slow once her eyes were closed, so he withdrew his fingers and waited for her to come back to the present.

After another thirty seconds, he felt a tiny pang of relief when her eyelashes fluttered open and some of the color returned to her face. She cracked a little sheepish grin, and shook her head.

"S-sorry, about that. I'm good now. Just let me nerves get carried away…"

Marco cocked his head to one side, once again struck by the girl's strangeness, and sniggered a little.

"So," he stood up and sat next to her on the bench. "Let me just make sure I got this right. You're a magical princess who can seriously fuck up some bad guys with her wand and spells and shit, and yet, you can't handle a club?"

Star turned to him and opened her mouth, a familiar angry look flashing in her baby blue eyes, and Marco started laughing in earnest.

He held up one finger.

"Just a sec."

Leaning through the velvet curtains, the music thumped loud outside the booth and he scanned the nearby bodies for a familiar flash of blue or pink.

"Ah," Marco breathed when he spotted her, clearing his throat. "HEY, PONY HEAD. C'MHERE."

When he leaned back into the booth, Star gave him an even more confused glance so he simply shrugged.

"I need to make sure I get a memento for tonight to remember your one true weakness in case I ever end up on the opposite side of that wand: shitty club music and bright lights."

Star rolled her eyes and let her head drop backwards. "Leave it to you to take a nice moment and ruin it by being a jerk."

He flipped the dial on the dashboard to create some stupid backgrounds for the pictures, winking at Star as he settled back. "Mmm. Then, let me make it up to you - I'll let you keep the picture, and we'll call it even. I do look pretty good tonight."

Star didn't have enough time to think of a reply, so she just rolled her eyes when a glittery horn appeared through the curtain. Marco readjusted his shoulders, scooting over as Pony Head floated over and wedged herself into the middle of the frame.

"Aww yeah, maybe you this human aint so baaaaaad after all. He got good taste in picture backgrounds," yelled Pony Head unnecessarily, her hearing temporarily warped from the music outside.

"Oh yeah, I thought this ocean background would really go with your horn." Marco pointed at the screen, and Pony Head's eyes flashed dangerously in the reflection at his sarcasm, so Star leaned over and wrapped her arm around her fellow princess, partially in comfort and partially to hold her back.

"I-I think it looks lovely with your skin tone, Princess Pony Head. Now, smile!"

Gritting her teeth together, Pony Head whispered a deadly promise to her other side.

"You so much as lay a hair on my girl and you gonna get a lot more than a picture of my horn, Earth turd."

Marco scoffed, wrapped his other arm around Pony Head so it laid atop of Star's, a direct violation of the threat he'd just been given. It would take a lot more than a blue, begrudged Princess to scare him.

"I'd like to see you try."

The trio didn't linger at the club much longer, although Star was nervous to broach the subject with her fellow princess. It was clear Pony was enjoying herself, dancing and getting glitter in strange places all over her mane, but Star's discomfort became worrisome after only another ten minutes.

Much to her relief (and her surprise, if she was being honest), Marco had opted to stay off the dance floor and stand on the outskirts with her. When she questioned his behavior, he responded in typical Marco-fashion.

"It seemed cool when I got here, but like, the pop-rock-alternative shitty music sorta got on my nerves. Reminds me of someone, actually."

Star had punched his shoulder when he wiggled his eyebrows at her, but she let out a good-humored chuckle. He was annoying, but it was sort of endearing, so she let it pass.

After a particularly aggressive techno-sounding song came on, Star started to falter again. She drew in on herself and hung her head, rubbing the arms of her jacket to calm herself. Marco decided to use that moment to see if this club - let alone this dimension - had a restroom, so Star recited spells in her head to try to remain calm.

Glitter Whale Battering Ram.

Stardust Daisy Devastation.

Dagger Crystal Heart Attack.

Rainbow Fist Punch.

Raspberry Panzerfaust.

Mega Narwhal Blast.

Spider with a Top-Hat Blast.

Warincorn Stampede.

Glitter Whale Battering Ram.

Stardust Daisy Devastation.

...

"Aye, girl!"

Star snapped out of her private lesson and shook her head, trying to focus on whoever had called, but it didn't take her long. A sweaty, ecstatic-looking Pony Head floated over the crowd and came to hover in front of her, and her smile faded when she noticed the stress on Star's face.

"You good? Did that Earth turd do something to you?" She narrowed her eyes, looking around the immediate vicinity of the club with a distrustful glare.

"What? No, Princess Pony Head! Marco just went to find the bathroom." Star laughed a little too forcefully, trying not to worry her friend and let her enjoy the night.

Pony Head's expression changed, although Star found it rather hard to read - somewhere between annoyed and excited, maybe? That's sort of how Princess Pony Head always looked, though.

"I wish it was just you and me tonight, B-Fly. It's better when it's just us! C'mon, there are some cute boys in the crowd," she grinned suggestively, and Star blushed just at the inflection in her friend's voice.

"N-no, thank you," she stammered, putting her hands up defensively.

As if on cue, Pony Head glowered when a familiar, unwelcome face appeared beside Star and swung and arm over her shoulder. Star stiffened slightly at the unexpected proximity and peeked up at Marco's sudden appearance. He had a wicked grin lining his cheeks, and he scratched at his unshaven chin with his other hand.

There was that arrogance of his again, Star noted wryly, and it appeared that Pony Head noticed to.

"Ladies," Marco greeted nonchalantly.

"Oh you are just pushing it," Pony Head replied and moved behind Star, urging her towards the club floor.

"If we're being honest, it looks like you're the one pushing Star," Marco's face was animated under the unnatural club lighting, and he looked awfully proud of himself for getting on Pony Head's nerves. If Star wasn't so stressed, she might find their bickering comical, but right now it was just making her want to tug at her hair.

"I'm trying to help my bestie have a good time," Pony Head said with a hard glare. "Why don't you go back to Earth where you belong?"

Marco snorted and crossed his arms, a knowing look plastered across his face. "Hey, I was having a fine time at home - you brought some thugs into my dimension because you fucked up. I'm here to make sure Star's okay," he paused to loop an arm around Star's waist, earning him a squeak.

The blonde inhaled a sharp breath, feeling like she was going to pass out as Marco and Pony's body language started to become even more hostile, leaning forward with distrust. She needed to find her voice, but it was scattered somewhere along the cheap club tiles, along with her confidence. In a way, she was actually glad for Marco having slipped his arm around her, because it was helping to steady her wobbly legs.

Pony Head's eye twitched in obvious annoyance, and they all flinched when she started to roar with laughter. "Man, you have got some baaaaaaad anger problems, Earth turd. Calm down, why don't ya? We were supposed to be having a good time, and you seem to be the one ruining it."

Star felt Marco's grip loosen on her hip, and for some reason, she was sad for the absence there. He stepped towards Pony Head with an absolutely devilish grin, looking like a bad actor in a worse movie.

"Oh, is someone mad because I ruined her time out with her bestie?" His voice was full of mock hurt, and Pony Head started to float away before she did something she would regret.

Star shook her head, trying to come back to the argument and try to recover her friend's from getting even more angry, but Marco wasn't quite finished.

"Cry me a fucking river, PH."

In retrospect, Star should have found it funny for how mean they were just being for the nickname, of all things, to be the straw that broke the warnicorn's back, but the thought was as mirthless to her now as it was when Marco spat the words at Pony Head's receding form.

The blue and clearly bridled princess whipped around, nostrils flaring and got very close to Marco, horn pointed dangerously close to his jugular.

He didn't even flinch.

Which was just fine, as it happened, as Star winced enough for the both of them.

Gaping in fear, she moved slightly between them with her back to Marco, looking at Pony Head with pleading eyes.

"P-Pony!" Star all but cried, her hands shaking. "D-Don't let him get to you, he's just like that."

Her eyes turned to slits, glaring at Marco over Star's shoulder, and he raised a condescending eyebrow at the floating princess. She huffed angrily and pulled back her horn, but the scowl on her face did not lessen by any degrees.

"Star. Talk. Now." She gestured towards a corner away from Marco, and he rolled his eyes and walked off in the other direction. Star bit her lip as he disappeared, but conceded to follow her friend and try not to make things worse.

"Okay, you gotta be real with me. I came here tonight to hang out with you, and this random guy? I get that he's your new roomate or whatever, but he is a total jerk. Like, why are you even friends with him? He's selfish and, not trying to, like, make it weird, but he's also all over you."

Star's pupils went wide, and she immediately started to shake her head from side-to-side. "N-no! Princess Pony Head, y-you've got it wrong! He, i-isn't, um, I'm n-not… He's a nice guy, under the act! I promise!"

Her friend did not look convinced, her lips pressed together into a thin line.

"I think it's just, um… the…" Star sputtered, although a tiny voice in her head wasn't sure why she was defending him so strongly. Why couldn't he just be as sweet to everyone as he was when they were alone together? She had to swallow the urge to sigh.

"It's… the c-club! Yeah, it's just, not Marco's thing! And honestly, Pony, it's not really my thing either. I just wanted you to have a special night." Star admitted the last part somewhat shyly, hanging her head and feeling that same sense of guilt bubbling up in her stomach at the words left unsaid.

Because, who knows what will happen once you're sent to St. O's…

Pony Head gave Star a long look, eyeing her friend's apologetic body language and even more apologetic voice before ultimately sighing dramatically.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, B-Fly, but only because you're my bestie. We can ditch this joint. How 'bout the Amethyst Arcade?"

Star's face lit up almost immediately, the easy smile across her face spreading even wider when she saw Pony Head's dramatic eye roll, but Star knew it was good-humored.

"Really? Oh, Pony, you're my, um, 'bestie,' too." Star tentatively opened her arms and Pony Head nuzzled into her hold, and the pair nodded determinedly.

"Okay. Let's just find Marco, and we'll go." Star measured her friend's reaction, and was impressed by her composure.

"Eh," she performed the equivalent of a bodyless shrug, scrunching up her neck and lopping her head slightly to one side. "I mean, like, I guess I can sometimes be a little harsh to people too, especially when they're around you. But if you trust him, I'll give him a second chance... but only 'cause of you, girl."