Moon awoke with a sharp jolt as she heard squeaking and chittering in the walls and around her. She immediately got up and brought her wand out as rats were no joke these days. For the past 3 weeks after her birthday rats had suddenly become a major issue in the castle. Oh dear reader I do not mean earth rats that are just animals skittering in the shadows I mean Mewman rats. Easily twice and sometimes 3 times the size of an earth rat and as intelligent as Mewmans if a bit more specific in their intelligence.

Moon stepped cautiously to the door of her bedroom and opened it a crack peering out. There didn't seem to be anyone in the darkened hallway that night; not even the night duty guards. She activated her wand's glow ability and followed the noises through the hallways. She wanted to actually help against these rats as they had been not just stealing from the food supplies in the castle but had also been suspected of kidnapping people as well; what they did with the captives few people were brave enough to try thinking about. Although queen Willow suspected they were giving them to rebel Monsters in exchange for help and weapons as some of the tasks being done could not be accomplished by rats.

She followed the chittering down the hallway to the kitchen, big surprise, where she stumbled upon what appeared to be a lookout watching over the hallway. It almost immediately began chittering in alarm alerting everyone nearby of the intruder. Moon immediately knocked it unconscious with an Arm of extreme wrestling and rushed for the kitchen. She immediately ran into a net placed in the entrance and was hit with something really stinky that made her feel faint. She was just barely able to shrink her wand down and hide it on her before passing out all the while thinking 'Stupid stupid you should have known they would set up traps if they were kidnapping people.'

When Moon came to her mind felt very fuzzy and groggy, she actually felt like the stoners she had seen throughout the city at times. She reached for her wand groaning in effort but stopped when she heard a chittering right next to her and felt she was bound. After waiting a few minutes her mind cleared a little and found she was bound around her wrists and ankles in a lose fashion that she could get out of fairly easily but she also saw a rat standing guard over her within her field of vision. The rat was also looking directly at her and chittered occasional with what looked to be a very smug look on its face. Moon was about to spit an insult at it when its eyes rolled back into its head and it fell unconscious face first with Glossarick standing right behind it.

"*pant pant* Do have any idea how hard it was to find you Moon?"

"Yeah yeah just give me a second." Moon then slipped out of her bonds and brought her wand out fully clearing her mind.

"Let me guess, you tried going after the rats in an attempt to stop them by yourself with no plan and no backup." Glossarick guessed.

"I had a plan… it just wasn't a very good one." Moon admitted.

"Thought so. Perhaps you would like to release us then." Moon turned around at the random female voice to see 6 other people tied up in the same room she was in. Moon shot several thin lasers to cut their bonds and succeeded in freeing them… mostly.

"OW! I got this last one your majesty." One who spoke to Moon slipped off the last bond around her legs before Moon cut her leg open any further.

As everyone stood up they appeared to mostly be townsfolk and servants who appeared to be intimidated by being in the presence of Princess Moon, kind of hard not to recognize her even in a night gown when she had her wand. The one who was talking to her however appeared to be a guardian of Mewni, and a low ranking one by the fact that Moon didn't know who she was appearing to be about 19 years old.

"Lily of the clan Forest and member of the Guardians of Mewni your Majesty." Lily then gave a typical Guardian of Mewni salute of a clenched chest over her heart and another over the small of her back.

"No need for that here please Lily." Moon was exasperated by the show of submission now considering the situation. "Can anyone tell me where we are?"

"We are underground and in the custody of the rats Milady." That was one of the other 5 people; she looked to be a washerwoman.

"I can see that." Moon said rolling her eyes. "What I want to know is where underground are we."

Glossarick answered that one "I don't think any of them know because quite honestly I am not sure myself. These are twisting tunnels forming a literal labyrinth underground the capitol of Mewni."

"We're gonna die down here!" what looked like a boy around age 8 began crying even though it looked like he had been crying for a pretty long time before now.

"No we're not. All we need to do is keep heading up until we get to the surface, we'll make it there eventually." 'Thank you Lily' thought Moon as Lily came to offer some much needed support.

"Well we can't stay here, they're bound to come check up on us eventually and are not gonna be happy when they see we have broken free." This was said by an old man looking to be an almost stereotypical farmer.

"Way ahead of you." Said another boy who looked to be around 11 who had just picked the lock to the room's door.

"How did you do… you know what let's just get out of here." Lily said as they began filing for the door. Moon stopped them all so she could look out stealthily to see if anyone was there.

"You know you could have just asked me if there was anyone outside right now; and the answer would have been no." Glossarick pointed out making everyone chuckle.

Moon, a bit exasperated by the situation beckoned everyone to follow her and they formed a small ad hock group to move out through the tunnels. The most prominent thing about these tunnels were their size, usually rat tunnels could be very small but these ones allowed all of them to walk standing upright with very little impediment. 'There are definitely more than just rats down here' thought Moon. As they continued through the tunnels she noticed other features amongst them were small rat sized tunnels branching off quite frequently with only the occasional big tunnel like the one they were in. The tunnels also varied in quality highly with some bearing stone support pillars and others being nothing more than dirt that looked like they were dug this morning. Many of the tunnels dripped what seemed to be water heavily laden with soil or… other substances.

As they moved Glossarick acted as a guide in his own way directing Moon and the others as best he could or wanted too; it was kind of hard to tell with Glossarick when he simply couldn't do something or simply chose not to do it. At one point he sat in front of a tunnel debating to himself whether it would be the right route for everyone to take until Moon just decided to go down it and backed out just before a section of it collapsed blocking their way. Occasionally they would have to side track in order to avoid rats moving about in their everyday tasks which was surprisingly easier then she thought it would be. As they moved she noticed most of the rats heading a certain direction to where she guessed the heart of the hive was or wherever their main base was located. Moon thought about heading in the opposite direction until she realized "What opposite direction?" as there were a good 10 other directions other than the one the rats were headed too. They kept on moving almost blindly for what seemed like hours with no idea of where they were heading or even coming from half the time until Moon heard the last thing she wanted to hear at a place where the path branched 3 ways.

"Well I have no memory of this place; your guess is about as good as mine."

"Dammit Glossarick, first you were a stickler for the information you did have and now you don't even know what to do now? You are useless!" Moon slumped against the tunnel wall covered in dirt and scummy water exhausted and completely spent.

The others looked at each other nervously until they decided to prop themselves against the walls for what rest they could achieve at this rate. Lily went up to Moon and sat beside her.

"I know that the answer to this question will probably be what I think it will be, but are you ok Moon."

"No. I went into combat alone and unprepared, got knocked unconscious and dragged underground to be bound as a prisoner, wound up wandering around in circles for hours, am soaked by this watery stuff, and now we are well and truly lost." Moon blurted out like no tomorrow. Then collapsed with her head on her knees just not having any fight in her now.

Lily patted Moon on the back "You know this is what basic training feels like to anyone who is trying to get into the Guardians of Mewni."

"Wait what?"

"Yes. The training for becoming a Guardian of Mewni is a bit like stumbling in the dark with the guide simply choosing to not give all the information for their own reasons. Is it frustrating as hell, yes. But the satisfaction is that much greater and the knowledge gained that much more impactful."

Moon smiled as Lily began going off on a tangent after telling her this piece of information. Lily revealed that she was from low down in the hierarchy of the clan Forest, the largest family of Royalty but were so varied that they might as well be 3 separate clans by now. Her father died in a skirmish not with Monsters but with a group of Mewman rebels pretending to be Monsters so as to divert the nobility's attention away from themselves when she was young. Her mother was extremely unreliable and scatterbrained to the point where if her uncle and aunt had not stepped in she might have killed herself by accident due to improper guidance. When she turned 14 she joined in the Guardians of Mewni training program because of strong urging from her uncle to "make her father proud". She is now a fully inducted member with all the rights and responsibilities of a Guardian of Mewni but just an ordinary member. She also revealed that she got captured by complete accident and tried breaking out in the past but didn't have her wand because she had transported it to her commander in an attempt to keep the rats from getting it; a move she admits was a panicked decision and she could have done better.

"…am I boring you with this your majesty?"

"Of course not. As far as I am concerned you are a friend now." Moon then chuckled as Lily gave her a big eyed expression before composing herself.

"Um, ok. So should I call you Moon then and you call me Lily?"

"Finally someone gets that right off the bat. Despite what you may think it's not easy being princess. There are aspects of life that are easy but life itself is not easy." And with that Moon went off onto a tangent describing how pressure from everyone forces her to be all formal to the point where she just wants to be a woodland wanderer for a few days to at least learn if that kind of life would be good for her. Moon also revealed how she wanted to become a Guardian of Mewni but the princess was not allowed not because she had other duties but because it was "Improper" to do so.

That's when Glossarick perked up. "Ah! It's that way." He said pointing down the far left corridor.

Everyone looked up. "So he's remembered." This was said by the sixth party member who looked to be an old beggar woman who had lost one of her legs in the past and hobbled on a cane.

"No, but the air did not seem so foul coming down from this corridor. When underground always follow your nose." Glossarick then took the lead guiding everyone upwards taking a right at another intersection further up until they heard chittering in the distance, a lot of it.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE IS GONE!?" Everyone paused upon hearing a gravelly voice that was clearly a Mewman up where the chittering was coming from. They then moved up slowly peaking around a corner to see there was a massive but flat chamber with a massive gathering of Rats sitting in a circular fashion all of them cowering at a mirror with a black cloaked figure in it. A rat with a red stone in place of its left eye began chittering in a panicked fashion to the figure.

"I don't care if someone managed to find them and broke them free, that means the entire operation is under threat. Find them and take them all out except for the princess, she must remain alive. And do search her for her wand this time as she may have had it on her and used that to break herself free. Ye gods it's like I'm talking to children. And don't call me back until you have found them and subdued them." With that the figure's image vanished.

"I don't know about you but I have the feeling that it isn't Monsters that are working with the rats." Said the 11 year old boy who Moon suspected now was a thief for a living.

As everyone consented to the potential the heard a squeaking from behind them and turned around to see a trio of rats squeaking their heads off to alarm every one of their presence.

"Well so much for keeping quiet." The Washerwoman said.

Moon blasted the three rats aside. "Glossarick, where is the exit?" Glossarick then smacked on a section of wall it fell away in a puff of dirt. A breath of fresh air came pulsing through the exit hole.

The Fellowship of the Ring ST-13-The Bridge of Khazad Dum ( watch?v=NUIZvAe3RBg)

"Quickly to the surface." Lily cried out and everyone started running down the corridor.

The eight of them took off at a run down the corridor with Moon at the front and Lily and the farmer at the back acting as a rearguard. As they ran at full speed they occasionally glanced behind them to see rats chasing them but being rats they were not very fast and only managed to keep pace with them; especially with Lily and the farmer breaking off sections of wall to cause ceiling portions to collapse. 'I sincerely hope the whole thing doesn't come caving in on us.' Moon thought yet again. Moon and the others however had to bat aside and blast rats that kept on coming from holes in the walls in an attempt to slow them down. Fortunately most of the rats seemed to be in that meeting and they were unable to swarm them from the front. The corridor twisted and turned with Glossarick leading them quiet aptly which made Moon wonder why he was holding back in the beginning. As they continued the air became fresher until they turned to see sunlight at the end of the corridor, and an army of rats between them and their exit. Standing at the forefront was that same rat that had the red stone in place of its left eye was standing in the forefront smiling like a parent who had finally caught their child stealing from the candy bin.

As they circled up ready to fight knowing they could not take on all of the rats Moon just had to have one question answered,

"Why are you doing this? What could you hope to accomplish from this?"

The rat actually replied in the common tongue "A princess would know not the plight of us and further more would not even be able to understand out motives. We do what we need to do in order to survive."

"You know they do have a point." The 11 year old thief interjected.

"Shut-up, it's not helping." Replied the washer woman. 'I really need to learn their names.' Thought Moon.

As the rats circled up chittering at them making ready to overwhelm them the 8 year old boy stepped forward and breathed in and out slowly. Everyone stopped and stared for a minute wondering what the bloody hell he was going to do when he turned back to everyone and with tears running down his face said,

"Mama was right about what happened to bad little boys. I told you I was going to die down here." And then leapt at the rat with the red stone, Moon assumed it was its leader, and clung onto it causing them to roll back down past everyone through the crowd of rats so they couldn't grab onto him.

Lily took the initiative and hurled Moon past the rats between them and the exit getting at least Moon free and then charged the remaining rats between them and the exit smacking them aside the frightening precision and ferocity. The others formed a wedge behind her and fought their way out with Glossarick providing a screen of purple mist confusing the rats to the rear causing them to attack each other and run into the walls. Moon then shoot crystal dragonflies to attack and carry off the rats that stood between everyone else and freedom. As they all cleared out of the cave and the rats were reforming Moon shot a wave of energy creating a crystal mirror that blocked this entrance keeping the rats from following them.

(Skip the music ahead to 4:50 if it is not there already)

They all ran through what appeared to be gentle woodland with the sun's position indicating it was around 10:30 in the morning. Moon and everyone else looked around for signs indicating that butterfly castle and the capitol were nearby and found the banners flying about 3 miles to their southwest and began making their way home. The attitude of the party had turned somber after witnessing the child sacrifice himself to buy them time to escape from the rats; what they were doing to him now Moon shuddered to think.

After trekking for about an hour or so they reached the city walls and were stopped by the guards who immediately stood down upon seeing the royal wand Moon possessed. As they made their way through the city Moon saw everything with new eyes. Every trader selling goods, every farmer coming to market, every soldier walking by, every child playing in the streets; Moon saw their lives and knew what they went through and knew she would never understand. She had learned of the plight of monsters yet the common folk's plight was still unknown to her. She finally stopped before the inner walls separating the nobility and rich from the commoners and turned back to everyone.

"Before I go I need to ask you… what are your names? I never got them."

Everyone except Lily looked at each other in confusion and began sounding off.

"Margaret" (Washer woman)

"Ichabod Crane" (Farmer)

"Old Nancy" (The Beggar woman)

"Oliver Twist" (Thief boy)

"I am sorry that you got caught up in this mess. You people don't deserve it as your lives are much harsher and harder than mine." She turned towards Oliver, "Especially yours. I will strive to make this kingdom a better place for you all to live." Moon felt tears flowing down her face "Even if I might not deliver because I am unable to I will at least try. Because that boy in the caves charged like a knight despite him being afraid; I didn't even know his name yet he laid his life down for me like a knight would. I just want to make your lives… easier…" At this Moon began sobbing in front of everyone and feel on her knees.

She felt a pat on her head and looked up to see Old Nancy. "Politics will always stay the same no matter what happens. My Gran Gran saw the shifting powers and I have seen the shifting powers and not much has changed in all that time. All you need to do is keep your heart in the right place and everything will work out even if you can't change the system."

Moon then hugged the old woman and sobbed for a minute with everyone closing in for a group hug. After they broke apart they said several good byes and went their separate ways with Moon knowing fairly well that she may never see them again. As Moon and Lily went through the gates and through the inner areas and into the castle they were greeted by her Queen Willow and King Odrick just outside the actual castle.

Odrick came to her first "Moon are you alright? Did they do anything to you? Those damn rats will feel my fists!" Odrick boomed in anger.

"Moon dear, did you happen to see where the rats were located?" Willow asked. Moon filled in everything she remembered with Glossarick and Lily filling in the blanks.

"Alright Moon, now go get some rest. Studies are canceled for today. I do hope you have learned your lesson in trying to confront those rats."

"Yes Queen Willow." Moon replied in a monotone manner not even bothering to ask how her mom knew she had confronted the rats and was kidnapped that way.

As Moon left she saw Glossarick disappear with Lily getting praise from both Odrick and Willow for her bravery. 'Well looks like someone's getting a promotion' Moon thought to herself and went to her room to wash up and get some rest; all the while the tear streaked face of the boy who leapt at the rats took up her mind.

"We have no choice, we need to accelerate the plan." Said the second cloaked figure in an old man's voice.

"But they're not ready." Said the third figure in a gravelly voice.

"The King and Queen won't wait for them to be before they do a counter strike. Strike in 2 days' time during the Blakwith feast or all will be lost." Said the second cloaked figure. "Remember, the rats are not supposed to succeed."

So... did you people like the special for Star vs the forces of Evil. I thought it was good mostly but there were a few points I didn't like/get. Well it does make mine a near impossibility now in the actual Star universe. Doesn't matter though, this is just a fanfiction after all.