Star vs The Forces of Evil

The Ballad of Earth-Mewni

Disclaimer: Star vs The Forces of Evil was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of Star vs.

Episode 19: Mandated Epiphany

Episode Summary: Star aims to take advantage of a rare clear-headed day for her & attempt to give back to people around Earthni who have also been shaken by the events that led to the Cleaving.

Original Release Date: June 1, 2020

As it turned out, Star did, in fact, sleep far longer than she had hoped to after her meltdown: over 18 hours to be exact. Once she went back to sleep following her talk with Janna & Tom, that was it for her. Of course, it wasn't like anyone from her family was complaining. It was all part of the healing process. But when Star finally did awaken, she felt a brief moment of disgust with herself. She checked her phone just to double check, which only confirmed her suspicions. It was 8:00 AM the following morning. "Oh just wonderful..." She said to himself in an annoyed tone. But she decided that it was a necessary evil and that it wasn't worth the headache to actually get upset over it.

So instead of fretting, she decided to roll with it. And as soon as she got out of bed, she set up her little TV system, putting in a DVD and pressing play on her remote. The DVD in question was a yoga DVD. She put down a yoga mat on the floor in front of the TV, and within moments, she was in the middle of intricate, soothing yoga poses. Said yoga poses included the Extended Triangle Pose, the Big Toe Pose, and the Tree Pose. It was the latter pose that she was in the middle of when Marco & Moon made themselves known, knocking on her door.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Marco said in a sing-song tone, eliciting a chuckle from his girlfriend.

"Don't call me that, please." She slightly joked. "I'd prefer not to be reminded that I just spent nearly a full day sleeping."

"Hey, you obviously needed it. You look so much better today..." Of course that was his word choice just as she was entering the Downward-Facing Dog Pose. The irony was not lost on any of them, even Moon. "I-I mean you look well rested."

"Sure, that's totally what you meant." Star winked at him. Her lust to tease him was just as strong as ever. "Well, I do feel better today. That sleepwalking stuff seriously took a lot out of me. But I'm so much better now."

"Are you sure, dear?" Moon asked; it was time for her to learn about yet another Earth tradition. "That looks...a tad painful."

"Actually, it's not." Star responded, adjusting her position to both maximize the efforts of the pose and to entire Marco. "I'm feeling super relaxed & flexible doing this."

"Really? Well...what is this anyway?"

"It's called Yoga." Marco began to explain. "The simple explanation is it's a form of discipline that involves breathing techniques, meditation, and exercise to achieve peace within the body, mind, and spirit." He turned back to Star. "I didn't know you were into this."

"Ms. Cher recommended it to me in one of my sessions. I haven't gotten around to doing it regularly, but you know what? That's about to change."

"And you're certain this isn't harmful?" Moon had to ask again, motherly instincts and all that.

"If it's done right, the benefits are astronomical. Yoga's all about calmness, harmony-"

"Yoga pants." Star slipped in slyly.

"Yoga pa-wait, what!? Star!?" And now Marco found himself going red in the face. "Come on!"

"Come on yourself. You know I'm right."

He groaned, but playfully so. "Star, please, you know how hard I try to not be one of those guys that just aimlessly stares at your butt."

She paused, then stood up and turned to him, hands on her hips with a playful smirk on her face. "Stares at my what, Mr. Diaz?" Oh no, he was in too deep. Unfortunately, there was no going back for him.

He sighed. "...Stares at your bubble butt."

"Attaboy!" She applauded him for his effort as she went into the Warrior II Pose. She was still too determined to make the nickname "Bubble Butt" a regular part of his vocabulary. "Sorry we couldn't have our normal routine last night. I promise I'll make it up to you tonight. My prize will be all yours." She gently swayed her hips in a flirtatious manner, setting him off even harder. Moon, of all people, was amused by this display, noting the boy embarrassingly hiding in his red hoodie. She gently patted the boy's shoulder.

"A worthy prize for a worthy knight." Was Moon's response to the exchange, a response that Star wasn't prepared for as it almost made her fall out of her pose.

"W-D-M-MOM!" And now it was her turn to have a red face. "You're not supposed to encourage him!"

"Oh, now you're embarrassed?" And Marco was reveling in her embarrassment. But it was always in good fun, evidenced by the raucous laughter the two of them shared as Star turned off her TV and embraced both her boyfriend & her mother. "So, your Mom and I wanted to take you to the mall today as a treat - you know, for the whole sleepwalking thing, and also just because - but if you're not up for that, we could-"

"Um...actually..." She interrupted him, blushing slightly and looking away. "Could we, like, just...go out together and...hang out? Explore Echo Creek and spend time together?"

Both Moon & Marco exchanged a silent look before nodding in approval. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." Moon spoke out. "We could all use a day out together."

"We can get started right after breakfast, if that's okay?"

"Or we can just start with breakfast!" Marco intervened. "Don't you know what today is?"

"Y-Yeah, it's the last day of the m-OH IT'S THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH!"

"That's right!" He turned back to the confused former queen. "The last day of every month the Diazes go out to Paul Bunyen's for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. It's a new family tradition!" And then back to Star. "And guess what? Your whole family's gonna join us."

"Everyone?"

"Yup! I-If that's okay..."

"Okay!? It's PERFECT!" She was elated. One of her biggest fears was always that her family would be apprehensive about accepting Marco's family for their culture & their personality. Little by little, that fear was proving to be wrong. "I am so ready to get going!" She was one millisecond away from sprinting out of the room before being stopped by her loving boyfriend.

"Whoa ho ho hold on there, cowgirl! Before we go anywhere..." He picked up the stuffed Marco doll on her bed. "For good luck."

Star briefly studied the doll before a light bulb went off in her head. "Actually, Marco...could we trade for today? Could I take the stuffed Star doll instead?"

Marco and Moon both exchanged looks with each other, but ultimately Marco agreed. He reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out the stuffed Star doll he had, exchanging it with the stuffed Marco doll. "Better?"

She nodded. "Better."

"Oh, one more thing!" He raced over to the closest and pulled something out: it was the crown that Marco had gotten for Star as a gift, the one with the heartwarming message that she opened up on their getaway. He returned to Star and offered it to her. "Your crown, my queen..." For once, she smiled at the gesture instead of wincing, though there was still evidence of discomfort on her face. "Please?"

But as always, she was touched by the gesture, and this time she felt like playing along. So she took the crown and gently placed it on her head. "How does it look?"

Both Marco & Moon couldn't help themselves; they had no chance of containing their proud smiles. "It looks wonderful on you, dear." Moon answered.

"Aww, thanks M-WHOA!" And Moon followed up Marco's gesture by gently picking her up off the ground and holding her in her arms, close to her body, like she was still a little kid. The proud smile on her face spoke volumes.

"This brings back so many memories." Moon gleamed, her smile growing wider as her bright eyes laid themselves on her daughter.

"Is this going to be another "Spoil Star Silly" day?" Star asked curiously, putting on a warm front for them.

"No, no, we're not going to spoil you "silly." We're just going to spoil you...a little...okay maybe a lot." Marco tried to reassured her, but he just couldn't hide how much he looked forward to getting to spoil her silly. He knew she wanted to love the special treatment. She knew she wanted to love the special treatment. She just wanted to feel like she "earned it," even though in their eyes, her year-long tireless work as monster ambassador more than justified it and every bit of praise & affection that came before & will come after. And now they could even use her sleep-helping behavior as justification to spoil her. "I'm sorry, Star. But you know me. Spoiling you is just so much fun."

She shook her head and sighed, a warm smile crossing her face. "...Thanks for putting up with me for so long." She said a tad somberly, still keeping her smile. "I'm getting there."

"Yes you are, dear. And we are forever proud of you. Let's go grab everyone and shove off."

"Uh, w-wait!" Marco called out. "Shouldn't we let Star get out of her pajamas first?"

Oh, that would help. Star was still in her sleepwear. Moon carefully put her down and patted her head, slightly embarrassed. "Just meet us downstairs when you're ready, deary."

Once Star was dressed - today she chose to wear her Narwhal Dress as well as her Devil Horns headband - the Butterfly family - including baby Meteora - and the Diaz family - including baby Mariposa - all set out to Paul Bunyen's for a huge all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. They got two tables next to each other; one hosted Star, Marco, Eclipsa, & Globgor (plus baby Meteora), while the other hosted Angie, Rafael, Moon, & River (plus baby Mariposa). Everyone was having a blast digging into the massive pancake breakfast.

"I've never tasted anything so scrumptious!" Globgor remarked, taking huge bites out of his plate full of pancakes. "Is this a common delicacy for the Earth people?" He asked Marco.

"Um...kinda, yeah." He said a bit hesitantly. "This place is the best pancake house in the state, and it gets a lot of business, so..." His uncertain spiel was interrupted with one of the servers putting down a plate with a very tall stack of pancakes in front of them; each pancake was chock full of chocolate chips. "And you haven't seen anything yet."

"Eat up, everyone! There's plenty more where this came from!" Star declared, digging into the first pancake on the plate. "Don't worry, Marco, I got this one covered."

"Covered?"

"Yeah," She reached into her pocket and pulled out some loose cash. "My part-time jobs actually pay pretty well."

"Okay, but this was supposed to be a day out for you."

"But I want it to be a day out for us. This isn't any trouble. Promise." She leaned in and kissed his cheek sweetly. The boy sighed lovingly.

"Alright, but if you're short don't hesitate to let me know. I brought along some too."

"Of course, safe kid." They shared a lip kiss this time, drawing aww's from Eclipsa & Globgor. But Star prematurely pulled away when she noticed something that seemed a bit out of the ordinary. She took note of the entrance to the restaurant; there were multiple parties waiting to be seated. One of them consisted of the creature known as Lobster Claws - one of Ludo's original henchman from way back - and some of his fellow lobster monster friends. This group was repeatedly passed over for seating in the restaurant by the greeter, something that Star found completely outrageous. "Excuse me." She excused herself from the table and escorted herself to the entrance.

"Excuse me..." She got the attention of Lobster Claw's party. "...Hi. Do you remember me?"

Lobster Claws took a good long look at Star's face. Slowly, the memories flooded back for him. "...You're that magical princess, aren't you!"

"Star Butterfly, former princess, at your service." She did a courtesy bow for him. "Hey, why don't you and your friends come sit with me and my party? There's plenty of pancakes for you guys."

Lobster Claws and his friends all exchanged looks. Was this really happening? "You...You mean that? I-Is that even allowed?"

"Who cares? You guys wanna eat or not?" The lobster group all nodded in harmony as Star led her back to their two tables. "Hey guys, so, uh...this is Lobster Claws and his..."

"We're not related, we're just buddies."

"Okay cool. Lobster Claws and his buddies. Is it okay if they join us for breakfast? They were never seated."

Everyone in the group - from Moon & River to Angie & Rafael to Eclipsa & Globgor - silently contemplated the offer amongst themselves. But it only took a few seconds for them to agree & allow the group to join them. For a couple of minutes, everything was fine. Unfortunately, their meal was soon interrupted by said greeter that passed over them earlier. He was not a happy camper.

"Excuse me?" He said rather snobbishly. "You three are going to have to leave." He said to the lobsters.

"Is there a problem, good sir?" River asked at the adjacent table.

"These three don't belong at this table. They need to be seated properly."

"Well not for nothing but maybe you shouldn't have passed over them four times." Star said rather bluntly, not even looking up from her plate until after she finished her sentence. "I was watching you, sir. They were the first ones on line and you passed over them every time."

"That doesn't matter."

"Well I think it does. There was no reason for you to pass over them. They did nothing wrong. They're not hurting anyone. They have a right to be seated just like anyone else that comes here."

The greeter was not taking it well. Here was Star - in his eyes just a naive, immature little girl - telling him off for his bigoted actions, and yet she was doing it in such a calm, collected manner. She wasn't raising her voice. She wasn't drawing unnecessary attention to the situation. She was just politely telling him he was full of it. "W-Well these three couldn't pay for their meal anyway!"

"How could you know for sure? You didn't even seat them." Marco intervened, which only further enraged the greeter.

"I didn't ask you, did I?"

And his sharp attitude towards Marco prompted Angie & Rafael to stand up in defense of their son. "Do not speak to our son that way." Angie barked angrily. "He's not wrong and you know it."

"No, the only thing I know is that it's time for you all to leave. You've caused nothing but trouble for our fellow patrons." He turned to one of the surrounding tables. "Isn't that right, folks?"

Unfortunately for him, almost none of them were actually paying attention to this circus. And the ones that were paying attention weren't particularly taking his side. "Hey, I'm still waiting on my entree."

"Sir, we have more pressing matters to deal with." Clearly something was up the greeter's derriere today.

"Y-You know what, maybe we should just go." Lobster Claws and his friends attempted to stand up and make their way out. But the others were having none of it.

"Nonsense! If my little pumpkin can vouch for you then that's enough for us!" River proclaimed. "Sir, these fine gentlemen have done nothing wrong and only want to enjoy your fine establishment."

"Fine gentlemen!?" Yup, he was mad now. And what perfect timing, as the manager of the establishment came by to survey the problem.

"Is there a problem here?" The manager asked curtly.

"As a matter of fact, sir, there is." Moon spoke first, gently standing up to face him. "These three innocent lobster creatures have been repeatedly denied a table from your employee here."

"They were passed over four times, each time for a non-monster party. They were even passed over by a party that hadn't even set foot in the door yet!" Star added, feeling the anger within her bubbling. "So I offered them to come join our table and this guy-" She referred to the greeter with a hiss. "-wants to kick them out for literally doing nothing wrong!"

"...I see." The manager looked at his greeter, and then at the group. "Well I am terribly sorry about this. Rest assured I will be dealing with this matter appropriately. We do not condone this kind of behavior from our staff."

"Of course you do." Star immediately called him out, sending almost everyone's jaws to the ground. "Everyone & every business condones bigotry to some degree. It's why things are so screwed up in our world. You're only scapegoating this guy to push the blame off of yourself." Star was not holding back any more. But there wasn't any venom in her voice. Her resolute was calm, collected, focused. Sure, she could go full-rage on them, but to her, that wouldn't solve anything. Firm, focused anger was the answer in her eyes.

"Y-You know, lady, I think it is time for you and your family to leave." The greeter said curtly again.

"Oh no no, you're not going to punish the rest of these people for something I did. And you know what? If being courteous & nice to my fellow neighbors is frowned upon here, then I don't feel like I want to take my business here." Star reached into one of her pockets & pulled out a stack of money, handing it to the manager. "I believe this'll cover our meal today." And with that, she took off for the exit.

"Wait for us!" Moon exclaimed, she and River standing up in a huff and following her out. Without a second thought, everyone else followed suit, eventually culminating with Lobster Claws & his friends exiting as well.

"Hold it, wait!" The manager yelled in vain. Though it wasn't lost business - they paid for their meal anyway - it was a public humiliation that they weren't exactly ready for. And the manager wasn't too happy about it, as he glared rather angrily at his greeter. "This is why I'm the manager of this place."

"You're the manager by default."

Outside, Lobster Claws & his group caught up to Star & her group. "Wait! WAIT!" He called, finally getting their attention.

"What's wrong?" Star inquired, unprepared for a show of gratitude that was coming her way.

"We, uh, we wanted to just...thank you for...doing that." Lobster Claws explained slowly and nervously.

"...Doing what?"

"Standing up for us. It's about time someone did."

"What does that mean? Has this happened to you before?"

Lobster Claws nodded. "Not always, though. Just when that stupid greeter is working. We've tried to come on days when he isn't working, but...I guess today luck wasn't on our side."

"Every time we run into him he gives us this snobbish attitude, like he thinks he's better than us or something." One of his friends spoke up.

"Is he a Mewman by any chance?" Star inquired.

"I don't know! Does it even matter?"

"It really doesn't." Marco barged in. He was right. Bigotry was bigotry, no matter who it came from. "The point is he looked down on you just because you guys were different. And apparently he's done it repeatedly."

"Well I'm sorry you three had to put up with that." Star exclaimed in a disappointed tone. "It's just another reminder that there's still a lot of work to be done..." She crossed her arms and looked away crestfallen.

"Work?" Lobster Claws cocked his head slightly.

"She means with the whole "repairing relationships & ending racism thing." Marco explained.

"Oh, right...at least she's still trying. I...thought she would've given up after..."

"After what?"

"After my "suicide attempt", Marco." Star butted in, referring to the fateful night in her room where she decimated her mirror into pieces in a fit of rage and nearly bled out. She remained adamant in her claim that it was not an attempt to end her own life that night. But she accepted that, for whatever reason, that was the consensus between people that heard about the incident.

"Are you okay?" Lobster Claws asked the now-disappointed girl. She gave off a sarcastic chuckle.

"Sure, sure..." She was clearly not ready to delve into this today. "Okay, but like, no, of course I'm not going to give up. I set out to change Mewni and their bigoted ways towards monsters and dammit I was not going to rest until I was done. I guess...I guess I just didn't realize it was going to take so much work and so much time to make that happen. I nearly drove myself into the ground...several times...but you know what? It'll be worth it in the end. B-But enough about me, how about you? I-I haven't seen you since Marco tried to convince me there was good in you."

"And I was right...sort of..." Marco just had to get that shot in; Star playfully laughed.

Lobster Claws, on the other hand, was a bit uneasy. "Oh, you know, just...eh...?"

"Really? W-" Star suddenly stopped herself and turned to her group. "Hey, why don't you all go on ahead? I'll, uh...I'll catch up."

The group looked over at each other. "Are you sure?" Marco asked, but it didn't take more than a reassuring nod from Star for them to feel satisfied. So they took their leave and headed deeper into Echo Creek. Star turned back to Lobster Claws solemnly.

"So...is that really what happened?" Lobster Claws asked, referring to that same night.

"...Not exactly. It's...complicated. But it's not important. How have you been?"

"I guess I could be worse."

"Yeah, this new world is going to take a lot of time to get used to. Lot of logistical nightmares, grounding issues...racial biases, that sort of thing."

"I thought Mewni was bad before, but..."

She noticed his hesitation to continue. "But what?"

"Nah it's not important, I shouldn't be bogging you dow-" Any attempt to change the subject was immediately shot down by Star, who placed a comforting hand on him.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm all ears." She reassured him. "I've got time."

Was this really happening? Star actually wanted to hear him out? "You sure?" She nodded again.

"Come on, let's go for a walk."

So Star led Lobster Claws & his friends to Britta's Tacos and - with her own money - treated them to pain-peppered tacos. During this time, Star essentially played the part of a therapist, asking Lobster Claws and his friends about their experiences while comforting him. "And then one time I was trying to collect water from the lake that sits near our hut and this group of angry Mewmans lashed out at me!" Lobster Claws explained. "Called me names that I can't even repeat."

"Aww, I'm sorry..." Star said with a reassuring shoulder pat. "When did this happen?"

"I...don't remember? I think it was, like, the day after the coronation."

"Eclipsa's coronation?" And suddenly Star found herself overcome with feelings of uncertainty. It was the day after the coronation that she and Tom had planned to go on their long-lasting inter-dimensional trip together to help take her mind off the political garbage overtaking Mewni. "Oh no..."

"What?"

"That was literally the day I left Mewni for a long trip. I was so burned out I needed to get away, but I should've been there to stop that from happening to you guys."

"That ain't your fault. And it wasn't your responsibility. Besides, it was just cruel words. They knew we could give them a beating if we wanted to."

"But we didn't want to, cause we ain't like that no more." One of his friends added. "We just want to be left in peace. Is that too much to ask?"

"I don't think so." Star agreed. "Have you guys had any...you know, friendly encounters since the..."

"Oh yeah, yeah, totally." Lobster Claws smiled. "A lot of the Mewmans that migrated over when the merge happened are actually...well, at least neutral towards us. Very few of them are that friendly to us, but the majority don't give us a hard time, really. It's just a select few, plus the Earth humans that..."

"Yeah, it turns out racism & bigotry are about as American as pie and football."

"I thought it was called soccer." The other friend who hadn't spoke yet finally piped up.

"No, that's an entirely different sport. Don't worry, I was confused too at first." The four of them shared a brief chuckle. "Okay look, I...I know I'm probably not the best person to talk to about all of this."

"But aren't you the one that tried to fix everything by yourself?"

She had to hesitate. The more unique people she talked to, the more she realized just how far reaching her efforts truly were. "Y-Yeah, but like...I haven't had to endure the bigotry, hatred, and vile that you and people like you have had to endure for centuries. So I can't really related to what you guys and your ancestors went through. Especially knowing that I played a part in those rifts being made..."

"But then you turned around and tried to make it right."

"Yeah, but it didn't work the way I hoped..."

"Hey!" Came a voice that didn't come from any of the three lobster monsters. It was from an adjacent table, and it was what appeared to be a half-squid, half-lion hybrid monster. "We haven't forgotten everything you've been trying to do for us."

She was almost stunned. "Really?"

"Yeah! Sure it hasn't been easy, and it probably won't ever be, but we appreciate knowing there's at least one person out there always fighting for us."

"Oh, come on...it's not just me. I have a huge group of friends & family that have my back and are going to help us usher in a great new era of peace for all. I'm not alone, and neither are you guys."

"You sure about that? Cause it feels that way sometimes..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Ahh, it's not important-"

"Uh uh." Now Star was fully invested with the conversation. Star PHD was here to stay...just without the glasses. "Talk to me. I'm all ears."

The monster raised its eyebrows, exchanging looks with Lobster Claws before returning his attention to Star. "You sure?" Again she nodded. "Okay, if you insist..."

Meanwhile, deeper into the city, the rest of Star's group found themselves heading towards the park where the new playground was set to begin construction relatively soon. Of course, given that Star, in the midst of her aggressive sleep-helping, single-handedly took care of almost a quarter of the actual building that was intended, this meant that the group who would actually participate in the build was going to be left with less work to deal with.

Or at least that was the thought process among the group...until they actually arrived at the park and saw a sight that immediately caused their blood pressure to rise. There were a few workers - a mix of Earth humans & Mewni mewmans - who were trying to destroy the progress Star had made. "EXCUSE ME!?" Eclipsa called out as the group dashed into the park to catch them dismantling a part of a big slide. "What on Earthni are you doing?!"

"Someone came in and made unauthorized builds to some of the landscapes in this park. We've been ordered to take it down." One of the workers explained bluntly to them.

"...But why?"

"You gentlemen do know that this is the park for that big community pitch-in coming up, right?" Globgor calmly explained.

"Of course we know." One of the other workers responded rather curtly. "But these builds weren't authorized. Do any of you know who's responsible for these builds anyway?"

Moon and River both looked at each other. Should they out Star? They'd only be doing it out of defense and out of admiration for her efforts. Plus, it was rather common knowledge that this occurred during her sleepwalking stunt, so it wasn't like she was overtly responsible, no? "As a matter of fact, we do." River stated firmly.

"It was our wonderful daughter, Star." Moon praised.

"Oh, her." The worker - the mewman - said with an obvious hint of annoyance in his voice. He turned to his co-worker - the Earth human. "What a surprise, am I right?"

The Earth worker just cocked his eyebrow at him. "I literally have no idea what you're talking about."

For reasons known only to supernatural aliens that don't exist, the mewman took this as a sign to inch closer to him & nudge his arm, winking at him. "Sure you don't, pal."

Again, a cocked eyebrow & head from the human. "Respect my personal space before you force me to strip you of your ability to procreate."

"You guys do know that this was when Star was sleepwalking, right?" Marco asked them. "It was kind of a big deal. You know, three nights...it was even a news story..."

"Oh I remember that." One of the other Earth human workers said. "That was...something."

"Maybe she was 'sleepwalking' but it doesn't excuse her trespassing on private property."

"None of us are saying it does." Eclipsa barked. They really weren't in the mood for a fight with uncooperative and/or stubborn mewmans. "But does it really justify tearing down what's already been built? She even followed the blueprints perfectly."

"Sorry, lady, I'm just doing what your esteemed "mayor" ordered us to do."

Uh oh...that was a no-go. Moon & Eclipsa exchanged smirks. "Oh, is that so?" Moon stepped forward, reaching into one of her pockets and pulling out some papers. "You see, gentleman, my family and I are a part of the mayor's counsel. A shadow counsel, if you will."

"And a fine shadow counsel if I may." River added. "And we have it on good authority that he has ordered that the work that our lovely daughter performed in this park is to remain untouched."

Moon handed the papers to the group of workers, who all took turns flipping through the papers.

The Butterfly family was indeed a part of a shadow counsel the mayor had created in response to the Cleaving. While Star & Marco were out on their getaway, the Butterflies met with the mayor and his people, coming together on a proposal that would allow them to enjoin their political experiences together to help their new world navigate through the new challenges it faced, both logistically and politically. The mayor's office was still the front face of the deal, but the Butterfly family's experience running their former kingdom proved at times to be incredibly beneficial, not just for political ploys, but to help Star continue her road to recovery, especially knowing how some mewmans were still quite sore over everything that happened. Very sore.

"N-Ne-Okay, how do I know this is legit and stuff?" The mewman spoke out again. "You could've forged this for all I know."

"I doubt they could have." Rafael decided this was a good time to make a joke at the mewman's expense. "They're not, what we'd say, finesse with technology, and I doubt you are either." And it took very little time for him to realize he shouldn't have done that. "But that is okay! It is not a bad thing to be inept at some areas of life!"

The mewman had his jaw on the ground. "Are you saying I'm a deadbeat!?"

"No, he's saying you're stupid." Angie chimed in, and now it was time for the Butterflies to have their jaws on the ground.

Marco quickly buried his head in his hoodie. His parents always meant well, especially now. But this was not the time for them to be doing this.

"You know what? Screw this, I'm out of here. I'm gonna go talk to your mayor and we'll get this sorted out!" The mewman stomped out of the park, but backtracked a few steps when he realized the other workers weren't following him. "Um, yo, you punks comin' or what?"

"What? Out here? In front of these people?" It was clear that the Earth worker badly misunderstood the question. "W-Oh OH you meant are we-no no no, we're good here. We're not gonna get ourselves tied up in whatever's going on in your head."

This didn't sit well with the mewman. "Your loss!" And with that, he left, leaving everyone else behind. Following an awkward silence, the rest of the workers also went their separate ways, leaving the Butterflies, plus Marco & his parents standing there to soak in the uncomfortable awkward vibe left behind.

"Just so we're clear..." Globgor spoke up, finally breaking the silence. "Everyone heard that, right?"

"Yes Globgor, we all caught it." River said bluntly to Globgor before turning to Marco. "Marco, my boy, I must ask, why-"

"I don't know why Earth people are so dumb." He said flatly in response. "We just are."

"...quite right. I submit we go relocate our missing party member!"

And so the group went back out, deciding to head to Britta's Tacos, surmising that that was the most likely place they would run into her. And they were right, but the end result was not what they were expecting. They arrived only to find that Star was surrounding by a large group of people, a mix of monsters, mewmans, and Earth humans. She was now basically playing the part of a therapist listening to people in the group go off about their problems and feelings. It was incredibly cathartic for all involved...especially for Star's own therapist, Cassandra Cher, who happened to be watching away from them.

"What's happened here?" Moon asked as Cassandra approached them.

"I think she's learned more from me than she's let on." She responded rather proudly. "I've been watching for the past hour. She hasn't stopped once. Her dedication to whatever cause she takes up is incredible, even if it is as simple as listening to others."

"She is a tremendous problem solver." Moon beamed with pride. "She speaks and acts from her heart..."

Over by Star, she was currently having a talk with Penelope & her boyfriend Slime. "And I can't help it, I keep sliming all of her and her family's furniture!" Slime lamented. "I'm not doing it on purpose, I just can't control it."

"Well, what does Penelope think?" Star turned to Penelope. "Is this like a dealbreaker for you or something? Because I'm sure you thought this through when you decided to go out with him-"

"Oh no no, it doesn't bother me." She said confidently. "I know it's not his fault and he's trying his best to work on it. It's my parents who are the problem." Her tone suddenly turned somber. "They don't like it, and they're a little bit too trigger happy with calling him out when it happens."

"...I see."

"I don't completely blame them, we have really expensive furniture, but like, give him a break, he's trying." Penelope sighed. "I wish I had the moxy to actually talk to them about this, it bothers me every time they go after him for it. But I don't. I'm a coward."

"...You're afraid of your parents?"

Another sigh from Penelope before she continued. "I'm afraid of upsetting them."

"But you love Slime, don't you?" After a brief silence, Penelope nodded her head. "It's...not really my place to get in the middle of things between you and your folks, but...sometimes, being in love and being in a relationship means having to make difficult choices, even if they amount to things like "standing up to your parents to fight for your relationship" or something."

"...But what if they...I don't know, retaliate?"

"Don't they already like Slime? Like this isn't a make-or-break thing or anything, it's just them being upset about something trivial?" Again, Penelope nodded. "Then I'm sure it'll work out. You just have to be calm but firm with them. Also, you guys know you can just get some plastic wrap & wrap the furniture so you don't have to worry about him getting slime on everything."

"Yeah, I thought of that. But you know what? No, that's not an option. Slime doesn't do well with plastic..."

"I'm severely allergic to it." He interrupted.

"And I'm not going to ask him to have to put up with it just so my parents don't have to deal with these issues. It's not fair to him."

Star smiled & nodded along. "You guys are really cute together." Her eyes wandered off to the side where she saw her group & Cassandra standing there in support. "Hi guys!" She shouted, waving to them. "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." She raced over to the ground and embraced them. "Where have you guys been? And Ms. Cher, how long have you been here?"

"I've been watching you go at this for an hour. I guess our sessions together have rubbed off on you quite well." She said with such a proud look on her face. Star blushed.

"Aww, thanks. Yeah, I've picked up a lot from our sessions together, and I gotta tell you, just the feeling of getting to help others, even just listening to them...it's...it's pretty magical."

"Why yes it is, truly...magical..." Cassandra's voice trailed a bit on that last word.

And what about you guys?" She turned to her family & Marco's family. "Where'd you go?"

"We went to that park where the big playground build is supposed to happen." Marco explained.

"Only we found a bunch of hooligans claiming to be town-sanctioned workers trying to tear down the work that you did the other night." Globgor jumped in, causing Star's jaw to fall.

"What!?" She shouted.

"WHAT!?" Others in the group behind her also shouted. Word traveled fast in this world.

"That was you?" Slime exclaimed, sharing everyone's reaction of "what the heck."

Star nervously turned to face them. "Y-Yeah, I can explain..."

"She was sleepwalking." Marco piped up.

"And they wanted to tear it down!?" Star turned back to her family & her boyfriend, outraged over this revelation. "...but I thought it was all squared away with the mayor."

"It was." Moon stepped in. "They were merely trying to intimidate us."

"Let me guess: it was a mewman leading the way."

"I'm afraid so."

"Ugh! What the heck is their problem!?" She exclaimed. "I wasn't in control of what I was doing. And I was just trying to help." She crossed her arms and groaned in frustration. "They're really going to keep taking it out on me, aren't they? Well you know what? It's their loss. It's not going to stop me from trying to make this world better and trying to help the people around me. Even if I'm doing something as simple as listening to other people's problems & trying to help them out. I-I'm not a therapist or anything-"

When Star brought up the word "therapist," Cassandra tip-toed to Moon & handed her an envelope. "Make sure she gets this." She whispered, winking at her.

"-but if I can help people even on a small scale, then I'm doing something good with my time."

Marco brought her in for a hug, his pride for her rising with every second. "Heh, you know if you really wanted to help them, you could do things like, I don't know, host a yoga class or something."

Star got a chuckle out of that suggestion. "Oh Marco, that's funny. I'm not a yoga instructor..."

"No, but that doesn't matter. What matters is you wanna help people, a-and yoga's a great stress reliever."

"A yoga class taught by the former princess of Mewni?" Lobster Claws piped up, making his presence again known. It was clear that the idea was catching on with those in the group. "I could go for that." And this was met with positive reception from essentially everyone else, which both surprised & delighted Star. They then found themselves approached by two others - Jackie & Chloe - who were in the background listening in on everything.

"You take yoga?" Jackie asked Star. Just her mere physical presence got Star's face to go red.

"Y-Yeah, only recently. Gotta tell you, though, it's a great stress reliever."

"Oui, the benefits are exquisite." Chloe added. "I take it myself in my spare time."

"Oh really?"

"I've wanted to get into it, but I just...never could." Jackie admitted. "But maybe now I can. We'll have a really good instructor to work with," She winked towards Star, getting her face to go redder. Jackie knew Star had a physical crush on her, but Star didn't know that Jackie knew, and Jackie was going to have fun messing with her about it. "Plus I'll finally get a chance to break in some yoga pants that I ha-"

"THE YOGA PANTS HAVE SPOKEN!" Now Star's face was an entirely newly invented shade of red. Jackie Lynn Thomas? In yoga pants? Sign her up. Star turned to the rest of the group. "How about it, everyone? Tomorrow in the big park? Noon?" A moment of brief silence, but it quickly passed with everyone joining in applause for the idea. "Great! Bring your yoga mats-" She turned to Jackie "And your yoga pants," She winked back, then turned back again to the group. "And remember, everyone just relax & have a good time. We're all acquaintances or friends here! I've got your back!"

The crowd continued applauding for another moment before breaking off & dispersing, almost everyone going their separate ways. The only ones that stay behind were Jackie, Chloe, and Janna, who also happened to be in the background of the group keeping to herself. Star fell back to regroup with her family, leaving Marco with the others.

"Tomorrow's going to be so much fun, isn't it?" Jackie said to Marco while she smirked his way.

"...You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He asked her, referring to her flirting with the former magical princess.

"...yeah, I am." Jackie admitted, a faint blush crushing her face as well. "But admit it, Marco: you're enjoying it too." That was the truth, evidenced by his own face going red & him covering his mouth with his hands. He might have been "over" Jackie romantically, but physically & sexually, that was a different story. Indeed, the thought of Jackie in yoga pants suddenly entered his mind & it was a battle to control himself.

"Dude...you are such a boy." Janna teased, lightly punching Marco's arm and laughing at his expense.

Later that night, after everyone had gone their separate ways, Star was in her room, reading the papers from the envelope that Cassandra had given Moon earlier. She finished just as Marco walked into the room. "Whatcha' reading?" Marco asked.

"Oh, Ms. Cher gave this to my mom to give to me," Star pointed out. "It's...an application for a provisional license in therapy."

He sat down next to her and peered over her shoulder at the papers. "Really?" She nodded silently in response. "Wow. That's awesome!"

"Y-Yeah, I guess it is."

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just...weird, I guess. I mean all I did today was hear people out while they aired their grievances about the pre-Cleaving bigotry on Mewni and the post-Cleaving bigotry they face now, I don't really think that qualifies me to become a therapist or whatever."

He patted her shoulder for comfort. "You do know that it would take a lot of time for you to even get to that point, right? It's not like you're gonna do all this and then suddenly next week you're a licensed therapist."

"...That's true."

"And hey, it's not like you have to decide right now, right? It's just a suggestion she's throwing your way. I guess she really thinks that highly of you."

"Her and about a thousand other people in my life." She blushed and looked away, slightly embarrassed. All of this endless praise being heaped onto her, how could she be upset at it?

"I'm sorry about the thing at the park," Marco lamented, changing the subject to the more serious matter. "I have no idea what is going on with your people lately, but we're not going to let them intimidate you."

"Eh, don't worry about them so much." Star reassured him, kissing his cheek gently.

"You sure?"

"Uh huh. I already don't like myself very much, so it's not like them hating me is going to make me feel any worse than I already do." She put the papers in her hand on her dresser drawer, turning back to him & smiling. "But I know I'm surrounded by lots and lots of love. I will love myself again one day, and it'll make all of this worth it."

"That's right." Marco placed his hands on her shoulder and engaged in a kiss, carefully taking the two of them down onto the bed where the sparks could really fly. "We're all here for you. Always and forever."

She nodded her head slowly in agreement. "Thanks. Okay, what do you say we head to bed?"

The boy's eyes quickly widened as he checked his watch. "It's early, though."

"Yeah I know, but since I'm gonna be doing that impromptu yoga class tomorrow I figured I'd get an early start on preparations. Which means you and I need to get started right away as well..." She said that with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye.

"Ooh, I love the sound of that."

"Yup! Sooner we start, sooner we can finish and I can go to sleep, and the sooner you can have your fun." She finished with a wink. She was highly adamant about letting Marco "have his way" with her, moreso ever since they found out that her frequently falling asleep in the middle of their escapades was a rare form of "sexsomnia" and only marginally connected to her ongoing health issues. Of course she understood the boy's concerns about "consent" and about accidentally hurting her. But she trusted him with her life, her heart, and her body, and she was never going to hesitate to remind him of that.

"Star..." He playfully whined. "Are you sure?"

"You haven't hurt me yet, have you?" She asked; he nodded. "Right. And I know you won't hurt me now. I trust you completely. And I just want you to enjoy yourself."

He couldn't be upset at her logic, no matter what issues he took with it. "Thanks, babe."

"Besides, it's not my fault you're sexually aroused by the sound of me snoring like a lumberjack."

"Uhh technically it is?" He playfully clapped back at her, his face red as a pepper. Star was unimpressed, though in a joking manner. And she "retaliated" by giving him a gentle wet willy. "Eww, seriously?" They were great at knowing how to joke with each other without hurting each other's feelings. "By the way, you really ought to stop drooling on all of your pillows, the laundry load can't keep up with you."

"Aww, but why would I do that? You enjoy it so much." One could pinpoint the exact moment when shame crossed Marco's face. But Star merely chuckled. "Don't give me that, you know I'm right."

More laughs shared between the two before they quickly stripped their clothes & got to their fun. For as weird as their relationship was, it was twice as powerful. They were hellbent on keeping their bond together through all the hills and valleys. They had each other through all of it, and nothing would change that.

Meanwhile, out in the Neverzone, Cassandra Cher found herself slowly wandering down a dark hallway with a torch in her hand. She reached near the end of the hallway, where she discovered teenaged Mariposa & Meteora waiting there. They had already opened up their self-installed security system up to the final door. With a deep breath, Mariposa opened the door and pulled out the wand that had been sitting there since their last adventure in the Neverzone. She held it up high...and in the process accidentally set off a spell unprovoked, said spell creating a cat-dog hybrid creature. Only it was just the heads of a dog and a cat and not the bodies. It was...not a pleasant sight.

But the demonstration was only meant to show the wand off. Cassandra gasped quietly & tip-toed closer to the two teens, laying her eyes on the wand. "So...it is true."

Both Mariposa & Meteora nodded. "...magic's back." Meteora said firmly.

Now...why did Mariposa & Meteora feel the need to tell Cassandra Cher - Star's therapist - and not literally anyone else in the Butterfly family? That's a very good question...

End of Episode 19!

Ooh, suspense!

It just hit me that May 29 marked TEN MONTHS since I embarked on this insane journey of writing. Yep, the first part of "When Dimensions Cleave" was published on July 29, 2019. Ten months later, here we are. And I have no plans to stop anytime soon. To everyone that's read my stories, left reviews, engaged with me...I am sincerely thankful to all of you. Your support has helped make this possible.

Stay safe. Keep rocking. And as always, please read & review!