Light of the Sun and Stars

by thDorkMagnet

His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

40. Once Upon a Starco

Chapter 39: Once Upon a Starco

Hey Stardom! Got a new chapter for you all! So this one is more of a mini-chapter taking place between the last two, only this time from Star and the twins perspective! Haha, I thought it would be cute to write Star telling the girls a bedtime story and I think you will all like how it turned out! There is definitely more Starco scenes in this one, compared to the last two and I had to return to my roots and do some fluff after all the drama that just went down!

Oh and one more thing, I was going to post this at the bottom but just to make sure everyone sees it I'm going to put it here. So the next three chapters don't have to come out in a particular order and I thought it would be fun to give you guys the chance to vote on which one you'd like to see first! So here are your options:

Mewberty- Marco isn't feel well and has no idea why his body is suddenly breaking out into 'sunspots' or why he suddenly feels extra clingy and protective of Star. I know I've hinted at this chapter a few times in my author's responses but it's Marco going through Mewberty instead of Star.

Baby- The time has come for Star's magic review to see just how far along she has come with the wand and Marco wants to be there to support her and make sure nothing gets in the way of her passing. But things for Star and Marco rarely go the way they want them to.

Cooking with Kelly- It's the Annual Mewni Bake-Off and Kelly had the honor of representing Fang Tang's this year. And she isn't alone as Star and Marco (and possibly Tom I'm still deciding) step up to lend a hand.

Okay so let me know in the reviews which one you'd like to see first! Thanks as always for reading and supporting this story, it really means so much to be guys you have no idea! Now onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters belong to Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

Star sat on the floor with her young cousins watching as they played together with their toys, trying to fight back a yawn as exhaustion threatened to take over. It had been a very long day for her. After Marco and Janna had left for their "camping trip," Star and Jackie had spent a couple of hours playing and entertaining Daisy and Violet, trying to distract them from their pestering thoughts and questions about where the others had gone off to.

That was until the blond had been whisked away by a group of servants, telling her that the princes and princesses had arrived for their meeting. That had let to a strenuous few hours of peace talks (it seemed Star's Free Travel Act had done the trick on calming many of the more violent Monster's fears, giving them more free reign to come and go as they pleased in the other kingdoms all except the stubborn Johansen's but Star and Rocky were starting to get them to crack), dodging bits of pudding sent her way by the messy Glossaryk, and, of course, Pony Head's long-winded speech about how she was the prettiest member, leading to everyone collectively agreeing she was just to get her to finally stop.

But that had hardly been the end of it, practically the moment Star called the meeting to adjourn, Violet and Daisy had appeared (almost as if they had been waiting in the shadows for her this whole time) jumping in her lap and telling her to come play with them. Before the blond royal could even think to decline, they had each grabbed onto a hand and pulled her out of her chair, eagerly dragged her out of the room and straight into theirs. They had picked up their game right where they had left off which Star spent the rest of the day finishing with them. Jackie had joined in at some point (Star really couldn't say when) and had been happy and eager to play along with the three Butterfly's.

Now it was all Star could do to stay awake, her eyes threatening to close at any moment. The only thing keeping her going at this point were thoughts about Marco, wondering where he was and what he was doing. She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss him terribly and the only good thing about staying busy was that it kept her mind off of her boyfriend and friend's escapade into the unknown.

Still, despite her efforts, Star felt her mind beginning to drift, her body leaning heavily against Jackie, who sat on the floor beside her. "Star!" came a tiny yell and the blond royal sat up straight, snorting once as she was forcefully pulled from her sleep. She looked over with droopy eyes as the twins glared at her, Daisy shouting, "You're supposed to be helping us save the princess from the ferocious dragon!"

"Oh right," Star said, yawning into her hand. "Where were we again?"

"The princess was locked in the tower after being poisoned by the dark mage," Violet explained quickly.

"Dark mage?" Star repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, y'know Star, the one with the magic ball that can see the future," Jackie pitched in helpfully, giving Star an encouraging glance.

"Ah yes, that dark mage," Star said with a nod, trying to hide her smile.

"Okay than Star you can beeee..." Violet began, rifling through their toys for one that fit her cousin, frowning in concentration.

That was until they heard the dreaded call. "Girls, it's time for bed." Star and Jackie looked over to see Lily standing in the doorway, only to jump in surprise as the twins began to whine loudly.

"But moooommm," Violet cried. "We're in the middle of our game."

"Well you can finish it tomorrow," Lily replied, her face neutral despite her two grumbling childrens' best efforts to break her.

"But we won't remember where we're at," Daisy said, giving her mom a pouting look.

"Well I'm sorry but bedtime is bedtime," their mother stated fairly, showing zero signs of changing her mind on said subject. "Now go brush your teeth and get ready."

The two rose reluctantly, angrily stomping out of the room, still mumbling things about how unfair their mother was or how stupid bedtimes were. Star had been watching quietly, not wanting to risk jeopardizing her aunt's efforts, that was until she heard little Daisy whisper, "This stinks, Marco's not even here for our bedtime story."

This caused Star to pause, her mind wandering to her boyfriend for just an instant, and without thinking, she rose to her feet and said, "I could do the bedtime story tonight, y'know since Marco's not here to do it."

Everyone in the room turned to Star in surprise at this statement, but the girls quickly asked in elation, "Really?!"

"You promise?" Daisy added a second later.

"Sure, why not?" Star said with a confident shrug. "But you have to get ready super quick or I won't be able to."

The girls let out a cheer before racing down the hall to the bathroom, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity like this.

Lily watched her daughters go, before turning to Star with a worried frown. "Are you sure about this, Star?" Lily asked as she looked her niece up and down. "You look awfully tired."

"Aw, I'm fine," Star said with a wave of her hand, ignoring the stiffness in her body at the sudden motion. Or the fact that her brain was trying to desperately shut down for the night. A promise was a promise and she didn't break those, no matter what. "I can handle a simple bedtime story. How hard could it be?"

…

Star watched as Lily finished tucking Daisy and Violet into bed: kissing them on the forehead, pulling the sheets up to their chins, brushing the hair out of their eyes, the whole works, all the while, the blond was doing her best to look awake and alert, despite not feeling either. She made sure to sit up straight in her chair in the hopes this would somehow convince her aunt. Jackie sat beside her, her body facing backward on the chair with her head resting on its back as she watched the mother-daughter moment silently. If Jackie was tired, she didn't show it, her eyes full of energy and radiance even at this moment, but Star thought she could spot her friend's body drooping just a little bit more than usual.

Once Lily was done, she said softly to the girls, "Goodnight, my darlings. Behave yourselves for Star."

"Night mom," Daisy and Violet replied in soft mutters, sounding like they were already half-asleep.

Star smiled as she watched Lily exit the room, closing the door softly behind her. See, she told herself. Nothing to worry about. I'll be lucky to make it through one book before they're asleep.

The moment the door was shut though, the girls sprang up from the bed, instantly ruining their mother's efforts to tuck them in, bright and (more importantly) energetic smiles on their faces. Daisy hopped off the top bunk, using the side railing to help fling herself onto her sister's bed, landing on the soft mattress with a giggle. The two began jumping on the bottom bunk while chanting, "Story! Story! Story!"

Star's mouth dropped open, unable to believe the girls could have so much energy this close to bedtime, while her mind simply commented, Or maybe not. But luckily for her, Jackie was able to regain control of the situation. "Girls, if you don't calm down Star might not want to read to you two tonight," she said simply and the two instantly ceased their jumping. They laid back down on the bed, side by side, and now facing toward Star, their heads propped up on their elbows and their little legs kicking behind them. "Okay, we're ready," Violet said in a barely contained shout.

Star stared at the girls blankly for a second, until she felt a tap on her shoulder from Jackie and quickly snapped out of her stupor with a shake of her head. "Oh right," the blond royal said, bending down to look through the books she had grabbed from the shelf beforehand. "So what would you guys like to hear? We've got 'The Princess and the Peacock' or 'The Littlest Piggoat'. Oh here's one of my favorites from when I was a kid, 'The Year the Stump Stood Still'!"

"Star, Big Brother doesn't read us a bedtime story," Violet stated as if it were obvious.

"He doesn't?" Star asked, looking up at the two with confusion.

The girls shook their heads. "No. He tells us a bedtime story," Violet replied.

"Wait, he does," Star said

"Yep!" Daisy said with bright enthusiasm. "Big Brother's the best at bedtimes stories!"

Star wasn't too surprised by that. Marco was the best at everything he did, always putting his heart and soul into every task. But while normally she admired that quality about him, she now realized just how difficult it was going to be to try and take his place. How could she possibly follow in his footsteps when he was most likely leagues ahead of her on the story game? Especially since she had never done anything like that before. But she knew she needed to say something so she asked, nervously, "Okay, um, well, how does Marco usually start?"

"Once upon a time," the twins said as one.

"Right, uh, 'Once upon a time...'" Star began hesitantly, looking over to Jackie for help, but the skater girl just shrugged, mouthing, 'Make something up'.

"Once upon a time," the blond royal repeated, biting her lip as she looked around for any idea of what to say next. Her eyes landed on the small dragon toy sitting on the floor and she said immediately, "Once upon a time there were dragons."

The twins shared a look, before Violet asked, "Dragons?"

"Yes. Hundreds of dragons who lived in mountains and volcano," Star said, thinking on her feet.

"Were they nice dragons?" Daisy asked curiously.

"Uh yes, they were very, very nice dragons." The blond royal paused as she saw Violet starting to look bored, rolling her eyes. "All... except one."

This gained the creepy child's attention as she instantly perked up and stared at her cousin with a curious expression and Star felt a spark of inspiration, wanting to keep their interest longer, saying in a dramatic tone, "A horrible, bad dragon who would go around burning down people's houses and villages. The people hated the bad dragon but he was too powerful for them to stop."

"What a meanie!" Daisy shouted, her cheeks puffing up in anger.

"Why didn't the other good dragons stop him?" Violet asked.

"Because they were afraid of the bad dragon," Star explained, growing more and more confident with her story as it went on."But one day while one of the good dragons was out flying, he found something..."

"What? What did he find?" Daisy and Violet asked as one, their cheek marks glowing more than usual.

Star smiled confidently, knowing she had the two right where she wanted them, saying softly, "A young boy."

…

The dragon was in the middle of his morning flight, enjoying the cool morning breeze brushing against his scales as he soared through the endless blue sky, when he heard a cry from the world below. The dragon curious what the sound was began circling the area, listening intensely for any further sounds. After a few seconds, more cries were carried up to him by the wind as if warning him something was wrong and begging for his help. The dragon feeling his heart go out to whoever was in need decided to fly down and see what was making all the racket.

He descended quickly, the clouds parting as he finally was able to spot the source of the cries, a small baby lying in the soft grass, screaming its head off. The dragon was surprised to see the tiny soul, completely alone with no signs of any people nearby. It seemed like the baby had crawled away from his parents. The dragon raised its nostrils and sniffed the air, hoping to smell humans nearby but instead got a whiff of smoke and ash in the distance and turning in that direction he could see the dark pillar rising in the distance. It seemed that this boy was alone after all.

The dragon looked back down at said child, the lone survivor it seemed of the terrible accident and wondered what to do with him. He watched as the child continued to scream and cry, its tiny legs and arms kicking and waving wildly, and the dragon decided right then and there to help the child, knowing its heart couldn't take the sound of bawling much longer.

So, very slowly it flew closer to the child, waiting for its screams to turn to ones of fear, as did most things when they saw a dragon for the first time. But to the dragon's surprise, the child didn't scream or cry, it started to laugh, its chubby little hands reaching out to touch the dragon's snout.

"Wait! The baby liked the dragon?" Violet interrupted loudly.

"Yes," Star said.

"But why? Wasn't it afraid?"

"I guess the baby knew the dragon was friendly and wasn't going to hurt him," Star explained.

"Yeah Violet, that was obvious," Daisy added with a know-it-all tone.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Ahem," Star said, clearing her throat. "Can I please continue the story now."

"Oh right, go ahead," Violet replied.

The dragon startled by the child's reaction stared at it in confusion for a second. But seeing its innocent, smiling face staring up at with no fear or concern, the dragon moved closer. It snuffled the boy's hair with its large nostrils, checking to make sure he wasn't hurt, making the baby laugh again. But seeing no damage to the child upon closer inspection, it very gently used its snout to push the boy over onto his chest so that it could grab onto the back of the baby's shirt with its massive fangs, being very slow and careful to avoid hurting him, before lifting off the ground again and flying away.

"Wait shouldn't the dragon check and make sure the baby's parents really aren't around, cause otherwise wouldn't he be kidnapping him?" Daisy suggested.

The dragon lifted off the ground again and flew away, but not before sailing over the burnt down village a few times to make sure there weren't any other survivors, eventually coming to the conclusion that the baby was indeed the only human around and flew him back to the cave he lived in.

…

"So why'd the dragon decide to raise the baby himself?" Violet asked, cocking her head to the side with a curious look.

"Cause it was the right thing to do," Star explained simply. "He saw the baby needed help and did what he could to help him."

"And he did it cause he loved the baby, right Star?" Daisy added, giving her cousin a bright grin.

Star nodded. "Uh-huh, that too," the blond royal agreed. "The dragon became the baby's dad and took care of him."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Daisy cooed, squishing her cheeks with her hands as her eyes shimmered with joy.

Violet hid her own smile, finding that very sweet too but not wanting to show it. "So what happened next, Star?" the creepy child asked.

"Yeah did the bad dragon find out about the baby?!" Daisy exclaimed in fear.

"Well, you two will have to be quiet so Star can tell us," Jackie reminded them and both girls immediately covered their mouths with their hands to stifle any further outbursts. Star giggled at her cousins' antics before continuing the story where she had left off. "Now where was..." the blond muttered. "Oh right, so after that, the boy spent years living in the cave with his dad and the other dragons..."

…

Many, many years went by and the boy lived in peace with his dragon family. But with every passing year the boy found himself craving knowledge, curious about the outside world, and although he loved his family very much he wanted to leave to see the world. But the boy kept his secret dream to himself, fearing hurting his family's feelings by telling them his true desires, knowing he was safe so long as he was in the caves.

Or so he thought.

One day, the bad dragon found out about the boy and became furious. He knew this boy came from one of the villages he had burned down and was angry that someone had managed to escape right under his nose.

"I knew it was the bad dragon that burned the boy's village down!"

"Violet shhh!"

And not only had the boy survived but the others had kept him a secret from the bad dragon all these years. The bad dragon was so enraged that his roar shook the mountaintop, making the earth beneath the boy's feet rumble, causing him to shake in fear. The bad dragon then declared that humans were not allowed to be in the caves and that he should be cast out at once.

The other dragons said they wouldn't do this for he was their son and they loved him.

The bad dragon laughed evilly, a horrible, terrible sound that made the boy shake even more. "Love?" he fumed. "You fools actually believe in such a pathetic emotion. Love makes you weak, love makes you helpless. True strength comes from hatred and since all of you have forgotten this then you can stand aside so that I may dispose of this nuisance myself!"

The bad dragon went to gobble the poor boy up, who was too frightened to move, but before he could the other dragons did the unthinkable... they attacked the bad dragon!

The bad dragon roared in anger as his own kind fought him, shouting vile curses at them, but the others did not care, they no longer feared the bad dragon's evil. Then the good dragon, the one that had found and raised the boy, shouted to his child, "Quickly, you must run from here and never come back!"

The boy obeyed, turning and running from the cave as fast as he could, he never looked back but he shivered as he heard the bad dragon promise to get his revenge on the child for causing the dragons to betray him. The boy kept running and running and running until he was far away from the mountains, the cave he had once called home but a peak in the distance.

When the boy did finally stop, he was tired, his legs hurt and his lungs ached. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his heart still pounding in fear from the bad dragon's chilling words and threats. Only now, looking around him the boy realized that for the first time ever, he was all alone. There was no one to comfort him or take care of him and the boy felt sadness creep into his heart as tears spilled from his eyes.

…

"Aww, that's so sad!" Daisy suddenly said, her face full of sorrow for the imaginary boy. "He had to leave his family and everything! He must be so worried and scared!"

"Did the bad dragon find him?" Violet asked, her eyes full of intrigue. "And what happened to the other dragons? Where did-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Jackie spoke up with a small laugh. "I'm sure Star's getting to that."

"Yeah, don't want to spoil anything before I get there," Star added, winking over at the twins.

"Okay," Violet agreed with a small nod. "So what happened next?"

"Wellll," Star replied, biting her lip in thought. "The boy met someone."

"Who'd he meet?" Daisy asked curiously.

"U-Uhhh... h-he met," Star stuttered nervously, the pressure getting to her as she struggled for an idea.

"A dark mage?" Violet suggested.

Star nodded with a relieved smile, but she paused before saying, "A light mage."

"Oooohh even better," Daisy said, her eyes sparkling with joy.

Violet made a face of disgust, even going so far as to stick her tongue out and gag, before muttering under her breath, "Speak for yourself."

…

The light mage had been out for a stroll in the beautiful woods, enjoying all the simple joys the morning had to offer. She loved seeing nature and hearing the gentle call of the birds or feeling the wind breathing against her skin, it gave her more delight than all the magic in the world. At least, so she thought. For on that fateful morning she was about to meet someone who would become a new, even greater, source of joy in her life.

"The boy!"

"Daisy shhh!"

The light mage quickly picked up on the sound of sobs and sorrow and was immediately drawn to it, her heart aching and her kind nature seeking to soothe the troubled soul she could hear nearby. She made her way toward the sound, her steps quick and hurried, wanting to help him as soon as possible, but when she did finally emerge into the clearing, she stopped, her heart doing a double-take. The boy was quite adorable if she was being honest, even if the sight of him crying was heartbreaking to behold. He had soft brown hair that danced in the gentle breeze, a pair of gorgeous chocolate brown eyes that seemed to be endless the more the mage stared into them, which she found herself doing as tears poured from there with no sign of stopping. His clothes, which consisted of just a hoodie and jeans were a bit too big on him, making him look somehow even smaller and more delicate. Everything about him screamed innocence and the mage was taken aback that such a gentle soul could even exist.

The boy, meanwhile, had finally noticed the mage's presence and he found himself staring mouth-agape at the beautiful form before him. She had long, almost glowing blond hair that seemed to match the color of sunshine itself, vast blue eyes that looked like a piece of the sky had been captured and replaced with her pupils. Staring at her outfit which was a blue robe and skirt, a magician's hat, and purple boots, the boy realized she must be someone important if her fancy clothes were anything to go by. And if that didn't tip him off of how special she was, then the large magical staff he could see strapped to her back was a dead giveaway.

The mage quickly recovered from her shock, though, as she raced over to check on the boy. "Are you okay?" she asked, bending down and examining him closely. "Did you get hurt? Is that why you're crying?"

The boy shook his head, his cheeks flushing some in embarrassment. "No. I'm fine."

The mage let out a breath of relief, before asking him in concern, "Well what are you doing out here all alone? You're lucky you didn't get attacked by a beast or something?"

"I-" the boy began but tears burst from his eyes again, making it impossible for him to continue as he wept pitifully. The mage watched him for a second, before gently wrapping her arms around him in a hug, hoping to soothe his troubled mind. She brought him closer to her chest and he happily rested his forehead there, tears continuing to stream from his eyes as all his worries and grief flowed out of him.

The two stayed like this for minutes on end, the girl rubbing gentle circles onto his back, while the boy soaked her clothes in tears, but she didn't seem to mind. Finally, the boy was able to recover enough to chock out, "I lost my family. The bad dragon- he took them away from me!"

"What?" the mage said in confusion, pulling out of the hug and holding him at arm's length. "Bad dragon? What are you talking about?"

The boy sniffed a few times, rubbing at his swollen eyes, before he confessed to her, telling her his story, leaving out no detail as he laid his soul bare for her. And when he was done he burst into tears again as the pain of all he had lost came crashing down on him again.

The girl's heart plummeted as she listened to his story, finally understanding why this boy was so torn up. That sounded awful, he had been through so much in such a short time. "There, there," the mage soothed, pulling him into another comforting hug. "Everything will be alright. I'm sure the other dragons are fine, dragons are nearly indestructible, even fighting one of their own. "

"But what can I do?" the boy cried. "The bad dragon will be hunting me now, I can't go back if he finds me, he'll- he'll-"

"He won't!" the mage said firmly, squeezing his small frame in a protective embrace. "He won't ever find you or hurt you. Not on my watch!"

"Wait, what-what are you saying?" the boy asked his cheeks blushing a deep red.

"I'm saying I'm taking you with me," the girl said, leaning back so she could look into his eyes, giving him a warm smile to try and battle the coldness of the bad dragon's actions. "You can stay by my side and I'll protect you. I have magic, so even a dragon as powerful as the one you spoke about won't be enough to stop me. What do you say?"

The boy blinked, in complete disbelief by this girl's offer. Was this girl for real? Did she really want someone like him, someone who barely understood the outside world and all its complexities by her side? Was she really offering to protect him even though they had only just met? It seemed almost too good to be true.

"Um, are you sure you want me to stay with you?" the boy asked hesitantly. "I mean, we kinda just met and I'm not sure how helpful I'll be to you."

"Nonsense," the girl insisted, giving him a positive grin. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you to come with me. We may have just met but I can see you have a good heart. And I'd like to help you if you'll let me."

The boy paused for a second, before he nodded, a smile slowly growing on his face. "Okay, yeah, thank you so much. I promise you won't regret it!"

The mage squealed in joy, glad to finally have some company on her long journey. It could be very boring traveling alone. But she recovered quickly enough, clearing her throat as she stood, offering the boy a hand up which he eagerly took. "Then come on, let's go find you something to eat, I'm sure you must be starving by now," the mage said sweetly as she led her new friend away from the silent clearing.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sounded and the boy blushed bright red as his stomach humiliated him at the worst possible time. The girl just laughed though and said with a wink, "I'll take that as a yes!"

"Uh, haha, yeah," he sheepishly muttered, his cheeks still a darker shade of red than his hoodie. But trying to quickly change the subject he asked, "So where are we going anyway?"

"Wherever we want," the mage replied, grabbing the boy's face and pressing it against her own while she did a cute little dramatic flourish to the world around them. "We do what we want, go where we want, and let nothing hold us back! What do you say?"

The boy's eyes glittered with joy at that. Go wherever they wanted. See the world. That was literally his dream come true! It seemed like he couldn't have picked a more perfect companion and protector. What were the odds of him meeting someone with the same desire to travel and explore as he did?!

"I say that's perfect!" the boy screamed, pumping his fists into the air, his heart practically leaping from his chest he was so excited. "Th-That's all I've ever wanted to do! I can't believe I'm actually going to see the world!"

The blond giggled. "Well since you're so excited, I'm gonna have to show you some of the wonders I've come across since I started traveling!" the girl said with a bright grin.

"Really? Like what? How many?" the boy asked, his curiosity beyond peaked at this point.

"Oh wow, there's kinda more than I can count actually," the mage replied thoughtfully, before putting an arm around the boy's small frame. "But don't worry, we've got all the time in the world to see them."

…

"Wow, that is so romantic," Daisy said with a wistful sigh. She paused letting out a tired yawn, before continuing, absentmindedly rubbing at her eye. "They are so perfect for each other. They should totally get married."

"They can't get married yet, Daisy. They just met," Violet pointed out, although there was hardly any emotion in her tone at all, showing the first signs of drowsiness, her head leaning heavily against her arm and her eyes just barely beginning to droop.

"Well that never stopped mom and dad," Daisy replied, her own head beginning to lull to the side as if fighting to stay upright. "Mommy said they got married after only two dates."

"Mommy also said that she and dad didn't get along and that's why he left," Violet argued weakly. Star and Jackie, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, feeling suddenly awkward at the sudden turn in the twin's conversation, neither sure if it was a good or bad thing the way the two casually talked about seemingly terrible events in their younger lives.

"Then they weren't really in love," came Daisy's immediate response. "Unlike the light mage and her friend, right Star?" The two girls looked over at their cousin for conformation, hoping she could straighten this argument out.

"Uhhh," Star began hesitantly, the sudden pressure to say the correct thing causing her to freeze. A quick glance over at Jackie yielded no results as the skater just shrugged and gave her an equally lost look to the one she currently felt. A part of Star even debated on running to go get Lily in hopes of avoiding having to engage in this conversation herself, but seeing the quizzical looks on the girls' faces staring at her with such intensity, she knew there would be no easy way out of this situation. So she just sucked in a deep breath and told them in the most straightforward way possible, "Well some people are good for each other and sometimes they're not. Things don't always work out but that's okay."

Daisy and Violet gave the nervous Star a confused look, before the latter simply asked, "So do the light mage and her friend love each other or not?"

"Uhh they care about each other and sometimes that's the first step to falling in love," Star explained, feeling a little less uncomfortable now that the focus was off of Lily and her past failed marriage.

The twins nodded at that, before Daisy said, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Star breathed a sigh of relief, only to immediately freak out as the cutesy girl added, "I mean, that's what you and Big Brother did when you fell in love, right?"

Star let out an unexpected squeak, her cheeks flushing a deep red, in total shock by Daisy's out of nowhere question. "U-Um well, yeah I guess," the blond royal replied, still trying to will away her blushing cheeks as she stared off into an abandoned corner of the room in hopes of not having to meet anyone's eyes. "Only, I'm not sure if we're..." Star began only for her voice to trail off, not even sure where she was going with this conversation now.

Thankfully, Jackie became Star's saving grace, telling the twins, "They haven't said 'I love you' yet. Right now they just really care about each other a lot and that's okay too." The two girls nodded in understanding, before letting out simultaneous yawns. "But right now, I think it would be best to let Star finish the story before you two sleepyheads fall asleep on us," Jackie added with a grin.

"I'm not a sleepyhead," Violet said with a halfhearted pouting look, still struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Me neither," Daisy added, her head now leaning against her sister to try and stay upright.

Star and Jackie shared knowing smiles before the blond continued her story.

…

The light mage kept true to her word, showing the boy almost every inch of the beautiful world they lived on, the boy finally seeing exactly what he had been missing living in a cave all his life. And the boy was not disappointed, every day was filled with new adventures, new sights and wonders some of which he couldn't have thought up in his wildest of dreams, and every moment he spent on the new world was better than the last.

And it was all thanks to his new friend.

The boy couldn't thank his blond companion enough for allowing him to experience such wonders but whenever he mentioned such things the girl would just shrug and tell him it was no big deal. Even though, to the boy, it was the biggest deal in the world! And part of him felt bad that he had no way to repay the light mage, even if she insisted just having him there was all the payment she needed.

Which wasn't too surprising considering who he was dealing with, the boy didn't think he had ever met someone so nice before, this girl's kindness seemed to know no bounds, the boy witnessing first-hand how she used her magic to help others. She would cast spells to help get cats out of trees, or save people being carried away in a flood, or fend off dangerous beasts, or even just something as simple as creating a meal for a hungry family. And to the boy, it seemed like his new friend didn't seem to have a selfish bone in her body.

The more time he spent with her, the more he grew to care about her as she quickly became the most important person in his life. So much so, that the boy wasn't sure if he loved going on adventures because it was what he always wanted or because he had his blond friend there to experience it with him. Either way, he wouldn't want to change a single minute of their time together.

For whatever reason beyond either of their understanding, the two got along flawlessly. They laughed and joked with each other like they had been friends their entire lives, talking for hours on end about whatever was on their mind while being sure to pay close attention to what the other had to say, and just taking care of each other. Whenever the boy would cook meals he would be sure to give his friend an extra portion even if it meant losing some off of his own plate, while the girl would oftentimes give up her own blanket if she noticed the boy looking even slightly cold at night. The two were more than just companions or friends, they were each other's family and they depended on one another more than they could ever know and the two silently vowed to never part, to stay together forever no matter what.

Or at least, so they hoped.

One day the two arrived at a small town, one that even the light mage in all her travels had never come across and the thrill of a new adventure caused both of them to grow eager and excited. They rushed around the village, pointing and gawking at every new sight they saw, taking in as much of the town as they could at once. But as they ran around, brown and blue shining with fascinated interest, they made sure to hold hands so they wouldn't risk accidentally getting separated or lost. This was a pretty common thing for the two of them to do when they were out and about, after one particularly traumatizing incident where the boy lost sight of his friend in a crowd and had thought he heard a dragon roaring in the distance, curling up into a ball out of fear the bad dragon had returned to exact his revenge. Now the two were much more careful and aware of where the other was at all times.

But as the two explored the village, so lost in their own thoughts, they didn't notice a dark form descending from the clouds above, nor did they notice the citizens of said village pointing and muttering amongst themselves at the odd sight. But as the dragon slowly came into view, the people were entranced since none had ever seen a dragon before, most didn't wander out this far from the mountaintop and many began speculating why a dragon would journey all the way there.

But their curiosity turned to fear and then to panic as the dragon suddenly let out a hot breath of fire, lighting the tiny village aflame. The people screamed and scrambled to escape, finally alerting the two teens of the bad dragon's appearance. They looked over in shock as the dragon continued its assault on the town, flames continually shooting out of its mouth as it tried to coat every rooftop in its destructive heat.

The light mage immediately drew her staff, preparing to attack the creature, but the boy stopped her, putting a shaky hand on her arm. The girl watched as her close friend shivered and shook, despite the rising temperature, his eyes wide and full of fear as he told the mage between chattering teeth, "That's him. th-that's the bad dragon."

The light mage's eyes widened as she looked from her friend to the dragon and then back, asking, "Are you sure?"

The boy nodded. "Y-Yes. P-Please d-don't fight him. He's too powerful!"

The blond didn't reply at first, just watching as the dragon continued to burn the innocent village down, her grip tightening on her staff as her desire to help these poor people was almost more than she could bear. But looking into the pleading eyes of her friend, she knew she couldn't, she had to focus on the most important thing right then, getting him as far away from the horrible beast as she could. Then she could focus on actually fighting the thing.

So, without a word, she grabbed her friend's hand and began leading him away from the horrible scent of ash and screams of terrified villagers, swallowing down the lump in her throat as she did so. She never turned, keeping her eyes trained on the opened gate leading out of the village, which the other people were pouring out of, and she did her best to push her way through the crowd without hurting anyone. But that was before she heard the roar, one that made her bones rattle and her head spin, but it was what followed after that caused her heart to plummet as the dragon loudly called, "There you are, boy! You thought you could escape from me!"

The two turned and watched as the dragon dived for them, dark, sinister smoke rising from its mouth as he sailed toward the two. The boy screamed, clinging onto his friend in fear, but the girl just pulled the staff out from behind her back and shouted, "Crystal Shield!" Suddenly a barrier formed around them and the dragon bounced off it with a loud roar of pain. The two smiled in relief, watching as the dragon shook its head, letting out low groans of annoyance before its beady eyes fixed on them again.

Soon flames tumbled from its mouth, hitting the barrier but it held under the intense heat. The blond waved the staff around before shouting, "Winterstorm Hyperblow!" and the shield instantly dispersed as a blast of cold magic shot out toward the dragon, instantly diminishing it's flames as puddles of melted ice fell to the ground.

The dragon opened its mouth to shoot flames again, but the mage was just a little bit faster than it was, chanting, "Raspberry Ribbon Lasso!" Glowing red ropes shot out of the staff, wrapping around the dragon's mouth and sealing it shut. The dragon growled in anger, smoke shooting out of its nostrils as it strained against the magic ropes, even using its sharp paws to try and claw its snout loose.

The blond, knowing that wouldn't hold for long, turned to her friend and shouted, "Quickly, you need to run from here! Get as far away as you can!"

The boy felt tears in his eyes, as a feeling of deja vu over-powered him and he shook his head frantically. "No! No, I won't leave you!" the boy shouted, grasping the girl's shoulders.

But she shrugged him off, saying in the calmest tone she could, "You have to. It's the only way! I can't fight this dragon and keep you safe, too," Still seeing the hesitancy in his eyes she added, "I'll come find you once this is all done, I promise."

The boy didn't say anything for a second, just staring lost into his friend's crystal eyes but finally, he obeyed her wishes turning and running from the village while wiping the tears from his eyes with his sleeve.

The mage watched her friend go, before turning around to face the dragon with a glare. The dragon finally managed to free its snout, but to her surprise, instead of attacking the dragon began to laugh, a low, throaty chuckle that put the mage on edge. Its beady eyes narrowed on her as it bent down so it was level with the girl, its hot breath wafting against the girl's skin, making her shudder. But all it did was whisper, "You shouldn't have done that. Now the boy will be mine."

"No he won't," the blond snapped, raising her staff to cast another spell. But the dragon was for once quicker, using its long tail to smack into one of the ash-covered buildings causing it to collapse, the rubble crashing down onto the mage. Once the mage was buried under a mountain of rubble the dragon lifted off the ground, no longer interested in finishing off the village, not when his revenge was so close at hand.

A few flaps of his wings and he spotted his target below, the boy running as fast as he could, but he was no match for the speed of a dragon. The dragon smiled evilly, before swooping down, its talons opened and ready to snatch up his prey. The boy turned at the last second, barely having a chance to scream before the dragon's thick claws latched into the back of his hoodie lifting him off the ground, holding him easily in just one of its massive paws. The boy, of course, struggled uselessly, scratching and kicking in any attempt to break loose, while screaming noisily to be let go or for his friend to come rescue him, but it was all pointless, the bad dragon had him again and this time he wouldn't be letting him go anytime soon. With a steady beat of its wings, the dragon carried its hostage far away from the burning village, eager to get home and soak in its glory.

The pile of rocks were flung aside as the barrier the light mage had created expanded before disappearing, thus freeing her from her predicament. She panted looking around for any sign of her friend, calling his name as she began running for the gate, hoping to somehow save him in time. But then she spotted a dark form on the horizon, she came to an abrupt stop, her heart aching as she listened to the faded but still desperate pleas of her friend, screaming for her to help him. The girl collapsed to her knees, lacking the strength to stand as tears poured from her vision, watching in failure as her friend was carried away from her forever.

But her tears of defeat, soon turned to determination as she remembered the promise she had made to him. No, she couldn't give up. She would save him. She wouldn't let this be the end of her friend. She would find him and rescue him even if it killed her. And so, gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand, her hands clenched so tightly around her staff it was beginning to rattle. She spun the staff around a few times in her grip, letting the magic she needed gather, before she shouted, "Summoning Cloudy Charm!"

A pink, smiling cloud with wings appeared next to her. The blond didn't waste a second as she climbed on, letting herself get situated in the fluff as she shouted, "Follow that dragon!"

"Aye, aye, ma'am!" the cloud spell said, before zipping off in the direction the dragon had went. The blond mage watched intensely as the dragon's form stayed far ahead of them. Although the cloud was fast the dragon was faster and his head start meant they wouldn't be able to catch up to him before it reached its cave. The blond let out soft breaths to try and calm herself, while whispering, "Please let me reach him in time. Please don't let me be too late."

…

The dragon's lair smelled of ash and decay, the stone walls coated in scratch and burn marks from whenever the dragon would become enraged (which was often). The ground itself was hot to the touch, magma and molten lava resting just under the surface, making staying inside it unbearable for anyone but a dragon. The area was fairly well-lit by a fire pit in the center of the space, currently being used to roast the dragon's dinner, a large slab of meat which was already beginning to burn and ruin in several places not that the large reptile minded. He preferred it that way.

The boy sat with his back up against one of the walls of the cave, hugging his knees to his chest as his frightened eyes watched the dragon wearily as it focused for now on its food and not its prisoner, which the boy was thankful for. The boy risked a look around, trying to think up some sort of escape. Despite his attention being elsewhere, the dragon still kept his body close enough to the exit that making a run for that would be a death wish and the boy shuddered to think what this creature would do to him if he did attempt such a perilous escape.

But then again he also knew staying would end up just as badly considering how many piles of bones he could see scattered about the cave, the boy guessing they were from either creatures hunted and brought there like the boy or had been stupid enough to enter the dragon's domain on their own, but whichever it was the boy dreaded coming to the same fate. Beads of sweat poured from the boy's brow both from his growing fear and the suffocating heat and he shifted uncomfortably.

This seemed to draw the dragon's attention and the boy nearly choked on a gasp of fright but did his best to keep his eyes level with the beast, despite wanting nothing more than to cower away. He licked his dry lips and asked nervously, "What do you want from me?"

"Revenge," the dragon said simply, poking at the cooking meat with a sharp claw.

"Revenge?" the boy repeated hesitantly. "Revenge on who?"

"On those fools who dared to defy me," the dragon growled, the rumbling low its throat causing the boy to shudder. "They thought they could keep you from me, but I found out, I always do. And then they attacked me! Nearly killed me. It took me weeks to heal, I will make sure they all suffer the same fate."

"What does that have to do with me?" the boy asked fearfully.

The dragon grinned evilly at the child, its beady yellow eyes full of dark promises as it replied, "You. You're the example. Once I'm done with you, the dragons will not dare to defy me again, lest they suffer the same fate."

The boy felt his heart stop, swallowing once in fear, both for himself and his family, while his body began to shake from head to toe. "You-You won't get away with it," the boy defiantly replied, but it was halfhearted due to the noticeable quiver in his voice. "My family will come and so will my partner. She'll save me from you."

The dragon laughed at that, its wings expanding as it rose to its hind legs, wrapping its arms around its scaled belly. Once it was through with its laughter, its front claws slammed into the ground, cracking the stone beneath it and causing the whole cave to rumble, loose rocks and dirt raining down from above. The boy whimpered and pulled his legs a little tighter against him. "That mage is buried under a mountain of rubble," the dragon hissed out, looking incredibly amused by the boy's fearful expressions. "She will not be saving you. In fact, I doubt she will ever see the light of day again."

"No," the boy gasped out, tears flooding his vision as the dragon above him just roared with laughter again.

"Think again," came a determined voice, a blast of magic cutting off the dragon's cruel laughter, striking the dragon's snout and causing the reptile to stumble back in pain and surprise. The boy looked over to the entryway and nearly cried with relief as the blond mage stood triumphantly on a floating pink cloud, looking more beautiful and majestic than the boy had ever thought possible. She leapt from the cloud, landing delicately on the hot stone as she twirled the glowing staff expertly around in her hands.

The bad dragon had recovered enough to notice the girl, baring its sharp fangs at her as it hissed, "How did you survive, mortal?"

The blond gave the beast a smirk, replying smugly, "Easy, I couldn't die yet." Her eyes met the boy's as she added, "I made a promise I need to keep." The two smiled at each other, a look of love and longing passing between them, before a loud roar interrupted the moment. The two turned just in time to see the dragon releasing a breath of fire at the mage, who quickly cast, "Cooling Confetti Cannon!" and a cannon appeared beside her, shooting off bursts of ice-covered confetti that exploded as they met the dragon's fire. The dragon did his best to hold the cannon off but was soon overpowered and hit by the colorful explosions himself, his body covered in the rainbow substance as he growled in fury.

The blond, seizing her opportunity ran to her friend's side. "Hey, you okay," she began, only to stumble back in surprise as the boy threw his arms around her in a tight hug, one that caused the mage's cheeks to flush bright red.

"You came, I knew you would," he whispered into her shoulder and she smiled before hugging him back tightly.

But the hug didn't last long as the dragon had finally managed to destroy the annoying cannon, a blast of fire causing the spell to undo, poofing from existence. The dragon satisfied that the device was now gone, turned its attention onto the two teens. As its beady yellow eyes met them, the blond raised her staff to cast another spell but the dragon's tail lashed out, knocking both of them to the ground. "I've got you both now," the beast declared superiorly and the mage heard the dragon draw in a breath, no doubt to burn them both to a crisp, and ignored the ache in her body as she reached for her fallen staff, her fingers just inches shy of grabbing it. "No!" she shouted in despair, feeling the heat on her skin as the dragon's flames shot towards her and her friend.

But the flames stopped just in time as something suddenly struck the dragon's snout, making it let out a sharp wail of pain. The blond looked behind her to see the boy picking up bones from the floor and throwing them at the dragon, most of them managing to hit their target who growled in pain and annoyance. The blond smiled before rising to her feet, snatching up the staff as she did.

While the boy was providing a necessary distraction the girl breathed in a deep breath, feeling the magic filling her being as she tried to remember the necessary chant. Although she knew of a spell capable of destroying a dragon, it was a long time ago since she learned it and she was having trouble remembering the exact wording.

But before the mage could get a word out the dragon roared, "Enough!" before raising his wings in a single violent flap, the gust of wind that followed striking the two teens and sending them tumbling, the staff bouncing against the stone floor, now far out of her reach for the both of them.

The two teens rose slowly, grunting in pain before they looked up fearfully at the dragon that now towered over their fragile forms. The two, fearing what would come next, rose to their feet and tried to make a run for it but a plume of fire appeared before them, effectively cutting them off from the staff and any means of escape. The two tried to double back only for a second wall of fire to spring to life in front of them, effectively trapping them and leaving them at the mercy of the dangerous reptile.

The stared up in fear as the dragon loomed above, smoky breath pouring from its lungs as it shouted, "I will not be bested by such pathetic creatures!"

It sucked in a deep breath, preparing to burn the two to a crisp again and the two teens did the only thing they could think to do in that situation, they hugged. As the dragon breathed a final, sentencing breath the final thought that passed through both of their heads was that at least when someone found their charred remains they would know that they were friends.

But to both of their surprise, there was no pain and the two peeked opened their eyes in confusion. Only for both of their jaws to drop open as a new large form stood protectively in front of them, blocking off the fire with its own scaled body and the boy gasped in recognition of the old dragon that had raised him.

The bad dragon barred its massive fangs as the newcomer, hissing, "Get out of my way, old fool, or else pay the price!"

"No," the other dragon said defiantly.

"What do you plan on accomplishing?" the bad dragon asked, the two now pacing around in circles, trying to size their opponent up. "You will die here, you cannot hope to best me on your own."

"Then it is a good thing I didn't come alone," the other dragon replied, before a dozen more dragons quickly filled the cave, flying in from the shadows it seemed, some even busting through solid rock or emerging from the ground, covered in molten hot lava and glowing a bright red."The other dragons!" the boy shouted in disbelief. "They came too!"

They all began circling the evil reptile, clawing at him or shooting him with flames, while the bad dragon did its best to hold its own against a new army of opponents. "Get away from me, fools! You will regret defying me! You will all pay!" it shouted, though its voice was now desperate and full of obvious fear.

The older dragon, turned to the two teens, asking, "Are you two alright?"

The two nodded dumbly. "Good," the dragon said in relief, before using his long tail to put out the wall of flame blocking their path saying, "Quickly, while he is distracted."

The two snapped out of their daze, nodding once in determination, before grabbing hands, running over to the mage's fallen staff, dodging the battling dragons along the way. Ducking and weaving to avoid being burned alive or crushed under massive feet, without ever letting go of each other's hands.

Finally, they reached the staff and blond was forced to let go so she could pick it up, holding it out in front of her with both hands. She made sure to keep her aim steady, her staff pointed at the evil dragon at all times, as she let out a few slow breaths as she recited the spell from memory, "I call the light upon my side, to vanquish evil and turn the tide." The girl closed her eyes as magical energy began to surround her and the staff which glowed with otherworldly power. "Brightest power do hear my cries, to save the heart of the one I prize." The boy watched mesmerized as the girl's body began to glow pure white, her form nearly floating above the ground as the magic continued to cycle around her. "Cleanse my soul and fulfill my might, by destroying this foe.. with unyielding light!"

With that final sentence, all the magic came spiraling out of the staff, a flash of light flooding the dark cave and blinding everyone within as a loud roar echoed off the stone walls. But as suddenly as it came, the light was gone again, leaving everyone blinking as they struggled to adjust to the dim lighting once more. The mage panted, collapsing to her knees, the last of her magical energy depleted, leaving her tired and sore.

The others eventually recovered from the unexpected spell, staring in shock at the state of the bad dragon, a large rock statue now standing in its place. The dragon's scaled body was now made of thick marble, its body reared up on hind legs as if in a final, desperate attack, and its once dark eyes now blank and lifeless. The dragons and boy stared at it for a few seconds more before all cheering in victory at the bad dragon's defeat. No longer would it haunt them or cause them to cower in fear. They were free.

"You did it!" the boy exclaimed, helping his friend to her feet. "You defeated the bad dragon! You protected me, just like you said you would!"

The blond smiled at her friend, before saying sweetly, "We protected each other." The two pulled into a tight hug, grateful and relieved to be safe and together once more.

But the boy pulled away as he saw the dragon's approaching. The old dragon knelt down, telling him softly, "Thank goodness you are okay. We were worried sick about you, my child."

"Well I'm okay, thanks to you guys," the boy said in a choked tone. The boy ran up to the dragon, throwing himself onto its large snout in a make-shift hug as tears streamed from his cheeks. "I thought I'd never see you again!" the boy sobbed and the dragon let out a purring sound, nuzzling its nose against the boy as the other dragons gathered around to do the same, making him giggle and sob at the same time as dozens of noses rubbed up against him.

The blond mage smiled at the sight of the boy reunited with his family. But it slowly turned to sadness as she realized that he was now where he belonged and no longer had any need for her. Her heart fell as she realized this was the end of their adventures together. She was now alone, once more. But, despite her sadness, she knew better than to get in the way of the the touching reunion and decided it best to just show herself out, walking slowly for the exit, her head down.

The dragons finally pulled away from their youngest as the oldest said apologetically, "I'm sorry you were forced to be alone for so long, my son."

The boy shook his head, replying, "But I wasn't alone. I had someone taking care of me the whole time I was away." With that, the boy ran over and grabbed the blond's hands, causing her to blush with surprise as she was dragged back over to the dragons. "She was always there for me when I needed her and when I was at my lowest she took me in," the boy continued, pointing to said girl, who smiled hopefully and lovingly at her friend. "I've learned so much about the world because of her and she's easily the most important person in my life and I don't know what I would do without her."

The boy turned to her with a vibrant smile, one that set the mage's inside aflutter. "She means everything to me."

The mage returned the smile with one of her own, tears beginning to form in her eyes."I feel the exact same way," the blond whispered as brown and blue continued to meet. And then working up the courage she added, "Because... I love you."

The boy froze while all around them the dragons fell into chaos all cheering and crying in surprise, some even bouncing around the cave in delight that their youngest had found his soulmate. But the boy's eyes never left that of the mage's and after a few seconds, tears spilled from his own eyes as he said in a choked tone, "I love you, too."

And then, as if by some unseen force the two moved towards each other at the same time, their lips meeting in a passionate and intimate kiss that sealed their love and bond forever. The world around them vanished, time falling away, as all that existed was the two of them. Just the two lovers and their kiss, signifying not the end of their journey but the beginning of a new one, one they would now share together as one.

…

"And so the dragons were freed from the evil dragon's reign, the mage and her adventurous friend continued to travel the world doing together, and they all lived happily ever after... the end," Star finished. She let out a long sigh, glad to finally be done, it had been fun coming up with a story on the spot but pretty mentally draining and her already tired body could definitely use some rest about now. Still, she put on a smile as she looked over at the twins saying, "So girls, what did you think?"

But Star blinked a few times in disbelief as she saw the two sleeping forms of Daisy and Violet, their bodies leaning up against one another as they snored softly. "Yeah, they kind of fell asleep a while ago," Jackie told her friend, looking like she was struggling to stay away herself, staring almost numbly down at her phone.

"When?" the blond royal asked her friend and the skater shrugged.

"Probably somewhere between the mage and boy going on adventures and the bad dragon showing up," Jackie guessed.

"So wait they didn't hear any of the ending?!" Star asked in disbelief.

The skater nodded.

"Why didn't you say something?" the blond exclaimed in exasperation, though making sure to keep her voice down enough to avoid waking the twins.

"I tried to but you were in your own world and didn't seem to notice the world turning," Jackie replied. "So I figured I'd just let you finish up on your own."

Star immediately buried her head in her hands, annoyed as she realized she could have been done half an hour ago and already be catching up on some much-needed sleep, instead of wasting time finishing a story that no one was even listening to. "I can't believe I just spent an hour and a half telling them a bedtime story," the blond groaned softly to herself.

"Well if it makes you feel better, I thought it was really good," Jackie tried and Star let out a quick breath.

"Thanks," she said, giving her friend a heartfelt if not tired smile. Star turned her attention back to the twins and ignoring her tired limbs she stood, saying, "Come on, help me get them tucked in."

Jackie obeyed, creeping over to the bunk bed with Star, the two moving slowly and carefully to not wake the sleeping kids as they went about their respective actions. Jackie gently picked up Daisy, before laying her back on her own bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, while Star scooted little Violet onto her pillow, wrapping her in blankets and making sure to place her Charles plushie at her side, so she could cuddle with it if need be.

Once both girls were properly tucked in, Star and Jackie tiptoed from the room, Jackie flipping off the lights on the way out, leaving the room completely dark save for the flower nightlight Daisy liked to have on in case of bad dreams. Star paused briefly at the door, whispering softly over her shoulder, "Good night girls. Sweet dreams," before slowly closing the door shut behind her.

Once the teens were on the other side, they both let out simultaneous sighs, Star leaning heavily against the door as they both fought back their exhaustion. "Well that was a lot harder than I expected," Star muttered, massaging her aching eyes with her hands.

"Yeah, I know right," Jackie agreed. "How does Lily do that every day?"

"How does Marco?" Star added, sounding genuinely impressed with her boyfriend. "I can't believe he comes up with a new story every night! I could barely come up with just one."

"Well, it is Marco we're talking about here," Jackie pointed out and Star nodded, a loving smile flashing across her face.

"True," Star said softly, clearly daydreaming about a certain hoodie-wearing teen.

"Speaking of, I couldn't help but notice your story seemed pretty familiar, don't you think?" Jackie said, pretending to be pondering this as she tapped a finger to her chin while shooting her friend a teasing look. "Almost like you were speaking from experience or something."

Star blushed bright red, turning her face away to try and hide from her friend's quizzical and yet knowing stare as she quickly denied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh," Jackie said, a playful eyebrow raising as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Just like you have no idea about the hoodie you have hidden under your pillow right now, right?"

Star let out a startled squeak, turning to Jackie in surprise as she asked nervously, "How do you know about that?"

"I didn't," Jackie replied, before shooting her friend a wink. "Until just now."

The blond royal froze for a second, before her bashful look turned to one of annoyance, as she hissed, "Oh that was just mean!" Jackie laughed unashamedly at her clever trick, her playful smile never straying from her face. After a few seconds, Star smiled back, but added in a clearly forced, angry tone, "Y'know that seems more like something Janna would do, not you Jacks."

"Well, since you were filling Marco's role earlier, guess it's up to me to cover for Janna," the skater replied.

"I think we have enough of Janna as is without you copying her, thank you very much," Star said, doing a fake roll of her eyes.

"Come on you know you miss her Jannanigans as much as I do," Jackie pressed.

Star giggled once at that, before admitting, "Well, maybe a little." She paused before adding softly, "I hope they're both doing okay."

"I'm sure they're fine," the skater comforted.

Star smiled as she thought of her bestie/boyfriend, asking, "What do you think they're doing about now?"

"Probably getting some sleep," Jackie said. "Speaking of, we should probably consider doing that ourselves."

Star nodded, her eyes full of longing and fatigue. "Ugh, yes. Please," she slurred out, the promise of sleep causing her whole body to sway, her brain already beginning to shut down for the day. She yawned once, before adding, "I can't wait to get to bed."

"Me too," Jackie admitted. She put an arm around her friend, gently leading Star toward her room, the blond too out of it to even notice. The skater smiled before saying helpfully, "Then let's get you to bed." But another playful smile rose to her lips as she added more to herself than the drowsy Star, "After all, you got a hoodie to snuggle, light mage."

...

"When are Big Brother and Janna getting back?" little Violet asked for what had to be the fifth time that night.

"Star said they were on their way, they'll be here soon," Jackie reassured the girl, her and her sister groaning as they both flopped down onto their beds in boredom.

"But that was hours ago," Daisy grumbled in an over-exaggerated tone, causing Jackie to smile to herself.

It was the next night and the twins were once again in bed, though they had somehow coerced their mom into letting them stay up to greet Marco and Janna, promising to go immediately to sleep once they did, but the girls were quickly growing impatient with waiting. Jackie had offered to switch storyteller with Star for the night after the blond had seemed eager to get ready for her boyfriend's return and was doing her best to hold their interest with stories and legends she had could remember from her time on Earth but even that was starting to lose them.

Jackie calmly checked the clock on the wall just to see how much longer they would probably be, only to stare in shock at the startling amount of time that had already passed. It had been over an hour since Star informed her and the twins that Marco and Janna were headed back from their 'camping trip' and yet there was still no sign of them. They should have gotten back by now, the skater couldn't help but point out in her head. The skater did her best to shake these worries off, figuring the two had just got distracted or held up by something. Just cause they were late didn't mean they were in genuine danger, there was no sense in panicking... yet, at least. Though that didn't stop her from muttering under her breath, "Huh, wonder what's keeping them?"

"Maybe they got eaten by a multi-bear or a centipeedle?" Violet suggested groggily. It was getting late for them, after all, and the two were struggling to stay awake.

"Those are both just Earth myths, sweetie," Lily suddenly spoke up, nearly startling the skater. Jackie hadn't thought the older woman had even been listening, up till now she had seemed almost oblivious and stuck in her own world as she sat in the corner of the room, looking through the last bit of paperwork for the day and humming softly to herself the whole time. She hadn't even bothered to glance up as she spoke, her gentle eyes never even pausing to read the fine print of the document before her even as she corrected her daughter.

Though after a second, she too glanced up at the clock, frowned and said matter-of-factly, "Hmm, I do hope those two get back soon, the girls really need to get to bed."

Jackie nodded, although the twins grumbled and began arguing weakly about the fact that they weren't tired and their mom was being super unfair. The skater pulled out her phone offering, "I'll call and see where they're at."

"Good idea," Lily agreed, Violet and Daisy looking a little more awake and eager as they watched Jackie put the phone up to her ear, listening calmly to the ringing. After a couple of rings, the familiar voice of Janna spoke up, saying, "Hello?"

"Hey, Jan, it's Jackie."

"Yeah I gathered as much," Janna said in her typical sarcastic wit.

Jackie resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she asked, "Well, I was wondering where you are? Star said you and Marco would be back an hour ago."

"Yeah, its a long story but we kinda got held up," the creepy teen replied cryptically.

"Well do you know how much longer you'll be?" Jackie asked, trying not to let her impatience leak out of her voice.

"Actually it's funny you mention it, Jacks," Janna began. "Cause me and Marco are actually-"

"We're heeeerreeee!" Marco called in a sing-song voice as the door to the room slammed open, revealing him and the beanie-wearing teen, both grinning like dorks as they stared into the girl's bedroom.

"Janna!" Jackie shouted, jumping up from the chair.

"Big Brother!" both twins cried as one, all previous signs of exhaustion gone as they leapt from the bed and ran over to greet the two teens.

Marco, however, just turned to his creepy friend asking, "Did I do it right?"

Janna gave him a wink and a thumbs up, telling him, "Yep. Perfect timing! That was an excellent dramatic reveal."

The boy almost glowed with pride at his accomplishment, before being bombarded by hugs from Daisy and Violet, the two giggling as they said, "We missed you Big Brother!" Marco just laughed and swept them into an even tighter embrace, saying to them with a wide smile, "I missed you guys too!"

Janna was also hugged by Jackie, which she returned wholeheartedly, the skater saying, "Man, am I glad your back."

"What, don't tell me you actually missed me?" Janna said sarcastically, as the two pulled out of the hug.

Jackie rolled her eyes and playfully punched her shoulder saying, "Whatever, you goof." But she paused before adding seriously, "So how did it go?"

Janna flinched, her eyes filling with pain for a second, before she buried it behind a calm facade, whispering softly to her friend, "I'll... tell you later."

Lily, also moved to greet the two teens, walking over to them and saying, "It's good to see you two back, safe and sound."

"Thanks," Marco said sweetly, smiling nicely at the woman, who grinned right back. But he paused a moment, looking around the room, before asking, "Wait, where's Star?"

"She said she had some sort of surprise she needed to get ready for you in her room," Jackie explained.

Marco's eyes filled with wild curiosity his gaze drifting off in the direction of his girlfriend's room, wondering what crazy, amazing thing Star was cooking up for him this time. But before he could ponder too hard on it, he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by Violet.

"Janna!" the creepy child suddenly shouted, switching from clinging to Marco to clinging to Janna in half a second, her small body practically hanging off the beanie-wearing girl's waist. "Did you miss me? Huh, did you?"

"Sure I did," Janna replied, ruffling the small Butterfly's hair. "I mean, how couldn't I miss my only apprentice?"

Violet practically glowed from the praise and attention her eyes shining brighter than a thousand diamonds. "Did you bring me anything from your trip?"

Marco and Janna shared a smile, before the creepy teen replied, "Actually, we did. In fact, we brought something for both of you."

Both Daisy and Violet gasped and began squealing at that, asking over and over again what it was while trying to peek around the two for any signs of the surprise, but saw nothing. After a few moments of searching the twins stared up at Marco and Janna with furrowed brows, Daisy asking, "Where is it?"

The two teens again shared a grin, before Janna suddenly gave a shrill whistle and said, "Come on out, Edith."

And from within Marco's hood, a small scaly head suddenly popped out, its beady eyes blinking tiredly as it had been asleep mere moments ago until she heard her master call. Violet screamed in delight, moving closer to examine the snake, while Daisy squeaked once in fright quickly hiding behind Jackie's leg. The skater just stared in disbelief of what she was seeing, "Uhh, what the heck is that thing?"

"Oh, this is Janna's old-" Marco began only to stop as Janna loudly coughed into her hand. "Uhh, I mean, this is a snake Janna found while we were camping," the boy quickly corrected himself, putting on the most believable smile he could.

"Is it... dangerous?" Daisy asked nervously.

"What, no way, Edith is a sweetheart, she wouldn't hurt a fly," Janna explained quickly, while Violet gently stroked her head.

"Wow, she's so pretty! Her scales look almost like diamonds or something," Violet breathed, her eyes incapable of growing any wider.

"That's because she's a Gem Feeder," Marco explained. "She only eats gems or rocks."

"Oh my I thought she looked familiar," Lily said, stepping closer to the snake. "Though I haven't seen one in years, she is quite remarkable!"

This seemed to finally get Daisy to move closer, as she asked hesitantly, "Can-Can I pet her?"

"Sure, go ahead," Marco said with a quick nod and watched with a bright grin as the little girl slowly crept closer, finally reaching out a hand and gently running a finger along the snake's scales. The girl giggled a little, before saying a bit more confidently, "She feels weird."

"Would you like to hold her?" Marco asked and the little girl nodded. The hooded teen gently lifted Edith out of the hoodie before handing her over to Daisy, who giggled as it slithered around her arm, Violet leaning over to pet her again. "She's sooo cute!" the cutesy teen cooed, causing the boy to grin brightly. He had expected Daisy to be way more afraid of Edith, but she had opened up to her almost immediately and it nearly brought tears to Marco's eyes for some reason.

"Can we keep her, mom? Can we, please?" Violet asked, hitting her mom with a pouting upper lip and glittering orbs.

"Well you will have to ask, Marco and Janna," Lily said, turning to the two teens.

Janna shrugged. "Well, that was kinda the general idea, figured these two would enjoy having her as a pet."

"Yes!" Violet screamed, before hugging her mentor again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"That was very kind of you, Janna," Lily said in her typical sweet tone and the girl froze for a moment, staring at her weirdly before looking away and saying in a voice barely above a whisper, "Thanks."

Jackie gave her friend a worried look, while Marco just stared on sadly, but the moment was quickly interrupted as Daisy asked, "Mommy, Edith sleep in my bed tonight?"

"What?!" Violet shouted, angrily turning on her heels to glare at her sister. "That's not fair! Edith should sleep with me!"

"No, she should sleep with me first, because I'm the oldest!"

"That doesn't have to do with anything!" Violet argued loudly.

"Yes it does, it means I'm more mature than you!" Daisy said, before sticking her tongue out at her sister, which Edith mimicked immediately.

"How about you both share a bed tonight so you can both sleep with her?" Lily suggested fairly. "And then you two can take turns from there."

The twins thought that over for a second before nodding in agreement, Edith again replicating their joint movements. Now that that was settled, Lily clapped her hands together and said, "Okay, girls, say goodnight to Marco, Jackie, and Janna, cause it's time for bed!"

"Awww but mom!" came the expected response, but Lily ignored them, shooing them over to the bed, as she said firmly but patiently, "No 'buts' bedtime is bedtime and you two are way past it right now."

The two grumbled but knew it was pointless as they reluctantly climbed onto Violet's bottom bunk and settled under the covers, Edith curling into a ball between them.

Marco seeing that he and his friends were no longer needed, whispered softly, "Come on, let's go find, Star," before tiptoeing out of the room, Jackie and Janna following right behind him, leaving Lily to tuck in her two tired daughters and their new pet.

…

Marco, Jackie, and Janna stood outside Star's door, the two girls chatting softly as Janna filled her friend in on what all had happened, the skater giving her sympathetic smiles and nodding as she listened intently to her close friend. With Jackie and Janna talking amongst each other, Marco turned his attention on his girlfriend's door, knowing that right now the only thing that stood between him and Star was a thin piece of wood stood. The boy gave a quick knock, calling, "Hey Star! We're hom-ahh!" His cry was cut short as, out of nowhere, the door was flung open and Star wasted no time in sweeping the boy into her arms and into her room without a care. Jackie and Janna broke off their conversation long enough to stare as the door slammed shut again, before shrugging and heading back to their room. They still had a lot to discuss.

Marco blinked, looking around in confusion, his cheek marks spinning as he struggled to understand where he was and what had happened. All the lights in Star's room were off, but several lit candles were placed all over Star's room, creating a romantic atmosphere that left Marco's heart thumping, the delightful aroma's drifting up to his nose making him feel lightheaded. He could also see a plate of freshly cooked nachos over by Star's beanbag chair and his stomach growled, reminding him he had gone two days without eating a good meal. But that's when he noticed the biggest thing right now he was in Star's arms, being carried bridal style, and his cheeks flushed instantly. "S-Star?" he stammered.

"Hey Marco! Welcome back, I missed you!" the blond cooed, rubbing her cheek against his own, making him flush even more and causing both of their cheeks marks to turn temporarily white.

"I missed you too!" the boy exclaimed, before throwing his arms around the girl in a hug, Star still holding him tightly against her.

"So what took you so long, expected you to be back like an hour ago!" the blond asked, sighing in contentment.

"It's a long story," the boy replied sheepishly. But it slowly turned to realization as she added, "Oh wait, hang on, I want to check on Janna first."

The door to Star's room creaked open again and Jackie and Janna stopped, turning to see Marco's blushing face appear in the doorway. "Jan, are you okay? Do you need to talk or anything?"

Janna shrugged saying, "Nah, I'm good."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked, needing to be completely sure his friend was okay first.

But Janna just scoffed, waving a hand at them as he said, "Marco, I'm fine. I don't need you to babysit me. Go enjoy your time with Star, I know you two lovebirds missed each other."

Marco still didn't look entirely convinced, so Jackie added, "Look, if Janna does need anything I'm right there for her, so you're fine."

Finally, Marco smiled in relief, saying, "Okay, but if you ever need to talk Janna, I'm here for you."

"I know," Janna said sincerely, before adding in a teasing tone, "Now go spend time with your girlfriend already!"

The boy nodded before finally closing the door back, turning to face his girlfriend once again, their faces mere inches apart as Star asked, "What was that all about?"

"Uhh, just one of the many things I have to tell you," the boy said with a shrug.

"Can't wait!" Star said, smiling sweetly. But it slowly turned into a playful smirk as she added, "But first... I'm gonna need like a billion kissed to make up for you being gone."

"Wh-What?" Marco began, only to giggle incessantly as Star began showering him in kisses, covering everything on his face from his blushing cheeks to his cute little nose to even his forehead. As she did, she lifted him up into her arms again, carrying him over to the beanbag chair, where she could continue peppering him with much-needed affection. Once the two were settled, Marco began to kiss Star back, the two sharing a passionate kiss as the length of time they spent apart shattered in an instant. Suddenly it was just the two of them again, and if the two hadn't been so focused on their kiss they might have noticed a soft red glow from outside Star's window.

Finally, Star seemed satisfied with her kisses for the moment, though she kept her arms wrapped around his waist as she watched her Marco pick up the bowl of nachos and quickly wolf them down his throat, trying to hold in her laugh at how adorable he looked. "What did they not feed you at the Impure village?" Star asked teasingly and the boy shook his head, his mouth too full to answer.

He swallowed down the last bite, before saying, "No, but all their food was really, really bad. Like realllly bad!" His eyes widened with horror at the memory of their horrendous food. "Like I think I'd rather eat at Babs' restaurant again than eat any of their food ever!"

Star nodded thoughtfully. "Wow, it must have been pretty terrible for you to willingly want pain-peppers again!" the blond royal said in an equally worried tone, her face matching her boyfriend's perfectly. But it switched back to a loving smile as she nuzzled Marco's face with her own, saying, "So what else happened, other than them trying to poison you, I want to know everything!"

"Oh man, where do I even start?" the boy pondered. "There's so much to tell."

"Well we got all night," the blond reminded him, before gently kissing his forehead.

The boy blushed as his girlfriend's lips brushed his skin, just barely managing to squeak out, "Maybe it'll be better if you start, Star."

"Me?" Star replied with a small chuckle.

"Well yeah, I want to know everything that happened to you too, Star!" Marco said the innocent look he was giving Star causing her heart to skip a beat. He was too precious sometimes.

"Not a whole lot to tell," the girl responded a bit shyly.

"What about that story you told Daisy and Violet, what was it about?" Marco questioned and Star flushed bright red.

"Oh, you don't want to hear that," Star muttered, suddenly avoiding Marco's gaze.

"Sure I do," Marco responded immediately, his eyes shining with wonder. "I care about everything you do, Star! You're my best friend."

"Aww, Marco, stop it!" the girl cooed, putting a hand to her blushing cheek.

But the boy just smiled and continued, pleased he was could praise his girlfriend enough to make her smile like that. "Plus, it's so cool you just made up a story like that on the spot, you're so amazing Star!"

"Come on, you're the amazing one, Mar-" Star began only to pause, her eyes widening in surprise as his words finally clicked in her brain. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"Uhh, your totally amazing," the boy tried but Star shook her head.

"No, about making up the story," Star explained, her head spinning in confusion. "Don't you do that for them every night?"

Marco shook his head, giving his girlfriend a lost look. "No I usually just read them a book or tell them one of the stories Buff Frog used to tell me," the hooded teen replied quizzically.

Star's startled face turned to one of annoyance as realization finally stuck her and she scoffed loudly, "Unbelievable! Those girls lied to me! I can't believe I fell for that!" She quickly buried her face in her hands, groaning in both disbelief and embarrassment at being so easily tricked by children.

Marco just watched his girlfriend quietly, before curiosity got the better of him again and he tilted his head toward her, asking as subtly as he possibly could, "Soooo what was the story about?"

Star froze for a second before just sighing in defeat and saying, "Okay fine... Once Upon A Time..."

And that's the end of that one! Pretty cute and fluffy right? Haha, the chapter was actually originally going to end much sooner with Star and Jackie turning in for the night but then my good friend Jcabrera35 suggested the scene with Star kissing on Marco and I couldn't help myself! Plus, I think it was a neat way to end it having Star repeating the story, this time for her boyfriend. Although, he was pretty exhausted so he feel asleep halfway through haha! XD Sorry Star, at least my readers managed to get to the end of the story... I hope! O-O

So did anyone catch the Gravity Falls and Steven Universe reference? Don't know why I like sneaking those in but I do, I really just can't help myself! ;P Haha, so I think that's all for now! Don't forget to vote on which chapter you want next and I'll see you all next time!

Gamelover41592- Thank you! Haha, yeah it got pretty deep and intense there, especially with all the Jade stuff! Looking forward to showing more of her in the future though it will probably be a while, got some other stuff to wrap up first ;) Oh man of course I didn't! I love Janna too much to part with her like that! Even if she had stayed it probably wouldn't have been for long cause I would have been too eager to write more scenes of her being her creepy, lovable self! Hope you enjoy the new one! It's a lot more fluffier for sure!

Bedrock Armor- Haha, yes our dear sweet Marco, completely oblivious to anything involving the opposite sex! XD I just love that one of them directly called him their boyfriend and he didn't notice! Star might have gotten a little jealous but they were supposed to be little kids, it would be like her getting upset if Daisy or Violet started 'flirting' with him. Besides the important thing is Marco didn't flirt back so she had nothing to worry about! :D

Yeah it's one of the few things in the show I didn't particularly like, well okay, I still liked these elements but I never really saw this as a kid show, there were too many moments like this for it to be appropriate for young children, more like preteens or something. But then again I was highly sheltered so I might not be the best judge. Oh man the Northwest Mansion Mystery was the scene I had in mind actually O-O It's still probably my favorite episode though, it single-handedly made me fall in love with Dipcifica. I started the series after the show had already ended so was very confused by this ship at first, it was basically like...

Me before NMM: I don't get it why does everyone want this, they have like no chemistry at all.

Me after NMM: Oh man Dipcifica is the best! They are so cute together and have such great chemistry!

Oof oh yeah, that scene. I almost forgot about that, actually! Plus there was the scene from Stranger Danger where one of the characters almost tells how babies are made its a little foggy to be honest, or the best(?) adult line was Janna in Monster Arm saying, "I want it to be my boyfriend." That joke actually went over my head at first but wow that was quite a line Daron! Uhh, yeah guess that was the Mewni equivilent of taking a cyanide pill? That's pretty messed up, dude!

That's brilliant! I do something similar though it doesn't always work out for me. I hope it's helping! I know how sucky it is to not get anything done! Retraining your brain does seem like the most logical action to beat out procrastination! Welp, good luck with your writing!

monkey lover 911- Haha, actually I wasn't planning on showing them meeting Edith at all and just have her as their pet in another chapter but after getting your review I ended up adding in the scene cause I wanted it so much! So y'know thanks for the idea, friend! Haha, not as much screaming as you'd think actually considering it is a snake XD. Thanks so much! And I will, you do the same! Stay safe out there pal!

LockAndKey989- Thanks!

viceversa96- Haha, I know right, hope you had your seatbelt buckled for it! ;P Sorry, I'm weird when I'm tired! Yeah, guess she didn't change as much Janna and Marco hoped she had! In the end, she wasn't any different than the person she was before. Yes! The four of mains of this story are the entire emotional core of the story! Part of the fun of crafting LotS&S was making moments where they all lean on each other for support and friendship, not just the Starco ones. The scene with Marco and Janna was a big example of that! That scene was actually the first idea for both of the chapters and I just worked backwards from there! I think not separating Jackie or Janna from the others was a good change, cause it would have taken away from the heart of the story. Yes, they are definitely the most flushed out! I mean they are the mains after all! I want them to feel like family, siblings looking out for one another and taking care of each other no matter what!

Starco4everr- :3 Thank you so much!

Sugar- Yeah that's fair! I can see it feeling very forced considering Jade's past actions but that had a lot to do with the fact that I needed Janna to have a reason to stay but still had to keep in mind that Jade was going to betray her, so it was a very difficult balancing act! Oh wow, I'm glad you liked the twist! This was actually the one element of the chapter I was sure you were going to hate or think was just a cope out to avoid fixing the issue! Yeah, she hadn't changed at all and in that moment her true colors came to light! Jade is a pretty complex character and I know it's hard to tell considering this is only her first outing. The thing is she does care about Janna in her own strange way but her goals blind her to how much harm she is doing to her and others! She is so convinced she is right and what she is doing is just that she using that to excuse any actions that would be seen as wrong! And considering she is part of a group, let's just say they have done a pretty good job of convincing her she is on the side of justice. Also I'm not going to say one or the other since I think it's better to let you interpret Jade's intentions in that moment!

Agreed! Not to say that they can't change but it's a rocky road and they certainly don't do it overnight! And yeah I decided to make it so that Jade did realize she was wrong in the end, only because years and years of guilt ate away at her until she couldn't hide from that fact, but the next time we see her she will probably be quick to make excused or pretend that she didn't do anything wrong, even though she clearly did.

Oh that's good, I'm glad! I didn't hear anyone else say anything like that either so I'm thankful I didn't upset anyone with my interpretation of serious events but I do understand you feeling the way you did! Yeah I admit I did try and gloss over some of the more serious stuff with cutesy which was not the best decision on my part. Although I still think the chapter is solid there were certaintly some changes I could have made to make it more realistic. I think it's great that you make your own interpretations and you should be welcomed to do so and yeah I totally see your point! I was looking at it with rose-colored glasses and saw it as just an issue of abandonment! You saw her being left for dead, a completely unforgivable act, which is very, very true! Jade knew perfectly well what she as doing and even if she did have feelings of regret that didn't excuse what she did!

I think part of the reason it came across as so jarring was because I actually did change some stuff from the original idea. Basically, Marco was already suspecting Jade wasn't who she said she was and decided to tell Janna, but Janna trying so desperately to believe her mom was good when she obviously wasn't ends up exploding on Marco instead. The two argue before Janna says something along the lines of "Well maybe you just don't understand because you've never had a mom!" She instantly regrets saying it as Marco's eyes fill with tears but before she can apologize he storms out of the house. The ending scene was going to be them making up, not just discussing Jade leaving again. I had to change the whole chapter around because I realized it was super OOC for Janna to act this way and yeah now you see my whole problem. Still could have handled it a bit better, but you live and learn.

Yeah again, that's on me! I did have plans for us seeing Janna having abandonment issues earlier in the story when Jackie left for Earth, but that got cut sooo... I did have this planned all along but I think the problem was I confused Janna's issues for being just abandonment related, instead of her having mother issues too. I guess the reason she never showed signs before was because she is very good at hiding her emotions to the point that nobody picked up on this and the memory was so bad for her that she more or less buried it from her mind, it only resurfaced when she saw the symbol on the cave wall. Not the best reason I know and honestly I'm fine if this is just a fault in my writing, not thinking ahead. Oof yeah, no I see your point there! That would suck if Jackie just suddenly started spouting off stuff like that and super jarring too! My bad.

Yeah that would make sense! I was thinking of making him an Impure but I kinda like the idea of her having a one-night stand with him and then just leaving out of nowhere. It implies she's been this way all along. Thouh maybe he died in the war instead of some disease. Mewmans getting killed by Monsters was a thing back then, remember?

Hahaha, thanks! I'm glad you liked it! Hehe even that crazy lady can't resist Rasticore's handsomeness! XD Hmm I do like those ideas! I might still put her in somewhere as just a filler character but I don't plan on her serving a super important role. It would be cool if she was human though and obsessed with Sailor Moon, what an interesting interpretation for her hmmmm... I'll keep thinking on it! Hope you enjoy the new one!

Zip- Wow thanks! Haha, to be honest I didn't even realize I was getting so close to the 50 mark! It's kinda insane I've been going so long! Aww well I'm glad your enjoying!

DC the cat- Oh hey that's great man, glad to hear it! :D I live with two other people (now three actually) so rent and bills are not really something I concern myself with since we split up these evenly. I kinda keep forgetting people were in bad financial situations but I'm glad you were able to start making some money again! Also yay! Rain is a great birthday gift, especially where you live! Though imagine if it had been snow! It would have been a freaking miracle! XD

Yeah I know right! There was definitely a lot going on at once! Yeah, me too! I couldn't really part with her, I love her way too much for that! Yeah I know, it was a pretty emotional moment to write. It was supposed to be pretty surprising so I didn't do a whole lot of alluding to it to prevent people from guessing it beforehand. I'm glad you caught on to the clues! I did try and leave just enough breadcrumbs that looking back over the chapter you'd notice that something was up with her. Haha, the Nox line was probably my favorite example though, it was just little casual remark but once you know the twist it really stands out. At least I hope it does. If I had had more time I would have had Jade mentioning her love of Eclipsa a bit more to help foreshadow but I think it works regardless. She was, I don't think even Nox knows what it is or that she was there to get it or has it. Haha, I mean she wasn't planning on leaving her if that's what you mean but she chose Janna over the prophecy when it came down to it. Yeah, I didn't want Jade to be let off the hook so easily and figured Nox would be pretty upset with her after what she did. Hopefully she'll get her comeuppance later on.

Hahah, yeah it was fun coming up with games only Impures would enjoy, though it's surprising Marco went along with all of them without question. Haha, they did they normally call it "dead Mewman" but they changed it so that it wouldn't upset him, how considerate of them XD Oh man yeah, no experiences like that myself but it can't be fun! Haha that is pretty funny though, seems like a very cat thing to do! I probably would have screamed had it been me in your place. What noooo?! I'm sure any rock people would be perfectly fine and safe around Edith... probably.

Oh yeah, sorry didn't clarify, Jackie went back to Earth after being offered a chance to become a professional skateboarder, so of course she says yes and the others support her, except Janna who suddenly feels like she is being abandoned but eventually decides to support her friend even if she doesn't want to part with her. Haha, I was wondering how you'd react ;) They are the planned antagonists for season 3, so they will be serving a much bigger role later on. I'll even tell you there name if you'd like. I mean it's not that big a secret. They are called "The Brotherhood of the Spade". Yeah, Ludo plus magical objects don't end up well that's for sure. And we all know how power hungry he is!

Both works for me! 200 sounds about right! Not too big not too small, seems like the right size I discussed with another reviewer that inbreeding may or may not have been a thing and the result of their light intolerance but it really could have gone one way or the other. As for genetic drift I'd never heard of it before nor Tristan da Cunha but I'm glad to know about them now! I love that talking to you is a learning experience :) Well thanks! I didn't realize it was so clever till you pointed it out but yeah I guess it is pretty neat that it's being used for the emotional crux of Janna and Jade's relationship. I'm not going to say that none of the characters won't ever have anything to do with fulfilling the prophecy but at the very least it the motivation behind all of Jade's bad actions. The origins are pretty much unknown. Nobody is entirely sure how it started but is most likely to have come from word of mouth. Though most of what is know now about the prophecy didn't come from a person per say... ;)

Haha, guess Janna just isn't as refined as us. *chokes on a bite of chicken nugget* Hahah, I'm not sure if I would be able to drink blood even if it was cooked or whatever, I mean I can't even eat BBQ sauce. Haha, okay now all this talk about food is making me hungry!

I did, wasn't sure if you read it or not so I just wanted to make sure. Haha, honestly I don't have anyone else planned to appear but with me you never know. Never thought I'd do a two-parter about Bill Cipher either and yet I did. I will still probably through in a reference or two if nothing else, in fact I actually slid one into this chapter! Ugh, finally someone who feels my pain! And between writing and work I just don't feel I have enough time to catch up on everything! I mostly just pick a series or whatever and focus on that till its finished. Right now I'm trying to watch all the MCU movies in order of release, since I jumped around a lot watching them over the years.

Yeah agreed. Guess rules are what we make them right? Or is that something else, I'm not sure I'm pretty tired, haha XD. Yep, I had to make them cannon! They were just too good! Wish I could reward you for your effort but here have a virtual hug for now *HUGS!*

Aww, Hiccup is soo cute! I think you should go for it are you doing Hiccup from 1, 2, 3, or possibly series? He had a slightly different look in all of them. He was my favorite too! Such a cute babe and his love of dragons is definitely shared, also speaking of dragons they may or may not be featured in this chapter! It's a good show but pretty intense! It comes across as being ominous but nothing too bad at first, however there is definitely a shift in tone about half-way through that is not for the faint of heart! It gets... intense. I enjoyed all the way though and the world building in it is phenomenal! Oh man just rewatched Avatar myself! Somehow it's even better than I remembered!

Okay I will do my best to explain this but keep in mind it's really late right now and so if my explanation sounds weird or confusing, you'll know why. I wanted Earth to stay pretty much the same in my AU, the world works almost the same way but just with magic being regularly implemented amongst the nations but I'm not opposed to changing it to make the world feel more believable. I would say Mewni is more like the UK like you said and in retrospect I should have had Marco say that line cause it makes it seem like Star doesn't know about Mewni's closest alley which makes no sense. Although I did have an idea of a monarchy ruling Mewni at one point cause Brittney was going to be the princess of Earth. I guess the best way to look at is Mewni and Earth do share resources and have strong history and connection, travel between them isn't uncommon though it is rare for humans to settle on Mewni or vice versa, so they do influence one another politically as well. Earth more or less closed off its border from Mewno during the Monster War and didn't get involved in the struggle, this could be a good way to explain how Star doesn't know that much about Earth since she hadn't been exposed to their culture very much over the years. As for Earth's politics the last option seems about right! I like that idea, let's stick with that! No, no I'm glad my story inspires so much thought from you! Even if I don't necessarily always know how to answer.

Ugh, CW4kid was quite the channel huh? I actually grew up watching them! Wonder how much they changed on me without me even knowing it was wrong?! I'm not too surprised actually. It's sad but a lot of countries have weird rules about censoring stuff. What a shame so many people will be denied great shows! Aww poor Star! Which one was it I wonder?

No I haven't but I'll look into it!

PS Happy Holidays that I'm too lazy to repeat back to you!

PSS Made up holidays are the best ;)

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