Ember was jumping around her room, grabbing clothes and toys from the shelves and the wardrobe. There was a pink suitcase, with yellow music notes on it, in the middle of the carpet and stuff piled on top of it. The seven-year-old just couldn`t contain her excitement. Her family was visiting Mewni! For a long period of time! The most they have stayed on Mewni is a week but this is going to be at least a month! Ember loved to visit other dimensions but Mewni was her favorite dimension to visit. She loved the royal couple and considered them a part of the family. Queen Moon and King River were honorary members of the Diaz family, Marco`s words not hers. Speaking of Marco, the Diaz man opened his daughter`s door to check on her packing but was met with a huge pile of clothing and toys on the floor. "Ember Coanstella Diaz! What have you been doing this whole time?" Marco let out a terrified scream. Ember jumped down from her small writing desk and folded her hands behind her. "I`m sorry, daddy. I was just so happy to visit Moon and River that I wanted to gather my things as quickly as possible." the small girl explained as she sat down on her bed. Her father just shook his head, remembering a certain blonde roommate. "It`s okay, sparks. I will help you pack." Ember smiled at her father as she sat cross legged on the floor next to the pile. Marco sat across from her and the father-daughter duo started sorting through Ember`s clothes and toys.
Across the hall, Nathanael was putting away his last things into his suitcase. "Are you gonna take this too?" The boy turned around to see Hekapoo standing next to his writing desk, that was cleared up, holding a picture. Nathanael knew what that picture was. It was framed with a blue, wooden frame and had small seashells on it. Nathanael walked over to where the short woman was standing and took the picture from her arms, staring at it. In the picture was a young woman. She had tanned skin with freckles, light blonde hair that faded into blue at the tips and eyes that reminded you of the ocean. It was his real mother, Jackie. Nathanael still remembers when his father told him what happened to her. Apparently, he was born two months too early and since Jackie had been ill at the time, she died during the delivery. To honor her, Marco had named their son Nathanael Lynn, the name Jackie had chosen for their child if they got a boy. Looking at the picture, Nathanael raised his free arm to the golden seashell necklace he wore every day. Marco had given it to him after he finished his story. "Yeah, I think I`m going to take it with us." Nathanael agreed as he looked at Hekapoo with a small smile. She was technically his step-mother but they had grown close over the years and Nathanael considered her to be his mom. Hekapoo smiled back at him as she walked over to his bed where different bags were packed and ready to go. "Come on, I will help you carry your bags down as your dad is busy with Ember." Nathanael smiled at the mention of his half-sister as he picked up his bookbag and laptop bag. "What did she do this time?" Hekapoo took his suitcase and a smaller bag and the pair started walking down the stairs. "She apparently had thrown her stuff into a pile atop of her suitcase and now both her and Marco are stuck sorting that mess." the teenager chuckled. "Yep, sounds like Ember to me." he agreed as they made it down the stairs. It was windy out, so Nathanael`s dirty blonde, long bangs were in his eyes and in his mouth. Hekapoo laughed at his attempts to remove the hair from his face. "I told you! You need a haircut, Nath! Here." she stepped in front of Nathanael and brushed his hair back with her fingers. Taking a hair clip from her dress pocket, she pinned his bangs back on top of his head. Having long hair herself, she knows the struggles of windy days.
"Is everyone ready?" Marco called as he and Ember came out of the house. Locking the door, he walked over to his family and a pile of bags. His and Hekapoo`s luggage was already brought outside. Everyone nodded at him. "Ember, sweetheart, would you like to do the honors?" Hekapoo asked her daughter. The girl`s eyes lit up with sparkles as she nodded enthusiastically. Taking out her light yellow dimensional scissors, with a pink bow, she opened a portal with them and pushed it more open to make it bigger. A carriage, pulled by warnicorns, stepped out of the portal. A servant dressed in the royal uniform stepped off and walked over to the back of the carriage, opening the trunk. "Please place your bags here. And do so quickly, the royal couple is waiting." the servant spoke with his slight snobby accent as he stepped aside to let the family put their luggage away. After that was done and the Diaz family seated inside the carriage, the servant whipped the reins, making the warnicors move and through the portal which closed after they disappeared from the windy streets of Echo Creek.
The Kingdom of Mewni has changed a lot in the passing years. The streets are completely renovated, no longer full of litter and having actual roads now. The houses are also fixed and much more stable. The citizens are living better now too, wearing proper clothes and no longer covered in dirt and mud. But the biggest change is the variety of the people. The streets are not only full of happy and busy mewmians but also monsters. Before Star left, she had started a monster supporting campaign but it never really took off. But after she left, her parents had restarted it again and now peaceful monster were allowed to live and work in the kingdom. This was mostly thanks to Moon who organized most of it with Bufffrog, who is now the royal mediator between monsters and mewmians. The kingdom was better than ever with its new citizens and a better economy.
The Diaz family rode through the streets of Mewni, getting passing greetings from the people. The family waved back as they made their way to the Butterfly castle. Riding into the courtyard, the family saw the royal family standing at the entrance with smiles on their faces. Moon and River have been ruling the kingdom longer than any rulers in all of Mewni`s history. But time has been generous to them. The king and queen haven`t really changed over the years. The only difference is the gray hairs and Moons prefers to wear her hair in a bun rather than an updo. The carriage stopped in front of the huge stairs to the entrance and the family stepped off. "Moon! River!" Ember cheered as soon as she got off the carriage and ran up the stairs to the couple. "Ember, dear! We are so glad to see you again!" Moon told her as she kneeled down to hug the smaller girl. After they separated, the trio walked down the stairs to greet rest of the family. "Marco, my boy! It is so good to see you!" River shouted as he gave the taller man a hug. "It`s good to-ugh-see you-agh-too, River:" Marco choked out as his lungs and ribs were squeezed. "River, I would like to have a husband by the end of the day." Hekapoo said while trying to hide her laughter. The kids already lost that battle and were laughing at their struggling father. River gave Hekapoo a sheepish smile and released Marco. The young man fell to his knees and took deep breaths to get air back into his lungs. "Marco, are you alright?" Moon asked him as Marco was leaning against Hekapoo. "I`m pretty sure my ribs are cracked but other than that I`m fine." he said as he stood up and popped his back. "It`s good to see you again, Moon and River." Nathanael said as he gave both of them a small hug. "It is good to see all of you again. If I am correct, the last time you visited was two months ago and that was only dinner." Moon mused as the group made their way to the entrance.
The Butterfly castle hasn`t changed much. The castle was rebuilt after their incident with Toffee. The only difference was the flower bed and fountain that were built as a memorial to the place that had a giant hole in the middle of the castle grounds. But rest of the castle was the same as ever.
The family made their way to the dining hall for lunch. The servants were asked to take their bags into their rooms. As everyone was seated at the table, the food was brought to the table. "So, what have you all being doing these past two months?" River asked as he dug into his chicken. "I had my first big performance last week with my troupe!" Ember cheerfully declared across the table. "Oh, that is wonderful! What did you perform?" Moon asked the young dancer. Ember has been passionate about dancing since she saw a show on TV. Since then she has learned ballet and many different dances over the course of two years. "We performed the Nutcracker and I got the lead role!" Ember proudly said to the queen. While Moon didn`t know any Earth ballets, she was still happy for Ember for getting her first serious lead role. "And Nathanael, how have you been?" Moon turned to the older boy. "Well, I still have the best grades in my class, I take Nachos for a ride every night and that is mostly it." Nathanael answered. "What about that girl you were seeing? Olive, right?" Marco asked his son. Olive was a nice girl but a big chatter. "Didn`t you break up with her last week?" Ember asked. She didn`t notice the shocked looks her parents were giving her brother. "Ember!" Nathanael hissed at his sister. "Nathanael, did you leave Nachos her food and did you loosened her chain?" Hekapoo tried to change the subject. "Yes, mom, I did. I will bring her here after the New Year`s." Nathanael said, glad that his love life was not the subject anymore. "Marco, how is your career? You said in your message that you are opening your office on Mewni again." Moon asked. "Yeah, I announced that I went on vacation back on Earth but I`m continuing my work with my dimensional customers." the Diaz man said as he took a bite from his cornbread. Being a multi-dimensional psychologist, Marco always has work to do. And he is actually very successful, back in Echo Creek and across numerous dimensions.
The group continued with small talk as they ate. "Oh, and before I forget to tell you, your rooms are on the same floor as always. Nathanael and Ember can have their usual rooms but, Hekapoo and Marco, your room is now the one at the end of the hall." Moon informed them. "What happened to our usual room?" Hekapoo asked. Before the royal couple could answer, the dining hall doors were thrown open. "Aunt Moon! Why didn`t you inform me lunch was ready?" an angry voice shouted across the room. A young girl marched into the room with her poofy, light green dress. "Oh, Aqua, I apologise. I thought you would like the food to be delivered to your room after you finished your music practice." Moon tried to calm the girl down as Aqua sat down next to her. "Aqua, good to see you again." Marco said with a sarcastic undertone. "It`s PRINCESS Aqua to you." Aqua sneered through her teeth. As servants brought her a plate and a goblet, Aqua eyed the other two children at the table. "Nathanael, Ember, I see you are still alive." she addressed them with a bored look. Marco noticed that Ember`s chair was smoking a little, signaling she was burning up. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Remeber, sparks, anger is optional." Ember took a deep breath as she calmed down. "I`m finished. Thank you for the food, Moon and River. Come on Ember, let's go unpack." Nathanael said as he stood up and started walking towards the door. Ember hopped down from her chair and ran after her brother. "Thank God, they left. I don`t understand how you are fond of them, aunt Moon." Aqua said as she folded her napkin and started eating. Marco looked at his wife and, again, saw her chair smoking. Sighing, Marco leaned to her ear and whispered "Anger is optional, Hpoo. You can live out your frustration later on the training grounds." Hekapoo turned to Marco and smiled at him. He smiled back and turned back to his food.
When everyone was finished and Aqua left the dining hall, the adults left in the room let out a collective sigh. "Moon, I know she is your family and the heir but when are you going to teach her manners?" Marco asked the queen. "I have talked to her about her attitude but she insists a Butterfly must not socialize with lower classes." Moon told him as she sunk into her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. River saw her distress and rubbed her arm, showing his support. Moon smiled at her husband and sat up again. "Moon, have you done what I asked you to do?" Hekapoo asked her, growing serious. River answered for his wife "Yes, we sent scouts up north a couple of days ago and they returned last night. They didn`t see anything out of the ordinary but I commanded the soldiers to be alert when they patrol that area." Hekapoo nodded as she thought about the shiver she got that night. "Are you wondering about the shiver too?" Moon asked her. Hekapoo was snapped back from her thoughts. "Yeah, I am. But there is something I wanted to say to you face to face." Hekapoo said. Everyone at the table turned their attention to her. "The shiver we felt is something completely new but it is actually similar to a shiver we felt years ago." Hekapoo said as she folded her arms on the table. Moon looked at the forger with a raised brow. "But I have never felt anything like it." "Because you were there the both times it happened." Hekapoo told her. Now everyone was confused. "The first shiver was similar to the shiver we felt when Star got her wand. The second shiver was similar to the shiver we got when Star defeated Toffee." Hekapoo explained. Moon placed her hands in front of her on the table and looked down. The reason she didn`t get shivers those both times was because she was there when it happened. Shivers only happen when you are not there when the magical thing happens. "So it is possible the wand has a new owner." It was Marco who spoke. He was just staring at the table, deep in thought. "The wand has a new owner and that owner has had a magical awakening like Star had all those years ago." Moon had to force herself to say the last part of the sentence. Talking about her daughter was a difficult thing for both the queen and king.
"Excuse, your highness, Princess Aqua requests you in the library." a servant broke the silence as she waited by the door. "Yes, of course. Please pardon me." Moon said as she stood up and left the dining hall. The room fell back into silence as the door closed behind her. River turned to the couple across from him. "So, you were talking about blowing off some steam on the training grounds?" he asked them. Both Marco and Hekapoo smirked at him. River grinned back as he stood up.
"Well then, shall we head over to the armory so I could take my spear?"