The morning sun broke through the windows of Marco's room. Slowly, the young man stirred from his slumber. It wasn't, however, without some protest. Marco had been having one of the best dreams of his life. Of course, it was about him and Star. They had decided to have Beach Day 2.0, but this time as a couple. Unlike the first beach day, everything went right. They made it to the beach at Santa Monica in no time, flying on his dragoncycle, Nachos. They then spent the afternoon frolicking in the water together. Star looked absolutely amazing in her teal bikini. She made sure that they showed plenty of affection towards each other as well. She was constantly wrapping her arms around him, and pressing her mouth against his when they were in the water. Every so often her hand would travel down and grab his butt, clad in red bathing shorts. Marco returned the favor, letting his hands roam all over her body as the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashed around them.
Later in the afternoon, after showering off the sea water and drying themselves, they decided to go for a walk to the Santa Monica Pier with Nachos in tow the whole time. Star and Marco walked along the boardwalk of the pier, checking out all the sights and sounds of the popular attraction. Marco even tried his hand at a game of skill, and surprisingly-although it was his dream after all-managed to win a giant stuffed panda bear for Star. Naturally, Marco offered to hold onto the massive stuffed toy for her. So, that was how their day ended up winding down. With Marco holding onto Star's prize with one arm, and his free arm wrapped around her waist while they both admired the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean from their vantage point at the end of the Santa Monica Pier. Marco could feel Star leaning in for another tender kiss, and he turned his head to accept it. However, it was at that moment he woke up.
Realizing it was all a dream, Marco felt like cursing himself. He'd had many dreams of him and Star since they had first met. Some were of them just doing things together as friends. But many of them had been ones where he had saved her from some danger, and he dreamed they had shared a kiss at the end of each one. One particularly vivid dream-that he could actually still recall-involved him being a prince at Butterfly Castle attending an event called The Silver Bell Ball, and being able to dance with Star in front of all the nobility of Mewni. They had stolen away during the event to one of the more secluded balconies, where they spent the evening kissing and holding each other. Every time Marco had woken up from one of his dreams, he had woken up in his bed, alone. He remembered constantly waking up in a state of sadness, as he desperately wished that for once in his life, one of his dreams would finally come true.
But this time was different. He slowly remembered where he was, and the events that led him there. He realized that finally, his wishful dreams had come true. The evidence was currently lying on top of him. Shifting his head slightly downward, he was greeted with the sight of a flowing cascade of blonde hair. Where he had dreamed of holding a giant stuffed panda in his arms, he had just awoken to something much, much better. He was lying on his back and Star was lying on top of him using him as a full body pillow. She was completely on his side of the bed and resting her head next to him on his pillow. They both had their arms wrapped around each other, just as Star had wanted. Sometime in the night, one of them had shifted positions in their sleep. But the other had managed to hang on and shift positions at the same time so that they would end up staying in each other's arms throughout the night.
Marco thought back to the whole "Blood Moon Curse" and how they'd tried to un-bond their souls. Considering how they had managed to move together in their sleep, and still stay wrapped up in each other, it was pretty apparent that removing the "curse" was a colossal failure. For all he knew, their souls could have ended up being bonded together the first time they met. It amazed him how in sync they were with practically everything they did together.
As much as he truly enjoyed his current arrangement, another feeling came over his body. Marco really had to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, this involved extricating himself from Star's grasp. But he knew that eventually nature would win out, and it was making him feel quite uncomfortable holding it in. He had no choice but to wake her from her peaceful slumber. Gently, he began stroking her hair around her left ear. Ever so slowly, his right hand moved to stroking the soft skin that ran from her ear to her jawline. He carefully ran his fingers under her chin while stroking her cheek with his thumb. Eventually, this had the desired effect of waking her. He could feel her body shift a little, and he found himself staring at two beautiful blue orbs only a few inches from his face.
"Good morning, shining star…" he spoke softly.
"Hi, Marco…" she replied back. Shifting around a little bit, it slowly dawned on her that her request from the night before had been fulfilled.
"Marcooo…" she breathed. "Did we just spend the entire night like this…?" This was something she could totally get used to, not to mention do often.
"Yeah…" he replied dreamily. For years Marco slept while holding onto something. Usually it was a stuffed toy. As he got older, holding onto a stuffed toy was seen as childish. But he still yearned to have something to hold on to, and comfort him when he slept. He'd wanted to hold his first crush, Jackie Lynn, like this for years. But then, thoughts of holding his best friend from another dimension while he slept, began to dominate his mind. The thoughts wouldn't go away either, in fact over time they only got stronger. But now, his wishes and dreams were being fulfilled. Too bad his body was forcing him to get up though...
"Um...Star?" he asked gingerly. "Being with you like this is the most amazing feeling I've ever felt in my life. I wish I could stay like this for hours...except that right now I kinda need to get up. Because...I really need to go to the bathroom…"
Star snorted as she tried to stifle a giggle attack. She buried her head into his pillow trying to control her snickering.
"Oh...Marco…" she raised her head from his pillow and kissed him on the cheek. "You are such an adorable dork…"
Star unwrapped herself from Marco's body. Thankful that he could finally remove himself from his bed to answer the call of nature, Marco climbed off the mattress to head to his bathroom.
"Don't take too long in there…" Star called after him softly. "Mama needs her Latin hunk back…"
As she requested, a much more relieved Marco climbed back into the bed a few minutes later. As he expected, Star crawled on top of him and wrapped herself even tighter around him than before.
"Can I check my phone…?" Marco asked through a forest of hair that was covering his face.
Star thought that was an odd request, but seeing that it was easier for her to reach, she grabbed his phone from the nightstand and placed it in his free hand. Marco brushed her hair out of his face to check the screen, then handed it back to Star who placed it back on the nightstand.
"It's a quarter to eight," he announced. "We've still got a bit of time before we probably need to get up."
"Mmmm…" she purred. "Fine by me…" She lay her head next to him and nuzzled his ear. The two teens lay there in silence, completely enjoying the sensation of holding each other. Once again, they both were able to drift off to sleep.
It was about twenty minutes after nine, when Angie brought Mariposa downstairs to feed her. Her husband had left about an hour earlier to get supplies for his latest art project-on top of a number of other errands-leaving Angie to take care of their youngest child. She had showered and gotten dressed before checking in on her daughter in Star's old room. As her baby rolled around playfully in her crib, an overwhelming thought crossed Angie's mind. It was definitely spying, but she just couldn't resist peeking into her son's room.
Angie padded down the hallway to Marco's room. Her son never locked his bedroom door, and this time was no different. She felt nervous as she turned the knob of his door. Marco wasn't a child anymore and neither was Star. They both deserved some privacy. But this was Angie's house, and there was only one law in her house to be followed. Her law. Slowly, she opened the door just enough to peer inside. What she saw made her want to completely melt, and do cartwheels down the hallway at the same time.
Angie first saw an empty air mattress lying on the floor. Shifting her eyes upward to Marco's bed, she saw something she had been secretly hoping would occur for a few years now. Her son-and the girl she loved like a daughter-were lying in his bed wrapped in the tightest embrace that she had ever seen. There was some relief, as she noticed they were still wearing clothes, despite their sleeping arrangements. Angie wasn't sure she was ready to become a grandmother...yet. But her heart was filled with joy that the two teens had finally figured things out between them. Hopefully, Star didn't have to take her advice from the evening before, and drag Marco off the air mattress and into bed with her. Leaving the two alone again, she shut Marco's door and went to gather her daughter to take her downstairs. However, the grin that Angie wore on her face could have lit up an entire city block.
Back in the present, Angie was still feeling like the happiest mom in existence when she heard the knock at her front door. Leaving Mariposa in her high chair, she made her way over to the door to see just who was calling on this fine morning. Opening her front door, Angie was greeted with the sight of a floating unicorn head.
"Oh...good morning, Mrs. Diaz? My name is Lilacia Pony Head and I am the Crown Princess of the Cloud Kingdom of Flying Pony Heads."
"Yes, I am Mrs. Diaz." Angie began. "We've met before, have we not?" Seeing a floating unicorn head at her front door didn't faze Angie at all. Not after having Star Butterfly living at their house for a number of years.
"Yes, I'm sure we have met before…" Ponyhead acknowledged cheerfully. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm here this morning looking for a Star Butterfly. I have been looking for her since yesterday. I believe she has stayed at your house before, which is why I am presently here."
"She is here along with my son Marco. I think they are still asleep, though. If you want to wait, I can wake them and tell them you are here…"
"Oh, no need to Mrs. Diaz," Ponyhead offered. "I can just float up to Star's room and knock on the window. It's no trouble at all…" The unicorn head started to float up to where Star's old room used to be.
"Um...Lilacia?" Angie called up to her. "Star's room isn't that way anymore."
"Um...alright then?" came the confused reply.
"She's staying in Marco's room for now. It's right overhead." Angie pointed a finger straight up.
"I...see…" Ponyhead slowly made her way towards Marco's window. "Either way, I'll check up on them. There's no need to trouble you further Mrs. Diaz."
"What about your friends standing on the sidewalk?" Angie pointed to a group that was standing on the sidewalk in front of her house.
"Oh...they'll be fine." Ponyhead assured her. "Don't worry guys, I'll be right back once I check on Star and Earth...I mean, Marco." The flying pony head called out to the group.
Angie took a look at the group standing in front of her more closely. There were three individuals and a large dog-like creature. She didn't recognize the creature, but she certainly recognized the 3 others standing there. Especially the shorter girl standing in her driveway.
"Janna Ordonia? I almost didn't recognize you wearing that different outfit!"
Meanwhile, upstairs in Marco's room. Star and Marco were completely awake and staring at each other, having heard the entire conversation outside. It was hard not to hear Ponyhead's voice from his room. Suddenly, a tapping was heard on his window.
"Yo! Bfly! You in there? What the hell, girl? You totally disappeared yesterday, then all this crazy shit happened! Then, I run into all these other people looking for you as well! Open up! What are you doing in Earth Turd's room anyway?"
At the sound of Ponyhead's voice, a look of sheer terror came over Marco's face. He tried to slide off his bed as fast as possible, but Star held on to him tightly. Marco struggled to move, but Star's Johanson muscles held him fast to the mattress.
"Star!" he protested. "I don't want Ponyhead to find us like this! Did you hear? Janna's out there too! She'll never let me hear the end of this if she finds out we were together last night!"
"No way, Marco…" she looked him in the eyes. "I'm not hiding my love for you anymore…"
Marco continued to protest, so she silenced him with a quick kiss.
"Shh…" she assured him. "Let Mama Star handle this…"
Star climbed over to the window which was right next to Marco's bed. She threw open the curtains, letting the brilliant sunlight flood into the room. Ponyhead lit up when she saw her best friend in the window. Star lifted up the frame to open the window.
"Bfly!" Ponyhead came flying through the window and crashed into Star, nearly knocking her off the bed. Unfortunately, Marco did get pushed off his side of the bed. Star hugged her best friend from Mewni, happy to see her again.
"I missed you too, Pony!"
"Seriously...girl...what in the hell is going on around here?! Where in the hell are we? I don't know if we're on Earth or we're on Mewni! Everything literally just blew up yesterday!"
"Wait...you didn't see us on TV yesterday?" Star asked incredulously.
"Girl...please! I only watch my favorite dramas from Korea! I don't have time to watch a bunch of dumb news!"
"That's too bad, Ponyhead," Marco interjected from the floor. "It was kind of a big deal yesterday."
"Oh...you're here too, Earth Turd…" Ponyhead acknowledged Marco.
"Uh...yeah. It's my room…" Marco climbed back on the bed next to Star.
"Anyway…" Star began. "So...me and Marco ended up creating these portals…"
"Wait…" Ponyhead cut her off. "This is Earth Turd's room, correct?"
"Uh...yeah?" Star answered.
Ponyhead looked over to the air mattress lying on the floor. "Where were you sleeping last night?"
"In Marco's bed," Star stated.
"Where'd Marco sleep?" The pony princess inquired with an arched eyebrow.
"On the floor," he began. Star proceeded to elbow him in the ribs.
"Ow!" he cried out. "Star!"
"No, you didn't, Marco…" she corrected him.
"Fine. I was sleeping on the floor until Star said she needed some companionship in my bed." Marco felt some embarrassment from his forced confession.
"Woah...woah...woah! Since when have you two started doing that?" Ponyhead was incredulous.
Star responded by kissing Marco on the cheek and lacing her hand through his. "Since we're together now…"
"We're also the reason why Earth and Mewni are combined now…" she added. "Like I was saying, me and Marco created these portals because we didn't want to be apart from each other…"
"YOU TWO ARE A COUPLE NOW?! Ponyhead shrieked. "YOU FINALLY DECIDED TO GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR COLLECTIVE ASSES AND ADMIT THAT YOU BOTH LOVE EACH OTHER?!"
Ponyhead started to fly around Marco's room as Star and Marco looked on in shock.
"YAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!" Ponyhead yelled as loud as she could. "I totally called this! I knew it all along from the time that you told Marco you were in love with him at his party, then you totally ghosted him and ran back to Mewni!"
"Uh...I only told Marco I had a crush on him…" Star tried to interject.
"Whatever!" Ponyhead yelled back. "This is so awesome! I've wanted this to happen for like...forever!"
"Wait…" Marco spoke up. "You wanted us to be together this whole time?"
"I need to tell the others!" She flew out of Marco's window towards the sidewalk in front of his house. They could hear her talking loudly to some other people. "Hey! Guess what you guys! Star and Marco are finally together as a couple!"
"Others?!" Star and Marco spoke at the same time. They both climbed over his bed to the window to see what was going on.
"Diaz...you dog!" Janna smirked as she saw them looking out his window. "Already having sleepovers with Star…"
"Glad to see you took my advice buddy!" Tom added as he stood next to Janna.
"Marco? Who are the Giants and the Dodgers?" Kelly asked as she stood next to Jorby. "Because, I think me and Jorby screwed up their event last night…"
Star's eyes went completely wide with shock. All of her friends were now standing in front of Marco's house. Including ones that she thought she'd never seen again because of the destruction of magic.
"Janna? Tom! KELLY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Star nearly bowled Marco over in her mad dash to get downstairs and see all of her friends again.
Marco looked outside again at his friends standing in front of his house. He then sighed and followed his girlfriend downstairs and outside. Star was already engulfing Kelly in a bone crushing hug when he arrived on his front steps. The Woollett didn't mind though. She was born and raised in a culture of fighting, and could take the physicality.
"I thought I would never see you ever again!" Star confessed as tears of joy streamed down her cheeks.
"Did you think you'd see me again?" Tom asked hopefully.
"Tom!" she chided him. "I saw you right before I ran off to the portal!"
"Is that what that was?" he asked.
"Please don't say it was a gas leak, dude." Marco added as he joined the group.
"Well...either way, it's good to see you again, Tom." Star came over and embraced her ex. She then noticed Janna.
"Janna!" she exclaimed and wrapped up her Filipina friend in a tight hug. "You look...different. But in a good way!"
Indeed, Janna was dressed differently today. She was wearing her usual yellow skirt, but not her green jacket or her brown boots. Instead she wore a blue tank top and on her feet were a pair of black flats. The most surprising difference, was that she was wearing a pair of sunglasses on her head, as opposed to her beanie.
"Star's right," Marco added. "You look...dressed up."
"You're still wearing sleep clothes, Diaz." Janna shot back. "It's summer. I'm allowed to change my look. The beanie gets hot sometimes."
"Hey, now…" Tom interjected. "It's ok, guys. Janna is just dressed up for us to go eat. She's taking me to some place that makes something called Filipino Breakfast?"
"You never took me or Star for Filipino Breakfast!" Marco protested. "But you always talked about how it's your favorite food. How come he gets the special treatment?"
"You and Star haven't been around long enough the last couple years to invite you!" Janna gave him an annoyed look. "Aren't you more curious about how Tom got to Earth...whatever this place is now? Aren't you also kinda wondering why Kelly is here right now?"
"Actually...yeah!" Star agreed. "How did everyone get here?"
"Well…" Tom began. "It's kind of a long story. But since you're asking, I can tell you all about what happened yesterday."
"You've been hanging out at my place since last night." Janna interjected. "What? I just saved you a long explanation."
Tom looked at Janna with an exasperated expression. "I'm sure our friends would like to know how I got to your place…"
"Might want to get something to eat and drink…" Janna nodded to Star and Marco. "This could take a while…"
"So...after I showed Star the portal in the sky, she ran off." Tom ignored Janna. "I figured that the best thing would be to go home to the Underworld. As it turned out, my fire column teleport started working. So, I was able to get home. My folks were super happy to see me, since I hadn't been able to get home and I also got stuck in the Realm of Magic. Anyway, we were sitting around in the castle having a family reunion of sorts...when all of a sudden there was a huge earthquake…"
"Earthquake?" Star inquired.
"Yes. Earthquakes happen all the time in the Underworld. But this one was massive! I've never felt shaking like this before! We actually had to go outside the castle when the shaking finally stopped to see what the damage was like. When we went outside, we could see there was a whole bunch of debris that had fallen from the castle. Not only that, but the lava lake surrounding us was boiling like crazy! I've never seen it do that ever! Plus, the atmosphere in the Underworld just seemed...different."
"Different?" Marco asked.
"I can't really explain it." Tom shrugged. "But anyway, Mom and Dad seemed really concerned. So, we went back inside and we went to the library to consult with my grandfather. The three of them started pouring over all these really old books. I tried contacting all of you guys in the meantime, but the messages all bounced back as undeliverable. I was starting to get worried about what was going on. Finally, my parents found the answer in one of the really ancient texts."
Tom paused. "No need for the dramatic pause, Lucitor…" Janna deadpanned.
"Fine…" he grumbled. "The explanation that they found for the huge earthquake was really crazy. An earthquake that size that could be felt in the underworld meant one of two things. It meant either the total destruction of a world or the creation of a new one…"
"Like a cleaving!" Star and Marco exclaimed at the same time.
"Wow…apparently the severing stone did absolutely nothing when it came to you two…" Tom chuckled. Star responded by wrapping an arm around Marco and kissing him on the cheek.
"What else do you expect from the Ultimate Couple?" Janna looked up from her phone.
"Ok...so you still haven't told us how you got to Echo Creek, Tom" Kelly spoke up.
"Well...the only way we'd be able to figure out what exactly happened is if we travelled to the surface. But my parents said that teleporting was out of the question, because for all we knew the surface world could have been completely destroyed and we'd be teleporting into a black void. So, we chose to travel to the main gates of the Underworld instead and open them to see what was on the other side. My mom stayed behind, and me and my dad made the journey to the gates. We were escorted by our palace guards to the underworld entrance, and honestly, we had no idea what we'd find when we got there. We did find that the earthquake put a huge crack in the Great Seal of the Underworld...which made us even more nervous…"
"That is pretty crazy," Star agreed. "I remember you showing me the Great Seal a long time ago when we were dating."
"It's only the symbol of our kingdom." Tom nodded. "So, when it gets damaged, it's pretty serious. So, after climbing the main stairs-and believe me those are a long climb-we made it to the main gates. Again, we had no idea what we'd find when we opened them. But we had to see what was on the other side. But...when we opened the gates, we were pleasantly surprised…to see this..."
Tom spread his arms out and motioned around. "We saw a completely different world. I have to say, both me and dad were pretty impressed."
"Thanks Tom," Star blushed. "We didn't exactly 'plan' this, it just sort of happened…"
"Either way, you guys managed to create a whole new world." Tom offered. "After seeing what had happened, the next thought on my mind was to find all my friends. So, I told my dad to head back down to the underworld, and I was going to go see if I could find my friends. I also noticed that Echo Creek wasn't too far away from where we were if I flew. So that's what I did."
"Ok…" Marco broke in. "So how did you end up at Janna's last night?"
Tom shifted nervously. Janna kept her face pointed down at her phone and chose to ignore the question.
"Well..." Tom hesitated. "I kind of got lost."
"Huh?" Star, Marco, and Kelly looked at him with confused expressions. Janna just rolled her eyes.
"Hey! Echo Creek was in the same place as before, but a whole bunch of stuff had changed! Plus, I've never had to fly over the city. Usually I just teleported to where you guys were! I had a hard time finding my bearings and ended up flying around aimlessly for a while. Until I felt this demonic presence nearby…"
"Which would have been me." Janna interrupted. She noticed everyone looking at her. "What? I told you guys I'm part demon now."
"For what it's worth, I think she's telling the truth, guys," Tom added. "Her presence led me to her house. I found her sitting on the roof looking out at the setting sun. So, seeing that it was a better alternative than flying around in the dark, I flew down and joined her for a while."
"Reeeeaalllyy…" Star cocked her head sideways and gave a sly grin.
"I don't know, Tom, that kind of sounds...oh I don't know...romantic?" Kelly said pointedly.
"Ok...woah...slow down people…" Janna held up her hands. "We just hung out and talked, ok? We're not like the golden lovers here." She pointed at Star and Marco.
"I don't know, Janna," Marco interjected. "Me and Star hung out and talked a lot too before we ended up together."
"Alright...I'm going to wrap this up for all of you since I'm getting hungry." Janna said with finality. "Demon boy got lost. It was getting dark and he didn't want to fly back home, mostly because he didn't know where he was going. So, I ended up taking pity on him and told him he could crash for the night...on the floor of my room! Don't get any ideas, you perverts!"
"My night started on the floor as well...then I ended up somewhere else…" Marco smiled at Star.
"Aww...Maaarcooo…" Star cooed. "I just wanted you to be with me…"
"Ugh...please…" Janna looked like she wanted to gag. "Anyway, this morning I got a text from Ponyhead telling us to meet her at Echo Creek Park. So, we headed down there and met up with her...and those two…" she pointed at Kelly and Jorby.
"Uh...yeah…" Kelly smiled nervously. "So, I guess it's my turn?"
Star crushed Kelly in another hug. "I'm totally, totally happy that you're here right now, Kelly."
"Thanks, Star." Kelly grinned. "Anyway, one minute me and Jorby are at the Monster Temple, the next thing we know we're back on Woollandia in front of my house. We had no clue how we got there either. So, I went inside to check on my parents and everything seemed fine with them. We also didn't have any of the injuries that we sustained from the battle on Mewni. Since we were back at home, I figured the only thing to do...was more training!"
"Ya...it was pretty epic, too!" Jorby concurred.
"We had just started with our training, when we both noticed this weird swirly thing in the sky way off in the distance. Kelly continued "So, we decided to go and check it out." .
"Weird swirly thing?" Star and Marco responded at the same time.
"Yeah. It was extra weird that as we got closer it seemed to get smaller. Then, finally when we got really close to it, there was a big explosion and we ended up in this park...or stadium...or something…"
Star and Marco looked at each other in complete shock. They both shifted their gazes at Kelly, then back to each other. "Sooooooo...we created more than one portal…" Star finally said.
"More than one portal?" Kelly arched an eyebrow. "Ok...well, to get back to us. We were on this grass field with a bunch of dirt at one end and a whole bunch of people watching in this stadium, and there were these guys standing around on the field. One of them had this club in his hands and a bunch of them had these weird glove looking things attached to their hands. They were also wearing these white and grey uniforms and either blue or black hats on their heads."
Just then, Janna started laughing. "Oh man! So that's what happened at the Dodger game last night!" She quickly scrolled through her phone, then showed it to the others.
"Kelly and Jorby caused the Giants and Dodgers to have to postpone their game last night because they ended up on the field and scared everyone out of the stadium and the teams then didn't want to go on the field because it wasn't safe!" Janna started laughing even harder.
"You ended up at Dodger stadium last night?!" Marco looked at Janna's phone with wide eyes.
"I guess so?" Kelly responded. "Either way, me and Jorby got the hell out of there really quick by hopping a big fence at one end of the stadium. Then we sort of travelled along this big ditch the stadium was in until we got to this raised roadway. We still didn't know where we were, but it sort of looked like the Earth dimension. Then we saw a sign pointing towards Echo Creek, so we went in the direction of the sign thinking we'd find Marco."
"News report of a large dog-like creature that was seen on the Glendale Freeway last night…" Janna pointed to her phone again.
"So, me and Jorby rode along the side of this freeway thing next to all these cars and we kept following the signs that led us to Echo Creek. Then we followed another freeway until we finally saw the sign that told us that Echo Creek was right ahead. After we got off the road, we saw the city in front of us. It was really weird...because it looked like a combination of Echo Creek and Mewni. But it all makes sense now that I've heard Tom's story."
"So...I think what you're telling us is that you ended up teleporting to Earth right in the middle of the biggest baseball stadium in California, and then you travelled down a bunch of freeways in order to get to Echo Creek?" Marco started putting the pieces together.
He turned to his girlfriend. "Star...do you think we cleaved more than one world together?"
"I...have absolutely no idea…" Star looked bewildered.
"Either way, it was really late and we needed a place to crash, so we slept in the park last night. Then, we got a text from Ponyhead this morning, so we told her to meet us at the park. Then Janna and Tom showed up as well, and we followed Janna's car to your place."
"Janna? You have a car now?!" Marco asked incredulously
"Get with the times, Diaz." was all the Filipina replied.
"So, what else is going to happen this morning?" Marco asked out loud to no one in particular. "First Ponyhead shows up and knocks on my window. Then, I find out that all my friends are standing around outside my house. Then, I notice that one of my friends is dressed to go out on a date…"
"Breakfast..." Janna corrected him. Tom actually looked a bit hurt at that assertion.
"Then...it turns out one of our friends from another dimension ended up on Earth...Mewni...by way of another portal...that I have no idea how it was created!" Marco noticed that all his friends and Star were staring at him.
"Sorry, guys." he apologized. "I'm really glad to see all of you but I think I need to go inside and get some food. My brain just isn't functioning properly right now. Star? I'll get you a bowl of Sugar Seeds if you like?"
"Yes, please!" She said cheerfully and kissed him on the cheek to let him know everything was going to be okay.
Marco made his way over to his front door, where his mother and Ponyhead had been talking the whole time.
"Marco!" the pony princess exclaimed when she saw him. "Your baby sister is adorable! I can't believe someone that cute could be related to you!"
"Thanks...I think?"
"Is everything ok, Marco?" Angie asked, seeing that her son was having another one of his "moments."
"You know…" he began. "A couple of years ago this would all have been pretty weird. But now? It actually feels kind of normal."
As if on cue, a carriage being pulled by warnicorns pulled up in front of the driveway. Out of the carriage stepped Moon and Eclipsa.
"Like I was saying…" Marco trailed off before stepping inside the house.
"Eclipsa! Mom!" Star shouted. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Hello sweetie!" Moon greeted her daughter.
"Hello, Star!" Eclipsa also greeted the former princess.
"We decided to drop by this morning to see how you and Marco were doing." Moon added cheerfully.
"Yeah...no...everything is fine with me and Marco…" Star shifted her feet nervously not knowing if she wanted to tell her mother about the previous night's sleeping arrangements. "Totally...totally...totally fine…"
"Here you go, Star." Marco came back with two bowls of breakfast cereal. One for him, and one for her with extra sugar added.
"Oh, my. What a gentleman…" Eclipsa smiled. "He's just like Globby...getting my breakfast in the morning."
Star took a spoonful of her cereal and sighed.
"Marco...later when we're alone, I'm going to jump on top of you and kiss you all over for being the sweetest, kindest, and definitely the hunkiest boyfriend ever…" she mumbled softly with a mouthful of cereal.
"What was that, dear?" Moon asked her daughter.
"Oh...nothing! I just said thanks to Marco for this awesome cereal!" Star exclaimed.
Marco, meanwhile, was turning red as he heard and understood everything Star said with a mouthful of cereal. Eclipsa stifled a giggle-as she knew first hand all about young love-and knew that Star was taking full advantage of her time with Marco.
"So...where's dad?" Star attempted to steer the conversation away from her and Marco.
"He'll be along shortly. He has something for you." Moon noted.
Suddenly, a loud cry rang out from the sky above. In the distance the assembled group could see a large eagle with a bear-like creature on its back approaching. Looking closer, the creature was the former King River wearing his traditional hunting garb. He was also carrying a large suitcase in his arms.
"Hello Pumpkin!" he bellowed. "Hello Moonpie!"
"Ah, yes. There's your father…" Moon deadpanned.
"Look out below!" River cried out as he hurled the suitcase to the ground. The large object landed with a thud on the Diaz's' front lawn. After delivering the package, River proceeded to steer his giant bird towards an unknown destination.
"Thanks, Daddy!" Star called after her father. She went to inspect the suitcase lying on the grass. It had survived the impact rather well. Opening it, she was even more pleased with the contents inside.
"Sweet!" she exclaimed. "You brought a bunch of my clothes from my room at the Monster Temple!"
"Well...we couldn't just leave you with nothing to wear, Star." Moon offered. "Although, you do look nice in that sleep ensemble." Star blushed at the complement
"Sooo...does that mean I'm staying here for a while?" she asked hopefully.
"If it's alright with Mrs. Diaz," Moon looked over to Angie. "I would hate to impose too much?"
"It would be my pleasure, Queen Moon." Angie responded with a grin. "We've always thought of Star as the daughter we never had. In fact, when Rafael and I found out that we were having a girl, we wanted to name her something that honored your daughter. So, we named her Mariposa...which is Spanish for Butterfly."
Both Moon and Eclipsa were deeply moved by the gesture of naming Marco's sister after Star. "You can just call me Moon…" she said softly.
"You can just call me Angie…" she replied. Both matriarchs shared a moment together. It was as if they both knew that they would be sharing a bond in the future. Especially given the relationship path both their children were on.
"Hey." Star asked as she finished her bowl of cereal. "Where was Dad flying off to?"
"Your father is visiting his side of the family." Moon stated flatly. "It appears that the Johanson Kingdom is now located in this world near a place called...Pasadena. I told your father to make sure his relatives weren't terrorizing the locals. We still have so much work to do to integrate our two worlds."
"Speaking of which," Eclipsa added. "We're having another meeting with the Mayor and City Council this afternoon. The two of us managed to smooth things over last night. So much so, that the Mayor is going to have someone called the Governor of the State of California attend the meeting by something called a video conference?"
"It's apparently the same as how we used our mirrors to contact each other." Moon explained.
"Speaking of mirrors," she turned to her daughter. "We have to find a new way of communication in this world. I understand the humans use these things called Cell Phones to communicate with one another?"
"Yeah!" Star stated. "They're just like our compact mirrors."
"Well…" Marco said to his girlfriend. "I guess that's our plan for the day. Me and you will go and get a cell phone so you can communicate with your folks...and everyone else you know."
"Cool!" Star exclaimed. "But, let's make a day of it! We can get something to eat...maybe hang out together at the park…"
Marco chuckled. "Sounds like a good official first date."
Star just beamed at him. But then, her expression fell as she noticed Kelly and Jorby and realized that they had nowhere to stay. She wasn't about to tell her mother about the portal that brought them to Earth during the Cleaving. At least not yet.
"Mom? Eclipsa?" Star asked hesitantly. "My friends over here ended up with nowhere to stay because of the Cleaving." She pointed to Kelly and Jorby. "Is there any way you could find them a place to stay...even temporarily?
"I'm not sure that I could put them up in the castle dear…" Moon stated. "It is still in a state of disrepair. So much so, that your father and I are staying down the street at a hotel right now."
"Perhaps I could have them stay at the Monster Temple?" Eclipsa offered. "I'm sure I could make some space for them. At the very least someone from the village could also put you two up."
"Thanks, Eclipsa." Kelly said. "As long as there's somewhere for me and Jorby to train, we'll happily take you up on that offer." She started scratching her dog companion behind his ears.
"Perfect! I shall lead the way!" the former Dark Queen said with a flourish.
"Well...I think that's also our cue to get going." Tom interjected. "I think both me and Janna are getting really hungry."
"See all you people later!" Janna waved. She walked into the street and pulled a key fob out of her purse. Pointing it down the street, the distinctive chirp of a car alarm being disabled rang out. The sound came from a large black Dodge Charger that looked like it was built in the 1960's.
"Wait...Janna...that's your car?" Marco was even more incredulous than when he found out she had a car in the first place.
"Like I said Marco...you need to get with the times." the Filipina just smirked. "I've had this since last summer. I built it myself from scratch. I used some graduation money to buy the car from a junkyard, then I scrounged up the parts to get it running. I just got it fully operational a couple of weeks ago, before we all went back to Mewni for the battle."
"If you ask nicely, I'll even let you ride in it sometime…" she added.
Marco was at a complete loss for words. He watched as Tom and Janna walked over to the car and got in. The muscle car's engine started up with a roar, and took off down the street. Suddenly, his shock turned to surprise as a car horn started honking. It was his father returning from his morning errands.
"Hello? Angie, dear? Why is there a carriage blocking our driveway?" Raphael then noticed all the people standing around in the front yard.
"Did you invite all these people over to have a party?" he inquired excitedly. "You should have told me! I would have gotten more tortilla chips and salsa! I would have even made my famous bean dip!"
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who left a review, or favorited, or is now following this story! Happy belated Starco Day! Also, a bittersweet one year anniversary of the show ending.
As always, leave a review, get a response!
jkrust78