Crazy trouble with love part 9

Female Queens and Marco

Series: Star vs the Forces of Evil

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Marco and Star laughed and ran down the hallway of the Butterfly castle, both of them ducking and dodging as Star was firing random spells around them with Marco doing most of the dodging, playing a game of keep away involving the wand.

"Ha, you can't catch me Star!" He laughed with a grin. "Come on, are you getting rusty on me?"

"You wish Diaz, Black Widow Calamity Cobweb!" she swung her wand and caused a cobweb to form and shoot at Marco.

"Whoa!" He called as he barely managed to jump over it.

The two laughed as they ran deeper and deeper into the castle, the bricks around them growing older and older.

"Narwhal Blast!" she fired her signature move, but Marco bent back and slid on his knees while reaching down and grabbed a stray brick before throwing it, nearly knocking the wand out of her hand. "Woah! Close one, but no dice!"

"I'll get you next time!" he laughed as he kept running before seeing a large wooden door. "Hey, Star, where are w-"

"Narwhal Blast!"

"Ah!" he let out before getting knocked back with a narwhal on him as Star cheered and jumped up and down.

"Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about! You just got narwhalled." She laughed as he slammed into the door, swinging it open and sending him inside. "Oh no, Marco, you ok?"

"Yeah...just a bruised rib." he groaned as Star moved over and dragged the narwhal off as he sat up and rubbed his body. "Guess you win this round Star, till next time."

"Yeah, say, we should probably go..." She said as he got up and began to look around, only to see numerous tapestries.

"Wow, what room is this?"

"This is the grandma room, every queen of mewni has a tapestry here." spoke Star as Marco got a closer look and saw different women in various poses and styles. "One which we may wanna leave alone."

"Why? This is pretty cool." he said as he looked around.

"Well, yeah, but it kinda creeps me out and reminds me of the impending responsibilities I'll have one d-"

"Wait, is that me?" Asked Marco, moving closer to one of them.

"Marco wait! These tapestries are really important. If my mom saw us messing around in here she'd be LIVID." She cried as she moved over to pull him back, only to pause as she saw what he was looking at. "Wait…"

They were looking at the tapestry that depicted Festivia, but shown in the background on the right side was what looked like Marco smiling and looking like he was enjoying himself, transfixing both of them.

"That...can't be me, right?" Asked Marco turning to Star who looked back.

"I….I don't know. I mean, it wouldn't make any sense. These tapestries are made during the current queen's reign, and this one was made long long ago. And you've never even been on Mewni till after we met."

"Maybe it's just some guy who looks like me. There's a myth we have on Earth where everyone has their own look alike. Maybe it's just pure coincidence." He said with a shrug as Star looked around before gasping.

"THERE YOU ARE AGAIN!" She pointed at the tapestry depicting Skywynne, smiling at said queen with Star looking at the other tapestries and walking past them while pointing. "And here! And here! And here!"

"T-This is a joke, right Star, right?!"

"Nope." Said a new voice behind them, making them turn to see Glossaryck. "This is no joke."

"What do you me-" he started, only for the tiny blue figure to clap his hands, making Marco suddenly disappear.

"Marco? Marco!" Star ran over on the spot and looked around in shock before turning to the tiny man. "Glossaryck! What did you do to Marco?"

"Oh nothing bad. Just something that was going to happen eventually." he remarked casually with a smile as he leaned back and floated in the air. "You'll see him in a bit when he's done."

"Huh?!" She cried as we cut to Marco, who just appeared over a puddle of mud in the middle of a forest.

"Mean!" He let out, falling down in the puddle with a splash and getting mud on his face and front. "Ack, what th- where am I?!"

He looked around the area, noticing it seemed like a forest, and pushed himself back up while looking at his clothes.

"Aw come on! I just had these cleaned. Great." He groaned. "Damn it Glossaryck, what did you do this time?" He tried to wipe as much as he could off before walking and looked around, noting how the trees seemed young and not all that tall. "I must have wound up far from the castle. I swear this is some prank he's pulling for laughs. Jokes on him, as soon as I get back, I'm gonna hide all the pudding around the castle." He grumbled as he began to walk through the forest, heading in the direction he thought the castle was in. As he began to walk he started to see some strange creatures in the forest and swore he heard what he thought was a dragon flying above him. "Ok, so at least I'm still in Mewni…"

He had to walk through some bushes and managed to spot what looked like a village with a castle built in the center, albeit a smaller one than Star's. "Ok… that's new." he said in confusion as he headed towards it. 'Am I in a different part of Mewni?'

The people around the village seemed focused on what they were doing, several dragging hay, rocks, and farmers currently working out on a large field, but as Marco entered the place all of them began to notice him in silence. 'Ok, just act normal….' He thought as he looked around slightly nervously.

"Hey, who's that boy?"

"I don't know, never seen him around here."

"He's dressed like a weirdo."

'I guess they've never seen anyone from earth before.' He thought, unaware that one of the people watching him was beginning to approach him. He started to see the people gasp and quickly begin to bow their heads down and on their knees, confusing him. 'Ok, now that's really weird.'

"Hey, you, on your knees!" hissed one of the bowing people as they noticed Marco wasn't moving. "Show some respect for the queen!"

"Queen?" he asked as he turned around only to go wide eyed as he saw a woman in a long, yellow ball gown with short orange hair, blue eyes, a golden gear shaped crown, and hourglass shaped marks on her cheeks walking towards him, but what really threw him off was the wand she held in her hands. It resembled a clock with white wings on the sides.

"Hello stranger, I am Queen Skywynne Butterfly." Smiled the woman with Marco staring at her with wide eyes. "Who might you be? I've never seen you before."

"I….uh…." he shook his head. "I'm sorry, for a second I thought you said Butterfly."

"You heard correctly, that is my last name, seeing how I am the queen of Mewni." She nodded while Marco shook his head and smacked his cheeks. "Did you try to kill a bug?"

"No! I-I mean yes! I mean….hi." he greeted lamely as he quickly bowed. 'Ok Marco, keep it together and stay calm. There must be a good reason she said she's queen. I mean, Star's mom is queen, and this lady is definitely not Star's mom.'

"Well then, I was wondering what you were doing here, and where you came from." She replied as Marco stood back up with her noticing the mud on him. "Are you perhaps a worker for the fields?"

"Oh! No no no, this is just from a puddle I fell in." he explained. "I'm not exactly much of a farmer."

"Then what are you then?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I'm actu-" He started, only to feel himself freeze up, unable to say a word. It felt like it got caught up in his throat, with the woman tilting her head.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Sorry, what I meant to say was I'm actua-" it happened again, his mouth freezing open as what he wanted to say wouldn't come out. He looked down and tried to make his lips move, which worked, but the actual words wouldn't get out. 'What? What's going on!?'

"Stranger? Are you ok?"

"Yes!" he let out louder than intended, catching her off guard and getting him glares from the villagers before he covered his mouth. "I mean, sorry. I didn't mean to yell, it's just my words are getting stuck."

"I see...well perhaps you could tell me what that red piece of clothing you wear is. Is it some new suit?"

"Um… kinda? It's just there to keep me warm, it's not that big a deal." He said as she moved closer to inspect it and him. She gave it a feel with her fingers and was impressed.

"It feels quite thick, but light at the same time. What manner of fabric is it made from?"

"Um...wool?" he said, slightly weirded out as she poked her hands into his hoodie and pockets.

"Oh! Like sheep's wool?"

"Yes, exactly!" He said quickly.

"Interesting…" she smiled before moving her hands back. "Perhaps you could tell me more inside my castle. If you're from another land, I'd be happy to tell you all about Mewni."

"That'd be swell." he replied before looking at the wand. "But uh, I'm curious. How long have you had that wand for?"

"Oh this? Why I just got it today. It's a very dear family heirloom you see. Passed down through the Butterfly family, full of powerful magic." She said, his eyes going wide.

'What?! But Star has the wand, doesn't she?! What is going on?!' He thought, his mind trying to figure what was going on before a loud cry was heard, making everyone look up into the air and spot a dragon flying overhead.

"Dragon!"

"Take shelter!"

"Quick, come with me, stranger!" Skywynne ran past him towards the castle with Marco following, the dragon roaring out and diving down towards the village. "We'll be safe in the castle!"

Unfortunately right as she said that the dragon landed on said castle and let out a devastating wave of fire from it's mouth into the building.

"Too late!" spoke Marco as Skywynna frowned and held the wand out.

"Clockwerk Calamity!" she cried out, firing a beam of numerous clocks at the dragon. It let out a hiss as it sent out one last burst of fire before it began to flap its wings to leave. "Come back here you flying reptile!"

"Worry about it later! We need to put out the fire!" spoke Marco as the flames began to spread.

"We can't, dragon fire can't be put out, it'll only die when it no longer has anything left to burn!" She frowned holding her wand out to it. "Which means I'll have to speed it up. Forward Fury!"

She fired a beam out which engulfed the castle with the fire beginning to spread and burn at a high speed pace, causing the building to come crumbling down into a broken ruin before the flames died out.

"Wow…. wait, so you just sped up time?"

"Of course, all the spells I use rely on time." She said as her subjects began to approach the ruins.

"The castle...it's gone!"

"We're doomed, our symbol of power and protection, gone forever!"

"First a dragon, and next famine! I can already tell! We won't last through the winter!"

"Please, please, everyone calm down, please!" Skywynne called, trying to calm everyone down. "I know this is bad, but we will survive!"

"How can we survive without a castle?!"

"I'll rebuild it!" She spoke up firmly with her hands against her hip. "I'll build it back and better than ever! Strong enough to withstand a monster siege for generations to come!"

"It won't be fast enough! What if they attack tomorrow?!"

"What if they come tonight? We're all doomed!"

"W-Well, um...uh…" She stuttered, unsure what to do.

Marco looked at her and rubbed his chin before getting an idea and moved over near her before whispering. "Tell them you'll get it done in 24 hours."

"Huh?! I can't do that!" She hissed back.

"Just do it, trust me." He said as she looked at him skeptically. "It's either trust me or deal with panic."

She looked between him and the villagers before gulping and cleared her throat. "My people! The castle shall be rebuilt in 24 hours!"

That made them all pause as they looked at her in astonishment.

"R-Really?"

"Yes, I shall, me and...this stranger!" She spoke up quickly while grabbing Marco by the arm. "It shall be back to its former glory in 24 hours!"

The peasants were quiet for a second before they burst into cheers.

"So please, go about your day as you were." She called as they nodded and began to walk away.

"So, that went we-" Marco started, only for the queen to quickly wheel around and grab him, a desperate look on her face.

"How are we supposed to make that happen?! Why would you go and say that?!"

"Easy, stay calm." he spoke before she frowned.

"How can I stay calm when you have me say that? How are we supposed to rebuild the entire castle in less than a day!?"

"Uh….the wand?" he pointed at it. "If you can use time spells, why not just rewind time to before it got burned down?"

"It doesn't work like that, I can't reverse time, and if I did it would just bring back the dragon!" She groaned as he paused and began to think. "Plus you made me promise them a new one, not the same old castle!"

"Well, um….uh….what about slowing it down?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, what if you slow time around the castle while you build a new one? That way everyone THINKS it only took a day?"

"You mean slow time down around the villagers?"

"No, around the area you're building the castle, so they see it getting built at super speeds to them." He suggested nervously.

"Hmmm, well….truth be told my people aren't as adept at telling time unlike me, so perhaps it could work." She mused. "Ok, let's do it, let's build a caste….I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"Oh right! Sorry, my bad. I'm Marco D-" His words got stuck before he could finish, making him groan inside in his head. 'Come on! Why can't I finish?!'

"Marco D, alright, let's get to work Mr. D." she turned to the castle ruins, took a deep breath, and held her wand out before a beam shot out, spreading out and forming into a clock under the ground. "Alright, time for the grueling part."

"Ok, let's do this." Marco said as he stretched out.

(Five months later)

"Ah...ah….ah….ah….my back feels like it's been trampled by wild Warnicorns…." Groaned Marco, lying on a cot on the recently finished castle floor.

"You think you feel sore? I can't feel ANY part of my body!" Let out Skywynne, looking exhausted, with her dress in ruins, and looking less than a princess with the grime all over her. "Why did you let me start this without hiring any other workers?"

"It would have….taken out….the feel of real work…" He let out sitting up and rubbing his back. "A little manual labor can help in building character."

"Character feels like pain." She groaned.

"On the bright side, you got to say you got the place back in one piece with your own hands." He chuckled as she let out a small smile.

"Mine and yours Marco, mine and yours….and hopefully when it's done, we can…" She trailed off, a small blush on her face.

"We can what?" He asked.

"Well, I um...well, I was hoping you could….live with me in it." She said, waiting for a response, only to hear nothing. "I know it sounds odd, what with me being a queen and you a commoner, but if we're close and grow to learn more about each other, I think it could work."

Silence

"Well, what I mean is, well… I'd like it if we could...become closer, you know?" She said as she turned back to him, only to see nothing. "Marco?"

She sat up and walked over where he was just at and cleared her throat to speak up. "Marco? Where are you?"

All she heard in response was a lone cricket, making her worry.

"Marco, this isn't funny! Come on, say something!" She called, running down the hall as quick as possible while ignoring the pain in her legs. "Marco!"

Unfortunately she would never find Marco, as he suddenly found himself no longer on the cold castle floor, but instead underneath what felt like a massive bundle of clothing.

"Huh? Hey, where am I? Skywynne?" He called, his voice muffled by the garments as he forced himself up, pushing through the clothes. He took a deep air of breath and coughed, inhaling what smelt like cologne and rubbed his eyes from the sudden light. He poked his head out of the clothes, only to find himself eye to eye with another person.

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

This went on for a bit, until the figure desperately grabbed around until they grabbed a red and white striped cane with what looked like an alligator's head on top with wings next to it.

"What are you doing in my room!" They screamed, Marco ducking his head back in the clothes pile.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I don't know how I got here!"

"Well out, out!"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry ma'am!" Marco cried, making the figure's blood run cold.

"Wait, did you say ma'am?!"

"Yes!"

"You saw! You saw me!" The figure cried before tackling the pile of clothes Marco was in.

"It wasn't on purpose!" He cried as he found himself getting grabbed at and pinned against the floor with the cane pushed against his throat, making him let out a wheeze as it started cutting off his oxygen. "I-I'm sorry!" He cried out with a gasp as he got a good look at the figure.

Said person having purple hair that curved upward at the front, four leaf clover marks on their cheeks, and was a girl wearing a lavender corset around her body with a pair of white bloomers.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" She shouted, a wild look in her eye. "You know my secret!"

"What secret?!" He cried out, pushing up against the cane as best as possible, slowly getting it off his neck before using his legs to kick her off him and gasped, getting on his legs as best as possible. He rubbed the spot and went wide eyed getting a clear look at her state of dress and looked away. "I-I-I didn't mean to see you in your underwear! This is all a misunderstanding!"

"No, learning my true gender damn it!" She cried out, her face beet red. "I've had everyone fooled for decades, but you come here and see the truth?!"

"Uh….the truth of being a girl?" He asked in confusion.

"Yes! I'm supposed to be prince Jushtin Butterfly, not Princess Jushtine!"

Marco was confused and saw the girl quickly slip on a red fur coat and moved his hand away as the girl looked murderous and held up his hands while backing away. "Look, there's been a misunderstanding here. I...wait, did you just say Butterfly?"

"Yes!" She hissed angrily. "Ugh, what am I supposed to do now?! Decades of work to get out of those stupid traditions, responsibilities, and most importantly of all, the fucking dresses!" She ran at him with a roar making Marco quickly jump back and try to avoid her swipes with the cane.

"Woah! Wait! Don't kill me! I'm not a snitch! Really!"

"Liar! Why else would you be hiding in my room?!"

"I didn't hide! I just appeared!" he narrowly avoided her thrusting, stabbing the point into the wall and started running before she followed. "I have no idea where I even am!"

"My room!" She aimed the alligator head out and shot a beam, which hit a pair of bloomers which gained wings and flew in Marco's way, causing him to run right into them.

"My face!" He cried as the bloomers clung to him, blinding him as he tried to run.

"Come back here and face your responsibility!"

He tried to take the bloomers off, only to crash right against the wall and stumbled back with a groan.

"I have you now!"

"Wait wait wait! I promise not to tell!" He cried out as the girl held the pointed end of the cane against his throat making him gulp. "I swear, I didn't mean to show up here! And I REALLY didn't mean to show up in your…." He looked at the clothes pile and turned beet red when he saw it was nothing but bloomers. "U...U….U….U….Underwear pile."

"Well what am I supposed to do now then, I can't just let you go!"

"Look, maybe we should calm down and start over. Hi, I'm Marco D…" Again, his throat wouldn't get the rest out, even when he tried to force himself to do it. 'Diaz! Diaz! It's literally my last name!'

"Ok Marco D...You know who I am, I'm PRINCE Jushtine."

"Uh….actually I don't." He admitted making the girl look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I uh...don;t know who you are?"

"That's not possible. As current queen of Mewni, ALL my subjects know who I am."

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not from Mewni."

"Whaaaat? So you don't know me, dau-son of Skywynne?" She gasped. "Party king of Mewni?"

"No, I-wait what?!" he looked at her and stood up quickly. "Say that again."

"I'm the Party king of-"

"No no! The other thing!"

"I'm the son of Skywynne? Really? That's what you're stuck up about?!"

Marco went wide eyed and slack jawed, staring at her in silence as he let that sink. "But...that….that's impossible! I was just-" and like that, his throat AGAIN stopped him from continuing.

"Just what?" She asked, getting annoyed by him being unable to respond. "Well, whatever, but if you don't know the party king himself, then I suppose I'll have to show you what I can do."

Marco took a deep breath and let out an annoyed groan. "Ok, since I CAN'T get anything out, what I CAN do is ask this. Just what were you on about? The whole thing about being a son thing? Because again, I did NOT mean to see you...like that." He looked away with a blush. "Just wanna make that very very clear."

"No one knows the truth except mom, when I was a kid I asked her if I could pretend to be a man, I HATED being a princess, it sucked! All the lessons, the restrictive and horrible clothing, the boring and overly elegant dinners, I couldn't take it!" she yelled out with annoyance. "Just seeing one of those….ugh, ball gown dresses was enough to make me sick!"

"Worked on me." muttered Marco to himself before shaking his head. "So wait, this whole time, you've been playing pretend?"

"Yes! I mean, do you have any idea how much more free it is? As a princess you have to do so many things, but as a prince? I can get away with SO much more!" she smiled while walking around. "I'm free to look dashing in something that doesn't cut off my breath, not care if I do something a regular princess would be chastised for, and I still retain my place on the throne. If there was a spell to help me become a man one hundred percent I would have already used it! Alas, I mostly use my magic for small things. So I've merely built up a reputation as the party king by going to clubs, enjoying myself, and embracing who I am. A genuine celebrity." she stopped with a smile while looking in the mirror and looked herself over. "Besides, with clothes like this, not one person ever suspects a thing."

"Well the threads do look good." admitted Marco while noting the room had a mix of girly and manly traits, with a strong odor of cologne that made him cough. "But might wanna go easy on the cologne."

"Mmmm, nope, it helps with the disguise, if people can't think straight they can't realize something is amiss with the 'prince' of Mewni." she looked at him and noted his attire. "Wow, did you wrestle with some pigs before ending up here?"

"Mud puddle actually." He groaned. "And working in the same clothes for five months straight."

"Five months straight? Don't you have anything else to wear?"

"No."

Jushtin held her chin in thought and looked at her closet before snapping her fingers. "Say, why don't I be generous and lend you something better to wear? If I'm going to make sure you don't go spilling my secrets, it only makes sense you come with me in style."

"Wait, really?" He asked in confusion.

"Yep, this way I can keep an eye on you AND you can get to know the party king of Mewni!"

Marco held his chin at the idea. 'Ok Marco, you can use this. You don't know what's happening, and you might end up without a head if you stand out too much. Besides, if what h-she says is true, then I might run into her mom if I'm not careful. I don't know how to tell her why I'm still young in the future, I don't even know why I wound up here.'

"So, what do you say?"

"I say… let's go, we can go somewhere away from the castle."

"Excellent! I'll grab you something and we can get going!"

(Later)

"Alright, here we are, casa del Jushtine~" Said the Queen with a grin.

"It's….big." Remarked Marco, now decked out in a blue and gold dress shirt and pants with a puffy collar and gold cufflinks, looking at the brick building that had a line waiting in the front of various mewmans with music being heard from inside.

"Yep, it's perfect! Now c'mon, let's go in!" she led the way with him following, them walking past the line as there was a bouncer up front who smiled seeing Jushtin.

"Another party night your majesty?"

"Of course, there's never a night when you won't see me partying."

"Right that is, have fun my queen!" He pulled the rope out of the way as she walked in before he stopped Marco. "Woah there pal, back of the line."

"It's alright, he's with me." Jushtine said with a grin.

"Oh! Apologies my queen." the bouncer moved to the side as Marco followed Jushtine inside, looking around at the mewmans living it up with a band playing and several of them dancing.

"So this is what a club is like here."

"Yep, isn't it the bomb?" She asked as he looked around, quickly realizing that everyone was ballroom dancing.

"Uh...yeah, I guess so." He said, his response making her frown.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh! Nothing. I just didn't expect there to be ballroom dancing is all."

"Well what else kind of dancing is there?" She asked with a huff.

"Uh...hey! Why don't you show me how the 'king' parties? I'll bet you've got some really good moves I could learn from."

"You're damn right!" She shouted as she grabbed him, dragging him to the dance floor.

"Woah!" He called as she put her hand on his shoulder, pulled him close and….began to slowly dance like everyone else was.

"Just let me lead and do what I do."

"Ok...no problem." he said as she slowly led him around the dance floor. Other people gave them room with him trying to keep up and not step on her toes.

"So, what do you think Marco?" She asked proudly.

"It's nice… do you mind if I try something?"

"Like what? Taking the lead?"

"Yeah, I have a new type of dancing my family taught me." He said, remembering the lessons he had with his parents.

"A new type eh? Well now you've piqued my interest." She said with a grin. 'I wonder what it is?'

"Alright, just hold on, and follow my lead." He smiled before he began to speed up the movement, making the 'prince' try and follow, who kept up the footing no problem.

'Hmm, this is n-whoa!' She thought as he suddenly pulled her close as he danced, having her cheek to cheek with him. Soon he was dipping her down and throwing her into the air in a flurry of motion. "Woah!"

Marco managed to catch her and set her on her feet with ease, before he lead her around in the same position which made her blush as others took notice and were confused, but watched the odd dancing.

"W-What kind of dancing is this Marco?!" She whispered, her heart pounding.

"A little something I like to call the tango. My parents had me take lessons early on."

"I-It's amazing...you're amazing." She said to herself as he dipped her low, making her look up to him as he held her. "I never imagined a dance that was so…"

"Up close and personal?"

"Y-Yes, and so full of energy! L-Let's do it again!" She smiled.

"As you wish your majesty." He chuckled as he kept the lead with others around trying to do the same, albeit with some difficulty.

Jushtine's heart was racing, she felt like she was on cloud nine as she danced. 'H-How is this happening, how can the party king of Mewni be bested b-by a simple man dancing?!'

"If you want me to slow down, just say it." whispered Marco.

"N-Never! The party king of Mewni will not yield to your 'Tango'!" She declared stubbornly. "If anything, we're not going fast enough."

"You sure? I mean this IS new to you, it can get pretty wild."

"I-I invented the idea of going wild!" She protested, trying to shake off her blush. "I can handle anything you have in store."

"Alright, you asked for it." he said with a grin as she gulped nervously.

'Maybe I am in over my head…'

(Two hours later)

"Ha….ha...ha….ha….."

"You alright? You look like you're about to pass out." Marco asked, Jukstine barely managing to stand up.

"N-No...I...I….I am the party King...I can't….quit… now!" She let out, sweating from being flustered and the speedy dancing, most if not all the other party goers taking a break to catch their own breath.

"Jushtin, you can take a break if you need it, really." spoke Marco as the 'prince' stood up and puffed out 'his' chest.

"Nonsense! I'm ready...and willing to keep on going. All night!"

"Jushtine… if I wasn't holding onto you, you would collapse to the floor." He remarked, with his arms around her waist with her looking up at the ceiling. "If I let go, you'll fall down on your face."

"N-Nuh-uh!" She groaned out.

"Ok, I'm taking you back to the palace." He started to lead her to the exit with her leaning against him when her legs slowly gave out.

"H-Hey! We're not done yet! There's so much more parties to go to!" She groaned, trying to pull him back into the club with little success. "Party!"

"Even you need rest, because I'm pretty sure trying to cut loose is gonna fail quickly if you can't even stand on your feet." He chuckled as she let out a groan.

"I coulda done it!"

"Maybe another day." he remarked while trying not to drop her as they left, with people who saw this whispering to each other.

"Who is that odd boy?"

"How did he come up with such a….vulgar dance?"

"And why is he so close to the prince? You don't think they're…"

"Of course not! The prince would never be THAT close with another male. Then again...he IS rather flamboyant."

"I….I guess we may be getting a second king soon?"

Marco himself was blushing, but not from the whispering. It was because of being so close to Jushtin. Dressed up or not, she was still a Queen. 'Ok, just relax Marco, you're just making sure she gets home safe.'

Eventually they got back into the castle, with odd looks from the guards, and back into her room where he had her sit on her bed.

"Marco….why, I wanted to dance!" She groaned.

"Let's face facts, we did TONS of dancing for one go. At least with tango." he admitted with her frowning. "Hey, I DID warn you about it."

"S-Shut up… I was the king of the party, but now… you've dethroned me…" She looked away with a pout which Marco had to admit was cute.

"What are you talking about?"

"You outpartied me, no one has ever done that before…" She said, her face starting to heat up. 'It was kinda hot too.'

"Yeah, one time." He held up his index finger. "You've been the 'king' of partying way longer than I've been here. I doubt one time is gonna make a difference."

"But it will… trust me… but next time I'll beat you and take back my title!" She declared with determination.

Marco rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Alright alright, maybe next time you'll keep up and not almost trip over yourself." He teased.

"S-Shut up!" She pouted. "I'll get that 'tango' dance of yours down no problem!"

"Of course, of course, but first you should get some sleep." he said as he got up to leave, only for her to refuse to let him go. "Uh Jushtine? You can let go now."

"...No."

"Huh?"

"No, you beat me so until I beat you...you're the king of parties and I...am your queen."

He went wide eyed and saw her blushing. "W-W-W-W-What?"

"Y-Yes, now...treat your queen kindly~" She purred as she pulled him into bed, only for her to groan as her eyes began to get heavy.

"Wait, hold on! Don't go to sleep with me like this!" He cried out with a blush, but it was in vain as her eyes began to close. 'Damn it… well it's only sleep, I guess it won't be that bad.' He thought, only for him to suddenly disappear.

Jushtine smiled in her sleep while completely oblivious to what just happened. "My king…"

Meanwhile Marco groaned as he found himself no longer on a soft mattress, but rather a hard, dirt ground. "OH COME ON!" He groaned as he got up, only to pause as he looked down to see he was back in his old clothes. He looked around and saw he was in the forest, with Jushtine nowhere in sight. "What the...did I up and vanish again? Ok, this is getting really weird!" He groaned as he got up. "Damn it… I might as well figure out where I am this time."

He started walking around, trying to see if anything was noticeable about the forest. As he looked he suddenly heard shouting and grunting and the sound of steel hitting wood. He crouched down and moved near some bushes where he heard it, covering his mouth as he slowly peered on through.

He saw a large clearing with several racks of weapons in it, training dummies in various states of destruction, and in the middle of it all was a tall woman. She had a mostly shaved head with an undercut style of red hair that was styled in a braid. She had on battle armor with a skirt, lightning bolt shaped cheek marks, and was currently using a sword to cut into one of the dummies over and over.

"RAAAAH! Take that, that and that!" She roared out, cutting the head off and kicking the body over with Marco noting she looked close to foaming at the mouth and how the dummies seemed more monstrous in appearance.

'Someone takes their training seriously. I feel like I've seen her somewhere.' He thought as he adjusted himself to see better, accidentally stepping on a twig.

The woman stopped and looked at the bush, making Marco tense up as she grabbed a mace from the weapons rack. "Who's there?! Come out and show yourself!"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to intrude!" Marco called, quickly getting up to reveal himself.

"Why were you hiding? Did you try to spy on my techniques?"

"No no, I was just walking by!" He explained, her narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Hmmmm, that sounds like a LIE!" She roared as she lunged towards him.

"Woah!" he side stepped the mace when she brought it down and narrowly jumped back when she swung it at him. "Can't we talk this out?! I'm not lying!"

"Sure, we can talk after I beat you and drag you to the dungeon you spy!" she declared charging after him with him trying his best not to get pulverized. "Hold still and take your beating like a coward!"

"Hey! I'm not a coward!" He declared while getting into a stance when she swung down, him side stepping it and grabbing part of it, before letting out his own yell and delivered an open palm strike to her chest, knocking her back and landing on the ground.

"W-What?!" She cried out, looking up in shock before a vicious grin overtook her face. "So you can fight, huh spy?"

"I keep telling you, I'm not a spy. Just a lost guy trying to figure out where here is."

"Oh I'll tell you, you're in the private training grounds of Queen Solaria!" She laughed as she lunged forward. "And you may leave if you beat me!"

Marco's eyes widened at the name before finding himself grabbed in a bear hug by her, who started to squeeze, making him feel a crack or two from the sudden strength. "YEOW!"

"Let's see you win with a broken spine!" She laughed, only for him to stomp on her foot, making her lose her grasp enough for him to grab her and throw her over his shoulder. She landed on her front with a groan while Marco rubbed his back.

"Ow...I hope I can get back home, I'm gonna need a chiropractor." he grumbled. He saw her get back up and swore she looked ready for a battle to the death. So he took another stance at the ready. "Alright, no more mr nice guy."

"Yes, yes! Give me a good fight, actually give me a challenge!" She laughed before charging.

"Heeya!" He let out, deflecting her punch and sliding in close before delivering several strikes to her chest, stunning her before sweeping her legs out from under her.

She grunted as she lashed out to grab his leg and pulled him down as she struggled to stand back up, with him attempting to pull her back down with him.

"Alright, you've forced my hand." He brought his hand down near the nape of her neck and pushed down with his fingers, making her go wide eyed and cry out as she let go with him hitting her pressure points. She gasped as she fell to the ground, her limbs feeling like jelly.

"W-What was that?!"

"Do you give up? Because I am NOT gonna get close to you unless you do. I'm not taking the chance at getting my back broken." He said as she propped herself up with her arms, her legs feeling useless.

"That...what was that, I've never seen anything like it before!" She cried out before grinning. "Teach me!"

He looked at her with a deadpan stare and stepped back. "Yeah, not a good idea."

"Teach me and I will pardon you for your crimes!"

"What crimes? I haven't done anything! You attacked me first!"

"You trespassed on my private training grounds first and then attacked the queen." She said back smugly.

"Hey! I didn't ask to end up here. I just sorta….did." he tried to explain as best as he could.

"Well, you're here, now take responsibility, teach me!"

Marco groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright look, say I DO teach you. What's to stop you from then using that on me?"

"Hmmm, a negotiator huh? Ok, I promise not to, on my honor and the family wand!"

He raised an eyebrow as she smiled before sighing. "Fine, but I'll hold you to that." he moved over and pushed down on the points, getting another cry out of her before she started to feel her legs again and stepped back. "And something tells me you'd hunt me down if I didn't."

"Yep!" She said proudly as she got up. "Let's start from the beginning, I am Queen Solaria, Queen of Mewni, and you are?"

"Marco...wait, queen Solaria?" He said, for once the name sounded familiar. "Uh...by chance, would you happen to be the same Solaria who has it out for, oh I don't know, monsters?"

"Monsters? Eh, not exactly, if they attack my kingdom of course, but if they leave us alone? I have no qualms with them." She said with a shrug.

'Huh, maybe they over blew her hatred of them.' he thought before crossing his arms. "Ok, so what I did was hit your pressure points."

"Noooo, all you did was grab me by the neck and squeeze REALLY hard and painful."

"Yeah, that's a pressure point. It's a spot where if you hit hard enough, it can hurt way more." He said with a sigh. "It's a cluster of nerves in the body, and if hit right it can mess with how people's bodies work, as you saw."

"Are you saying my body has weak points? That's ridiculous." She smiled shaking her head. "I've trained my body through and through to be the toughest queen in all of Mewni."

"So then you wouldn't feel pain if I pushed right here?" He held her hand and pushed the center of it, hard.

"Yah!" She cried out as her hand went limp. "Stop doing that!"

"See? Even if you have muscle, your body still has soft spots. You just gotta learn how to keep them from getting hit and how to use it to your advantage."

"Ok, fine! Just fix my hand." She growled. "I'll have this mastered in no time!"

"Not likely, it took me quite a bit to learn the basics." He pushed on her hand before feeling came back. "And that's not to mention my sweet moves of karate!" he took a pose with a smirk. "I'm pretty skilled from where I come from."

"Fine, teach me that too!" She said as she crossed her arms.

'This might take some time.'

(A few hours later)

"No no no, you're punching again."

"That's what you showed me!"

"No, you have to use your palm instead of a fist."

"But fists are so much stronger!"

"Our fight begs to differ."

"Shut up, you're cheating, you and your fake punches!"

"Well if they're fake, I guess we should stop." He shrugged and turned away while pretending to walk away. "Hope you have fun mastering all that."

"Hey, get back here!" She shouted as she lunged at him once more.

"Oof!" He fell down when she grabbed his legs and groaned.

"Ha! Your pressure points couldn't stop that, could it?!"

"No, but this can." he smirked before grabbing her arms and pinched down, making her yelp as she lost feeling and he slipped out. "Does that feel 'fake' too?"

"Stop doing that!" she cried out with a frown. "How do you keep doing that?!"

"Well if you don't call my teachings fake, I'd be more than happy to keep showing you, but with a bonus. You have to call me, Sensei Marco." he smirked smugly.

"Huh? What the hell does sensei mean?"

"Teacher."

"Than why don't I just call you that?"

"Because sensei is more cool."

"It sounds lame."

"Then I guess I'll just leave you like that." He smirked standing up making her glare.

"You are an evil evil little boy."

"I'm not hearing a sorry."

"Gah! Ok ok! I'm sorry for calling them fake punches!"

"And?"

"And...I'd like you to keep teaching me."

"And?"

"...sensei...Marco."

"Good." He said with a grin as he pinched her again, letting her regain control of her body.

She got up and rubbed her arms as Marco took a stance again, with her trying to mimic it.

(Later)

"Ha...ha...ha...whoo! I haven't worked up a sweat like that since my first ever hunting trip!" Solaria sighed as she and Marco began to head back to the castle.

"Yeah, first time….I ever taught someone." he let out.

"Well you did good, I can't wait for tomorrow!" She smiled as Marco looked around the village and saw it looked a little banged up.

"Uh, what happened?"

Solaria saw several mewmans injured and rushed over with worry. "What happened here?"

"M-Monsters!"

"They came in without warning and raided our storage! All the corns gone!"

"What?!" Solaria gasped, making Marco gulp nervously. "Those evil monsters!"

"They even took my lucky hat!"

"We need to hunt them all down and kill them all!"

"Or! Or, maybe we just let the guards handle it." Interjected Marco quickly. "I'm sure they can get the corn back no problem without anyone getting hurt."

"Why, they robbed us, and one even said mean things about me!"

Solaria growled and clenched her fists before marching to the castle with Marco following.

"Solaria stay calm."

"I AM CALM!" She yelled with Marco reeling back. "I'm just going to get my wand is all."

"Solaria, Solaria, why are you getting your wand?"

"To make a point. If those monsters don't give the corn back, I'll 'encourage' them." she replied as they reached the throne room where he saw her pick up a golden handle and guard before a glowing red sword formed out of it. "I'll encourage them with extreme violence!"

"Solaria, no, there's another way!" Spoke Marco as he followed her out. "If we just talk to them, we can meet a mutual agreement without bloodshed!"

"No, bloodshed is the only answer Marco." She reached the stable and got on a warnicorn before yanking Marco on behind her and snapped the reins, making it neigh and start running out.

"C-Can't we just talk it out with them?!" He cried as he held onto her.

"If they want to steal from mewmans like thieves, then they will be treated as such." She growled.

'This is not going to end well!'

(Elsewhere)

"The trail of corn leads to this cave." Solaria said, looking at the ground in anger. "Alright, let's go in hard, fast, and destroy them all."

"OR! Or, I go ahead and try to talk to them. Peacefully." Marco suggested quickly. "Not everything needs to end in violence!"

"They won't learn their lesson through 'talking'. Action will make it clear they messed up."

"How are they supposed to learn if they're dead!"

"If they're dead they can't repeat their crimes!"

Marco groaned as he moved in front of her. "Come on, just listen! Just...please, try using words first!"

She frowned at him with him not moving before she groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine, we'll do it the 'peaceful' way."

"Thanks, and trust me, this will go well, I promise. They'll appreciate you not trying to kill them." He sighed in relief.

(Ten minutes later)

"And that's why stealing is wrong." Marco said with a smile. "So, will you return the corn?"

The monsters looked at Marco in disbelief before they all began to slowly turn to Solaria, who was glaring at them and sharpening her 'wand'.

"Do answer us, the quicker the better."

"Uh….giving it some thought, we have agreed that giving it back would be good for both parties." spoke one of them with a gulp.

"And?" spoke Marco.

"We will learn to grow our own food and not steal from the mewmans again." spoke another.

"Good, glad we could come to an understanding, thank you for your time." He said with a smile as the monsters quickly dumped the corn into his lap. "See Solaria, being nice and asking does work!"

"With the right incentive." She muttered as the two made their way out. "I still say a good decapitation would have gotten the point across faster."

"Well I say otherwise, and this has worked out pretty well, don't you agree?" He remarked lugging the corn back over to the warnicorn. "Sometimes words can be stronger than the sword."

"Well, let's agree to disagree Marco." She remarked getting on and snapping the reins as Marco held on and they took off. "I have to admit though, you did make some good points when boring them."

"Informative speaking, thank you very much." He said with a nod. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Well return the corn of course, and afterwards we're going to continue training so I can learn that strange fighting of yours." she replied with a smirk. "And after that, we'll feast until our bellies are full and go to bed."

"Uh, by going to bed-"

"I mean you'll be staying in the castle yes."

"Oh, uh you don't have to do that. I could just camp outside."

"Oh no you don't, last thing I need is you getting killed in your sleep by a werewolf, if you die how will I learn your fighting style?"

"Well if I can beat you, I'm pretty sure I could take on an overgrown dog." he boasted, only to yelp and grip tighter when she made the warnicorn jump over a river making her smirk.

"Yes, I'm so sure you could handle one, but an entire pack of them? Doubtful." She said with a chuckle. "That's why you'll stay with me, and hopefully when we're done I'll have changed your mind about playing nice with monsters."

"Or maybe I can get you to see that violence ISN'T always the answer."

"Yeah, good luck with that." She chuckled as she shook her head.

(Timeskip)

"Come on Marco! One more!"

"My arms...are gonna….snap!" Marco let out, lifting up a dumbbell with Solaria watching.

"Oh please, you've done this for weeks. You're just being dramatic. Now push!"

"Ugh, why am I the one trainging, I'm the one who's teaching you karate!"

"I told you before, you need to bulk up. That fancy karate is good, but good old fashioned muscles is always useful." she boasted while flexing her arms before Marco tossed the dumbbell to the side and gasped for breath. "I don't see what the big deal is, I could do a solid 2000 at half my age."

"2000?! I can't do that!"

"Oh fine, you can stop for today." She said with a sigh. "Don't worry, someday we'll turn you into a buff warrior, someday…"

Marco sighed in relief before Solaria picked him up with ease. "And maybe someday we'll get you to talk about peace before getting bored."

"Hey! I'm getting used to it." she huffed crossing her arms and looking away. "Let's go off and grab a drink, I could go for one right now."

"You? I'm the one working up a sweat here."

"Ah fine, how about you rest here and I'll get us something to drink and bring it back here?"

"Sounds good to me." He said with a sigh as he leaned back. 'This...is nice, the training is intense but it does have it's moments.'

So far, dealing with the few weeks of teaching her martial arts and how to try and talk peace out with monsters instead of slicing them had been easier than expected. It actually was starting to turn into the new norm for him, especially since he had expected to up and vanish much sooner.

'Maybe I'm stuck here for good now, that magic thing is kinda unpredictable.' He thought while taking his hoodie off to try and cool off. 'For all I know I'll stick around by the time I'm my dad's age. On the upside, Solaria's weight lifting training could actually make me more buff than before.'

As Marco leaned against a tree he was unaware he was no longer alone.

'If I'm gonna be stuck here for a while I should lay off the liquor, I still feel slightly hungover from last night...what did happen anyway? One moment I'm drinking with the queen and the next thing I know I'm half naked on the floor outside Solaria's room.'

"Hey you! Mewman!"

Marco whirled around, arms at the ready, and saw a tall orc looming over him with a frown.

"I've got something to ask of you."

"Um, ok, shoot, what is it?"

The creature narrowed it's eyes before holding out a glass jar of strawberry jam. "Could you help me get this jar open? It's been stuck for me all day and I could really go for some jam right about now."

"Sure, no problem." Marco said with a smile as he took the jar. As he began to struggle with the jar he began to tingle for a moment before he disappeared, as if he was there one second the next he was gone, the jar of jam falling onto the ground, shattering over his abandoned hoodie.

"What the? Oh no! My jam!" Cried the orc in shock before grabbing some with his hand and licked some off before letting out a happy sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness, it's still fresh. Mmmm, jam."

"Yo, Marco, I got the dr-" Solaria called, walking back into the clearing, drinks in hand before freezing. In front of her she saw a large orc, his hands stained red with Marco's hoodie on the ground, covered in the same red liquid. She dropped the drinks which shattered. "No...no no no, he can't be gone!" she cried out shaking her head while the large monster snarled while noticing the jam on his mouth and wiped at it with her slowly reaching down to her wand, bringing it out and scowling at him. "You...KILLED HIM!"

"Huh? Killed who?" the orc asked while looking at the stuff on his finger and back at the furious queen. "Oh! No no no, see this here is strawberry j-"

"DIE!" she roared out before she ran at him with her cheek marks glowing while holding her sword out to the side.

No, wait, please I can explain-augh!" He cried as she drove her sword deep into his chest.

"Save it you monster." she whispered darkly as she yanked it back before he groaned and fell down on the side clutching at the red mark on the spot. "Enjoy the remainder of your life you murderer."

"I didn't... not dead..." he groaned as she began to walk away.

She had a hardened look while looking at the blood and looked up at the sky while feeling tears in her eyes. "Marco...I can't believe he's..." She looked at her blade again and gripped it tightly before staring up at the moon. "You were taken from me by a monster, a filthy disgusting beast, the scourge and disease on all of Mewni. As such, I won't rest until ALL of them are slain." She growled as she clutched her sword tighter. "ALL of them."

(With Marco)

"Not this again!" he screamed curling into a ball while bouncing off random debris. "Ow! Ow! Oof! OW!"

Eventually he rolled to a stop with a groan.

He rubbed his head and sighed. "I should've asked Solaria if the blacksmith could have made me a helmet." He muttered as he stood up. "At least I didn't land in anything wet this time."

He shook some dirt out of his hair and looked around to see he was right outside the kingdom and sighed in relief. "Ok Marco, let's step back and try to observe the situation first. Don't assume you're back until you know for sure." He said as he looked around. 'Architecture seems more or less the same, no monsters, a few more marble columns than I remember..'

He walked near the wall and squinted his eyes. 'The color looks a bit more fresh, but nothing too bright. Maybe-' he was cut off from his thoughts as he heard what sounded like loud music coming from the castle. 'Ok, that is DEFINITELY new, not back home yet.'

He moved over to the gates and saw they were open, letting him get in and saw the streets were empty while flashing lights were seen from the castle. "Is there some party going on? Huh, maybe I did make it back. Star's probably having some big party with Ponyhead or something. Either that or it's for Eclipsa." He said as he began to make his way to the castle. "Worse case scenario I'm just at a new party, right?"

He trekked up to the front gates and noticed two guards in fancy tuxedos who stood beside it. "Um... is this a private party?" He said as they glanced down at him.

"Nope, come on in, but first answer this, are you mewman or a monster?"

"Uh….mewman."

"Then come right in and enjoy the party." Said the man with a nod. "Eat, drink, and party hard."

Marco walked inside as they opened up the gates, following the sound of the music. 'Ok, so I'm not back in my time I think, I doubt Queen Moon would let Star throw a party in the castle.' When he reached the castle, he was blown away to see mewmans all over, partying it up like it was a regular house party back on Earth.

"Chew! Chew! Chew! Chew!" Chanted several to a man gnawing on several corn cobs at once.

"Damn… never been to a party like this." Marco said as he walked around in awe. "It looks like the entire kingdom is here. I knew the castle was big, but this is crazy."

"That's because everyone is, welcome to the party!" Called a cheerful voice behind him.

He turned and saw the face of a young woman who had long bluish-purple hair that nearly reached the floor, wearing a red magenta dress with dark magenta four pointed star marks on her cheeks, holding a golden goblet in one hand. "Oh, thanks. I didn't really expect something like this."

"Glad to hear my party has exceeded your expectations." She said with a grin. "Now come, drink! Celebrate! Everything is great in the kingdom of Mewni!"

"Wait, your party?" he pointed at her.

"Of course, who else could throw a party this great but Festivia Butterfly?" she smiled. "Go ahead and enjoy yourself, the party isn't going to be stopping anytime soon."

"Um….thanks, but I think I'm good…" he said as he started to back away, making her frown. "I'm kinda trying to find something right now, so I don't really have much time for partying."

"No, no, you need to party, celebrate, forget your troubles and worries, trust me." she smiled pulling him over with her arm around his shoulder and lead him down the hall. "Here at castle Butterfly is where you can forget all that stress and cut loose."

"Really, thanks, but I swear, I'm fine." he said as her eye twitched in annoyance.

"I SAID that here you can relax, your queen commands it." She spoke firmly with a smile as he saw numerous mewmans dancing, getting into fights, or gorging themselves on food.

"I really don't want to though…" He said, looking at her nervously. 'Who wants to force people to party? What is going on?'

"Of course you do, you're just shy." She said with a chuckle. "Guard, bring me the nearest keg of corn wine!"

"Yes your majesty!" a guard ran off with Marco tugging at the collar of his shirt, just now realizing his hoodie was gone.

'Aw what? Where's my hoodie?!' He thought before shaking his head. "Look, your majesty, I'm sorry, but I don't want to party or drink."

"Aw come on, would you rather party or be a stick in the mud and worry about the war?"

"War? What w-"

"Your corn wine!" the guard came back and set down a large keg.

"Excellent! Now then, peasant, start chugging!" Festiva called with a smile.

"Wait, what about the war you were talking about?!" he asked quickly. "What war?"

"Oh the silly monster war, but don't worry, the magical high commission has it all under control." she waved her hand while grabbing the hose connected to the keg and popped it in Marco's mouth. "But that's not a big deal, enjoying the finest corn wine around is."

"Mph!" Marco cried as he tried to pull the hose out of his mouth. He felt the wine start going into him, causing him to drink it without much resistance or else risk drowning.

"Yeah, there you go, now you're getting into the partying mood!" She smiled as Marco started to get the familiar burning at the back of his throat like before with Solaria.

'Ugh, not again!' He thought as his vision began to get blurry. 'Get a hold of yourself Marco, you are not going to get shitfaced ten minutes into meeting the queen!'

"How is it?" she asked, pulling the hose out with Marco groaning and coughing a little.

"Strong…" he wheezed out, hitting his chest.

"Glad to hear, now go, have fun, be merry and gay!" She laughed happily.

"Uh...what was that last part?"

"Gay! You know, happy?" She said as she took a long drink from her goblet.

"Oh! Right right, I knew that." He said before shaking his head. "Wait… weren't you talking about a war? Why are you partying during a war?"

"To have fun of course! Wars or so stressful and not fun, so what better way to brighten everyone's spirit than a grand party?"

"But… what if the monsters attack now?" He asked in confusion, starting to have a hard time thinking straight. "Everyone would be vulnerable and in danger."

"Please, if they somehow get past the magical commission, I'll stop them with my magic!" she declared holding up her goblet.

"Uh...with your fancy glass?"

"Wha? Oh, no, this is my wand! It makes AMAZING wine!" She chuckled. "Wanna sip~?"

"No no, I'm good."

"C'mon, it's a great honor to get to try some of queen Festiva's wine~" She urged, giving the goblet a shake and making some wine drip out as a demonstration.

"Well… maybe a quick drink, but then we need to talk about you ignoring your war."

"Sure sure, open wide." She chuckled as she held the goblet up to his mouth before gently tipping it back.

Marco opened his mouth and let it drip down, making his eyes widen since this was much sweeter than the corn wine. 'Wow...is this just grape juice?'

"Please, enjoy my wine, it's the sweetest AND strongest in the kingdom~"

Marco swallowed it and didn't note anything off, before suddenly feeling a strong kick hit him and made him sway a little.

"Ugh….wha…"

"There we go, now we can really have some fun~"

(Later)

"I can fly!" called Marco, swinging upside down on a chandelier with a tie wrapped around his head with party goers cheering him on.

"MARCO! MARCO! MARCO! MARCO!"

"Yeah, now you're getting into the swing of things!" Festiva called with a laugh from her throne. "Live it up and never stop!"

"YEAH! I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER!" He let out, not realizing the chain was starting to give out.

"WHOOO!" The party goers called as Festiva smiled before hearing a loud snap.

"Oh… that can't be good." She muttered as the chandelier came crashing down, with Marco still on it.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" He cried, only to freeze mid air as a purple light engulfed him. "Huh? Hey….am I magic?"

"No, but I am~" Festivia chuckled her goblet shooting out the light that had engulfed Marco. She set him down and noted everyone had gone quiet. "Wasn't that something everyone?"

"...woooo!"

"Wooooo!" everyone else repeated before going back to their fun like nothing happened.

"Wow...I could have died!" Marco laughed, his eyes glazed over.

"C'mon party animal, how about you find somewhere to rest before you crash." She chuckled.

"No rest, party!"

"C'mon, how about I give you the best seat in the house~?" she grabbed his hand and started leading him down a hall.

"Huh? Where?" he asked as he followed her. He nearly tripped over his own feet, the alcohol in his system slowly starting to wear down.

"To my personal room handsome~" she winked as they reached the end and walked up some steps before opening the door and pulling him into her bedroom. "Now come and have the ultimate party experience with me~"

"W-Wha?" he let out, his senses coming to him as he rubbed his head. "Wait, what are you…"

"Come on Marco, don't you want to have some fun with the queen?" She asked with a grin before pausing. "Or do you not? Because if you don't that's fine."

Marco blinked before shaking his head. "Wait! Hold on!" he felt all his senses come back and frown. "Look, we need to talk about the big picture here. You can't keep partying with your own people when there's a war going on!"

She blinked at him in confusion before groaning. "UUUUGGGHHH, do we really have to talk about this now?"

"Considering I almost fell off a chandelier and died from getting drunk?! Yeah! We do!" he spoke firmly. "Making your subjects happy is fine, but not when a war is going on. Now isn't the time to party, now is the time to lead them and help."

"Like I said, it's fine, the magical commission is handling the war. Besides, they don't let me join in their talks anyway, and I don't plan on making them."

"Then make them! You're the queen of Mewni, you have power behind that, so use it. Are you really gonna let someone else command your army while you sit back and party?"

"Yes! War is big, scary, and I have no experience in it! The people were scared so I'm helping them forget their fears!" she frowned. "I'm doing a good thing already by keeping them happy and upbeat, so what's the problem?"

Marco opened his mouth, but closed it and started to feel his brain work something out. He rubbed his chin and felt a lightbulb go off before smirking. "Alright, I've got an idea. What do you say on a wager?"

"A wager?"

"Yeah! I challenge you in a party off! If I win you have to start acting like a real queen!"

"And if I win?"

"Then….I'll shut up about the whole thing and go with the flow." He offered as she rubbed her chin.

"Hmmm, if you win I have to stop partying and do work, but if I win you just have to party? Nuh-uh, I think you win either way, so how about if I win...you become mine~?"

Marco blushed seeing her send him a wink and looked back and forth. "Uh...deal."

"Great! Now then…. How exactly do we have a party off?"

"Whoever can party the longest without passing out or calling it quits is the winner."

"Alright, let's do this!" She grinned as she grabbed his arm and began to drag him out of her room. "Let's party on!"

(Later)

Marco and Festivia were dancing to the music while trying to keep themselves wide awake with people cheering them on.

"GO GO GO GO!"

"G-Give up yet Marco?"

"No way! I'm not stopping any time soon queenie!"

"H-Ha, I can't wait for you to lose Marco!" she called while sipping from her goblet with Marco himself drinking from the keg.

'You can do it Diaz!'

(A little bit later)

"I….do you….give….Marco?" Festivia groaned as she sipped on her goblet.

"No...way….you?" he asked, swaying and trying his best NOT to fall down as he sucked from the tap slower than before.

"No….wanna….win….you…." she spoke while her subjects kept on cheering for them. 'Can't give up, not now!'

'Just hang in there Diaz!' thought Marco as he slowly sipped the rest of the corn wine, his head feeling fuzzy and good.

Festivia tried to take one more sip, only for a partying mewman to stumble and knock into her, sending her falling to the ground. She groaned and let her face plop down, making everyone gasp and Marco stop.

"The queen."

"She's...lost."

"Damn.. I never thought I would live to see the day…"

Festivia groaned from the floor. "I….Lost?"

"Ooh….yay…" Marco let out with a fist pump, only to cover his mouth and run over near a column, letting his lunch out due to having TOO much alcohol at once.

'He beat me… no one has ever outparties me….' Thought Festivia as two guards helped her on her feet. "Bring him to me….now!"

"Yes ma'am!" they led her over to Marco who groaned and wiped his mouth.

"Never again…."

"Marco, you have won...I will honor our bet...tomorrow. I'll get to work…." She groaned, trying to stay conscious. 'Ok, now to ask him if he is single...screw it, ask him to marry you!'

"Good, that's good." he nodded with a smile while fist pumping in his mind.

"Now….I must ask...will you...ugh." She groaned, before losing the fight and succumbed to her exhaustion and passed out.

"We better get her to her room." spoke one of the guards.

"She's gonna be sore all day tomorrow." remarked the other before they carried her off.

"What should we do about Mrco?"

"Grab h-hey, where is he?"

They turned and saw the teen was gone.

Meanwhile, Marco suddenly found himself no longer in the main throne room of the castle, but instead in a dark room that seemed to be lit by black candles. He groaned and rubbed his head, feeling a splitting headache coming on from the sudden transition. He looked down and was confused to see he now had his red hoodie back on. "Did I pass out? Or is this some weird dream?"

"If it's a dream then it's probably not mine." Called a gloomy voice from behind him.

"WAH!" he screamed, falling down on his front and groaned. "Ow, not a good idea…" he let out on the floor.

"Very few ideas in this world are good, we are simply here to suffer…"

Marco ignored the pounding in his head and got up, turning around to see a short, pale faced woman with waist-length bushy black hair, dark grey sphere shaped marks on her cheeks, with a purple dress, a dark lime-green cloak, black shoes, a spiked purple wristband, and a gold crown with a purple diamond in the center, currently sitting at a desk and jotting down in a small book with a gloomy expression. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to end up here, I swear!"

"Meh, I'm not that surprised. All sorts of weird stuff can be seen here on Mewni." She said with a shrug. "You aren't that strange in comparison."

"Oh." he replied, caught off guard and looked at her as she went back to writing in the book, making the air feel awkward. "I….so, uh….what are you writing?"

"Poetry."

"Oh, cool, can I see?"

"Sure, whatever." She said with a shrug, showing him her book full of poetry. "You probably won't like them, no one ever does."

Marco took the book and began to silently read the poems in his head, finding each one was what you'd expect a full blown goth to write about. Laminating on how life is dark, unfair, the list went on. "Well, they're definitely….descriptive."

"Thank you, I tried." She said as she looked him over. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"You're pretty quick to notice." he admitted with relief. "Yeah, I'm not from Mewni."

"Figures, none of my citizens would bother coming to me." she took the book and went back to writing in it while Marco tried to look around the dimly lit room.

"So...my name's Marco, what's yours?"

"Dirhhenia, unfortunately the next queen of Mewni." She sighed. "Stupid royal family…"

'Another queen! Ok, the pattern is definitely there.' He thought. "Uh, just out of curiosity, but would your mom happen to be named, oh I don't know, Festivia?"

"Yeah, that's my mom, everyone knows that except you I guess." She remarked in a monotone. "She used to be this big time party princess when she was my age apparently."

"Used to be? What happened?"

"Apparently she went on to take things more seriously. Said something about meeting a cute guy who beat her in a party off. She still did parties, but took being queen more serious. Honestly I always figured she made it up because she always said those parties could get real wild."

"I imagine...so you're gonna be queen, huh? That has to be exciting, right?"

"No, it's a real drag." she sighed and put her head on her hands and looked at the candles. "Being queen means all sort of big work, decisions, and everyone asking you what to do. I just wanna write poetry, I'm not queen material."

"Well, you'll never know until you try, right?"

"No, I know, I went to all the classes, lessons, tutors, and I hated it, I'm not cut out for it." She shook her head and got up before walking over and plopped down on what looked like a beanbag chair, except it looked like a huge sphere instead. "Who wants to go around in those weird dresses and colors? I prefer darker ones."

"Well….why don't you then?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Why don't you wear what you want, if you're queen you can decide what happens, right?"

"Because then my mom gets on my case on how 'that's not what a queen wears'." she replied rolling her eyes.

"Huh...well….do you want to be queen?"

"What do you think?" she replied flatly.

"Well if you don't wanna be queen, why not just refuse?" he suggested. "I mean it might not be easy if you're an only child, but-"

"Sadly I'm not, I have a sister."

"Oh! Well then there you go. Why not just go and give her the position instead?"

"Because…." She started, only to trail off. "Huh….I guess I could do that."

"I mean you don't wanna be queen, but if she does, then you all win."

"Yeah...I guess, but there's a problem with that, my sister is….not the right fit for queen either."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't wanna know." she shook her head before groaning while Marco rubbed the back of his head. "Just...trust me on this one."

"Alright, but it's a shame though. I guess as queen this means you'll have to put it as the most important thing in your life." shrugged Marco walking around and noting the room had an odd number of balls or ball shaped objects. "As queen you'll have to devote the rest of your life to it."

"Ugh… but I don't want to do that…" She groaned.

"Which means you'll have no choice but to dress the most brightly colored and girly of dresses. Most of which squeeze your body to where you can hardly breath. I should know." he muttered the last part to himself.

"...Maybe I could risk leaving the kingdom in my sisters hands...knowing her she'll probably find a way to take it anyway."

"And as queen you'll probably have to give up your hobbies. So no more poetry or collecting….balls." He guessed the last part.

"WHAT?! No, no, I give, I give, Crescenta can be queen!" She cried out jumping up and grabbed several of the balls in her arms. "I'm not giving up my balls! The kingdom can have her!"

"Ok, that doesn't sound too ba-" Marco started, only to disappear.

The princess blinked at this before shrugging and headed out of her room. "Better go out and give the people a reason why I'm not queen material."

Meanwhile Marco let out a cry as he suddenly found himself outside, in the castle courtyard, specifically, in a bush.

"Ow! Aw come on!" He groaned. "I was only there for ten minutes!" he rubbed his head and back, noting how his headache was gone. 'Ok, I think I'm starting to notice a pattern, I think the next person I should see is Dirhhenia's sister as queen, right?'

Marco looked around before spotting a banner hung up near the garden which read 'Future Leaders of Mewni Club'. He stuck behind a tree and saw what looked like numerous princes and princesses sitting down and chatting amongst a small gathering of tables and chairs. 'Huh, I didn't know Mewni had clubs.' He thought as he inched closer. 'But wouldn't the next leader be the princess?'

He saw them enjoying tea and sweets, only for there to be trumpets sounding by two guards at the entrance before spotting someone walking over to what looked like a podium.

Said person was a young woman with fair cream skin, blond hair tied up in a bun, blue eyes, and pink rabbit-shaped marks on her cheeks. She wore a deep blue dress with pink ribbons and a red bow in front, white leggings, white gloves, a gold necklace with a red jewel, and a gold crown with a red diamond. She also wore flowers and ribbons in her hair.

When she reached the spot the others clapped with her bowing her head to them with a smile.

'She must be Dirhhenia's sister. She could pass for Star's sister.' He thought as he got a good look at her. 'In fact she kinda looks like a more fancy version of Star.'

"Thank you everyone for coming again to our monthly meetings. I trust everyone is enjoying the freshly made tea cakes? I made sure they were made fresh." she smiled with pride.

'Huh, she seems pretty friendly too.' thought Marco with a smile. 'Maybe she can help me find my way back after she's done.' He thought as he kept watching the meeting while staying hidden.

"Now then, we shall truly begin by listening to suggestions on how to better establish relationships between our kingdoms for when we have become true rulers. Does anyone have any they'd like to say?"

"Yes, I believe that we would find great success in increasing our borders and natural resources if we eliminate the vermin in the forest." spoke up one prince with a snooty tone that Marco picked up, but no one seemed to say anything.

"Hmmm, you might be onto something, if we did get rid of the monsters we would easily be able to take their land." remarked one princess sipping her tea with her nose in the air. "Frankly I don't get why something doesn't be done sooner."

'Wait, are they all racist? Ok, but the princess is going to shoot down these ideas, right?'

"I understand what you're saying." she nodded with a firm expression. "But keep in mind, causing pointless fighting with those monsters is dangerous for Mewni and it's people. Especially the peasants who can't defend themselves. That's why I stand by the idea that if they choose to cause harm to its citizens, then for the good of Mewni, we will fight back."

"Of course your majesty, and that means we don't have to trade with them or allow them to live in our kingdom." Said one woman as the others nodded. "I mean, what kind of goods could they honestly provide? They probably don't understand the concept of money."

"Yes, and I think we can all agree it is in our best interest to ignore the monster issue for now, it's not like they can afford to stand up against us as they are now."

That got the junior rulers nodding with Marco rolling his eyes.

'These guys would panic just from looking at a monster. Buff Frog would probably be enough to send them all in a panic attack.' He thought as he shook his head. 'Then again what was I expecting, people in my time didn't trust monsters, why should they in the past?'

"Alright, the next order of business is the coming election on who should be the club's new treasurer." spoke the princess with a smile. "All those who have an idea on who would be best suited for the job may write their names down and slip them into the voting ballot we have set up."

'Ok, this is getting boring fast, strange magic, take me away.' thought Marco closing his eyes and waiting for the tingling feeling.

Only for nothing to happen.

'Oh come on! Now you won't work?!' He thought in annoyance. 'You drag me off when I don't speak up, but here I am literally telling you to do the thing you've been doing!'

"Alright, that settles it, Duke Brenner will be the new treasurer, now then, how about we end today's meeting for now?"

The others all nodded and clapped as the princess curtsied with all of them getting up and making their way out of the courtyard. She smiled as she watched them all leave before she quickly turned to the bush Marco was hiding in. "I know you're there."

"Uh….no one here but a talking bush."

"Come out or I shall call the guards." She frowned, making Marco quickly stand up with his hands up. "Just who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I-I just came to...view the club with my own eyes?" He fibbed with a smile. "You know, find out and maybe take some tips from the next generation of rulers."

"Ah, I see, you want to view the future of the kingdom, understandable." She said, her demeanor immediately doing a 180. "It's always a pleasure to enlighten the people of Mewni."

"Yeah, well uh, I was wondering...could I get your name? In my excitement I must have forgotten, sorry."

"Oh! Well you may call me princess Crescenta, soon to be queen of Mewni." she curtsied with a smile.

"Well, it's nice to meet you...Crescenta, you're Dirhhenia's sister, right?"

"Yes, her younger one." She said, her voice sounding bitter as she shook her head. "But I am also her better sister, the superior sibling, the one who wasn't exiled."

"Wait, exiled?" Marco was caught off guard. "What happened?"

"Well you see, after I was granted as the new heir, she lost her right, but refused to leave. So she was exiled for squatting on royal grounds."

"Wha- you exiled your own sister?!"

"She left me no choice. She couldn't stay if she wasn't going to rule Mewni, and honestly she seemed overjoyed to be out of the castle." She said with a shrug. "Last I heard was that she was living happily in a tent somewhere."

Marco opened his mouth, but closed it since he could definitely see that. "Still, isn't squatting a bit small for exhiling?"

"She said she wanted to experience the world outside mewni, and now she is, besides, it hurt to have to send my dear sister away." She spoke looking down sadly suddenly before smiling. "But now that I'm the princess, I will ensure that all of Mewni and it's citizens are safe and sound from any danger."

"How?" Marco asked, feeling suspicious.

"All rules I create will assist. After all, I studied for years on the best way to lead." she replied before looking at him closely. "Hmm, you know, I don't think I've ever seen you amongst the people."

"Well, it's not like you've seen everyone in mewni, right?"

"Of course I have, I'm the princess." She said with a frown. "I've seen everyone, a princess has to be familiar with all her subjects!"

"So you DO know who I am?"

"No, bu-"

"Then you don't know everyone, do you?" He countered with a smirk making her glare. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. I AM actually not from around here, I'm Marco."

"Marco. Marco Marco Marco." She said quickly to herself, attempting to memorize the name. "Well Marco, why don't I show you some examples on what I have done so far for Mewni? I may not be queen just yet, but that doesn't mean I can't get an early start."

"Sure, sounds like fun." He said with a nod. 'Besides the monster stuff she seems normal enough, maybe she isn't crazy like Dirhhenia said?'

"Excellent!" she walked past him with him following her as they entered a carriage that began getting pulled by a few unicorns out of the castle. "First up you must see how I have organized the farmers, my method is much more efficient than the old one they had."

"How do you organize the farmers? Don't they just go out to the fields and tend to the crops? What's there to organize?"

"Ah, yes, that USED to be what they did, but then I found out they were wasting precious time going to their homes to sleep and rest, and at the same time wasting good straw and clothes to make scarecrows, so I came up with a solution!" She said as they began to approach a large corn field.

"And what kind of solution are we talking?"

"Well, I instructed the farmers to sleep standing up on platforms in the fields, so they are the scarecrows now!" She smiled gesturing out to the field as several men were dressed up like scarecrows and looking tired. "This saves time and resources, two birds and one stone."

"Uh…. and did you run this plan by the farmers first or…." Marco asked, looking at the tired farmers worryingly.

"Oh no, I just made it a new law so they would have to listen."

"Ah…. out of curiosity have you ever met anyone who's had to sleep like that before or tried it yourself?" Marco asked, feeling sorry for the farmers. 'How do I call her law idiotic without getting executed?'

"Well if warnicorns and cows can do it, then I don't see why mewmans can't. Why just look at them, they're adjusting to it just fine." She smiled. "How's the work?!" she called out as the farmers stiffened up and tried smiling.

"Just fine your majesty! No crows so far!"

"Great!" She called before turning back to Marco. "See? My method is working perfectly!"

"O-Ok….what uh...other laws have you made?"

She clapped her hands as the carriage resumed moving through the town. "Well, I understood that any crime left unpunished would spur others to keep doing the same, so I decided to make sure any punishments were swift and firm."

"Well that does make sense. So what sort of crimes? Robbery? Arson?"

"Nope, any kind of crime."

"Any kind? Even the small stuff, like jaywalking?"

"Of course." she nodded as the carriage stopped at an intersection. "If any crime isn't treated seriously, than anyone might get the idea to-wait!" She poked her head out the carriage and frowned when she saw a man in the middle of crossing the street. "HEY YOU!"

The man froze in fear as he began to slowly turn his head to the carriage. "P-Princess Crescenta?"

"Were you just about to jaywalk?" She asked in a low tone and a cold look, making him break in a cold sweat.

"N-No, no! I was uh….picking up trash! Yeah, trying to make the kingdom look nicer?" He smiled nervously while picking up a random rock.

"Oh, so now you're trying to LIE as well? That's TWO laws you've broken!" She growled. "Guards, arrest him and prepare the punishment!"

"Punishment? He was jaywalking, wouldn't he just get a fine?" Marco asked in confusion.

"Forget it. Anyone who breaks my laws will be punished accordingly."

"Ok, punished how exactly?" Marco asked, getting a bad feeling.

"Oh nothing too severe. Just a couple months in the dungeon doing hard labor." she smiled innocently. "Of course that's for one law broken, but since he's broken two, that amounts to a few years."

"For jaywalking and lying?!"

"Yep! I'm glad you agree Marco." She smiled as the man was dragged off and the carriage resumed moving. "If he had even sneezed without excusing himself, now THAT would have gotten him life. People won't respect the major laws unless they learn to respect the minor ones."

'She's nuts!' Marco thought as he cautiously nodded. 'Ok, just be nice Marco and you MIGHT get out of this without ending up in a dungeon!'

"So tell me Marco, what's it like where you're from?"

"Well, the laws definitely aren't as strict as the ones here, good thing too or Star would probably be arrested by now, she isn't very careful." he said with a small chuckle.

"Star? Who's that? Is she your sister?" She asked curiously, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, no, she's my friend, in fact she kinda looks like you."

"Really now? Tell me more."

"I...uh...can't." He said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 'I can't tell her ancestor about her great great great great granddaughter!'

"Why is that?"

"She...She doesn't like it when I tell other people about her. She prefers to show off to them in person herself."

"Hmmm, I see…" She said, starting to frown. 'So, she's too good for him to talk about, even to the queen of mewni?'

"Hey I got an idea, why don't you show me where a guy can grab a bite to eat around here, I'm feeling peckish."

"We can eat back at the palace Marco, in fact let's go right now."

"You sure? I don't wanna be a bother."

"Oh trust me, it's fine...say, you said you were from far away, correct? That must mean you don't have a place to stay, right?" She asked as she leaned forward, an eager gleam in her eyes. "Why don't you let me grant you shelter at the castle?"

"Um, well…"

"Also keep in mind loitering and sleeping in places you aren't supposed to is against the law~" she sang with a giggle making Marco gulp.

"Well, how can I say no to an offer from the queen?" he tried to smile sincerely without coming across as scared.

"Excellent, I look forward to our time together Marco~"

'I wonder what the punishment is for keeping someone captive.' thought Marco as the carriage headed back to the castle and parked, letting them get off as the two walked to the door.

"I'll personally show you to the guest bed-" She was cut off as a dark figure landed in front of them, with the figure hissing.

"You won't be sssshowing anything brat." Growled the figure as they rushed forward, a large knife drawn. "With your death the monsters will be free from your manipu-"

"HYA!" Marco jumped forward and swung his fist, knocking the arm with the knife to the side and making the person drop it before he swung his foot up and kicked him in the chin backwards. He took a stance and saw it was a monster with a snake head who rubbed the spot with a growl. "I don't know who you are, but didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to point a knife at a princess?"

"What'sssss thissss? SSSSome puny mewman trying to act tough? Are you some ssssquire?"

"Not exactly."

"Then sssscram, I came here to get rid of thisss brat, and I'm not leaving until I do."

"Well I can't let you do that, so bring it on!" Marco declared, standing in front of Crescenta, who stared at him in shock.

The monster hissed and ran at Marco who ducked a swipe and tackled him back to the ground, making the two roll around away from Crescenta.

"Run! I'll keep him busy! Get inside!"

"Marco….you saved me…." She whispered, absentmindedly lifting up her wand to point it at the monster.

Marco saw this and quickly ran to the side as the monster hissed at him before turning to Crescenta who narrowed her eyes.

"Assassination attempts on the royal family is a punishable crime, by death." She said, the wand glowing a toxic purple. "Be useful in your last moments as I test out my latest spell on you."

His eyes widened before getting up and tried making a run for it.

"Darkness Judgement Blast!" She cried, a dark purple blast pouring out of the wand as it snaked through the air before striking the monster, who began to disintegrate.

Marco went wide eyed, the monster unable to scream as he slowly vanished from the spot, not a trace left before the blast went out. "Whoa…" he said, staring at the spot the monster once resided before feeling himself getting tackled from the side. "OOF!"

"Marco! You risked your life for me!" Cheered Crescenta rubbing her cheek against his neck with him snapping out of it and blushing from the position they were in.

"I-I just jumped in without thinking. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"I knew you were a good person! Oh you're going to fit right in at the palace!" She beamed while hugging him before pulling him to his feet. "This calls for a huge feast to celebrate!"

"Celebrate me saving your life?"

"Yes! Among other things of course.' She said,a gleam in her eyes.

"Other things?"

"Oh, you'll find out at the feast~" She chuckled. 'He's perfect for me, I need to make him mine~'

(Later)

"Go ahead and eat as much as you want Marco, you've earned it." Crescenta said with a smile as she stared at him happily.

"Thanks." He replied as he looked at the large spread and filled his plate up with some food to get started off slow. "So… you said we would be celebrating something else, what is it?"

"Well, I was thinking that someone with your spirit would be perfect for my club."

"Huh? You mean the one with the future rulers of mewni?" He asked in confusion.

"Of course."

"But I'm not really a prince, or royalty for that matter."

"Well, there are a few ways of working around that Marco~" She smiled with a look on her face that reminded him of Janna.

"Uh...you mean like a loophole?"

"Yes, a very specific kind of loophole." She giggled.

"And that would be?"

"Well, joining the main royal family is a surefire way, so what do you say Marco, wanna do it? Just say yes~"

Marco nearly choked on the ear of corn he bit into and had to hit his chest to clear his air passage and turned bright red. "Y-Y-You mean, getting married?!"

"Maaaaaybe~" She said with a wink. "So, what do you say Marco?"

'Holy cow! Less than a day and she's already wanting to do that?! Is there some secret Diaz charm dad never told me about?! And if so, why did it have to kick in with one of Star's own ancestors?!' He thought with a gulp. 'Not to mention the clearly crazy and dangerous one!'

'Hmm, he must be a bit caught off guard if he's not speaking.' Thought Crescenta before smiling. "It's ok, you can have time to think it over while staying here."

"O-Ok…" He squawked out, still trying to come to terms with everything that was happening. He resumed biting into the corn, but slower this time as he tried not to outwardly freak out. 'Ok, stay calm, stay calm, maybe she misspoke?'

"So, Marco, if...oh who am I kidding, WHEN you say yes, do you want the wedding to be in the summer or winter?"

'Oh crap, please tell me she doesn't have a law that can make a guy marry her! Wait! Why am I worried? I'll probably up and vanish before it could happen!' He thought as he let out a sigh. 'Yeah, any minute now I'll be decades in the future probably.'

"I'll take your silence as summer."

"Yeah sure, let's go with that." He replied absently, now confident it won't matter.

"Great! So I take it this means you agree to get married?" She asked eagerly.

"Uh, well let's take it easy and see what happens. Who knows, things might change." he replied, trying to be vague and not get her hopes up. "I'm not saying no, but I'm not saying yes."

"Well I'm sure it will happen Marco~" She said, a bright smile on her face that reminded him of Star. 'He'll come around in no time.'

'And I'm sure it won't. I'll probably be gone come tomorrow morning.'

(Timeskip)

'Why am I still here?!' He thought, pacing back and forth. 'It's been almost a month! Come on, take me away magic before she-'

"Marco! There you are!"

'Finds me.' he thought, putting on a smile as Crescenta skipped down the hall towards him. "Hey Crescenta."

"Hi! I've been looking for you, if I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to avoid me!" She giggled with him chuckling.

"Now that's ridiculous. I was just...stretching out my legs, maybe thinking of going out for a little jog around the castle."

"Ah, of course, of course! Let me walk with you, I recently had the gardens renovated in case we want to do something big and grand there like, oh I don't know...a wedding!"

"Great, that's great." He smiled as she wrapped her arms around his as they started walking with him internally panicking. 'Any time now!'

"So, Marco, it's been a month, is that enough time to think about a really simple question where the right answer will bring you incredible joy for all your days and the wrong answer might devastate someone forever and cause another person to be exiled?" She asked casually with him breaking into a nervous sweat.

"N-No, no I think I need more time. I mean, marriage is an AWFULLY big thing to get into, especially when we're still kids and have loads of time before doing something like that."

"Well I'm the queen of Mewni so I assume I'm more than old enough to get married, and yes, I suppose there was plenty of time, I mean it has been a whole month." She remarked and looked at him. "Are you perhaps unsure because you're thinking about home? Or...someone's on your mind?"

"Someone? Like-"

"Oh I dunno, someone like that Star person you mentioned when we first met." She said innocently, her eye twitching. 'What does that whore have that I don't?! I AM A QUEEN! NOBILITY! THE BEST OF THE BEST!'

"Oh! Uh…."

"I see, you're thinking of her, aren't you? That's why it's taken so long, hasn't it?!" She frowned and gripped his arm tighter making him shake his head.

"No no no! Of course not! Just...my parents! Yeah! I haven't seen them in a long time, so I'm just worried they're worried about me."

"Well then, you can see them when you invite them to our wedding! Oh wait, you haven't agreed yet, have you?!"

"Uh-oh hey! We're here!" He said as he looked over the courtyard, only to freeze as he saw it was set up for a wedding with an alter, chairs, and even a wedding cake. "Uh….I see you already got some stuff set up…"

"Yes, it looks amazing, isn't it? How about we try it out, I'll get us a priest!"

"Wait, you don't have to!" He spoke before she rushed off. "Shit….ok, ok, please, if I could leave now that would be gre-" H started before he popped out of existence.

"I'm done waiting! I'm going to get my prince! And then on the honeymoon we can get to work on kids." Crescenta called, dragging a priest before pausing as she didn't see Marco. "Marco? MARCO?!"

With said boy, he popped back into existence, but this time right in the middle of the town.

"Oh thank god!" He sighed as he looked around. "Ok, now what's going on this time?"

"Riddles! Get your riddle books!"

"Riddles here!"

"Questions, puzzles, brain numbing riddles!"

He saw numerous vendors selling items, all of them for some reason related only on riddles. "Huh….ok, this is new." He said as he began to look around. He spotted a banner hung up in the center which read 'National Riddle Day'.

"National Riddle Day?" He muttered before hearing a large horn being blown as everyone paused before all moving in one direction to the center of town where a large stage was set up. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked one of the mewmans passing by.

"The Queen is going to give the riddle of the day, the hardest one she could think of this year!"

'Huh, this one must really like riddles. Hmmm, she must also be Crescenta's daughter if this pattern keeps up. Please don't let her be just like her mother, please!' He thought as he repressed a shudder. 'I don't think I can look at Star the same ever again…'

A young woman with fair cream skin, curly orange waist-length hair, green eyes, and brown infinity symbol-shaped marks on her cheeks walked onto the stage. She wore a long flowing green dress with yellow fringes, brown-rimmed glasses, various gold wristbands, and a gold crown with a red diamond in the center who was smiling.

"Welcome everyone! It's another glorious National Riddle Day!" She called as the audience began to clap and cheer. "Now then, I have a special surprise for everyone, there is a reward for whoever solves this riddle, it is the one I have worked my entire life on, one that only the smartest person in Mewni can answer correctly!"

That got the crowd murmuring in aw with Marco curious now. 'Wow, the hardest riddle? I wonder what it is?"

"Here we go!" She called as she snapped her fingers as a banner began to unfurl. 'What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?'.

The people tried to rack their minds over this, finding it tricky while Marco raised an eyebrow.

'Wait, that's the riddle? I swear I read that online somewhere. Now what was it, what was it….?' he rubbed his chin before snapping his fingers. "I know!"

"What?!" Cried the queen in shock as the crowd turned to him. "How could you already know it already?!"

"Well it's actually pretty simple when you think about it." he replied with a smile. "It's a man."

"No way! Clearly it's a nine legged werewolf!"

"No! A nine legged unicorn!"

"A snake! A huge snake! With nine tails!"

"Think about it. A man walks on four legs when they're babies, two when they've grown up, and three when they become old, the third leg being a cane." He said with a smile. 'I probably shouldn't mention I learned it from a cartoon sphinx.'

"T-That's correct! Quick, bring him up here!" Smiled the woman before two guards moved down to help make a path and lead Marco up onto the stage.

'...This may have been a bad idea.' he thought as he reached the stage to see the woman beaming at him.

"Here he is queen Rhina."

"You sir! Tell me your name."

"Oh, I'm Marco." He said, rubbing the back of his head. 'Please let the prize be corn, please let it not be something like marriage, please let her be sane unlike her mother!'

"I'm blown away. I never expected someone to solve my riddle THAT quick! Usually some of my riddles are so tricky it takes them a month or two." She said with a smile. "You must have quite the mind, and I can think of only one thing to do with someone with your intelligence!"

"You're not gonna try and suck it out from my skull, right?" he asked with paranoid dread.

"What?! No! No no no, I mean I want to put your genius to work and invite you to come to the royal castle to work in the royal library, there you will be given all the time and resources needed to further your curiosity and brain power." she smiled.

"Oh! Uh, sure, that actually sounds great." He said with a smile, sighing in relief. 'Ok, that actually sounds kinda nice...wait, royal library? THE BOOK OF MAGIC! GLOSSYRIC! If I can find him, he can fix this magic thing!'

"Excellent! Let's go right now!" She said as she turned and began to walk away, with Marco following.

(Later)

"Here we are Marco, the royal library!" She gestured to the large room filled with books, and numerous piles of them stacked on top of together. "This is where I come up with my best riddles."

"Wow...that's a lot of books…" He said, looking around as his stomach sank a little. 'Where am I going to find the book of magic in all of this?!'

"I know right?" She said with a smile. "So, let's get to work! Do you know any good riddles?"

"Well I might know one or two."

"Well don't leave me in suspense, give me your best shot!" She said smugly.

"Alright, uh….oh! Ok, the man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?"

"Wow….that…." She said, rubbing her chin in excitement. "Oh, that's a good one."

"If it helps I'll give you a minute." Smirked Marco, feeling a bit smug himself.

"Ok, just give me a moment… doesn't need it...doesn't know it….is it….wait…" She muttered, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Come oooon, you got this." He encouraged.

"Is it…a coffin?"

"Correct!" He said with a smile.

"Excellent! Ok, how about this one? I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere. I'm the beginning of eternity, the end of time & space. What am I?"

Marco tapped his chin to let it sink in before it clicked. "That's easy, It's the letter 'E'."

"Yes! You are quite good at this Marco." She said with a smile. "Your turn!"

"Alright, what belongs to you, but is used by people more than you?"

"Oh that ones easy, my name!"

"Correct again." He smiled. 'Huh, this is really fun.'

"Ok, my turn! What…. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?"

"Child's play, the letter 'M'."

"Correct!" She said happily. "You know Marco, you're the first person I've met who I can really talk to about riddles, no one else I've talked to seems to like them or can figure them out."

"Aw come on, that can't be true. I'll bet you've got tons of guards around who enjoy them."

"No, they're still stuck on the easy ones I gave them four years ago…." She groaned.

"Wow, that's….not gonna lie, that's kinda sad."

"I know! Ever since I was a little girl I LOVED riddles! They make you work your mind into solutions that are obvious, but you have to figure it out in a different manner. Sure you could find the answer to a mystery, but that uses common knowledge. Riddles though? You have to try and look at it from a different view point. I could never get enough of them, that's why when I gained the Butterfly wand, I dedicated a holiday to them."

"Wow, that's amazing...wait, is that why you had me come to the palace, because I can answer riddles?"

"Well… that and make up ones too." she admitted rubbing her hands bashfully while looking down. "I know it seems rude, and selfish, and-"

"No no no, it's not." he held up his hands. "Believe it or not, I know what it feels like to want to hang out with someone who shares likes. You just wanna be free to really cut loose and enjoy what you like with them. You wanna feel like anything you have in mind has a chance to come out and flourish."

"Yeah, yeah…" She said, stars in her eyes. 'He understands, not even mother understood!'

"So….is it alright if I start searching through here."

"Yeah, sure." She nodded with a smile and happy sigh while looking at him as he walked over near a pile to begin his search. "Feel free to look around to your heart's content, I...I have to go now, but I'll be back later, I promise."

"Ok, I'll be right here doing some extra studying." He joked as he looked around the books for ones that stuck out. 'Ok, where is it, where is that big book and that tiny blue man thing?'

(Later)

Marco was getting annoyed, tossing book after book into a pile of them, not finding any huge book or pudding loving floating man, which he had been going at for some time.

"Augh, come on, where is it?!" He growled. "Come on, I know you're here!"

"Hey Marco!" Rhina ran back in with a smile. "I'm back, and I've got some new riddles!"

"That's great." He smiled at her, taking a moment to breath and sat down on a chair. "Lay 'em on me."

"Ok! How can you physically stand behind your father while he's standing behind you?"

Marco looked up at the ceiling and scratched his head. "Uh….um….I think it's….oh! You have to stand back to back."

"Correct! Now you, now you!" She said eagerly.

"Oh, well, uh, what has many keys but can never open a single door?"

"Uh….I….wanna say….a piano?"

"Correct!" He said with a smile. 'I gotta say, out of all the queens I've encountered she's really nice and relaxing to be around.'

"Alrighty, let's see you answer this one, and it's a tricky one." She smirked. "What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?"

"Hmmm, that is a tricky one, is it… a river?"

"Bingo~!" She said with a smile, letting out a small sigh. "That was amazing!"

"Yeah...uh, hey Rhina, just out of curiosity, but are there any big books around here? Like I mean big BIG books."

"Big books? Oh, you mean like the almanacs on mewni landscapes?"

"I was thinking more like books on the more, oh you know, mystical aspect."

"Huh?" She said in confusion before narrowing her eyes. "Oh, I know what you're doing Marco."

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"You… you're trying to find out about other dimensions so you can make unique riddles that I won't be able to figure out! While I applaud the dedication I would say that isn't fair Marco." she shook her head with her arms crossed.

"Uh, well actually I...ok ok, you got me." He went with it with his hands up. "I wanted to try and see if you'd slip up, can't get anything by you."

"Well nice try mister, but let's stick with things we both know about." She chuckled. 'He's so dedicated, he wants to truly challenge me, no one has been able to do that before!'

'Crap, I can't just bring up the big book of magic, otherwise she'll ask HOW I know about it, and with this stupid magic making me tongue tied, I won't be able to explain it thoroughly.' He thought with a sigh. "So, is it your turn next or mine now?"

"I have one. What has an eye, but cannot see?"

"Is it… a needle?"

"Correct!" She cheered. "Ok, your turn next!"

"Ok, I-" Marco started before there was a knock on the door.

"Ugh! Who is it?" Groaned Rhina before stomping to the doors and opened them.

"Queen Rhina, we need to talk." A familiar voice called, making Marco freeze. "You've been neglecting your magic training recently."

"Mother, do we really have to talk about this right now? I'm in the middle of something important."

'Crap crap crap! It's her!' Marco thought as he quickly dove behind one of the stacks of books.

"Rhina, I might be able to deal with the politics and let you play with riddles, but you're still queen and NEED to use your magic properly."

"Please mother, I will do it later, I'm busy right now."

"No, you can do it later, I've brought you the book of spells and I DO expect you to read it now young lady."

"Ughhhh! Fine!" She groaned as Marco heard her grunt.

"Good, now get to it! Read up on one of my many spells while you're at it~"

"Yeah yeah." She sighed as Marco heard the other figure walking away. "Ugh, Marco, we may have to cut our session short, I have to read the book of spells."

He poked his head out and smiled seeing the big book. 'Yes! Jackpot!' He thought as he moved towards her. "It's fine… hey, do you want some help reading that...what is it? I've never seen a book that big before."

"Oh it's nothing, but the book of spells that's been in the Butterfly family for generations." She groaned. "Now that I'm queen I have to read this now. It's going to take a large portion of my time unfortunately."

"Well, maybe I could help you." He offered. "I could read some of it and tell you what's on them, that way it should take half the time to finish the book."

"Well...my mother didn't say I COULDN'T have a study partner." She said as she perked up. 'He's so considerate!'

"Great, let's get started!" He grinned as the book opened up and he started to quickly look across the page. 'Ok, whatever put me in this situation has GOT to be in here.'

"So Marco….I was wondering something."

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked curiously as he scanned over the pages.

"Well you see, as queen it's my job to end up with someone in the future, and my mother already had this whole arranged marriage for me." She remarked as Marco wasn't paying too much attention, flipping to the next page.

"Yeah?"

"Yes, and well I'd rather be with someone who was like me, not some guy I've never met before." She said as Maro kept flipping before pausing as he saw a certain blue man staring back at him from the page.

"Ah ha!" He cried out as the small man floated up with a smile. "I knew I'd find you here!"

"Well, took you awhile now didn't it?" He remarked calmly with Marco frowning.

"What's wrong with you?! Do you have any idea what I-"

"Boop." Glossaryck snapped his fingers, making Marco pop and vanish in an instant, making Rhina gasp with wide eyes.

"GLOSSARYCK! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MARCO?!"

"Not to worry, he's fine. Now then, let's get you on board with your magic lesson."

"No! You have to bring him ba-"

"No can do, your mother already had an arranged wedding planned for you, can't have the future queen running off to get eloped."

She growled at the man and made a grab for him, but he easily floated out and went zooming off with her chasing him. "Get back here! Where did you send him?!"

"Away, far, far away." He said as he floated away. 'He couldn't stay here any longer, there was a good chance he may have agreed to marry her if she asked.'

Marco himself screamed, finding himself not falling, but shockingly on solid ground, and screaming in frustration. "That's it! I don't like doing this, but I'm gonna do it anyway!" he inhaled deeply and let it all out. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

"Eeek!" cried a quiet voice behind him.

Marco blinked and covered his mouth, slowly turning his head and realizing he was in a hallway with a figure looking at him obscured by the shadows before they took off the other way. "Wait! I didn't mean to scream! Come back!" He called as he began to follow them. "I'm sorry, really! Can you tell me where I am?"

The figure just kept on running, taking a right turn ahead with him trying to keep up before seeing them run into a room and slam the door shut. He stopped in front of the oor and began to knock. "Look, I'm sorry for scaring you, can you please open up? I just want to talk."

All he got was silence with him hearing locks clicking in place making him sigh and put his forehead against the door.

"Great, not a second here and already things are going south." he muttered before noticing a name place on the door. "Celena… where have I heard that before?" he rubbed his head and blinked. "Wait, Celena? As in Celena Butterfly?"

He heard several more locks click into place as he sighed.

'Right, as in the Butterfly who was incredibly shy.' he knocked on the door. "Celena? I'm not some intruder. I'm just some guy who got lost and has been going through a lot of crazy stuff. I'm sorry I scared you with my yelling, I was just frustrated about something."

He heard nothing from the door as he let out a sigh.

"Alright, maybe we can reach an agreement. If I back up from the door and promise not to get closer, can we talk?"

He heard nothing before he heard a lock unclick and a small selection slowly slide away, showing her eyes and part of a fan.

"Who….Who are you?"

"I'm Marco, is this the castle? I got turned around and everything is so dark in here now."

"Yes, it's Butterfly castle." she replied in a small voice.

"Well can you tell me where the exit is?"

"...no." She squeaked out nervously. "I don't leave…"

'Great.' He thought before smiling. "Alright, I'll try and see if I can find it on my own, nice seeing you." before turning and began walking away.

"W-Wait, you're...leaving? Just like that?" She called, her voice rising slightly. "You...aren't going to try to break down the door, o-or try to tear away my veil?"

"What? Of course not." he replied, turning back with confusion. "Why would I do any of that?"

"Everyone wants too...even the guards, so I sent them away...so you aren't going to do that?"

"No way. I'm not some weirdo creep trying to stare at someone, I'm just a normal guy who's just trying to get back home." He said as he shook his head. "If you don't want me here then I'll leave, if you don't want me to see your face then I won't make you, it's your choice and your place."

Her eye widened hearing that, looking down at the floor. "I….I've never heard that...everyone always tries to look at me without asking…"

"Well I can safely say I'm nothing like them. Besides, I'm bothering you enough, you probably have other stuff to get back to."

"...not really right now, but….you can stay...if you want?"

He looked at her in surprise before smiling. "I wouldn't mind, but only if you're absolutely sure."

She slowly nodded while looking away. "I wouldn't be against it…"

Marco walked over, but didn't get too close before sitting down facing the door. "How's this? Not too close?"

"Could… could you back up a bit please?"

"Sure, no problem." he said with a smile before backing up on the floor. "So… do you want to talk?"

"Well….I haven't talked to someone about some of my problems, but...you probably don't want to hear that."

"Nah, go ahead, I'm pretty good at listening." He said as he leaned against the wall.

"W-Well...if you're ok with that." She sat down in her room and sighed. "You see, I'm a princess."

"Yeah, I kinda figured when I saw your last name."

"Y-Yes, well, as the princess everyone is watching me, expecting things a-and I can't handle it, I don't like being watched, never have…"

"Crippling shyness?"

"Yes….it's been that way ever since I was a child….I can't seem to ever be confidant no matter what." She whimpered. "I can't even bring myself to show people my face...everyone thinks I'm being dumb and try to see it though."

"Hey, it's normal. Well, maybe not to most people, but being shy is something everyone has to deal with at some point or another. Let's say I've been dealing with some of it when I was a kid myself." He said as he heard her let out a whimper. "But still, it's something that everyone overcomes in their own time, that might be when they're a child or it may be when they're decades old, people deal with things differently."

"But I'm a princess….if I never get over it, I'll never be a real queen….I don't want to disappoint Mewni, or it's people…"

"Well no one ever said to be queen you had to show your face to people, that could be your way of coping with your shyness, yes people can see you in the throne room but they can't see all of you, right?"

"...I never thought of it like that…"

"I mean, who says you can't just be carried around on a throne with curtains all around you? You could see all of Mewni, no one could see you, and I'll bet you could come up with some magic spell so no one can peak."

"Y-You're right...I could!"

"Yeah, you may be queen but no two are alike, so it would probably be fine if your way of ruling is different from past queens, right?" He smiled with Celena smiling behind her fan before he heard footsteps and got up quickly. "Oh no, someone's coming, I gotta hide."

"There's a storage closet down the hall." She called as he nodded and began to run away. "Come back when it's safe please!"

"On it!" He called back as he narrowly avoided a guard who ran past the door as it closed.

"Your majesty! Are you alright? I thought I heard something."

"I-I'm fine, I was just...talking to myself."

"Alright….well call if you require anything."

"I will, thank you…" She said as the guard began to go away.

Marco listened closely before slipping out and tip toed back over to the door. "Sorry about that." He whispered.

"It's fine...do you mind if I keep talking?"

"Not at all, talk as much as you need to." He said with a smile.

(Later)

"And that is why I can't eat in public anymore." She finished, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Wow….that one I didn't see coming, not even by a mile." Marco said in amazement. "I would never have guessed."

"Yeah…. Out of curiosity, why did you come to the castle Marco?"

"Oh, I got lost, I think I just wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time." he fibbed quickly. "You could call me a wanderer, in a way."

"That sounds nice, not tied down anywhere… I wish I could do that."

"Hey, you never know, it might happen." He said with a smile, before stifling a yawn. 'I'm starting to get tired, how long have we been talking?'

Celena herself was feeling tired, slowly drooping her head and dropping her fan, Marco himself leaning against the wall and passing out.

(Later)

Celena yawned as she began to stretch out, feeling sore. She rubbed her neck and back, feeling they were sore and realized she had slept right beside the door and not her bed. As she stretched, she suddenly felt her fan on the floor, and froze.

'M-My face, it was bare! D-Did someone see it?!' She covered it with her hands and peaked outside, only to spot Marco fast asleep on the floor, snoring. 'He...he's asleep, so he didn't peak, even when he had the chance?'

She stared at Marco, feeling a little more relaxed and touched her cheek. 'He could have been the first, but….he didn't worry about it….' She thought as she kept staring at him, feeling her heart starting to race. 'I...I think I really like him.'

"Huh? No, no laser puppies, those are my nachos…" Muttered Marco in his sleep.

'I...don't want him to leave.' She thought as she watched him with a smile.

(1 month later)

Celena was humming to herself, fanning her face as she kept glancing outside her door with no sight of Marco yet. 'Where is he? Did the guards finally catch him?'

That's when she heard footsteps and Marco coming down from the around the corner panting and sweaty. "Celena? Sorry about that, I had to run around the courtyard to lose a guard who saw me."

"Well I'm glad you're here Marco." She said happily, glad her fan was covering her face that was currently glowing red. "I was worried for a little…"

"Relax, I've got the speed of a horse and agility of a jungle cat." he boasted with his chest puffed out.

"Glad to hear, so, what do you want to talk about today?"

"Hmmm, well...oh! You said you wanted to do something today."

"Yes, it's something I've been thinking about for a while, and...I wanted to take a chance and do it."

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked curiously.

"I...was hoping that I could.." She started, preparing to put down her fan, only for Marco to suddenly disappear from existence. Her eyes widened in disbelief and shock, dropping her fan as it hit the floor. "M….M….Marco?"

Meanwhile Marco was startled to suddenly find himself no longer sitting on the floor, but rather on something soft, and vaguely realizing he had his regular clothes back on. "Ok, where am I this time?"

"You're on my lap." Came a voice behind him with thinly veiled anger seeping through their words.

Marco tensed up and gulped without turning his head. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to be related to the Butterfly family, would you?"

"Yes, I, Estrella, the queen is, now get off of me, NOW."

Marco yelped and jumped off quickly, falling down the steps leading up to the throne, landing on his face with a painful groan. "Sorry, sorry, I'll just go n-"

"Not so fast." A young woman with tanned skin, wavy black shoulder-length hair, green eyes, and yellow five-petaled flower-shaped marks on her cheeks spoke up. She wore a long black dress with diamonds and strings of gems around the waist, dark blue shoes with light blue bows on them, a purple feather boa, a flower hairpin with two large feathers in it, and a gold tiara with a red diamond in the center, who snapped her fingers before two guards ran inside and picked Marco up. "You won't be going anywhere, you little spy."

"Spy? I'm no spy."

"I'll be the judge of that. GUARDS! Empty his pockets, see if he has any stolen secrets in there!"

They nodded before holding Marco upside down by his ankles and shook him, making him yell out as any items he had in his pockets came falling out onto the floor, which was mostly a bunch of change.

"In the meantime, I'll get back to my work of art." She said as she turned around, only for one of the guards to shout as he pulled out Marco's wallet.

"Your majesty, I think I have something!"

"Hey that's my wallet!"

"A-ha, so you do have something, hand it over." She said with a smirk.

The guard moved over and handed her the wallet with her opening it up to look around inside. She rifled around before pausing and pulling out his driver's license.

"Look, can I please have that ba-"

"How did you make this?!"

"Huh? Make what?"

"This portrait, it's so small and smooth, what material is this?"

"You mean my driver's license?" He asked as he saw her looking at it in fascination. 'Huh, I guess she's never seen a photo before, much less a laminated one.'

"Driver's license, so this is what it is? How odd, but fascinating." She mused as she looked it over.

"It's uh… my license to drive a cart?" He said nervously. "So… can I go please?"

"Of course not. I must know more on how you painted yourself on this 'license', Marco D."

"W-Well, I myself didn't actually paint it, bu-"

"Then I have no use for you." She frowned as the guards pulled out their swords. "You can either be thrown in the dungeon for the rest of your days, or be executed."

"Wait! Isn't that kinda extreme?!"

"Not at all, don't you agree Glossaryck?"

"Agreed my queen." The small blue man called, as he floated out from behind her. "He was trespassing, but perhaps we can find a better use for him?"

"Glossaryck!" Marco cried out, only to find himself tongue tied.

"Yes, that is my name, and I suggest that you keep him around, you saw the tiny painting in his pocket, it's clear he appreciates art, why not use that?"

"Hmmm, you may be right." She musd, rubbing her chin. "Bring him to my studio, I will be there when I am done here."

"Yes your majesty." The guards called as they began to lead him away.

"Wait, wait!" Marco crid, only for them to cover his mouth.

(Later)

Marco found himself in ropes and standing on a podium in an art studio with numerous paintings of people and landscapes. 'Ok, so I'm a prisoner, locked in an art gallery….ok, it could be worse I guess.'

The door opened as the woman walked in followed by Glossaryck.

"So, spy, you should be grateful, Glossaryck has convinced me to give you one chance to be useful, tell me what you think of the art you see in here."

He raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Well, off hand I'd say they look pretty good. A bit faded, but that's not something to worry about if you keep them in the dark with a fresh coat."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." She said with a smirk as she stood a bit taller. "These are my masterpieces, I studied for years to learn how to properly paint and I know for a fact that I am one of the best in all of mewni."

"Well did you know for a fact the tiny blue man beside you-"

"Is happy to see what masterpiece you paint next your majesty." he cut off Marco quickly.

"Yes, as do I, it shall be my greatest work yet!"

"I agree, I look forward to seeing what you make next your highness." Marco added quickly as he shot a glare at Glossaryck.

"Good, because I want answers on how you got the color and design on this 'license' so right, and what this material is."

"Well, first off it's made of plastic, as for my picture? All I did was...uh...have an expert artist quickly draw down my likeness and fill in the gaps with a rare kind of paint that's not known around here." He quickly fibbed.

"Fascinating, and where can I acquire this paint and plastic?"

"You...can't! My home village and the rare plant it comes from was destroyed by...monsters?"

"What!?" She shouted in horror. "It's gone?! Forever?!"

"...yes."

"Noooooooooo!" She cried out in pain. "How could they?!"

"Um… there there? It's ok, um… I'm sure an artist of your talent doesn't need it?" He said as he tried to console her as best he could while still being tied up. "I mean, if you could make all these wonderful paintings, then I'm sure you'll be ok without it."

"Yes...YES! You're right, and so was Glossaryck! You clearly came to the palace to tell me this tragic news, and to make sure that I live up these expectations, to create a masterpiece that will honor this lost paint!" She proclaimed with a smile, jumping to conclusions.

"Uh, we-" Marco started only for her to shush him.

"Yes, it is clear now, you aren't a spy, but my newest art critic! You will tell me if I am close enough to meeting your old masters standards!"

"Well...I mean if you really wanna hear my opinion-"

"I do, from now on you shall never leave my side, you shall tell me how my art is everytime you see it!"

'And there goes my hope that she might be one of the less crazy Butterflies.'

"Oh! You could even be my newest model too!"

"Wait, what?" He asked as she sat down in front of an easel.

"Now don't move!" she grabbed a brush, dabbed it in some paint and brought it to the canvas. "Be very still…"

"Ok…"

(Later)

"Some more there….and here…."

"Uh, excuse me? How much longer do I have to stand?"

"Don't worry, I should be done in a few days, now don't move!"

"Days?!" he went wide eyed. "But I've been standing for 3 hours straight!"

"Hey, great art takes time and effort!" She frowned. "I want to get every single last detail down. If I try to take shortcuts it'll turn out ruined."

"So I just stand here the entire time?!"

"Yes!"

"That's impossible!"

"No, it isn't, I created a spell just for this situation." She said proudly. "Now would you like me to cast it on you?"

"...is it a painful one?"

"No...well, not really, and I will admit it IS slightly difficult to end, but it wears off after a weak, but until then I can keep you in that pose perfectly, and if needed model you around into new poses."

'Oh yeah, that doesn't sound NEARLY as creepy as other stuff I've dealt with.' He thought sarcastically before sighing. "...I'd rather no-"

"My queen, if you want the best results I suggest you use magic." Glossaryck said with a small grin.

"You stay out of this!" Marco called with a frown as Estrella grinned.

"If you say so~" She pulled out a paintbrush with a pink feather on the end before waving it. "Stillness Artistic Stance!"

"Wa-" Marco started, only to freeze, as if someone had paused him in time.

"Perfect!" She said with a grin.

(Timeskip)

"Alright, almost….done!" She said triumphantly putting the last touch on the canvas. "It's finished!"

'FINALLY!' Screamed Marco in his mind.

"Excellent work my queen, you finished in under two days...but might I make a suggestion? Why not start another painting, you already have a model you can use, why let the opportunity pass you by?"

'NO! Shut up you floating blue skinned toad! I need to move or else I'll go crazy!'

"Huh...technically I do have a couple of days left until the spell wears off…"

'Please for the love of god! Let me move! I haven't been sleeping since I was frozen! I've been awake this entire time and it's driving me nuts!'

"You could finally try your hand at sculpting a nude model, that's been on your list of projects for some time, hasn't it?"

"Ooh! I completely forgot about that! You're right, but would it really be alright?"

'Nude?! Ignore him your majesty! He's pudding obsessed and shouldn't be trusted!'

"Normally maybe not, but this is the royal art critic, I would say his job would allow for this, wouldn't you agree?" Smiled Glossaryck. "I would think he'd be honored that you're showing off your artistic skills in other areas besides painting."

"Yeah… he would be the first to see me doing this!" She said as her face lit up. "Oh! Since he can't say yes or no let's play it safe and have something cover his….special parts."

'I can't believe you're doing this!' He thought as he internally blushed. 'Damn you Glossaryck!'

(Timeskip)

"Alright, there we go, so far so good…"

'Speak for yourself.' Marco thought, now in only his underwear and modeled to look like he was sitting down and thinking. 'At least my legs aren't as stiff as before, but this is still painful!'

"Good, good...I must say Marco, you are one of the best models I've had in ages, your royal title might be getting an upgrade soon at this rate."

'Yeah, and all it took was getting stripped near naked.' He thought as he tried to roll his eyes, only to feel strange for a moment before he fell to the floor, the spell on him ending. "Oof! Owwwww!"

"Oh! Looks like the spell wore off."

"Owww….owwwww." Marco winced as he pushed himself up and gasped. "Thank god! I can actually move!"

"Aw...but I wasn't finished." The queen pointed, looking over from her half finished sculpture.

"Do you have any idea what that feels like? I was awake the ENTIRE time! I felt like my legs were gonna snap off! My mind feels exhausted from lack of sleep!"

"Huh? You were awake the entire time?! Huh, I guess I didn't do the spell right…"

"Ya think?" he gave her a deadpanned look.

"I apologize, but since you're up you can now tell me how my painting is." She said eagerly as she pointed to a nearby easel.

"Only AFTER I get my clothes back."

"Ugh, fine, but if you want my opinion I think you look better like this~" She winked before handing him the folded clothes.

"T-Thanks?" He said, blushing and unsure how to respond to that comment. 'It's like being back with Hekapoo!'

After getting his clothes on, he looked at the picture she painted. He was amazed to see the paining, it looked as if it was an image taken right out of real life, with it looking very realistic.

"Wow….that's pretty spot on."

"Thanks!" She said smugly.

"Really, this is one of the best paintings I've ever seen."

"Aw shucks, now you're just flattering me." She said with a chuckle, her face heating up. 'But do keep it up, please.'

'I gotta say, staying awake was a pain in the butt, but this detail is really something. When she meant getting every detail, she meant it.' He thought, looking over the painting and starting to feel a bit flattered. "So… what now?"

"Well, you're free to get some food and rest up if you really need it." She said as she eyed the statue she was sculpting. "And if you want we could give the spell another shot?""

"Nope! No way! Not gonna happen!" He shouted with a frown.

(Later)

"Well thank you Marco, I'm glad you like this painting." Estrella smiled.

"It's spot on, you even got the dimples too. I'd say this painting passes with flying colors." He said with a smile, the queen beaming with pride.

"Thank you Marco, I knew I could trust you….say, I have a question I've been pondering for awhile that I want to ask you."

"For the last time, no, I will not give the spell another shot."

"No no no, it's not that." She said as she shook her head. "No, I was wondering… if you would like a promotion?"

"Posing nude for a statue wouldn't really count as a promotion."

"No- well I guess getting nude would happen eventually, but that's not it." She said as she shook her head. "It's a very special type of promotion…."

"As long as I can keep my clothes on, it already sounds appealing."

"Yeah, I guess it is,.' She said as she steeled herself. "Marco? Will you marr-"

And suddenly he was gone.

Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open and letting out a speechless sound while Glossaryck peaked in from the entryway.

"So, did he say yes?"

"He….He….HE'S GONE! VANISHED!"

"Oh really? How tragic. Want some pudding?"

"NO! I need to find him!" She cried as she looked around desperately. "I need to find my future husband!"

'Good luck with that.'

Meanwhile Marco looked around in confusion as he realized he was suddenly outside. "GLOSSARYCK!"

"Augh! Settle down! I just want to ride you!"

That was followed up by a loud neigh which made Marco turn his head. "Hello? Is someone the-" he started, only to see a large shape jump out of the bushes towards him. He yelled and ducked down as the shape narrowly went over him. When he looked up he was amazed to see it was a pure white horse with a large blue horn on it's head...and murder in it's eyes.

"Neigh!" it cried out, huffing and glaring at Marco with murder who broke out in a cold sweat.

"N-N-Nice unicorn, pretty unicorn."

"YAH!" Cried a voice behind him before seeing a figure jump out and attempt to tackle the unicorn. This made the beast cry out and start bucking wildly with Marco jumping behind a rock for cover. "I gotcha now!"

Marco's eyes widened as he saw a woman with tanned skin, long lavender hair styled in a heart-shaped updo, purple eyes, and light purple butterfly-shaped marks on her cheeks. She was wearing a purple riding outfit as she held onto the unicorn's mane.

"You thought you could get away from me? You wish!" She laughed, wrestling with the beast as it bucked and kicked, trying to dislodge her. "I'll tire you out even if it takes all day! I'm too stubborn to give up!"

"Uh, do you need help?" Marco called, making her look over to him in surprise.

"Huh? Wah!" She cried, her distraction just enough for the unicron to get the chance to toss her off. She went flying and crashed into a bush as the unicorn neighed and took off running. "Damn it!"

"Are you ok?" He asked as he moved towards her. 'Why does she look familiar?'

"Do I look ok to you?" She frowned as she got back up. "I almost had that annoying thing if you hadn't distracted me!"

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, you just suddenly appeared." He held his hands up as she glared.

"What kind of excuse is that? You don't 'suddenly appear' in the middle of the forest."

"Well you suddenly did, I was just here and the next you jump out of a bush fighting a unicorn!" he retorted. "Who tries to make a unicorn listen to it like that?"

"I do, I know I could, I am the queen afterall!" She snapped as the pieces clicked together in his mind. "I might not seem like one, but I've got the wand and everything to prove it!"

"Uh, before you go on, what exactly IS your name?"

"Comet you dunce, and now come on, we have to track down the unicorn before she gets away!" she turn and walked off with Marco's eyes widening.

'Comet Butterfly! That's Star's grandma! Which means I'm almost close to my own time!' He thought in excitement before pausing. "Wait, we? Why am I suddenly involved?"

"You caused me to get bucked off, so you can help me find it." She snapped. "Now come on, we don't have all day!"

"What? No, I'm not tracking down a murderous unico-"

"Either help me find it or I'll turn you into one!" She warned with a growl while getting up in his face.

"...so which way are we going?"

"That's what I thought. Follow me, I'll see which way the tracks go off to."

"Ok…" He said as he started to follow her. 'Huh, she seems kinda different from the other queens.'

"So, what's your name minion?"

"It's Marco, and I'm not a minion." He said with a frown.

"You're in mewni, you live here, I'm the queen, thus you're my minion."

"I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is citizen."

"Nah, minion sounds better to me since you're working for me." She said with a feral grin. "I found the tracks!"

Marco looked at the ground to see the tracks going off into a meadow and found himself yanked by the front of his hoodie. "Woah!"

"Now that we're on it's trail, keep your voice down or you'll spook it off." She hissed as she kept him low to the ground. "Now follow my lead, worse comes to worse you'll be the bait."

"Bait? Are you nuts? My legs are still stiff from standing around for a few days."

"That seems like a you problem and I said might, not when, now shut up." She muttered as they moved along the ground with her poking her head out and saw the beast munching on an apple from a tree. "Alright, when I say go we rush it and get on it's back, ok?"

"That is a horrible plan!"

"Stuff it and follow it!" she elbowed him. "It's not that hard to do."

"Maybe we should take our time and think this over."

"Good idea. I've thought it over, we're doing this, charge!" She shouted, leaping forward and dragging Marco with her.

"Ah! Fine, fine!" He cried as he tried to keep up with her, the unicorn perking up and spotting them with a snarl. "He sees us!"

"Good! Let's do this, after her! On her back!"

The unicorn neighed and started charging at them with her horn aimed at them.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Cried Marco and Comet, one in fear and one in exhilaration.

(Later)

"Ow...ow….ow…." groaned Marco looking torn up and beaten up.

"Ah cheer up, we won!" Comet cheered, sporting a few bruises herself but triumphantly atop the unicorn.

"You didn't get used….as a chew toy….over and over."

"Yeah, that was a riot!" She laughed with a grin. "You're alright for a minion, how would you like a promotion to underling?"

"No promotion…..need bed….rest…"

"Aw come on, those are just love bites. It's a sign she's getting to know you. They're nothing compared to the scars I've gotten the last few times I swam around in the swamp." She said proudly. "Trust me, you'll get plenty while serving as my underling!"

Marco opened his mouth, but groaned and drooped his head. "Oh fine…"

"Good, you already know it's futile to resist!" She chuckled. "Now get on!"

Marco tried to climb up on the back, and managed to get on his stomach. "I think I need to see a doctor."

"Please, just tough it out. Now ride Buttercup, ride and trample my enemies to the ground!"

The unicorn neighed and took off running with Marco yelping and quickly gripping tight when he nearly slipped off. "Whoooaaa!"

"Whooooo!"

(Later)

"Comet? Please tell me we can leave."

"Of course not. We're not leaving until I say so."

"But I-"

"Stuff it." She frowned, both of them in a tavern as she was holding some cards at a table with several other men, a stack of coins in the center with the tavern looking a bit shady.

"Alright, read 'em and weep." Called a gruff looking man as he laid down several cards. "Two aces, top that."

"Ha, you call that something? Three kings and an ace." She put her cards down with a smirk. "Better luck next time."

"Huh? How is that possible, I got two kings in my hand!" Growled one of the players. "Someone's cheating!"

"Must be you since I already have my kings." Comet shrugged with her arms crossed. "Sure seem dumb to out yourself like that."

"No, I think it's YOU!" Growled the man as he pulled out a large dagger. "I think it's time for you to go, but of course you should pay the price for cheating."

She raised an eyebrow with Marco gulping.

"Look guys, maybe we can work something out. I mean it's just a card game, it's not the end of the world, am I right Comet?"

"Minion? Let the queen handle this, you may want to step back."

"I…. Can't do that, I can't just let you fight them on your own!"

"Aw, your little squire wanna-GAH!" the man cried out as Comet swung a nearby bottle against his face, knocking him down before she kicked the table up and then right into the other man's face.

"Quick grab the money!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"No, rich! Now do it!"

"Gah, fine!" Marco groaned, grabbing the money. He tried stuffing a smooch as he could in his pockets with Comet doing the same before they bolted out of the tavern and down the road. "We're in so much trouble!"

"Just shut up and run!" She called, cackling like a lunatic the entire time, randomly shooting spells behind her as she went. "Just keep running! We have three more bars to hit!"

Marco cried out as the scene panned off to show the two back at the castle, Comet counting up the loot with him face down on the floor, exhausted all over.

"Man, we made out like bandits tonight. I love doing that to gambling idiots." She laughed, shaking her arms as several cards fell out of them. "Man I love these idiots!"

"They're still your subjects you know…" Marco grumbled.

"Yeah, but they were probably criminals, as long as they get corn they'll be happy." she waved off. "Besides, gambling is technically a crime, and as queen I'm just doing my 'queenly' duties, while making some extra money off the side, so there's no real harm."

"Besides setting a bad example for the people?"

"Nah, by showing them what will happen if they continue to fuck up." She said with a grin.

Marco groaned as Comet pushed a small pile of coins near him.

"Eh lighten up and take your cut."

"Thanks… hey, why am I only getting ten gold?"

"Because you're my underling, duh, you don't get an equal share yet."

"I'm the one who helped carry half of this stuff."

"Yes, and most of that went into paying the fine for holding illegal money gotten through gambling." She snickered.

"What?! You can't fine me when you were the one doing the gambling!"

"Sure I can. I'm the queen~" She teased.

"Ugh! You are impossible!"

"Thanks underling." She chuckled as he shook his head.

"I'm gonna go out for a walk." He sighed standing up.

"Sure, just don't stray too far." She called as she began to count the gold.

Marco made sure to hide his face with his hoodie while pulling out a handkerchief to wrap around his mouth. Why? Because it didn't click in his head until recently that he needed to try and keep from sticking out when he remembered his face in the portraits from his time, figuring it might keep him from messing it up any more. Luckily for him he'd been mostly successful, and he hadn't seen any of Estrella's paintings of him in sight so far.

He looked around the castle, passing by a guard or two and rubbing his chin. 'Ok, I'm so so close to my own time, which means if I can corner Glossaryck and make him put me back, I MIGHT not strangle him.' He thought as he looked around. 'He's probably in his book...which is probably in Comet's room...shit.'

With that in mind he sighs and turned around, heading back, but when he came to her room, he was surprised to find her not there. 'Huh, well that's weird...but good for me I guess, now where is that tiny blue gremlin?' He moved inside and closed the door, darting around the area to try and find the huge book. "Ok, where are you, come on out you little terror!" He muttered as we pan over to the 'queen'.

Said girl was surprisingly in the royal kitchen, humming to herself with oven mitts on, an apron, and currently near the oven as a sweet smell was wafting through the air.

"Alright, it's nearly done, wait until he gets a taste of this." She opened the stove up and carefully brought the freshly baked pie out and headed off, forgetting to remove the mittens and apron while Marco himself had gotten caught up in his search he was making a mess.

"Come on come on come on! Where is that stupid thing?!" He cried out to himself, failing to notice a few of Comet's panties on his head and shoulders in his constant search. "Come on, where is it?! Is she the first queen to actually keep the book in the library?!"

That's when he grabbed the bed and flipped it over, panting and huffing before he spotted the book, beaming and letting out a victory cheer. "Yes! Finally!"

Right before he could open it though, the door began to swing open. Comet entered with a smile. "Oi Marco! I got p-hey! What happened here?!"

"Huh? O-Oh, Comet! Hey!" He said as he turned around sheepishly.

"What's going on?" She frowned seeing the mess around her room, which only got worse seeing her undies on Marco making her narrow her eyes. "What were you doing with THOSE?"

"Uh…." Marco said, only now realizing what was on him. "Those were an accident, I swear!"

"Oh I'll bet, get over here!"

"Yipe!" Marco took off running as Comet started chasing him. "I swear it's not what you think!"

"I said get over here damn it!"

(Later)

Marco wound up tied up with the sheets and on a chair, looking a little scuffed up. "Oooh, pretty stars…"

"Get it together Marco!" Growled Comet, slapping him lightly.

He shook his head and saw her standing, pie still in hand, and chuckled bashfully. "He he he, uh...you're not gonna kill me, right?"

"No, not this time." she shook her head. "I'll save that for later, but for now, pie." she held it out, catching Marco off guard.

"You...made pie?"

"What?! Of course not!" She spoke up quickly with a blush. "I-I just thought some pie would be nice and had the chefs whip it up."

"Ok….so are you going to slam it against my face?"

"I should, I really REALLY should, but seeing as how you're tied up and I'm such a nice person, I'm going to be kind enough to feed it to you, ALL of it." She said with a grin, pulling out a fork. "Now bottoms up!"

Marco braced himself as she got some on the fork and held it to him, which he grabbed with his mouth and started chewing.

"So, what do you think, did I- I mean, did the cooks make it right?"

"Huh, this is actually pretty good." He remarked.

"Really?!" She asked, her face liting up for a brief second.

"Yeah, those chefs know what they're doing."

"Well I-I mean they sure do." She smiled with Marco swallowing the piece.

"But I'm confused. If they made it, why are you wearing an apron and oven mitts?" He asked, making her freeze as she slowly looked down to see that she was still wearing her cooking clothes.

"Uh….more pie!" she spoke before quickly stuffing a bigger piece in his mouth. "Don't let it go cold, otherwise it won't taste as good."

"Mph!" He cried, trying to swallow as she kept shoveling more and more pie into his mouth.

"Don't let any of it go to waste, or else you'll make the chefs cry!" She declared, not stopping. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why didn't I take off the apron and gloves?!'

(Two weeks later)

"Ahhhhhh!" Screamed Marco, currently running across a shore stark naked with Comet doing the same, but laughing with leaves covering her modesty. "Why did I let you talk me into this?!"

"Because there was a chance you would get to see me naked you underling, now run!"

Chasing them looked like a huge salamander that snapped at them as it tried to close in on them.

"Wh ydid you have to boop it?! Why?!"

"Because it was sleeping, and you wouldn't come out of the bushes!"

"I didn't wanna die today! Or any day for that matter!" He cried as she let out a laugh, only to glance down at him with a grin.

'Best decision ever~'

Eventually the two escaped the creature, Marco panting and face down on the ground with Comet wiping at her forehead.

"Phew, now that's a run.'

'It's official, Star is nothing compared to her grandma! I don't even wanna think about the stuff the two of them could get into!'

"Alright, how about we do some swimming now underling? Into the water!" She grabbed his ankle and dragged him with him trying to grab at the ground.

"What?! No way! That's just begging for that thing to come back!"

"C'mon, it'll be fun! Now let's do some skinny dipping!" She laughed as Marco began to remember their state of dress, or rather lack of.

"Oh no!" He cried out, before finding himself thrown into the air and splashing into the water, making him swim up and sputter. "Comet! Not-"

"Cannonball!" She laughed as she dived in right next to him, splashing him.

Marco sighed at his hair getting wet and fixed it, waiting for her to surface back up. 'Does she ever run out of energy?'

That's when he felt something pinch his foot, making him jump and look around. Suddenly he felt something else pinch his leg. "Comet?! Is that you?!"

He looked around, but didn't see bubbles or her resurfacing.

"Comet? Please tell me that's you and not something else." He said before feeling something pinch his rear. "Eep!" He cried as he looked around with a blush. "Alright, that's it, I'm coming down there!" he dunk himself under the water and looked around, spotting Comet a little bit away giving a smile and wave while he gave a deadpanned look, but then he quickly realized something.

Comet staring downward near him, and the fact the leaves she had on were NOT there anymore. He blushed as he simultaneously covered his privates and quickly began to swim upwards.

He broke the surface and swam back to the shore as she surfaced and burst out laughing. "Not funny!"

"I'd disagree!" She laughed with a grin. "Also nice bod Marco~"

"Don't go staring like that, y-you...perv!" He got out with her shaking her head with her hands on her hips, not bothering to cover her chest as he looked away. "Put something on!"

"Oh relax, it's just us here. Look, if it makes ya feel better, you can go ahead and cop a feel of my butt." She said with a grin, making him blush.

"Wh-What?! I can't do that!"

"Sure you can, it's easy! Or is my royal derriere not good enough for you, huh?!" She frowned. "I'll have you know my butt is nice and tight!"

"Lalalala! I can't hear you!" he covered his ears and closed his eyes, not seeing her swim over until she was right behind him and put her hands on his shoulders making him jump.

"I'll bet you've stared at it, a lot~" She whispered.

"N-No, not at all!"

"Liar~" she rubbed her cheek against his making him turn to her slightly with a gulp.

"C-C-Comet…?"

"You know, there's another reason I brought us out here, and it wasn't just to get a peak at your goods." She whispered into his ear. "You see, I've started to really like you Marco, in fact more than just like you…"

His eyes widened, getting the picture quickly and quickly jumped away from her with his hands up. "Wait! Hold up! Hold on! I know where this is going and I gotta tell you, it wouldn't work!"

"So you do know what I mean, and what do you mean it wouldn't work?!" She frowned with her arms crossed. "We spend ton of time together, go on lots of adventures, you even went and wore my undies on you!"

"That was an accident!" He shook his head. "I-I just mean a relationship wouldn't work, because...I'm a wimp! I mean look at me! Not much muscle, easy to blush, definitely not something a queen would want."

"Bullshit, I personally like a guy like you, you may be a wimp sometimes but I've seen you fight monsters, when it's needed you have backbone." She argued back with a grin.

"Well...I have allergies! I could get really sick from who knows what, and then what? You'd be stuck taking care of me when you have royal duties going on!"

"Then we just write down your allergies so it won't be an issue." She said with a shrug.

"I'm not royalty, I'm not someone of high standing, isn't that a requirement to get married?"

"Nope, that law was overturned ages ago by queen Crescenta."

"I'm not a virgin!"

"Oooh! Really? You sly sly underling." She smirked with him blushing. "I had no idea you had gotten around, which equals experience~" She said as she licked her lips. "I can't wait~"

"I...uh...you could catch something! I-I've been around so much even I don't know what I might have!"

"Oh please, you think I'm scared of that? We just ran from a giant monster salamander, and that was nothing. Getting a little disease from a romp is child's play."

'Is there nothing that she won't say no to!?' He thought nervously. 'I….I can't say I wouldn't be happy with her, but she's Star's grandma! And aren't you not supposed to mess around with the past or something?'

"Hmmm, wait! I see now!" she gave a grin like a cat and pointed at him. "You're worried you'll be too much for me."

"W-What?" He gulped seeing her chuckle with a glint in her eyes. 'Oh I don't like that look she's got.'

"You're pretty...gifted I'll give you that, but there isn't ANYTHING Comet Butterfly can't handle! And since we're out here all ALONE, wet, and naked, what say we give it a try~?" She said as he finally connected the dots.

"W-Wait, out here?! B-But we aren't married, a-and I don't have any protection a-"

"Oh shut up and kiss me~" She closed her eyes and jumped at him, his eyes widening before feeling a tingle and vanished, causing Comet to splash down on the spot and stand up with confusion at not seeing Marco. "Oh, I see, you wanna make me work for it huh? Alright, swim as much as you want Marco! I'll find you!" she called out before she dived under the water in search.

Meanwhile Marco suddenly groaned as he appeared on cold, hard stone, soaking wet and naked. He yelped when he felt the temperature change and jumped up, shivering and rubbing his arms. "N-N-N-Not again! A-A-And without my clothes? I'm getting real sick of-"

"MARCO!" Called a familiar voice as he turned to see Star staring at him, and after a moment he realized he was back in the grandma room.

"S-Star?!" He gaped with the girl smiling and quickly hugging him.

"You're ok! And...wet….and….naked…." She spoke slowly before turning red, especially when she looked down making Marco cover it with a yelp making her turn. "Sorrysorrysorrysorry!"

"It's fine!" He spoke up as he turned bright red. "M-M-Mind fixing me some clothes? Or at least a towel?"

"S-Sure, Super starbeam clothes ray!" She called as she lifted up the wand and blasted him.

He got engulfed in the blast before finding himself in his normal clothes while dry, making him sigh in relief and drop to his knees. "Oh thank you Star, thank you."

"No problem, but what happened?"

"Star? It is a long, long, LONG story, but I'm curious, have you seen Glossaryck anywhere?" He asked with a seemingly harmless smile.

"Right here Marco." Called the blue man as he floated out from behind Solaria's tapestry. "I take it you had a fun trip?"

Marco kept up his smile as he walked over to the man. "Why yes, yes I did."

"Glad to h-" He found himself cut off when Marco grabbed him with both hands and started squeezing him like a toy with a glare.

"Do you have any idea what I had to go through you sadistic gnome?!" he cried before he started shaking him. "One crazy trip after another! Over and over and over again! The things I had to go through are nothing compared to what I'm gonna do you pudding obsessed bastard!"

"What do you mean trips Marco? You were only gone for five minutes?" Star asked in confusion.

"Wha- five minutes?!" He stared at her with wide eyes. "I've been gone for years!"

"What?!" She cried out in shock. "Were you in Hekapoo's realm again?"

"No, I was back in time! At least I think I was?" He admitted slowing down his shaking. "I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but I think I was in the past. On Mewni."

"Say whaaaaat?" Star said in disbelief, not noticing the wand starting to faintly glow.

"Yeah, and I kept running into past queens and...well…." He trailed off, looking away awkwardly. "Stuff happened, but that's not important! What's important is I'm back in my own time."

"Marco, that's crazy, tell him Glossaryck."

"No, he's right, he went back in time, I sent him there to visit the queens." Nodded the man before Marco squeezed him again. "Oof!"

"Why'd you do that?! I never got a chance to talk to you either to send me back!"

"Because this is how things are meant to be, you are pivotal in each of the queens life, either indirectly or very directly, for example with Solaria you cemented her hate of monsters, and with Festiva you helped her take a more forward role with the kingdom and get it under her control and away from the magical commissions." He smiled with both teens looking at him in disbelief.

"What? I kept trying to get Solaria to NOT hate monsters!"

"True, but your 'death' as it were, sparked it back up." he air quoted. "And if Festivia didn't take a more serious role, why Mewni later down the line might not have existed."

"Gah! So I was just a pawn for you to use to make Mewni better?!"

"Yes. And something tells me we're about to have some company." He said as he glanced down to the wand.

Marco and Star turned to see the wand glowing brighter and shaking, making Star drop it as it began to jump up and down sporadically. "Glossaryck, what's going on?!"

"Something that I've been preventing ever since you met Marco."

"Stop being so vague and tell us!"

"The queens are coming." He said before the front of the wand opened up. A bright light shot out into the air and slowly changed into a mist that filled the room and drifted around them. Soon several figures began to appear in the mist around the want, a strange energy around them.

Marco and Star were speechless, especially Marco seeing as the figures were shown as the very girls he had spent a LONG time with, some of them looking older though and different, but still recognizable.

"No way…." He whispered, making all of their heads turn towards him, the marks on their cheeks glowing.

"Marco…..MARCO!" Cried out the queens before he suddenly found himself tackled on the ground by a pile of them. "YOU'RE HERE!"

"W-What is this, how is this happening?!" He cried out in shock and surprise.

"Simple, the wand is passed down by every queen, and a bit of their magic and spirit is left inside, and after decades of stewing in the primordial magic that is the wand they more or less are able to generate their old bodies once more." Called Glossaryck, free from Marco's grasp.

"Oh you have no idea how happy I am to see you!" Smiled Skywynne as Marco was let up and in the center of the queens. "When you vanished, I was worried I scared you off or something!"

"Yeah, same, one second you were in bed with me, the next you were gone!" Jushtine cried out.

"YOU DIED!" Solaria cried, clinging to him in a death grip. "I SAW YOUR BLOOD!"

"That was just jam." Glossaryck said with a smile.

"YOU KNEW?! THE WHOLE TIME?!"

"Yes, I'm the one who sent him back and forward each time, I'm the one who kept him from revealing his origins, I knew the entire time." He said with a nod.

"Oh you have no idea how happy I am!" Smiled Festivia. "After our challenge, I lead my people like you said, but I was sad when I couldn't find you. I even offered a reward to anyone who found you since I thought you had wandered off in some drunken stupor."

"I will admit, I would have prefered if you stayed with me." Dirhhenia said calmly. "But I figured you weren't interested in me and moved on, still hurt though."

"Well you're too late now, he's mine mine mine! We can finally get married Marco!" Crescenta cried out with hearts in her eyes.

"Married?! Now hold up! I saw him first mother!" Cried Rhina with a frown. "A cute, clever, AND smart boy? That's far better than the guy you picked out for me!"

"I….I really love Marco...could I please keep him with me?" Celena whispered quietly. "He helped me feel more confident….at least a little bit."

"I'm sorry, but I need my royal art critic back, I locked up all my special works with him until he could come back and rate them! And he was going to be promoted to my husband!" Frowned Estrella with Marco going wide eyed before Comet herself held him against her chest and rubbed his head calmly.

"It's alright Marco, no need to be overwhelmed, I'm just happy to know you're safe." She smiled with him looking at her confused.

"Uh….Comet?"

"Yes Marco?"

"You seem..and I mean this nicely...less….extreme than the last time I saw you?" He admitted with her chuckling. "You didn't get amnesia, right?"

"Of course not. After you up and vanished, I'll admit it hurt, a lot. I thought that maybe I pushed you away with my...personality, so I tried being a softer queen. Then I went on to have a daughter, and now I'm a grandma." she looked at Star who was open mouth before Comet hugged Marco's face right between her breasts. "But I'm overjoyed to know you're alive!"

"T-Thanks!" He called with a blush as Star shook her head.

"Wait wait wait! Did you all fall for Marco?!"

All of them looked at her with Crescenta crossing her arms.

"Perhaps, perhaps not, why?"

"That...That's weird! Incredibly weird!"

"Well the only weird thing is my mom having the hots for him!" Spoke Jushtine frowning at Skywynne. "How could you end up liking the guy who knew my secret?!"

"Well how could you fall for the man I loved?!"

"Like you're one to talk, I loved him too!" Solaria called with a frown.

"So do I mother!" frowned Festivia. "He was my age when we met!"

"Same!" all the others piped up with Crescenta feeling like an idiot and facepalmed.

"Marco?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Is the Star you mentioned, our very same descendant?"

"Yeah? Well kinda, she's only Festivia's and onward's descendent...wait, I visited all the past queens, so why didn't I visit Eclipsa or Moon?" Marco asked confused. "Why not those two?"

"Well that's a funny story." smiled Glossaryck, right before everyone noticed a figure walking into the room.

"Oh Star? Are you in….here?" Eclipsa stopped, realizing the numerous other figures there, one of whom was her own mother, causing her to gasp and cover her mouth in shock.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I get first dibs on Marco because he and I are closest! Marco, meet your daughter!" Smirked Solaria, causing Star, Marco, and Eclipsa to go slack jawed.

"MARCO IS ECLIPSA'S DAD?!"

"I'M A DAD?!"

"THIS IS THAT MARCO?!" Eclipsa cried out in shock. "H-H-He's….Star's own….human….friend?"

"That's right." She nodded with Marco looking close to having a mental breakdown.

"Huh...wha...who...where…..WHEN?!"

"You remember that night we got shitfaced and you couldn't remember?"

"The one that happened days before I disappeared?!"

"Yep!" She grinned. "You, me, my bed, all night long!"

"I….I….I'm a dad….I have a daughter...who's ALSO a mom…" muttered Marco.

"Huh?! I'm a grandma?! Who's the lucky guy?" Solaria asked with a grin.

"Hey, focus! I want my Marco back!" Crescenta said with a frown.

"Your Marco? I'm the one who partied with him!" Spoke up Jushtine. "We even shared a bed together."

"Oh don't you try that missy, me and him rebuilt the castle that you grew up in." frowned Skywynne. "If anything I deserve him more since I saw him before ANY of you!"

"No, I do, I asked him to marry me, and he saw every part of me before leaving~" Comet said with a smile. "And I saw every part of him~"

"Don't say that!" Marco cried with Celena gasping.

"Without underwear?! Marco! Accept my proposal! I MUST sculpt that part!" Estrella demanded.

"Wha- no, I am not getting married so you can sculpt my dick!"

"Yeah, he needs to accept MY proposal!"

"I wouldn't mind going out with him for real." shrugged Dirhhenia.

"Oh no you don't sister, he's mine! MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE FOREVER!" Growled Crescenta pulling Marco towards her.

"Forget it young lady! As your mother I forbid it!" Spoke Festivia pulling him to her.

"As the first queen I should get him, I spent months with him." Skywynne said as she tried to pull him to her.

"I-I need him more." spoke Celena wrapping her arms around him from behind. "He makes me feel safe…"

"Hey! He's the father of my kid,I should get him!" Growled Solaria as this turned into a huge tug of war with the teen who let out a yelp.

"WAIT! You mean to tell me NONE of you are the least bit mad at me?"

"Of course not Marco, but we ARE burning with anger on SOMEONE." Comet spoke as they all turned to Glossaryck who pointed to himself and looked around.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"You'll get yours, AFTER Marco marries me." spoke Rhina.

"You mean me." Comet said, her face slightly twitching. "He's MY underling after all."

"He's my baby's daddy!" growled Solaria. "Let go of him or I'll dice you all up, family or not!"

"Bring it on bitch!" Growled Comet.

'...I should…. Should I throw my bid in?' Star thought nervously. 'I mean it can't get worse, can it?'

The queens all growled before it turned into a huge dust cloud of various limbs and yelling, making Star wince with Eclipsa trying to speak up.

"Uh...actually mother I...well...oh! Be careful father! Oooh….this is going to take a while to get used to."

"You're telling me… if he marries Comet does that make him my new grandfather?"

"I don't know dear, all of this so much to take in."

"Curse you Diaz charm!" Marco let out while back on Earth, his father stood up from the couch, with his wife looking at him confused.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know why, but I feel as though Marco has made proud, over and over." he smiled with tears in his eyes. "Let's get a big party in the works! Not just a normal big one, but a MASSIVE one!"

"Really? What for?"

"I don't know, but I have a good feeling about it!"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

END