AN: Written as part of the May 2022 Writing Contest on the subreddit r/StarVstheForcesofEvil. Theme: Childhood.

I usually spend a lot of time writing my stories, which happens over the course of multiple days and, more often, weeks and months. This one on the other hand was developed from conception to final draft within 24 hours—the contest basically acted as a challenge I gave myself in the form of a constraint on the time spent writing, to see what I was able to do with this limit. In any case, any feedback you might want to share about the fic is appreciated as usual.


A Little Lie

"Weee!" Star cried as she slid down the handrail. Even if her voice was shrill, the little girl was actually having the time of her life.

Much to the chagrin of those who were supposed to be looking after her.

"Stop that child, or Moon will have our heads!"

"Where did she go—? Where did she go now!?"

"Down the stairs! There she is!"

"You'll never catch me alive!" Star shouted back towards the guardsmen at the top of the staircase, proceeding to stick her tongue out at them. One of the men looked sincerely offended by the gesture, while the others didn't waste time and ran down the stairs—but Star was already running into the closest corridor.

Mom wanted to somehow rein her in, and since the Magic High Commission wasn't available that day, she had resorted to some of the local mewmen on guard duty. She didn't mind—in fact, she found these people much more in tune with her childish antics than the Commissioners, and one of them even showed her how to properly cut off a neck one time! That was fun!

Of course, that didn't mean that they weren't dead-scared of the possibility of the little princess getting hurt, but Star was too young to realize that. All she saw was the guards getting worked up and worried to a hilarious degree as she escaped. It entertained her way too funny to stop.

Rushing through series of hallways, she was fast enough to keep up the pace with them even as a little child—something about the heavy armour they were wearing probably playing a role with that. Which also meant that they were unable to keep her in their sight at all times. They would get into a new corridor just in time to see Star, laughing at their misery, turn behind a corner and disappear from view again.

So it came natural for the little child to realize that the castle was full of hiding places and the chase could be easily turned into a game of hide-and-seek before she could exhaust herself. Grinning mischievously, Star locked on the nearest cupboard large enough to fit her small frame in, and proceeded to open it up, jump in, and close the door panels behind her.

Soon the heavy footsteps of her temporary guardians came by.

"No, no, I can't see her any more!"

"We're dead meat! I'm gonna leave the castle now and change identity—"

"Shut yer' mouth, and keep moving. She can't be far, and she can't run forever!"

"I can't run forever either!"

"Less crying, more running!"

Seconds later, and Star could no longer hear the noises of the running mewmen. Jumping out of the cupboard, she smiled with satisfaction as her little trick had worked just as expected.

Now all she had to do was to find the three friends of hers again and pounce on them, taking them aback! Oh, she couldn't help looking forward to the screams of fright!

Star was just about to walk in the direction the guards had run off to, when her eyes caught glimpse of a particular door that was in front of the piece of furniture she'd taken refuge in.

It didn't occur to her, but she had casually decided to stop her escape right in front of her parents' bedroom.

Star didn't know the castle that well yet. She was still learning a lot, and it was only thanks to the substantial amount of people living and working across the place, from the Knight of the Wash in the lower levels up to those standing guard on the towers, that she'd always manage to find someone that could lead her back to the areas she knew.

So it wasn't a surprise she didn't even realize that her escape had eventually led her to her parents' quarters.

Dad had left that morning for one of his hunting trips, which meant that... maybe, Mom was there?

Star didn't even think twice about her guess. She marched up to the door and kicked it, but the thing didn't budge. She pouted, mentally wondering how much time she'd need before she'd be able to slam things open like her warrior friends sometimes did.

Then, she jumped, her legs running over the door, caught the handle in her hands and turned it by using her own weight to her advantage.

With the door unlocked, Star pulled the panel open and rushed into the room. "Mom! Mom! I found you!" Star cried out in excitement.

Her mom was nowhere to be seen.

Star's expression quickly changed into a small frown. Why was her mom always going around and doing Queen chores or things like that? She barely saw her lately, sometimes she even went entire days without seeing her Mom's face. It kinda upset her.

She wandered into the room, looking with half-attention at the pieces of furniture that dotted the place. She always found the way her mom was a bit obsessed with cleanness a bit excessive at times. She was more in tune with her dad in this case, though of course, it was Mom who called the shots in this particular space.

She climbed up to the bed, without taking off her shoes of course, and started jumping on it, hoping to find something fun to be had before leaving the room to go find her guard babysitters.

As she bounced, Star looked around the room. Armchairs, some wardrobes, boards, and...

She got distracted enough that she failed to control her next bounce and ended up flying while rotating one-hundred-eighty degrees, proceeding to fall on the bed face-first. "Oof!"

However, Star pulled herself up immediately, ignoring the daze from the bad landing. Getting out of the bed, she walked up to the wide dresser board that had caught her attention, though the dresser itself wasn't what interested her.

Once she realized she wasn't tall enough, Star pulled open the lowest drawer, then climbed over it. The dresser made a creaking sound, but neither it nor the drawer outright disintegrated under the added weight—which was enough as far as she was concerned.

She was also high enough that her eyes barely made it over the upper surface, letting her check out the objects she was after.

There were multiple family photos there. A lot of them featured Dad and Mom, and it looked like they covered quite a long period of time. The rightmost one featured Mom holding a small baby with a tuft of blonde hair that looked vaguely familiar. It took her a moment to connect the dots, and her cheeks blushed immediately after.

Looking away, Star glanced at the photos to the left. Almost all of them lacked Star: her parents were either alone or in company of faces that she didn't quite recognize. Mom had said something about some uncles and aunts, but Star had never paid that much attention, and she was sure a lot of these people in the photos were not relatives.

She usually didn't think much about family matters, but now, that was actually the reason why she was checking out the pictures in the first place.

The oldest photos were placed at the leftmost corner. Some featured younger versions of her parents, basically teenagers, but Star didn't care particularly about them in that moment. Her eyes were fixed on a specific picture that featured the portrait of a woman she'd never seen before. She was carrying a small child younger than even Star herself and sporting silver hair. The woman was looking at her with a tender smile.

She reached out and, with some difficulty, managed to grab the photo and bring it to herself. Jumping off the opened drawer (which she forgot to close, of course), Star kept studying with genuine curiosity the small thing she'd found.

She'd recognized the purple cheek marks of the young child carried by the stranger woman, and it wasn't hard for her to put two and two together. This however, threw her for quite a loop.

She'd never heard about her Mom having a mom of her own. Sometimes she forgot to listen when she and dad talked about family, yeah, but this was kinda a big deal? Star wasn't sure, but the photo was among the bigger ones above the dresser. She had to be important if she was featured among all these things, right? Then why did she never hear about her?

Star couldn't think about it further as scissor blades suddenly cut through the fabric of space-time in the centre of the room, startling her. She yelped and jumped back, barely holding on to the frame of the picture in her hands, as the scissors run up, opening a large portal. A figure stepped out immediately after.

"Ugh, if there was only one time that blue man was straightforward with me when he talks—!" Moon Butterfly grumbled to herself before realizing that there was an intruder in her room.

"...Star?" she let out, dazed.

"...uh... hi, Mom..." Star timidly waved her hand. Her other hand conveniently hid the picture she'd taken without permission behind her back.

Moon quickly moved on her initial surprise, her eyes narrowing. Star gulped at that change of demeanour. "What are you doing here? Where are the guardians who I assigned to look after you?"

"I... uhh... I managed to make them lose me?" Star said, shifting her feet on the ground as she looked away from her mother's stern face.

Moon let out a small groan. "Ack. Of course... I thought that picking three people instead of one would've be enough, but of course it wouldn't... I'll have to triple check who I choose next time."

She put her hands on her hips. "That doesn't change the fact you're here now, Star. You know you shouldn't be this reckless around the castle when you go on your playing ventures. You get lost all the time, and sooner or later there might be a time where you can't find anyone to lead you back to your room. And what are you doing here in my room in the first place? This is not your space to be in!" Moon gave a quick glance to the opened drawer behind Star. "Let alone snooping around without permission!"

Star fidgeted as Moon scolded her. "I... I just saw your room, and I wanted to see you, mom, t-that's why I went in... but you weren't there."

At that, Moon's features softened, though Star didn't notice at first. She kneeled to get closer to the child's level.

"Hey, I'm here now though, am I not?"

Upon hearing Moon's change in tone, Star perked up. Moon was gesturing for her to come closer, and Star immediately complied, running at her and wrapping her arms around the Queen's body.

Moon simply let her rest like that for a while, caressing her head and stroking her hair—careful not to ruin the pigtails.

"Now, you feel better?"

"Mmh-hmm," Star let out, her own voice muffled by Moon's dress.

"I'm sorry I can't be around more, but you know, these are queen duties, and I am kinda expected to spend a lot of time at work, Star."

"...'ts too much..." Star lamented.

"You'll understand when you get older... hopefully," Moon added. Gently, she pushed Star out, then cupped her cheek to make sure she was looking at her.

"You're always my little princess, and you should not forget that. Just... try to be patient, and don't do silly stuff like invading personal spaces, okay? If you need actual help, you can ask, but you'll have to wait for your mom to finish up her job otherwise. Is that clear?"

Star nodded meekly. Moon would've been content with this as the end of their short conversation, as she planned to just change her clothes quickly and move on to her next task of the day at first and didn't have much time for Star even now, but then she noticed that the girl was holding something in her hand.

"Wait, is that one of my family pictures?"

Star's eyes widened, hiding the thing behind her back. "N-No!" she denied, but then realized that this was no use. "I-I... I didn't want to steal stuff—I was going to put it back!"

"No, no, I'm not angry, just..." Moon looked sincerely puzzled. "Why did you pick it up?"

Star remained silent after that. Without a word, she brought up the picture again to watch it again, and Moon decided to move closer and beside her to look at the picture together.

Star noticed how Moon frowned immediately when she saw which photo she'd taken. Oh no, things were going bad again—!

"That's Comet Butterfly, Star," Moon said, her voice firm but with some trace of emotion in it.

She looked at Moon, curiosity slowly having the better of her fear. "...y-your mom?"

"Yes. She's my mother, and your grandmother."

Star looked at the picture again. "I... I never heard about having another grandma... one like you, I mean. Grandpa and Grandma come visit us sometimes, but they're... they're like Dad. I thought they were the only grandma and pa I had. Why isn't she around, Mom?"

Moon looked unsure about how to reply at first. When she did, her voice came out forced. "She... she can't be around, Star."

"Why?"

Moon took in a breath, then shut her eyes. There were a few seconds of awkward silence before she spoke again.

"...because she's at a grandma farm."

"...grandma farm?" Star wasn't doubtful... she was simply confused by what a grandma farm was in the first place.

"Yes," Moon opened her eyes again, and this time she was smiling. Star found no reason to think that smile was an acted one. "She's gone there ever since she left the crown and I became Queen in her place, you know. But she's fine, just staying there to... rest for a while, along with other grandmas like her that she can, uh... hang out with."

Star nodded. "She... she looks nice."

"She wa—is, she is..." Moon corrected herself mid-speech, but Star didn't pay attention to her mistake. She simply glanced at the photo again.

"Do they let the gradmas out every now and then at the grandma farm, Mom?" she asked. "Do you think she'll ever come to visit us?"

Moon sighed. "It's a bit hard to say... grandmas like her are quite... tired most of the time, and they need to rest. They leave only rarely."

She put a hand over the girl's shoulder. "Maybe I'll get you to visit her, though... sometime after you grew up a little bit more. Just tell me about it, and I'll see what we can do about it."

Star kept looking at the photo with interest.

"...I'd like to, Mom."


Star looked at Comet's smiling face in the picture. The late queen was looking at the viewer with a somewhat reserved but still happy-looking expression.

It made for quite the contrast with the tombstone the picture marked, and the engraved writing that mentioned something about the ill fate Comet met during her time.

"Hi, Grandma Comet..." Star said. "It's... nice, to see you. I, uh... I know I never visited you before today. It was kinda my fault... because I, uh, forgot..."

She scoffed to herself. "Sorry, sorry. I don't want you to listen to me ranting and finding weak excuses. I just wanted to... to see you, now that I can and I know you're here."

She stopped speaking for a moment as she looked at the tomb. The Royal Butterfly Graveyard was a place she never thought she'd visit on her own volition in a million years, but here she was.

It took her a while to find Comet. The graveyard was filled with various graves and mausoleums, including but not limited to some of the Queens that came before her mother. A lot were unlabelled, due to the fire that destroyed the castle hundreds of years earlier, taking with itself the information about the times before Skywynne, but a lot had been placed right after the disaster, and it was easy to tell who was where. It wasn't immediate, but eventually Star did find her grandma.

She felt a bit uneasy as she looked at the marble stone that had been chosen to mark Comet's resting place. She'd thought about asking for her mom to come along, or heck, even dad or Marco, but at the very last moment she had decided against it and had gone to the graveyard on her own.

It might have bothered her to be here, but the reason why she came here made her feel even worse.

She wanted to make things right.

As much as she could make things right with the dead.

"I... I thought you were alive, actually," Star confessed. "Mom told me something about a 'grandma farm' when I was little, and I was young so of course I believed it and I thought you'd come around. But then I grew up and... I kinda forgot about you... and kept just assuming you were still at the 'grandma farm'. It was a small lie, an obvious one... and I... I still kept thinking it was true."

More silence.

Star bit her lip.

"I... I shouldn't have forgotten about you, grandma. I was stupid of me to not even try to ask mom about you again," she continued. "I got distracted by a lot of stuff, a lot of which wasn't important, and I shouldn't have let this thing slip off my mind like that. You didn't deserve that."

She took another moment to stay silent, glancing around herself. Most of the Queens' tombs were grouped together with the people they cared about, in family grave gatherings. Comet was one of the exceptions, as her grave lied alone, separated by almost everyone else by several metres of empty space. Even Grandma's mother, Estrella, had been placed somewhere else, as Star had caught her name some minutes before finding Comet.

It kinda felt sad, but Comet was still smiling in her small picture. And so she did in that one photo back in Mom's room, which she now recalled clearly.

"...I guess you really liked Mom, huh? She didn't have much left of you beyond a few photos, unfortunately, but she told me a lot of things about you, even if she didn't tell me you were..." Star stopped herself.

She was making a fool of herself. Why was she even here in the first place, talking to a dead person who couldn't listen to her?

She shook her head, shooing the thought away.

"S-She's a good mom, grandma," Star said. "She's always at work and kinda forgets about stuff, and she can be very stubborn, but... but I know she cares about me. Like you cared about her... I think.

"She's a pretty good cook, you know? She took a lot after you. A-And... and I guess I took after you, too. Do you know I'm trying to get monster and mewmen to live together in peace for a change? It's not easy, but I'm planning this thing, this party of sorts, to get some of the mewmen and monsters my age to stay for a night together. It's gonna be great, I just know it, and if we get the younger Royals to go beyond signing just a petition and actually pledge full support to the cause once they hang out with some of their monster peers and realize they aren't half-bad, then I think we're gonna be settled!"

Star paused, thinking over her own words for a moment.

"It's just like what you were trying to do, grandma. And hopefully it'll work this time... uh, no, I didn't mean to say you failed, j-just that, uh—"

Star groaned. "Sorry, I'm bad at this soo much. I... uh, for what it's worth, Toffee's dead. I... I know you wanted peace with the monsters and didn't want people to die, but I think nobody will miss him anytime soon, after what he did to you."

There was silence again. Star took in a breath, then came closer to the gravestone and lowered herself to get a closer look at the picture of her grandmother, sitting on her knees.

She spent a few more seconds looking before resuming to talk. "So, that's about how things are going, grandma. It's not perfect, but we're trying, and I think we can leave what happened with Toffee behind us now, if we can just make things work with the monsters from now on. You had the best idea, grandma, and I... I hope you like what I'm doing."

Star found herself hesitating again, unable to keep speaking for a moment. She wondered about what else she was supposed to say to pay homage to a lost relative.

She knew something about how humans mourned the dead, thanks to what she saw in movies and what she heard from other humans during her time on Earth. However, she didn't feel like it was a good idea to go exactly that way here in Mewni, with her own family.

At the very least, the memory provided something for inspiration.

"I-I just wanted to say I'm sorry. For not caring as much as I should have about you... and for never having the chance to meet you in the first place. You probably would've been a fun grandma, and you would've been of great help for both me and Mom, especially with what happened lately. I... I know you'd be."

There was something in her throat. Star coughed, even if there was actually nothing in her windpipe—yet, she felt as if there was a lump in it.

"I... m-maybe I'll visit you again, with Mom this time," she managed to say. "J-Just... to have another small reunion. That feels right...

"Other than that, uh, I g-guess... this is a goodbye?"

Star frowned. "Gosh, I'm such a doofus..."

There was no reaction from the grave. Comet simply kept watching, unmoving, from her picture, and the place remained silent. There were voices in the distances, but it was just random noises from the mewfolk who lived in the Groundlands of Mewni.

Comet was never going to reply to her words.

Star felt something slowly streaming down her cheek. She proceeded to brush off the lone tear.

"...bye, Grandma Comet," she concluded. "I... I hope you're at peace."

Star didn't leave immediately. She remained on her knees, staring at the grave in silence for another minute or so.

Only after a while did she stand back up on her feet and turned around, leaving the grave behind her back.

Star sniffed, passing an arm over her face again. She was still upset about this, but...

But she also felt relieved.

Ever since Moon told her the truth about what Toffee did to her family, and once things went back to normal after the lizard was defeated, Star couldn't help recalling again and again a childhood memory that she never thought was that important up until lately.

That one time where Moon told her about a grandma farm and the fun grandma she had that, supposedly, lived there.

And how she never asked about Comet again after a few days or so since that one day.

She didn't know if this would've been enough to pay respect to her grandma's memory, after ignoring her for so long. It wasn't like she missed meeting her... she was already gone by the time Star was born. But it still felt wrong, and so she decided to go to her, at least one time, on her own.

Maybe it wasn't enough.

But... but it was something, at least.

END