THE TALE OF TOM - HOLIDAY HASSLE
Politics. An eight-letter-word for a great big mess that happens to run the world. After the age of queens came to an end, Star distanced herself from Earth-Ni's complicated new political landscape, although she stepped in whenever things got testy. Still, it was nowhere near as stressful as all the damage control she did as aide to the Queen of Darkness. However, today's upcoming council meeting was one she just had to attend, for she was uniquely qualified to settle a daunting debacle.
Unfortunately, that fateful sandwich left poor Star incapacitated; Lucky for her, her princely demon ex was more than willing to help. After the Cleaving, Tom became more invested in his royal role, and used his plentiful riches to help those less fortunate than him. Besides, he had a relative on the Unity Council; This meeting would surely be a piece of pie!
"Hey, Starship. What time's the meeting?"
"It's at noon." Star retorted. Tom looked at the clock on the wall, and his heart skipped a beat; "11:59 AM." In all the hassle of rushing Star to the hospital, the Pie Pals had lost track of time!
"Oh, CRAP! I gotta go!" Tom rushed to the edge of the room, and pulled up the window, startling the other occupants of the room. "Sorry!" The demon prince then leapt out the window, and summoned jets of hellish flames beneath his feet to take flight. The three-eyed teen soared through the vibrant Earth-Ni skies as fast as he could, to avoid being late for the momentous meeting.
Tom's mind was racing just as fast as his body; The council was counting on him to resolve the pressing matter at hand, whatever that may be. His worried thoughts led his thinking astray, so much so that he nearly crashed into a helicopter!
"GAH!" Once Tom came back to his senses, he saw another obstacle heading his way; A flock of wild dragon-cycles! He swiftly flew higher to avoid colliding with the scaly beasts; However, that errant move nearly caused him to dash into Ludo, who was out flying on his giant pet eagle.
"Watch where you're going, doofus!" The kappa snapped.
"Sorry!" Tom profusely apologized. Once he sighted City Hall, he rocketed towards the ground, and landed on the asphalt with a skid, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. The young monarch then hurried into the building as fast as he could, to the conference that needed his royal know-how.
The meeting room of City Hall was alive with the sound of heated debate, courtesy of Echo Creek's very own Unity Council. This special committee was founded a month or so after Earth and Mewni merged, as a way for all the different groups to have a say in the town's government.
Representing monsters was Yvgeny "Buff Frog" Bulgolyubov, the Butterfly Kingdom's former monster expert. The Underworld's ambassador was Duchess Exasperella Lucitor, Tom's very own aunt. Speaking for the Cloud Kingdom was Preston Pony Head, a quiet, indifferent delegate appointed by his king. While King Pony Head himself was on the council for its founding, he stepped down after a scandal involving the Waterfolk Kingdom came to light. Humanity's envoy was Desmond Jean-Marcelin, a humble Haitian architect who helmed the development of better housing for mewmans and monsters. Lastly, there was the new mewman representative, Tilda Gottenbusch; A peasant woman who made her way into the council through good old democracy.
While the Unity Council was a great improvement for Echo Creek, that didn't mean its members always got along. Their argument kept on going, 'till Tom burst into the room like a bolt from the blue.
"I'm here!" Tom huffed, out of breath. "Sorry I'm late."
"Tom? What are you doing here?" Exasperella asked.
"Where is Star Butterfly?" Buff Frog queried.
"Star couldn't make it. She ate a bad sandwich, and now she's in the hospital." Gasps and murmurs were heard from the council members once Tom broke the bad news. "She'll be okay, though; She sent me in her place, so what are we meeting about?"
"The war on Mewnipendence Day!" Tilda exclaimed, and slammed her fist down on the table, causing Tom to wince. Now he knew why Star was supposed to mediate; She once hosted a celebration for the mewman holiday on Earth, which sparked her journey to right Mewni's wrongs.
"Only "war" here is one you want to celebrate." Buff Frog grimly refuted. "Is Great Monster Massacre, not Mewnipendence Day. Must be remembered solemnly."
"I have nothing against monsters; I just don't like party poopers." The former peasant nagged, angering her green-skinned colleague. While it was certainly good the mewmans had a non-Butterfly leader to look up to, Tilda had a reputation for being rather crass, and just as stubborn.
"How am I pooping on party?"
"Banning Mewnipendence Day would flush a thousand years of tradition down the latrine! You can mope about the monster massacre all you want, just don't ruin our fun because of it."
Now, Buff Frog was furious. "Ruin your fun? Like your ancestors ruined our civilization?"
"We're not celebrating a holiday built on genocide!" Added Desmond. While he was one of the most reasonable members of the council, he had no tolerance for bigotry in any form.
"It's not about genocide! Come on, back me up on this!"
"We don't celebrate it in the Underworld." Exasperella remarked. "I could care less."
"Meh." Preston apathetically remarked, and typed on his laptop with his tongue. As Tilda and Buff Frog kept arguing over the fate of the Mewnian holidays, Tom tried to intervene. However, both the mewman and the monster delegates were all fired up, and bickered belligerently, without letting the prince get even a single word in. He tried calling their names, snapping his fingers, and clapping his hands, but they just kept arguing; The commotion in the council eventually made the demon teen crack.
"ENOUGH!" Tom shouted with the fury of a volcanic eruption, his three eyes glowing a deep crimson. The council members all went silent, except for his aunt, who looked rather proud of him.
"That's my boy."
"So sorry about that, didn't mean to lose my cool. Please don't hate me." He sheepishly apologized. "I just want you to hear me out; I know these holidays mean a lot to mewmans and monsters, so how about we-"
Tom's train of thought was derailed by the growing sound of a clamor in the distance. He looked out the large glass window at the end of the room, and saw a large group marching up to City Hall. There were over thirty mewmans with picket signs and banners, the largest of which read "SAVE MEWNIPENDENCE DAY!" What's more, they were led by the ex-royal knight Sir Stabby, who was decked out in his shining armor, plus a bullhorn.
"What are they doing here?" Desmond asked with concern.
"Called in a favor from Stabby to gather support. It's amazing who you meet in politics." Tilda proudly remarked.
"Those clowns in City Hall want to cancel Mewnipendence Day!" Stabby shouted. "But are we gonna let them?
"NO!" As the mewmans continued protesting outside, Tom looked at the council members; Tilda was watching with satisfaction, while most of the others seemed rather concerned; The odd exception was Buff Frog, of all people...but why?
Then, another large gathering marched into the town square. It was a group consisting mainly of monsters, with a handful of humans and even some mewmans scattered throughout. They had no shortage of signs, and a banner that read "BAN MEWNIPENDENCE DAY NOW!" What's more, they were led by a truly remarkable figure; Globgor, the last King of Mewni.
As Globgor rallied his following against their opposition, Tilda was reeling from shock. "How did they know about this?"
"Am master spy. Overheard your plan for protest, and made my own." Buff Frog retorted, causing the mewman to seethe with rage. Back on the ground, the protestors and counter-protestors were getting into heated arguments.
"Mewnipendence Day is a holiday of horrors! It needs to end!" A green-skinned monster declared.
"It's about life, liberty, and corn, fun-haters! If you don't like it, Albuquerque's THAT way!" A mewman noble rebuked.
"Why are you wearing that silly armor, Stabby? You're not a knight anymore!" Globgor taunted.
"Well, you're not the king anymore!" As the protest's intensity quickly grew, the council's worries of things getting violent increased proportionally. From his own experiences with anger and rage, Tom knew that terrible things could happen if the people lost their tempers; Now was the time to act.
The opposing sides continued to argue and debate Earth-Ni's most controversial holiday, with neither side backing down. But before tensions could reach their explosive boiling point, a recognizable voice called out from above. On the roof of City Hall stood Tom, who was speaking through a megaphone.
"Attention, everyone! I am Thomas Draconius Lucitor, Crown Prince of the Underworld. I see we're talking about Mewnipendence Day."
"Yeah, it STINKS!"
"YOU STINK!" The opposing factions began to quarrel once more, frustrating the demon prince.
"Settle down, settle down! Look, I know how you all feel, and I mean all of you. I'm half mewman, and half monster-"
"Technically, you're a demon."
"Yeah, okay. But I understand the injustice you monsters have faced, and you deserve a day to reflect on those terrible times. And most of you mewmans don't care about Mewnipendence Day's dark underbelly; You just want to sing and dance and eat and laugh."
"We do love those things." One of the mewmans noted.
"I have a compromise. The Great Monster Massacre should be observed on its original date, like it always has. And the day after it, we'll have a new holiday, called Mewni Day!"
"Mewni Day?"
"It'll be a celebration of all things Mewni! Corn, warnicorns, cornicorns, all that good stuff! And best of all, everyone can celebrate it!" Tom happily preached. "So...what do you guys think?"
The prince's pitch for a new holiday was greeted with overwhelming applause from both sides. While Tom humbly bowed to the crowd, the Unity Council celebrated the crisis he thankfully averted.
"Mewni Day, huh? Sounds good to me. What about you, Mr. Frog?" Tilda queried.
"Da, is good. Is very good." As the mewman and monster politicians shook hands and made up, Desmond smiled proudly. He deeply respected the young demon for his kindness and philanthropy; Plus, Tom was a close friend of his nephew.
"Prince Lucitor's done it again. He'd make a great councilman." The Haitian foreman remarked, when Duchess Exasperella spoke up.
"Correction: He'll make a great king..."
