Author's Note: To make sure I don't break my promise this time, I have written this chapter immediately after the last one. As usual, I don't check for grammar errors so that's on me (we die like real women/men). Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

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Meteora Needs a Hug

After supper, the trio split up for bed but three hours later found them together again in Moon's study. It seemed that none of them could sleep without knowing how Star was doing. Moon and Marco continued to rifle through their books from the library while River sharpened a spear on the other end of the room. The quiet lasted for several hours before the three stood to stretch their tired muscles. Bags gathered under their eyes before Marco stood stock still.

"Marco?" Moon questioned, noticing the boy's peculiar behavior. "Are you all right?"

The boy ran towards a nearby window, scanning the area before gasping violently. "Is that Ms. Heinous?" He all but screeched the question in terror as Moon and River ran up behind him. In the distance, a large figure with a tail smashed trees to the ground before letting out a roar. "She didn't have a tail the last time I saw her."

"Moon," River began, face pale, "we sent all of the guards after Star."

Moon felt her stomach drop, a sea of bile churning violently.

"You're still injured," Marco noted, eyes wide.

Moon's maternal instinct kicked in. She very quickly remembered that she was in possession of a very fragile, non-magical human boy. She wasn't about to let anything happen to the poor kid who had been dragged into her messes. "Marco, River, go find some armor to put on. I'll get a message to the Magic High Commission."

Understanding his wife's meaning, River grabbed the teen and hoisted him above his head. "We'll be fine, Moon, but you should be extra careful."

"Don't worry about me," Moon informed as she gathered as much courage as she could muster.

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Star awoke to what felt like an earthquake. Trees began to fall around her and the groggy queen. "We have to get out of here," she yelled at Eclipsa. She summoned Cloudy up and pulled the older woman to her. The two sat on the cloud as it soared through the forest to an opening. Not far from the two females, a large monster with horns and a tail swished violently overhead. "Is that Ms. Heinous?" Star questioned quietly.

"That can't be," Eclipsa stated in awe. "That looks like my Meteora."

"Who's Meteora?"

"My daughter."

"Oh…"

The Possibly-Meteora-Possibly-Ms. Heinous spotted them and let out a very loud roar.

"Um, no offence, Eclipsa, but I don't think that's your daughter," Star informed. She directed Cloudy away from the overgrown headmistress. A green ray narrowly missed the retreating pair. Animals hit by the beam floated up with empty, lifeless eyes.

Eclipsa gasped. "She just sucked out those creature's souls!" She turned to take in the giant woman's features. "Star, that has to be my daughter. She looks just like Globgor."

"WHAT!?" Star sputtered. "Wh-how can that be? She's a headmistress at a school for wayward princesses. She's not a…princess." They narrowly dodged another soul-sucking beam. "Are you sure that's your daughter?"

"Absolutely positive. You have to let me talk to her."

"We are currently being chased by her. She'll kill us the second we stop. I promise we'll find a way to talk to her, but we just can't right now."

A beam hit Cloudy, halting it mid air while its passengers were thrown to the ground. The females groaned as they struggled to sit up. Meteora grinned, coming over to the two small monarchs.

"Well, well, well," she spoke slowly. "What do we have here? A couple of wounded butterflies?"

"Wait, Ms. Heinous, let me explain," Star yelled.

"And why should I do that?"

"Because everything's a lie," Star reasoned. "The Magical High Commission, they lied to us. My family's not supposed to be on the throne, you are."

"You're lying to me," Meteora growled, eyes glowing.

"She's not, Meteora," Eclipsa said, standing before Star.

Meteora pulled back slightly, staring at the unfamiliar woman before her. "I don't know you. Who is this Meteora you speak of?"

"It's you," the two females informed in unison.

"No, I am Ms. Heinous the Headmistress," Meteora stated shakily. "Who are you?"

"I'm your mother, Eclipsa. Don't you remember me?" Eclipsa stepped closer, hoping Meteora would dig deep into her memories and recall her.

"I have no mother," Meteora growled lowly. She swung her tail, knocking Eclipsa into the nearby bushes. She lunged for Star, holding her tight in her fist. "You, you took everything away from me. Just you wait until I have Princess Marco too." She kept her grip tight until Star stopped squirming and passed out. She relaxed her grip and began her march to Butterfly Castle.

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Tom raced towards a suited Marco and River. He sucked in air before shaking Marco violently. "Where's Star?"

"We don't know, she's been missing for a couple of days now," Marco admitted worriedly.

"What! Why didn't you tell me?" Tom let Marco fall to the ground as the shaking became more violent. "Geez, she's getting really close. I called the rest of the gang here," he said, motioning to Star's closest friends.

"Great, let's get ready for a battle."

A roar filled the air before people began to scream and run into the castle.

"King River," a guard yelled, "Queen Star is in the monster's grasp."

A collective shout of "What?" filled the room as they all ran outside.

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Moon stared in disbelief from her bedroom window as Ms. Heinous approached. Clutched in the woman's hand was her baby girl and she didn't appear to be conscious. Praying that Star was all right, Moon took on her Butterfly form and jumped out the window. She wasted not time fire shots at Meteora's eyes. The woman roared more, releasing Star in the process. Moon swooped down, catching Star before she could hit the ground. Villagers shouted in fear, homes burned, and the guards were beginning to desert the castle.

Moon looked down at her daughter. "Star, sweetie, I need you to wake up. Please, please wake up."

Star shifted, but her eyes remained firmly closed. Moon flew them to where River and Marco had gathered a band of warriors. She landed a little less than gracefully, but she was just glad Star seemed unharmed.

"Star!" The others yelled, running towards the royal family.

"Is she all right?" River asked, worry blooming on his face.

"I think so," Moon answered. She lightly slapped Star's face, but still, the teen remained unconscious. "We need to-," the queen was cut off as River was hit with a green beam. She watched in horror as her husband lifted off the ground with a blank expression. "RIVER!"

"Your Majesty," Marco shouted, shoving the remaining monarchs to the ground, and missing a second beam. "Take Star and get out of here, it isn't safe."

"No, Marco, I have to fight. No one else can use magic," Moon argued. "Why don't you and your team take Star somewhere safe."

Marco shook his head with a light smile. "Queen Moon, you're still too injured to fight. Remember, Star and the rest of us have been fighting bad guys for quite some time now. Trust us and take Star somewhere safe. You have wings, you'll be faster than the rest of us."

"Marco, you're children!" Moon reasoned. Marco pushed Star closer to the queen. He shared a look with Tom, who began to recite an odd chant. "What? Tom? No, wait." But it was too late; Tom had summoned up a demon to carry the two females away.

"All right guys, let's kick Ms. Heinous' butt," Marco addressed his team. He cringed as a floating River tapped the back of his head. "Actually, let's get these guys inside before we start fighting. We might hurt somebody if we don't. Janna, Kelly, and Jorby distract Ms. Heinous while we round up the others." The team jumped into action, hoping that Star would wake up and help them take down the rampaging headmistress.

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Star awoke to the acrid smell of brimstone and fire. Her head was pounding, and her mouth was drier than her mother's sense of humor. Speaking of mother's, there were hints of her mother's perfume mixing with the smells of Tom's home. Groaning, Star forced her eyes open before abruptly shutting them once more.

"I think she squeezed to tight," Star muttered aloud. "Now, I'm imaging Mom's here."

"Star, I am here," the blue-haired woman informed softly. She received another groan from her daughter.

"Am I dead again?" Star asked no one in particular.

"No sweetheart, but you do need to get up. Mewni's under attack."

Star gasped, shooting up at great speeds and grabbed her mother's shoulders. "Oh no, I forgot, Ms. Henious."

"Exactly! Marco and the others-," Moon winced as Star began shaking her.

"Mom, where are Marco and the others? Wait, where's Dad?" Star stopped shaking the queen when she finally realized she was hurting her. "Oops, sorry, I forgot about that too."

"I'm…fine," Moon huffed, "but…your father."

"What, what happened?"

"Star, your father lost his soul to Ms. Heinous," Moon informed softly. Star stood up, fishing for her wand in her dress folds. "Star, what are you doing?"

"Ugh, I forgot I lost Cloudy," Star grumbled. Moon waved at her from the ground. "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm gonna go stop Met-, uh…Ms. Heinous before she hurts anyone else."

"You can't just take off without making a plan!" Moon struggled to stand as Star began to pace. The teen smacked her head in realization.

"Oh yeah, I can use my wings to take me back to the castle." She glanced at her mother. "And, I do have a plan. I'm gonna fly to Butterfly Castle, stop Ms. Heinous, and then I'll fix Mewni."

"What do you mean 'fix Mewni'? It's only a little on fire. We just have to rebuild the villages, that's all." Moon dusted her pants off and looked over at the girl she hadn't seen in days. "Star, where have you been? We've been worried about you."

Star scoffed. "Yeah, sure you have. Look, I don't have time to play make-up. Everyone's in danger and I have to help them. So, either you follow me to fight like a queen, or keep hiding here like you always do."

"Star!" Moon cried. "I was not hiding here. I'm wearing armor," she said, motioning to the metal covering her body. "I took you away from Ms. Heinous, but Marco insisted that I get you to wake up before we rejoined the fight."

"Well…then, let's go. We don't have time to argue," Star informed, quickly transforming into her Butterfly form. "Oh," Star began as her mother followed closely behind her, "did you see Eclipsa anywhere nearby?"

"Eclipsa?" Moon frowned. "No, the headmistress was only carrying you. Why?"

"Uh…no reason." Star fiddled with her wand, pushing herself to fly faster.

"Star, where did you go? Why have you been running off with Eclipsa?"

"Ugh, Mom, when are you going to start listening to me? Eclipsa isn't bad. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's the Magical High Commission we can't trust. They treated Eclipsa and her family badly and…some other stuff."

"Like what? Like Ms. Heinous and Eclipsa are related." Her frown deepened as Star gasped and slowed at her mother's statement.

"Wh-, how did you know? Who told you?"

"You've known this whole time?"

"Well, Eclipsa kinda came and told me, but I was hoping it wasn't true. I guess we aren't Butterfly's after all," Star sighed.

"Wait, what?" Moon stopped all together, eyes wide at the revelation. "What do you mean 'we aren't Butterfly's after all'?"

Star stopped, turning to face her mother. "Wait? I thought you knew that because Ms. Heinous is actually Meteora, daughter of Eclipsa and Globgor."

"No, that can't be true. It has to be a lie." Moon shook her head. "That's why the Commission wouldn't tell us anything. It could have been a lie planted in their heads by Eclipsa."

"Mom, no. Eclipsa isn't the bad guy here, the Commission is. They've been lying to us our entire lives. No, not just us. Everyone that's been on the throne since Eclipsa are fake royals."

"NO!"

Star pulled back, shocked by her mother's outburst.

"I don't know what lies that woman has been telling you, but none of that is true. Festivia was Eclipsa's daughter. She took the throne, not some imposter, and it certainly doesn't belong to a monster."

"Mom-," Star began.

"That's enough Star. Once we capture both women, I'll prove it to you," Moon promised, flying past her daughter.

Star clenched her fists and followed her mother. I can't believe her sometimes! She's just gonna ignore me when I know what I'm talking about and treat me like I'm a kid. I don't think so! Star maneuvered past the older woman, taking out her wand to turn it into a jet pack of sorts. She moved faster than her companion, whizzing through the air like a rocket. I'll prove it. I'll prove it to all of Mewni. Monsters and Eclipsa's family have been wronged, for decades.

The teen came upon an empty and came to a stop before the castle gates. A shiver ran up her spine as she looked around for signs of the giant woman who was reported to have been determined to crush the Mewmans. Through one of the castle windows, Star spotted a blue and yellow figure. She gasped as she recognized her father. Flying through the air and into the throne room, Star was horrified to see Meteora surrounded by floating people.

"Poor little Butterfly," Meteora said with a smirk. In her hand, she held a tiny Princess Marco on a chair. "Perhaps there were some truths to what you said earlier." Floating above the headmistress was the Magical High Commission and Mina. "You Butterflies took everything away from me. Now, I'm going to take it all back."

Using Strawberry Lasso, Star tried to steal back Marco. Unfortunately, Meteora caught the offending rope and pulled Star through the air. The teen was helpless as she was thrown from wall to wall while Meteora laughed in amusement. The rope finally broke, sending Star crashing through a mass of people.

"I'm sorry," Star said, picking herself off the ground and flying around the woman. "I'm sorry that you were wronged for so long. I'm sorry that people are unkind to the Mewman natives, but I'm willing to work with you. I want justice for you and your family. You can have the throne back but let me help you."

"Enough of the lies," Meteora yelled, swiping at the tiny teen. "You don't really care about me, no one has."

"Yes, I do," Star yelled. One of Meteora's fingers caught her, sending her crashing to the floor. "Ugh, fine! I don't wanna hurt you, but you leave me no choice." She began firing a volley of attacks. Meteora spun her tail, throwing Star into a splintered mess that had once served as thrones. She didn't have time to react as a glaring Meteora turned to her.

"No," Moon called from the doorway. She produced a sword made from beams and began to slice at the headmistress.

"Stop, you'll hurt her," Star warned. Her pleas were ignored by her mother. Unfortunately for the both of them, Moon was quickly subdued by a falling chandelier. "MOM!"

Meteora laughed as Moon struggled to remove the heavy decoration from on top of her. She turned back to Star, slamming the teen up against the wall in her crushing grasp. "Too easy."

"Meteora, wait. If you hurt me, no one will let you take over. They'll fight you all your life."

"Oh, like they haven't already?" She pressed the teen deeper into the wall. "My entire life, I have been doing what others want me to do to fit their mold. Well, no more." Her eyes began to glow green.

In a last ditch effort to save herself, Star summoned all the magic she could and discharged it point blank in Meteora's face. She was released, but there was a ringing in her ears that just wouldn't go away. Perhaps it was her mother that seemed to be shouting from underneath the glittering chandelier. Star swayed to her feet as she held up her wand.

Nothing happened. Before her, Meteora thrashed around wildy, calling out to her enemy. The gusts of wind being generated by the swishing tail knocked the weakened girl to her knees as the world shifted in and out of focus. She tried to conjure up a Narwhal Blast, but she felt so empty. Unbeknownst to her, Meteora had moved behind the young queen and was preparing to deal the final blow. However, before Star could be defeated, a delicate gloved hand removed the vibrant wand from Star's limp grasp.

"Wha-?" Star barely managed.

Eclipsa stood in front of her as the wand shifted into a deep purple umbrella. Her spade cheeks marks briefly flashed in the dark as power gathered around the queen. Star gaped in awe as the older queen took a stand in her defense. "That's quite enough, young lady."

Meteora growled in response. Before she could blast the green-haired woman, a purple wave of magic brushed her aside. Then again, then a third time. "But this all belongs to me," Meteora reasoned angrily. "It was taken from me!"

"I know," Eclipsa agreed. "But you can't go around sucking souls out of people, Meteora."

"I don't have to listen to you. These people deserve to suffer," Meteora threatened, once again setting her sights on the helpless Butterflies.

"No." Eclipsa forced down the surge of emotions that begged her daughter to listen to reason. It wasn't going to happen. She was far too gone to be reasoned with now. The only way for everyone to be saved now was for Eclipsa to sacrifice their happy ending. Steeling her face, Eclipsa called upon the spell Midnight Screech. She watched and waited in horror as her child attempted to break free of the violet shell before she gave one last gut wrenching scream of pain. Unable to stand any longer, the mother fell to her knees. Shaky gasps fell from her lips as tears filled her eyes.

Star pulled herself closer, staring at the shaking woman. "What did you do?" She whispered. Her heart sank at the response she received.

"What I had to." Eclipsa's shoulders shook violently as sobs wracked her body.

Star rushed over to help free her mother as people began to float back down to the ground and reawaken. She smiled as Marco and the others regained their senses. That is, until she heard the faintest sound of a baby crying. Simultaneously, her and Eclipsa bounded over to find a baby Meteora lying on the ground. Joyously, the two slid towards the crying child. Eclipsa hoisted her up, the largest smile ever gracing her pale face.

"My baby!" She cried out happily, pulling the infant to her chest. Meteora cooed out happily, patting her mother's cheek marks.

"Woohoo," Star cried out, hugging the reunited mother and daughter. People gathered around them, frowns adorning their faces. "Uh oh, I think the two of you had better run. They don't seem very pleased," Star whispered to the old queen.

"I think you may be right," Eclipsa admitted. She shifted Meteora to one arm and held out the wand. "Here."

Star stared at it, briefly glancing at her mother and the Commission. "I think you better take it. They'll be after you and you need a way to protect yourselves."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Star said, pushing the hand back towards its owner.

"I'll be watching over you. I have not doubt in my mind that you've just made things harder for yourself," Eclipsa frowned. As if on que, people began to shout angrily at the three females.

"Go, quickly. I'll find a way to clear your name and get you your throne back," Star promised, doing her best to shield the pair.

"Be careful, Star," Eclipsa warned before her wand opened like an umbrella and carried her and her daughter safely away from the angry mob that was beginning to form. Star smiled up at her before she turned to address the crowd. The old queen just hoped the teen wouldn't regret her decision later.

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Author's Note: I'm just going to keep writing longer and longer chapters at this point. If I got anything wrong, well, it has been over a year since the show ended. I'm a wee bit too lazy to fact check everything that happened. I'm just going off memory at this point. I'll be out of town this weekend, but I'll try to post another chapter tonight and sometime tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed!