Author's Note: Wow, this quarantine was supposed to help me get back into writing but that didn't happen. I took an online Chem class that absolutely destroyed me, but I passed so…silver linings, I guess. Anyways, I'm gonna finish this story (eventually) because I am now property of Eda the Owl Lady and want to write a bunch of stuff for her. If you're still following this story, thanks a bunch! Now, onto the drama.

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A Much-Needed Talk

The ragtag team of royals were quick to abandon St. Olga's before the Commission or any of their goonies could spot the crew. Armed with the footage and knowledge that it provided, Moon sent a discreet message to Marco in hopes of keeping him and the king informed of the situation. The four stopped to rest deep in the forest to develop their next plan of action.

"Okay, we've got proof that the Commission is corrupt, but how do we share this with the rest of Mewni? Monsters have been leaving by the dozens since the fight with Toffee," Star voiced aloud. She sat on a moldy log; her feet planted firmly in the mud. Eclipsa and Moon failed to hide their disgust at the idea.

"Star," the two began simultaneously and shared a glance in surprise.

"Star," Moon continued, "could you…not dirty yourself so carelessly? We can't exactly bathe out here."

Star pursed her lips in thought before using her magic to set out a tent with cleaning supplies nearby. It would have been a nice gesture if it weren't for the creepy faces that appeared on all the appliances. They just smiled and stared into Moon's soul.

"Err…thanks," Moon offered.

"No problem," the teen responded as she grabbed a nearby twig. She began to draw shapes into the ground before pointing to them. "So, back to the situation at hand, do you think we should just play it on some mega tv screen for the Mewmans to see."

"Even if the Mewmans see the Commission as corrupt, it doesn't solve the problem of them hating monsters," Eclipsa reasoned.

"That's true, but we would be one step closer to opening their eyes to new possibilities. Think about it, the Commission has pushed for Mewmans to hate monsters. If Mewni sees them as liars, they'll question the things they've been told," Star explained. "And, yes, the battle with Toffee was harrowing, but that was more of a personal agenda than it was a worthy cause. The guy literally blew himself and his army up."

"I see, so we're shattering the illusion set forth by the Commission," Eclipsa reiterated. "Makes you wonder why Glossaryck never punished his children for being naughty."

"Wait what?" Star and Moon questioned.

"Oh goodness," Eclipsa chuckled, "didn't the two of you know? Glossaryck created the Magical High Commission and really laid down the foundation for magic in the Butterfly family. He's quite the trouble-maker when you really think about it. He keeps everybody in the dark so no one can get a leg up on him."

"This entire time Glossaryck has been puppeteering everything and we just let him watch us like some weird guy," Star all but shouted. She began to pace, deep in thought. "Everything about this is so confusing," she groaned. "Glossaryck had to know about this cover up and he didn't do anything to stop it. Heck, he even helped them by training Festivia and the rest of us that aren't really Butterflies. We've all been used by him for no real reason. Is it for fun? Is he bored with his long life? What does the little blue man want with us?"

Eclipsa and Moon shared another look. The teen made some pretty good points. Glossaryck was an enigma with no obvious solution. If he really did know about the cover up, he would be just as bad as the Magical High Commission. At the beginning of Star's training, he was overly cryptic and seemed more useless than helpful. However, as she matured, he seemed to begin to form a sort of bond with the girl only to rip that apart with his stupid 'loyal to the book' lie. It seemed they'd added yet another item to their growing list: figure out Glossaryck's endgame.

"You've given us something to really think about Star, great work," Eclipsa praised. Star beamed at the green-haired woman before yawning. Meteora shared a similar yawn before blinking sleepily. "Star, why don't you and Meteora go and have a lie-down? Your mother and I are going to figure out our first step before going to sleep. I'll cloak this area with a spell so we can all get some much needed rest."

Star nodded, rubbing her right eye with a fist. The teen stumbled over to cradle the sleeping child in her arms and made her way over to the tent. She ducked into the inviting confines of the warm blankets and was fast asleep. The two queens waited for the teen to fall asleep before Eclipsa pulled to cups of steaming hot cocoa from the snack bar Star had provided. The older queen passed a cup to her successor before blowing at the hot liquid.

"Eclipsa, I'm sorry," Moon began, her thumb caressing the edge of the warm porcelain mug. "I'm sorry that I didn't stop to actually listen to what you and Star have been trying so hard to tell me."

Eclipsa sighed, shoulders sagging ever so slightly under the weight of their situation. She looked down into the murky brown liquid with a frown. "Moon, I…it doesn't really bother me that we got off on the wrong foot. That was bound to be a given with your upbringing. And, I'm not without fault either. I did attack you first. I was under the impression that you were going to immediately have me recrystallized without finding out what happened to my family. But then Star appeared and I learned so much from her and that's when I decided that perhaps you'd changed too. But you hadn't. That's what upset me so much. You ignored your daughter in favor of the people that can't even commission properly. She tried, really tried, to meet you halfway. Every time I decided to look in on your daughter, someone had broken her down in tears but she still tried to keep you on her side. To show you that she trusted you with the truth. You were so quick to call her crazy and immature, well, I couldn't let her be cast out like I had." Eclipsa looked over at the teary-eyed woman across from her. "Star is such an amazing young woman with a great heart and fierce loyalty and determination. I'd hate to see her give up on herself because the people she saw as her supporting figures turned away from her in a time of need. That's why I let her come with me to solve the issues with my family. She's crying out to be seen as the mature lady that she is, not the child you still envision her as."

There were several sniffles that followed Eclipsa's words. Pulling out a hankie, Moon cleaned herself up as best as she could. "I realize that I almost lost Star completely because of all of this. I was so caught up in trying to capture you that I forgot how far she's come since she met Marco. She was doing a fantastic job as acting-queen if I'm to be honest. I'm proud of the woman she's become, and you're right, it would be a shame to see her lose herself because of my actions. That's why I'm here, to remind her that, even though I was wrong before, I believe her now and I'm going to support her no matter what. If we have to leave Butterfly Castle forever, well, so be it. What matters is doing the right thing so that future generations understand what to do in similar situations. I'm not going to let the Commission vilify you or my daughter any longer."

Tossing her mug aside, Eclipsa barreled into Moon, hugging her tightly. "I knew we'd be great friends in the end," she laughed. "I see where Star gets her stubbornness from." Moon rolled her eyes before returning the hug.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter when I didn't."

"Nonsense," Eclipsa remarked as she pulled away. "I may not have been a mother long, but seeing such a bright, happy child frown pulled me to her stronger than a moth to light. I could never abandon a child in need."

"Still, what you did for her is amazing. You'll be a great mother," Moon complemented. "Well, if Meteora doesn't remember you violently de-aging her after a battle to the death with my child and her crush."

"Yes, that would be bad, wouldn't it?" The two shared a chuckle before Eclipsa glanced over at her abandoned mug of cocoa. "We need to find a way to remove the Commission for good so that future generations aren't misinformed like we were."

"We could expose them like Star suggested, but it won't solve our issue of monster-hating Mewmans," Moon reminded. "Was it very hard for you to change your views on monsters?"

"Not really, I just needed to meet a few in order to form an opinion. They're really very lovely individuals," Eclipsa said with a smile. "You should have seen Globgor when I first met him. He was the sweetest monster ever!" A light blush formed on the older queen's cheeks.

"Didn't he eat some people?" Moon questioned cautiously.

"Well, perhaps, but he became a vegetarian after he met me. Although, I do understand why you're hesitant to trust monsters. Star told me what happened to your mother. I'm sorry."

Moon bowed her head. "It's true, what Star told you. It's hard to let go of what happened. I was so young and suddenly I had a whole kingdom to run and a war to win; it was so much so quickly." To the side, Eclipsa nodded in agreement. "But, as I stated earlier, I'm willing to try my best to understand and work with monsters for equality."

"That's great to hear," Eclipsa said with a smile. "Now, I suggest we come up with something or we'll have an angry teen on our hands." The two queens shifted closer to one another and began to plot as the moon steady climbed higher in the sky.

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Author's Note: Oh man, I was gonna post this last night but then I saw they were livestreaming the new episode for The Owl House. I am emotionally wrecked now. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.