Malediction: A Star vs the Forces of Evil Story

by douviction

Queen Moon emerges in the Monster Temple and announces Mina is really working fo her. But was any of this her plan? What was the price of using Dark Magic beside black hands and scary memories? How do you feel when every move is a forced move? And how do you decide between one person and the rest of the world?

-Do you want to tell your daughter what you did? Or should I?

A simple sentence shouldn't have brought so much pain… and frustration. This, too, was something she should have come prepared for.

Moon took a deep breath. A practiced move of energies, letting the magic flow from her hands back deep into herself. The white haze clouding her vision dissipated slowly.

-Mom? -she heard her daughter's confused voice -what did you do?

This was not how she planned this going.

-Er… first of all -Moon was astounded, not in a good way, to hear herself stutter -this did not go down the way I intended!

-Uh.. I -Star looked away in shock. It took her a second to compose herself and step forward, evening her gaze with Moon's again. Only now Moon Noticed Star was holding Marco's hand this whole time. Finally she thought someone in this mess did something reasonable.

-What do you mean 'intended'? Are you?..

Her daughter's pupils narrowed with disdain and disbelief.

-Are you working for Mina?!

The funny thing, if she told the truth, nobody in the room was probably going to believe her.

-No -she heard herself say in a low sharp voice - Mina's working for me.

Which may or may not be true at this place and time.

-What?!

-Star, I know it must seem crazy - oh my gosh, how did this turn this crazy -that Mina's working for me…

Please let me explain… Please don't…

-You t-... -Star gasped with fury -YOU TRAITOR!

Fat chance.

Moon watched helplessly, how her beloved daughter pulled a marvelous dip down transformation. With a tinge of pride she noticed how it took Star only a second to swing into an offensive stance.

Thankfully, her reflexes weren't very rusty either. She managed to place a shield in the air right in time to block a bunch of some blueish marine (likely) creatures Star had blasted her in the face. On her right hand, Eclipsa squinted at her in frustration from under her umbrella.

Determination. Concentration. Action. The magic flowed into her veins, shifting Moon into her Butterfly form and summoning her armor. What Star did on sheer talent, Moon had to put years of practice into.

Hopefully, years of practice were going to do some good.

-I know what this looks like, but you have to understand! -she shouted, flying up to Star's level

-Understand what?! - her daughter half-hissed, half-shouted in reply, blasting another swarm of Narwhals with the side of some other stuff at her.

Well, good luck explaining this one, Moon, you old fool. Especially given you have no idea what the hell is going on exactly.

-Mina was already planning to overthrow Eclipsa! -Moon spread her hands to illustrate her helplessness -Trust me, I stopped her from doing far worse!

This was the plan, anyway.

-So you start a revolution behind my back?! -Star launched another round of Narwhals, only this time to the sides, simply out of anger. Is this a good sign?

Wait… behind your back?! You were the one to give up the crown to…

-The one who started this was her! -not risking flaming her fury on Star, who could and would have retaliated, Moon gouged on Eclipsa, ending her shout with a sharp gesture. Good to know: don't gouge on people when you're angry and in Mewberty form. With a short 'Ou!' Eclipsa barely dodged a pulse of blue energy escaping Moon's hand and striking the floor where she stood a second ago.

-Oh dear! -what's wrong with everything today?! -that was an accident!

-Pfft, accident! -she heard Star snort behind her back. Still, her voice sounded less… mad beyond reason. -Like anyone's gonna believe that.

This was a really huge relief. And then Moon felt her hands fall, literally.

With a deep sigh, the old queen began to descend. Now to explain the proposition and the prospects. To both of them.

The ensuing conversation took a while. Moon had to pull a Globgor on his wife and her own daughter to win this round. The man was a sore sight, so thankfully this worked.

And there they were, back in the Jaw Hall. Star, Eclipsa with her baby on her lap, and Marco looking as if he wished to be somewhere else (she couldn't blame him, really). All lined up and looking anywhere but in her general direction.

She'll have to live with that somehow.

Moon pulled the lever. The giant stone jaws began rustling, moving slowly. The sun flowed into the room.

–So, you're just gonna leave Mewni?

Star wasn't even looking at any of them, staring stubbornly at her toes.

– I'm sorry, Star – replied Eclipsa in a deeply sad voice. – I know you've tried so hard to help me.

Somehow this being all just an act didn't feel real at the moment. And what for, given the war is all but lost for the Dark Queen.

Moon felt like mentally kicking herself very hard. "But I didn't know! I had every reason to suspect otherwise! And she never acted like a real queen, mind you…"

– But right now, what's best for Mewni is that my family leaves – continued Eclipsa, her tone somehow apologetic, raising her gaze to meet her daughter's.

That shouldn't have felt right! Simply shouldn't! Eclipsa was unfit for the throne, it was plain as day!

For what it was worth, on the other hand, she may have given her an opportunity to talk the princess down.

– Eclipsa's right, Star – said the queen in a firm tone with only a tinge of genuine worry. None of her actual sadness was allowed in (or, rather, out) for there was no purpose to display this there and then. – as Queen it is your duty to do what is best for your people.

She realized the obvious implications only after she'd said that. Controlling that slightly worried expression proved more of a challenge than it should, but still she managed to keep her voice in check, turning away from the others to the opening in a tried and proven probably–extremely–clichéd–if–anyone–cared–to–notice fashion.

– Even if they end up hating you for it –finished Moon, hearing her own voice betraying her a little.

The darned rooster crooked. Well, not that it changed anything, really.

•••

-What's up, SCALAWAGS?

Mina pronounced this as 'skall-y-wags' for whatever reason.

-Looks like TIME IS UP!

Moon grimaced as the giant metal palm squeezed the innocent bird in its grasp. 'The rooster did nothing to you!' she would have said if this made any sense given the context.

Mina swung out and threw the (hopefully) unconscious rooster over her shoulder.

-Now, the fun-a-begins! Ha!

Moon saw a bare foot kick the visor of the enormous helmet open.

-So, you've captured the monster smoocher, did ya? -asked Mina, emerging from the helmet with a vicious grin.

And then it took all her self-control not to gasp, not to let a muscle in her face flinch.

-Hah! Did she put up a fight?

Oh Darn it all! Please, please, let her be able to put up a good fight!

-No, Mina -replied Moon, putting all her confidence in her voice. -Eclipsa has chosen to surrender!

Don't let her see your fear. You're in control. Everything's nominal. Feel that. Make her feel that.

Hoping against hope this had any chance of working.

-Of course she's agreed to surrender! -said Mina mockingly -She's a coward and a traitor to her mother's a-legacy!

Oh dear…

-Now, if you don't mind, Moon...

Here we go.

-...I'm gonna need ya to SCOOT TO THE SIDE A LITTLE.

A hand gesture articulated how exactly Mina wanted Moon to scoot to the side.

They are all doomed.

-Of course, Mina -began Moon with an expression of fake casualness -as soon as you explain what are you doing here in the first place!

-I… what?...

The puzzled look on the warrior's face was amusing. Moon heard someone chuckle behind her. Eclipsa. Of course.

-You and the warriors are supposed to be manning the walls -said the old queen in a tone of relatively mild disapproval -you are in violation of your orders! -she added more sharply -stand down and return to your posts!

For a second the warrior's expression remained puzzled. Moon held her breath. Well? Well?!

She felt her heart sink and a bitter taste of defeat on her tongue, when Mina's face blurred in another vicious grin.

Of course she wouldn't.

-I see! -exclaimed Loveberry almost happily -So you're a coward and a traitor as well!

-Well, negotiations seem to have failed -said a lazy somewhat familiar feminine voice from behind her back.

Mina's pupils narrowed.

-You!

Moon turned to her side sharply (not daring turn her back on Mina).

By an orange circle of a portal, Heckapoo stood casually. Not in her usual gown but wearing a pair of blue canvas hoses, high boots and a leather jacket. She was leaning on a nearby wall, examining the claws of her right hand and not even looking at them. From where she stood, Moon could only see one half of her face, the other covered by hair and hidden by distance and their relative angle.

-Everyone who stays here probably dies -the fiery lady informed them in a casual matter-of-fact fashion.

-Is this a plan? -Inquired Moon, throwing a quick glance at Loveberry and looking back at Heckapoo.

Heckapoo looked up with one eye and lifted a brow sarcastically.

-Is your immediate survival good enough a plan for you, Majesty?

This made sense. And there were priorities.

-Run! -she shouted, morphing into her Butterfly form, turning to Mina in the process and almost instantly launching a surge of blue flame upon the Solarian Warrior, whose jaw nearly dropped -I'm covering you!

Thankfully, nobody questioned this order. Moon heard three pairs of feet stomping on the floor behind her. She flared another wave of flame upon Mina, being unable to see if this did any damage and hoping against hope she was at least holding Loveberry back with this.

-Globgor! -she heard Eclipsa's desperate gasp.

-Taken care of! -Heckapoo's voice shouted in reply -Majesty, we're clear!

And then a red glare emerged somewhere beyond her blue haze.

Moon turned on her heels and ran.

A crushing sound deafened her, the floor shuddered under, the queen stumbled and before she knew it she was flying head first into the portal. The last thing she saw was Heckapoo ducking by the portal, ready to leap in as soon as the queen flies through.

Not that she had anything else to offer anyway.

•••

PLOP!

Whatever it was, it was slimy and cold and icky. It made its way into her nose, and her mouth. And probably her ears as well.

On the flip side, this goo was soft. So she felt at least she didn't suffer any head trauma.

Coughing, Moon sat up. In front of her was a tree.

She looked to her side. Another tree.

On her other side were her companions, save for Heckapoo. And another tree. With his back against the tree Globgor was sitting, the crimson glaring wound gone, or maybe covered by a wide bandage someone applied. He seemed unconscious.

She turned around. More trees and the portal.

The portal blinked and closed. Heckapoo, who was standing her back to the old queen, turned her side to her.

-Everybody all right? -she asked, squinting at the queen.

-I'm fine -said Eclipsa wearily -Meteora is fine too.

-He's healed, Majesty -said Heckapoo quietly -he was lucky this was simply a Solarian blade. Star, Marco, how are you?

-We're good -assured Marco from where they were.

Star, however, didn't share the sentiment.

-What was that? -she whispered -Mother -her voice escalated quickly to almost shouting -what was that thing?!

-Star… -Moon shrugged helplessly -I don't know what to tell you.

-She has no idea, Princess -said Heckapoo grimly -like yourself, she's a mere mortal. You don't remember everything you run into. Even if these are under your nose - she added in a soft mutter.

- Wait - the queen felt confused - you don't mean that when I lost my memory I…

- Oh, you didn't do anything! - exclaimed Heckapoo annoyedly - Nobody knew! None of you could have known!

She turned to Moon, her head low.

- And the people who do know seem to be paying the price before everybody else - she said quietly, looking up and letting Moon see her face in full.

Moon gasped and clenched her hand to her mouth.

The left side of Scissormaster's face was dark gray instead of white, her fur lumpy and unity.

While her left eye glowed dimply in purple.

Almost like Mina's eyes did.

•••

The tavern was dimly lit by gas lamps on the walls… where there were any. One side of the room was a dark void, separated from the room by a red rope with a dangling sign reading DANGER. EXISTENTIAL HAZARD. On the left, the bartender, a brightly colored mouselike creature with large ears and thin moustache, measured them with a bored look and returned to wiping his drinking glasses. The public was scarce and generally minded their own business. Dark humping figures mostly wrapped in spacy coats. Some in far corners were wearing hats indoors, pulled low over their faces hidden behind large glass and clay mugs. Low unobtrusive music completed the scene.

-Grab a table -ordered Heckapoo -I'll go grab someone we need.

With this, she walked forward and disappeared somewhere deep in the room.

Without thinking, Moon collapsed on the nearest unoccupied bench. Her company took their seats on the other side of the large table, emhasizedly leaving her away from the crew. Fair enough. With the corner of her eye she noticed Marco hesitate for a second, before taking a seat next to Star. She didn't see but could guess her daughter probably grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers, looking for support. On the bottom of her large blue eyes, under the guise of composure, Moon could see there was pain and confusion.

Moon tried to suppress the feeling of guilt. She can't start apologizing now. They're still in a crisis. Star has no reason to forgive her right now, and if she says as much… Moon wasn't sure she was going to be able to go on.

-So -said Eclipsa in a rather matter of fact fashion, arranging Meteora in her lap and rubbing her hands - I guess this is high time you brief us on what's going on. Am I right? -she added, turning to her companions.

The companions didn't offer much of a reaction. Globgor, whom the bouncer had to drag, muttering under his breath, inside, was semi-conscious and looking at the table with a blank expression. Marco was occupied with looking worriedly at Star.

Star was looking at her, saying nothing.

They sat in silence for a while.

-Well? -reminded Eclipsa.

-Your guess is as good as mine -said Moon wearily -while I did create these soldiers…

Now everybody was giving her a sharp look.

-I was never going to use them! -exclaimed the old queen, raising her hands in the air -I needed to give Mina something, and she specifically asked for them, so I…

-You gave her an army -practically hissed Star from across the table -Brilliant, Mom!

-Star, I… -she was struggling for words -they were never supposed to even be able to activate their powers!

...which, by the way, was when things began becoming weird. How did they activate?

-Okay -offered Eclipsa calmly -this you messed up… royally -she chuckled softly -no pun intended.

Moon growled and dropped her head on her hands.

-I don't understand -she muttered not looking at her peers -something was wrong! Did you see their eyes?

-Right -she heard Eclipsa say in a suddenly grim tone -this.

Moon looked up and saw the Dark Queen wear an uncharacteristically distant and blank expression, looking at the ceiling. Slowly, Eclipsa's gaze turned back down to meet hers.

-I think everybody noticed our Scissormaster is unwell in a disturbingly similar fashion.

Moon could only nod, unable to decipher the meaning behind the meaningful tone this was said in.

-And I also believe everybody noticed -continued Eclipsa - that the color was purple?

Finally, some dots began connecting. Eclipsa's magic color? Purple? Dark Magic marks on their hands? Purple, only dark purple.

Eclipsa couldn't be so dumb or crazy to really…

-You don't mean by this - said Moon slowly -that this has something to do with you?

The dark queen looked at her puzzledly for a second, then realized and waved a hand.

-Gosh no! -she sighed - although I may bear some responsibility… indirectly.

-How so? -Moon raised a brow. Star shot a flaming glare at her, which the old queen ignored.

-Take off a glove and show me your hand -asked Eclipsa.

Huh?

-What does this have to do with… ooooooohhhh…. -she exhaled, finally realizing -my hand marks?

-Gone -confirmed the Dark Queen.

-What do these have to do with anything - muttered Star, pouting and not looking at anybody at the table. Marco's face displayed genuine care and fondness, before he seemingly forced back a mask of general measured concern. What a wonderful boy!

Suddenly Moon realized (not for the first time) who had been the beneficial influence on her normally wayward daughter recently. She suppressed the thought, still feeling somewhat comforted Star was going to be in good hands no matter how this ends up.

No matter how… A hollow thought. An uncomfortable thought. As she was becoming older, such thoughts occupied her mind from time to time. She would distract herself in work, escape into the daily busy buzzing of chores and needs. Here and now, there was no escape. She was looking in the void (Moon shivered and looked aside so as not to have the actual void to her right in her field of vision).

And soon the void was going to look back. Moon took a deep breath. No time to go sour, old girl. There's still a fight to win.

Firmly, she looked up and met Eclipsa's gaze. The Dark Queen looked at her… understandingly?

-Very well -said Moon confidently -so I probably had my hand marks removed in the Realm of Magic. And what exactly would be the consequences?

-Malediction -she heard a voice from behind Eclipsa's back and turned her head. There stood Heckapoo, the greyed half of her face again covered with hair. On her palm was Glossaryck.

No covering with hair would hide whatever happened to this once blue fellow.

•••

-...so this is basically where we're standing right now -Glossaryck finished another can of pudding and reached for the next one.

Everyone at the table looked the other way. The blue wizard looked… there was hardly a single word to describe how he looked exactly. Moon could not help imagining a plastic toy. A plastic toy left in a shallow pond until its color faded from the combined exposure to water and sunlight. After which someone tossed it into smoldering embers. And then did some work on it with sandpaper.

Strangely enough, Glossaryck didn't look as if something alive began to decay. Still, looking at him move, and especially eat, was gross as hell.

The glowing purple eyes weren't helping at all.

-Let us recap, shall we? -said Eclipsa, trying her hardest not to look at Glossaryck donning a whole can of pudding like it was water. A dozen empty cans were already on or under the table -Every time some of us used Dark Magic, you and the High Commission members were affected, right?

-Indeed -confirmed Heckapoo grimly. The fiery witch covered her purple eye with her bangs and hid behind a mug of something flaming, still the purple glow made its way through -And nobody realized when we had you and your husband in crystal and your daughter away with St. Olga, that we weren't thinking clearly.

She looked up at Eclipsa with her good eye.

-I still think you are terrible as a queen, by the way.

Eclipsa shrugged in reply and said nothing.

-Anyway -said Moon, more in order to say anything to avoid another uncomfortable silence -you are supposed to heal overtime, aren't you?

-We are -answered the Scissormaster -me specifically since I spend more time, relatively speaking, in my dimension where time flows differently.

She sighed.

-And then everyone just kept using Dark Magic whenever there was a big enough problem. You and Toffee. You -she looked up at Star -and your All-Seeing Eye.

-That's not my All-Seeing Eye -muttered Star, looking away.

-I have a question -Marco raised a hand -to whoever knows the answer.

-Shoot -Heckapoo smiled and took a sip from her still flaming mug.

-If Dark Magic is so dangerous, how come it didn't affect the Realm of Magic itself? I mean -he turned to Eclipsa -you should have done a lot during your youth, right?

-Do I look old? -replied the Dark Queen with (probably) mock resentment. Then her shoulders drooped visibly.

-I did more than simply a lot -she said quietly -I wouldn't had I known…

-That's not your fault -offered Moon -even Glossaryck didn't know until very recently.

-Anyway -she continued -whatever was the reason, we can safely assume even such amounts of Dark Magic merely used can not affect the Realm of Magic. Let us not forget Eclipsa wasn't even the first to research and use it extensively.

This made her feel a little stupid and more than a little guilty again. How could she not have realized in an instant that the Solarian…

-Still, this is not even the problem at hand -she finished, hearing a tone of worry in her own voice -Heckapoo, would you please guide us through the malediction process again?

-Sure, Majesty -the Scissormaster snapped her fingers -every time you used Dark Magic, you cursed yourself, right?

-The hand marks - muttered Moon, feeling even more stupid now that Heckapoo called things by their own names openly.

-Exactly -Heckapoo nodded -then you and the Dark Queen have a military grade catfight…

The choice of words…

-...and you end up wandering the Realm of Magic.

Which was an accident, she finally has to admit.

-What happened there, we can only guess -continued Heckapoo -for neither you nor Star had any pudding on you while inside. So there's nobody left to ask.

-Are you sure Firstborn is gone? -asked Star plaintively.

-I'm sorry, Princess -Heckapoo bowed her head a little -Glossaryck did a very good search before he realized he had to save his own hide. If she was alive, we would have found something of her.

Everyone sat in silence for a while.

-To finish our story -said Heckapoo finally with much less cheer in her voice -you must have washed your hands in raw magic or something. This would hardly be your fault, even have you known beforehand this was a bad idea.

She shook the liquid in her mug, watching the tiny flames flouncing and calming down again.

-And this was it -she said finally -by a marvel of luck Glossaryck noticed the surge of Dark Magic when you created the new Solarian Warriors was way stronger than is should have been, went to the Realm of Magic and discovered hordes of purple Unicorns and streams of cursed magic everywhere. From there he went to the High Commission and found them ordering pizzas to celebrate the coming defeat of the Monster Smoocher -Heckapoo practically hissed the last phrase -Finally the puzzle snapped into place, he found me in X130 and together we figured none of us were of a sound mind whenever Dark Magic was used. Right in time to start questioning our judgements before the malediction became affecting our bodies as well.

-By the way -asked Marco -how come Rhombulus and that other guy aren't here with us? Are they doing something more important?

-Omnitraxis - replied Heckapoo - Omnitraxis Prime.

She shrugged

-I sent them a clone, as I often did during my centuries on the High Commission. Rhombulus was never a particularly good person to begin with, even if he meant well, and now both of them are so cursed we figured it was safer to leave them in Sean's care and let them believe they are winning a war against Eclipsa.

-So, no help from these two -summarized Moon -is this all?

Heckapoo shrugged again.

-If we missed something, I guess we'll never know. If any of this does any good anyway.

-Don't say that, H-Poo -answered Marco -we will find a way out of this. Right? -he turned to Star.

The princess was looking at the table top with a troubled expression. Still, when addressed, she looked up at the boy and gave a small nod.

-Right -she said quietly -we will find a way.

-Lucky for you -said Glossaryck's voice from almost under another can of pudding, making everyone look at him and then quickly look away again -Lucky for you, you don't need to be finding anything,

•••

A bulky, yet agile figure emerged on the demolished top of the building and began its descent, clinging deftly to stone ledges and hopping on parapets. Stamping her foot in annoyance, Mina waited as the soldier climbed down to the level of her visor.

-Sir! -the warrior saluted her and stood attention -Castle search is complete! No sign of perpetrators!

Mina didn't throw a tantrum, but only because as much was to be expected. Curse that wretched redhead turncloak backstabber! Her and her stupid portal magic!

Oh well. She will smoke them out. She will smoke them out good.

-Corporal! -she barked at the soldier, who attempted to pose himself even more straight (not that it was possible) -Get back in your armor STAT and have the force proceed with the mission!

-Sir, yes, sir! -shouted the soldier and then looked at her puzzledly -Sir, how do we proceed… sir?

-Harass the civilians -explained Mina in a low menacingly pleased tone.

-Yes, sir! -the soldier stood attention again -Do we kill them, sir?

-If you wish. Or…

The second idea seemed even better than the first.

-Bring every Monster in town to that cliff, Corporal -she said, enjoying the best evil grin she got to parade in years -and make sure every last one makes it there alive.

She will smoke them out. Oh yes she will.

•••

-And you are sure this will work?

The blue wizard was now sitting in the center of the table. The gallery of expressions around him showed his audience wasn't entirely relieved by what he just explained to them. Even if Queen Moon was the only one to say so out loud.

-Oh, of course it will -Glossaryck waved his hand dismissively (making Moon grimace at the prospect of it tearing apart from his body, for there was a large hole molten right through his shoulder) -have I ever lied to any of you? What?

He stared at the people giving him a look of deep unsolicited suspicion.

-Okay -he said -I think it should work, and I don't see any reason why it wouldn't. Is this better?

Moon groaned under her breath and turned to Eclipsa.

-You are the expert here. Does this make any sense?

Eclipsa's eyes shone as she heard the 'expert' portion, and then quickly went out at the actual question.

-Moon, I… -she hesitated for a second -I'm only good at doing Dark Magic! I never thought of stopping any.

The last phrase had the undertone of sincere apology.

-But you should have understood something -insisted Moon -you know how this stuff works! Can this spell, in theory, do a thing against this malediction?

The word sounded surprisingly pleasing to the ear in her Royal accent she could never get Star to use, and earning the distinguished nickname of 'Poophead' in the process, even if the meaning was sinister.

-I do understand something -answered Eclipsa, and her voice was worried instead of proud or relieved -Glossaryck, you say magical beings are especially vulnerable to Dark Magic, right? Up to the point when crystalizing me and my husband was a decision made under malevolent influence?

-Look, I already said I… -Heckapoo tried to interfere, only to be stopped by Eclipsa's brief and polite, but firm gesture.

-Then tell me if it's possible -continued the Dark Queen -that you, Glossaryck, are under the same effect right now.

The sage looked at her skeptically.

-I'm sorry, have you seen me? -he asked, pointing at the hole in his shoulder -how do you think this happened?

-I don't think that's what she means, Glossaryck - said Moon wearily -she is questioning your judgement. Or, rather, asks that you question it one more time yourself. This was your point, right? -she asked, turning to the Dark Queen.

-Yes, yes, absolutely -nodded Eclipsa with a perfectly confident face.

-Ugh! -Glossaryck groaned -Of course I'm under the influence! Do you wish to know what my initial idea was to do with all this mess?

-What? -asked Star before anybody could say anything.

-Destroy the magic! -exclaimed the blue sage -Be done with it! Poof!

For a second there was silence, as everybody at the table sat in shock.

-Man, this is suicide -muttered Marco

-Oh, you'd be fine, I assure you! -replied Glossaryck grumpily

-Right, but you won't -replied Marco -for you this would be literally suicide. Why would you want such a thing?

-Because I'm under the influence! -Glossaryck threw up his hands -Did I ever look suicidal to you? Star? Tell him!

Star was looking at the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought. When called by name, she looked down, her gaze still hollow, looking somewhere inside of herself. It took her a second to focus. And still, when she opened her mouth, her words were only somewhat related to the question:

-Is it even possible to destroy magic?

-I don't know -answered Glossaryck annoyedly -I stopped myself before I had the chance to get to this part.

He turned to the rest of the gathering.

-So, do we go with this plan or not? We don't have much time here, you know.

Suddenly Star gasped and hopped on her feet.

-Our friends! -she exclaimed -in the Monster Temple!

-Heckapoo, if you please -said Glossaryck, not even looking at Star.

With a short nod, the Scissormaster finished her mug in one gulp, stood up and pulled out her scissors.

-You go on without me -she said -I'll see you on the other side -she added, turning her head and squinting at Marco with her good eye.

-See you there, H-poo! -Marco put two fingers to his temple in an improvised salute.

With a tiny grin of mixed annoyment and gratitude, Heckapoo turned away and made a wide slashing gesture. Orange light flooded the table as a big circular portal tore the fabric of space in front of her. Not looking back, Heckapoo stepped into the portal and disappeared. With a zapping sound, the portal closed.

Moon blinked, the bright orange light making her nearly blind when gone in the dim interior of the tavern.

-Glossaryck is right -she said -even if there was no immediate danger from the malediction, Mina and her soldiers are still at large. I say we go over the ritual again quickly and give it a try.

-I agree -said Eclipsa -will you have me with you?

-You should give her the wand, my queen -said Glossaryck -Lady Eclipsa would be very useful with it during the first phase, when you'll need to fend off cursed unicorns. And very useless bare handed. No offence -he added with a short bow addressed to Eclipsa.

-None taken -replied Eclipsa with dignity -so, Moon, what will it be?

-Fine -said Queen Moon wearily -take it. But please do keep your hands where I can see them!

-Don't worry -replied the Dark Queen, taking the intricate scepter from where it lay before Moon on the table. In a surge of purple glow, the scepter transformed into a peculiar dark umbrella.

Moon noticed Glossaryck flinch and grimace when this happened.

-Very well -she said, ignoring this -now that everyone's ready, why don't we…

-Oh, while you're at it, I need to borrow Star for a second -interrupted Glossaryck -Star, if you please…

-Sure -the princess glanced quickly at Marco, pulled her hand from under the table and stood up -where to?

-The bar stand -replied Glossaryck -I need another pudding.

•••

They only managed to go through the ritual halfway when Moon's pocket mirror rang.

-Strange -said the queen, putting the piece of parchment on which she wrote the words down on the table and fishing the mirror out of her pocket -I thought the lines were down. Could it be River?

It wasn't him. The mirror burst in purple mush, buzzing static, the second it was opened, and Heckapoo's voice made it through the noise:

-...Queen...Solarians everywhere… … ...pinned down… ... Monster civilian population… … ...cliff! ...coming through! ...Tell ...co ...sorry!

-Heckapoo! -exclaimed Marco, bursting to his feet and whipping out his scissors -I'm coming!

-Stop! -an imperious voice said from behind her back.

Glossaryck approached, Star following him, her face hidden in the shadows.

-But she's gonna die! -cried the boy -To hell with this -he added vigorously and brought his hand to sweep -please take care of Star while I'm gone!

Glossaryck made a short gesture and Marco yelped. The scissors bursted bright orange for a second. The boy dropped them, hissed and shook his hand. A stream of smoke rose from the table where the scissors landed.

-Marco -said Glossaryck quietly -if she's gonna die there, what can be said about you?

-You don't know that! -growled the boy -I've been through the Neverzone!

-There are malediction-enhanced Solarian warriors! -answered Glossaryck edifyingly -not to mention they're going to need your Neverzone expertise fighting those cursed Unicorns. Set your priorities please!

-They? -Marco squinted at him -You're not going?

-Neither me nor Heckapoo would dare enter the Realm of Magic as it is now -the sage spread his hands -only mortal wizards and warriors can fix this problem.

Marco lowered his head stubbornly. Then Moon noticed his shoulders droop. Finally, he looked back up, a firm expression on his face.

-Fine -he said -but then it means all our friends are now in danger! We should go as fast as we can!

-My thoughts exactly -muttered Glossaryck -Ladies? Are we ready?

-I'm ready -said Moon, closing the mirror, which was now showing purple static only, putting it back into her pocket and standing up.

-As ready as I'll ever be -Eclipsa shrugged and stood up as well -who is going to look after…

-I'm ready -Moon startled at the deep male voice and looked to her right. A gaze of two pairs of amber eyes met hers, still somewhat cloudy but obviously aware.

-Hmmm, let me see -Glossaryck flew right to Globgor's face and rubbed his chin -Open your eyes really wide please. Wider!

Globgor glanced at Eclipsa, saw an assuring nod and bulged his eyes.

-Uh-huh… -muttered Glossaryck -not good. Say 'Aaaaah!'

-Aaaah!

-Wonderful -exclaimed the sage, rubbing his hands -you can't go!

-Er… do I care what you say? -asked Globgor with a puzzled expression. He looked up at Eclipsa -Do I?

-You do, darling -answered his wife worriedly -Are you feeling alright?

Globgor was silent for a second, listening to his feelings.

-I'm still a bit dizzy - he admitted finally -how long till I'm back to normal? -he asked, turning back to Glossaryck.

-Not long -assured Glossaryck -Maybe an hour. Come to think of it, I have a mission for you as well.

He looked around, clicked his fingers and an empty pudding can jumped from the floor on the table.

-Lady Eclipsa -Glossaryck turned to the Dark Queen -I need you to curse this with a Dark Spell, if you please, the weakest version you can manage.

-Why would you… Oh well. -Eclipsa bent over, touched the can with the tip of her umbrella and whispered: Low Self-Esteem Nightmare Dream

The can glowed pale purple. Moon, who was looking at Glossaryck purposely this time, noticed him grimace.

-Oh dear! -exclaimed the blue wizard -I can practically hear the poor thing wail over its emptiness!

-I hope it will manage -smiled Eclipsa -it's for the greater good, after all.

Globgor and Marco, who watched the scene with increasing concern, exchanged a glance.

-Darling, may I ask -began Globgor politely -have you both gone mad or are you merely playing alone to spare our magical friend the truth of the state of his mind?

-Neither -said Glossaryck and with another snap of his fingers the can jumped in front of the Monster King -Look here. See?

-Er… it's a.. pudding can -Globgor stared at the thing with a confused expression.

-No, it's a glowing pudding can -explained Glossaryck -and with the current state of magic I have no time to explain all over again it will be glowing like this for hours, if not days.

-Oh dear -Moon heard Eclipsa whisper -I did something truly terrible.

-Anyway -continued Glossaryck, ignoring this remark -we're not planning to let this go on for days. Or hours. In fact, they're going in as soon as I'm done with this explanation.

Suddenly Moon wondered how come Star hadn't reacted to any of this. She turned to look at her daughter and found her standing behind her back, staring into space, her lips moving silently.

-Sweetie? -whispered Moon -Are you all right?

-Yes, mom -replied Star, still staring into nothing -I'm thinking.

Moon didn't dare interrupt her thinking process any longer.

Meanwhile, Glossaryck was finishing instructing Globgor in… whatever was this part of his plan:

...you leave your daughter here in the bartender's care, don't worry, it's been arranged and paid for, go and apprehend Mina Loveberry. Here are Marco's scissors. -he pushed the pair of scissors next to the pudding cup -You remember how she looks? Good. Ignore the others, they are going to be merely human and probably confused beyond any measure by the time you get there. Oh, and her sword and armor should stop working as well, so it's going to be very easy. Think you can do this?

-Sure -nodded Globgor -and if it doesn't stop glowing?

-If it doesn't stop glowing in an hour -Glossaryck shrugged -I guess you write us off as casualties, stay here and wait until you join us in the great abyss the Multiverse is going to collapse into. Which won't be long after anyway.

Globgor raised a brow and said nothing on this.

-Marvelous -Glossaryck turned to the rest of the crew, rubbing his hands -So, if everyone is ready… Star, if you please.

-Right -began Moon -how exactly do we?..

A surge of yellow light behind her back was the answer. Turning around, Moon saw her daughter in her Butterfly form standing next to a large swirling rainbow-colored circle.

Moon shuddered internally. Some part of her screamed when she saw this thing. Some instinct, hopefully acquired and very hopefully wrong, shouted her not to go anywhere near, and definitely not to go in there!

Moon shook her head. This was no time to… chicken out, the way her daughter would probably say.

-Oh, almost forgot -Glossaryck made a wide gesture and a dozen cans of pudding materialized on the table -you are definitely going to need these.

•••

The pudding tasted weird. Moon wondered if it was affected by Dark Magic as well, and then remembered this was an Earth dessert, so likely something she wouldn't know the taste of (the cereal Star became such a huge fan of turned out to be rather tasty though. Her husband appreciated it somewhat more than she did. Johanssens...). She squinted at Star and Marco, the only experts in the field. Both ate their cans with worried distant expressions. Moon couldn't tell if they didn't react to the taste because it was normal or because they weren't noticing any taste at all.

They were standing under a pale pink sky, ankle deep in purple goo, with only an occasional golden sparkle. Around them, as far as bare eye could see, was the same smooth purple surface, disturbed only by sharp irregular shapes protruding from below here and there in the distance.

Eclipsa finished her pudding first, dropped the can into the purple goo under her feet and pointed the umbrella at something far in the distance.

-Moon, Star, do you think these are clouds or rocks?

-These are company -replied Marco grimly, humping and setting one foot forward -Incoming!

Moon looked where Eclipsa was pointing and saw a dark spot on the horizon. The spot was seething and poppling. And it was getting larger. Getting larger fast.

-Moon -she heard Eclipsa's voice from behind -I believe it is time for you to do the thing.

The queen took a deep breath.

Determination.

You need to have Star's level of talent to be able to transform at will. ('By the way', thought the queen, 'how come Eclipsa of all people is unable to do this, while she's at least as talented? Never mind. Some other time').

For a normal Queen, the transformation becomes available in times of great need. This includes natural disasters, Monster revisionists invasions, school headmistresses at large and your only child being gang-attacked by loving relatives. Not the point.

The point is, you decide when a time of great need comes, not magic itself or somebody else. Once you realize it's you, and it's always been you, you can learn to trick yourself into the mood. In her early years as Queen of Mewni, Queen Moon used to make herself really feel how bad the situation is. With time, she learned to simply call the feeling itself back with associations. Like this:

Grant me strength

In a time of need,

So I can stand

And do the deed.

This wasn't a real spell, not as far as she knew. More of a personal mantra.

The feeling of anxiety flowed from within into her veins. An army at her door. Her mother's body in a casket. The almighty Glossaryck wailing in the Book of Spells, completely and utterly useless.

The face of her hated foe, sick with boredom when he looked at her.

'[Oh,] what do you want? [little girl]'

Little girl this!

The power was now in her system. But this was only step one. Star probably does this on a whim, but she needs to guide the process carefully through several steps for the transformation to happen. And step two is:

Concentration

There were no spells or mantras this time, instead Moon imagined the cold liquid in her vessels flowing to where she believed her heart was, gathering into a springy elastic orb, warming in the flames of her determination to protect what was dear to her, while concentrating.

Done. A lump of raw power was now residing within her, ready to go.

Action!

In an (imaginary) gesture, Moon spread her hands and let the lump unveil like a spring released, from her heart into her arms (all of her arms), bursting from under her shoulder blades and solidifying in the form of large navy blue butterfly wings. She felt sparks of power make her hair stand up, forming a crown around her head.

A tiny orb of magic formed in each of her six palms, a first order stock to be formed into spells, magical weapons or simply a blue deadly surge of magic.

The queen opened her eyes. She was ready.

The tiny spot on the horizon grew into a crawling cloud during mere seconds she needed to transform, and it was getting closer at a blinding speed.

Queen Moon set one foot forward and humped, much like Marco did. The orbs in her hands began to tickle the skin with a tiny buzz, preparing to be released as applied magic.

•••

-Moon -she heard her own voice -I believe it is time for you to do the thing.

For the upteenth time the Dark Queen wished she learned something other than Dark Magic. Anything else! Being unable to transform into a butterfly in a situation like this was simply embarrassing!

But there's no dipping down this kind of thing. You dip down this, good luck coming back ever.

And there is another problem with Dark Magic. Do enough, and you are forever bound to the Dark side, body and soul and hand (which even looked ridiculous by the way. Thanks Mewni for Gothic dresses calling for elbow-high gloves).

Deep inside Eclipsa knew using Dark magic made all this mess around also ultimately all her fault. Again.

Over the years, she learned not to take all the blame on herself. She wasn't the only one responsible! She didn't know everything! She knew…

She knew only what she knew. And now she knew more.

If she didn't do Dark Magic, she wouldn't have been crystalized. Neither would Globgor. They would have left Mewni, which she hardly ever cared for anyway, and lived peacefully in any other of the myriad of dimensions. And Meteora wouldn't have to go through a life as an evil headmistress in the care of a coldhearted soulless hypocritical machine…

She failed everyone. She failed her kingdom (which she didn't ask or care for, but nevertheless). She failed her first husband (whom she despised, which was mutual, still this was never fair to him in any way). She failed her mother… No. Let's not get into this right now. She even failed Moon and Star, the former being merely a victim of prejudice born long before herself, and the latter never wishing anything but good for her, Eclipsa.

She failed her real husband and her daughter.

The Dark Queen shook her head. None of this was of substance here and now. Fate had given her something people very rarely enjoy. A full-fledged honest to Mewni second chance. She will leave the land with Globgor and Meteora, they will buy a beautiful tiny house in some other peaceful and uninhabited dimension. Somewhere in the mountains. Guarded by eight big mean guard dogs. With a bench for an occasional guest to sit down and think whether it was really worth their while knocking on the door.

Which, come to think of it, was of no substance right now either.

The cloud on the horizon was not so on the horizon anymore. Actually, it was getting closer very fast indeed, within a second it took Moon to transform the cloud covered roughly half of the original distance and did not seem to be slowing down!

Eclipsa looked closer, muttered a curse she wouldn't dare say out loud in the presence of Star of, Queens forbid, Meteora (come to think of this, she wouldn't have said this out loud in presence of Moon as well, although for an opposite reason) and aimed the umbrella, gathering the power needed to fuel a really big Black Widow Calamity Cobweb.

The cloud had Warnicorn, or, rather, Unicorn heads sticking out of it like hedgehog needles. And the look on their faces spoke to her they weren't coming over to wish them a good morning.

Darn it all, I could kill for a chocolate bar right now!

•••

-Eclipsa, watch out -she cried, sending the first burst of energy pulses into the approaching dark purple cloud bristling with outraged evil Unicorn heads. The cloud absorbed the surge without as much as flinching, not slowing down one bit… which was to be expected, in all honesty.

Moon waved her wings and lifted off, praying to everything she held dear Eclipsa was able to hold her own (and Marco's) on the ground. Suddenly a question of why the heck did they take a human boy with them and leave the literal mountain of Globgor behind occupied her mind.

He was ready to jump in rescuing Heckapoo from loose overpowered Solarians.

He's fifteen!

Star didn't object, and she knows him better than you do.

Star is fifteen as well!

None of this mattered anymore anyway.

-Black Widow Calamity Cobweb! -shouted Eclipsa below. Whatever this was, this'd better be good.

It was good! A large cobweb glowing bright purple (hardly visible against all the purple in this cursed dimension) smashed into the cloud, its lower branches clung to the surface under the purple goo (the goo itself hissing and steaming where the web touched it), the upper branches wrapped the cloud from above and the movement of what in actuality was a huge bunch of angry purple Unicorns slowed down!

Then, of course, these beasts weren't simple carnivorous horses. The bunch did exactly the only logical thing anyone would do in their… hooves?

They separated.

Dumbfounded, Moon watched ranks of dozens upon dozens of Unicorns deploy in a semi-circle around the Dark Queen and the Earth boy.

-Nuclear Heart Healing Hurricane!

In all the commotion of the last several seconds Moon completely forgot about Star (somehow). Probably because she didn't see her below. Which made perfect sense since Star wasn't below anymore. She was above.

A blast of pink smashed into the purple goo right under Eclipsa's feet. Moon saw the Dark Queen cower behind the umbrella, Marco still standing as he was… And then the brightest pink flash she could imagine struck her in the eyes, making her shut it, muttering curses.

Strangely enough, it stopped hurting the moment she did that. Outside, it was silent.

Carefully, Queen Moon opened her eyes and looked below.

Eclipsa and Marco were alive and intact, the Dark Queen on her knees behind the umbrella, the Earth boy in his battle sword dance stance.

The Unicorns stood as they were as well.

-Good thinking, Star! -shouted Eclipsa, looking up -but you'd better try something Dark instead!

Wait… This makes sense for once! Dark Magic may as well be amplified with all this malediction going on, and Eclipsa's obviously Dark spell actually had a pronounced effect on these monsters…

Star, however, seemed to be somewhat slow on the uptake today.

-No way! It's bad enough as it is! Sunshine Friendship Spell!

Another surge, blindingly white this time.

A Unicorn at the head of the heard reared and neighed. The tone wasn't friendly at all.

-Star, this isn't working! -shouted Marco -You really should!..

-Cold Shoulder Ice Storm!

The neighing Unicorn screeched so loud Moon felt an urge to cover her ears and dropped in the purple goo, kicking with his rear legs. His front legs were firmly encased in ice.

This was only one Unicorn, however. And the rest took this as their cue to finally attack.

-Mega Nightmare Narwhal Blast!

-Summoning Neon Whip!

Two incantations merged, as two spells, flaming white whips from her six hands and Star's literal tsunami of narwhals, crushed down on the Unicorns who had only begun to accelerate.

The first rows were toppled, the others tripped over them, and an overall mess of kicking, neighing and screeching Unicorns continued rolling towards the defending people.

'Do I use the Darkest Spell?!' thought Moon, feeling panic rising in her chest 'But that takes care of only one and there is at least a hundred!'

Neither Star nor Eclipsa did hesitate.

-Rainbow Avalanche!

-Poison Gas Cloud Manipulation!

An enormous semi-transparent green cloud puffed around the Unicorns… only to be torn and dissipated by rays of rainbows, which continued to dig into the bodies of the Unicorns. To no apparent effect.

-We mutually canceled! -shouted Eclipsa and Star desperately in perfect unison, immediately followed by Eclipsa's 'Bubble Bubble Toil and Strug…'

What this spell did remained forever a mystery for the first Unicorn made it to a spot directly in front of the Dark Queen, rolling over on its back on the way, and reared towering before her.

Helplessly, Moon watched as the beast hit Eclipsa in the chest with its front hooves. Having waved her wide sleeves, Eclipsa flew several dozen feet, looking quite alike an actual butterfly, and landed with a splash in the purple goo, remaining motionless and breathless.

-Eclipsa! -heard Moon Star's desperate cry, and then -You… You… SPIDER WITH A TOP HAT BLAST!

'What good is this going to do?' thought the Queen, feeling a nasty numbness shackling her limbs. And then…

-WARCRYYYYYYY!

A burst of red flashed emerged right out of thin air (seemingly). The Unicorn shook its head, roaring, got back on its hooves and actually backed off!

Moon glanced at Marco right in time to notice him picking something up from the ground.

A flash of cyan washed over the Earth boy. A short dark rod of a shape she couldn't quite make out at the distance appeared clenched in his hands, bright spots glowing on his cheeks.

'Right' she thought 'if a nobody from the Pie Island could do this, why would an Earth boy be unable?'

-Kitten Bomb!

An actual row of several (relatively) enormous dark purple kitten heads wearing headbands emerged in front of the Unicorns.

MEOW!

A purple explosion hid the scene from her for a second, and when the smoke dissipated, the ranks of the Unicorns thinned.

-This worked! -shouted the Earth boy -this actually worked! Pineapple Pizza Pie Explosion!

This worked as well, whatever this was.

-Good one, Marco! -cheered Star from behind her back -Mom, stop slacking off! Rolling Thunder Lightning Blast!

Moon produced another set of lightning whips and whipped the first row of the Unicorns, having this strange feeling she was forgetting something. Then she squinted below and froze in horror.

She did forget about something. As did Star and somehow even Marco, even though he was staring right at the ugly thing.

They forgot about the Unicorn which hooved Eclipsa.

But the Unicorn did not forget about them.

-Marco, watch out! -she shouted, while Star simply cried 'Marco!' Too late. The stampeding beast tore Marco down like a bus tears down a gaping pedestrian (good luck figuring out where this imagery came from), and the first wave of Unicorns followed suit, burying the boy under a mountain of humpy sleek purple bodies.

The fight, however, was not over yet.

-Nasty Sugarritous Blasphemy Blast! -they heard muffled from under the pile, followed by an equally muffled boom and several rays of light breaking through the gaps. -Quarterback Center Tackling Blast!

-Don't give up, Marco! -shouted Star -Pile Driver Panda Explosion!

-D… Demonic Whip Tornado Sweep! -echoed Moon, suddenly remembering they were supposed to be using Dark spells for added efficiency and hoping this one was going to amount to anything.

Glaring crimson red whips looked uncomfortably not unlike Solarian blades… but seeing the burning marks left on the hides of purple Unicorns, feeling the smell of burning meat and hearing the rage in their voices turn to panic as they screeched was surprisingly pleasing. Could she have Johanssen blood in her veins alongside the Pie People's? Not that it would be unheard for royalty to marry distant relatives...

-Wow, Mom… -she heard Star's voice -that was really aweso…

She cut the phrase abruptly. Moon glanced at her and saw the princess stare down below with her eyes wide.

-No… -she whispered -for the sake of Mewni NO!

And then Moon felt it as well. Something heavy and stuffy concentrating in the air around them. Tiny yellow sparks emerged in suddenly turbid greenish-yellow air. It felt exactly like before a storm. A big one.

-Marco, don't do this! -Yelled Star, diving and prostrating her six hands forward -Pyre Narwhal Avalanche Explo!..

But before she could finish, the boy's voice, suddenly clear and very audible, shouted in the still stuffy air:

-Manhattan Project Blast!

This surge of white light actually hurt.

•••

Something hit him across the chest right before he was going to unleash another Prancing Pony Taco Bell on the advancing horde his attention was focused on. Marco tried to curl in a ball, to fall like he was trained in the dojo, roll back on his feet and go on, but whatever this was, it piled up on him, squeezing the breath out of his lungs. 'This is the end' he thought in a moment of panic 'why didn't I just stay home?!'

This was a moment of weakness every warrior has to know well, as an old friend (said Adult Marco's voice in his head). The fear is always there, you can't eradicate it, and if you do, your next fight may be your last one.

Concentrate. Look deep into yourself. Find your courage.

Stand up, spit the blood and fight back!

Well, standing up was out of the question, and spitting would be a waste of breath (a sought for luxury as it is at the moment). Fighting back, this he would gladly!

-Nasty Sugarritous Blasphemy Blast! -he shouted (well, 'shouted'. Squeaked more likely) pressing the wand against the kicking Unicorn side.

Whatever this did, it worked. The pile on top of him eased its pressure for a whole long half a second, giving him the necessary time to strike a real one.

-Quarterback Center Tackling Blast!

If a quarterback tackles his own center from both sides in an actual game, this would be either a maliciously convoluted insidious psychological warfare strategy or a mess unheard of throughout the history of football. But if he tackles a pile of dumb cursed Unicorns instead…

-Don't give up, Marco! -he heard his best friend… oh, to hell with this, his girlfriend shout -Pile Driver Panda Explosion!

The problem was their attacks were pressing the Unicorns even more firm against him! They probably did helluva lot of damage (the smell of burning meat was something new for a magical fight with Star Butterfly as the lead), but at this rate he'll be dead and smashed like a sad burrito long before they make it to him through the pile of horse bodies.

He needed something major. Or at least something with enough kick to blast the Unicorns away from him, so he could stand up. If he does that, they've won.

Slowly, wasting precious time on concentrating every bit of magic he could find within his untrained mortal soul, Marco pressed the wand against the Unicorn again as firm as he could.

He felt this one is going to be strong. And Dark. Makes sense given the inspiration he was drawing from.

-...ni NO! -he heard Star's voice shriek desperately from behind the pile of flesh still squeezing his breath from him.

It was too late to stop anyway.

Suddenly his voice regained might again, regardless of the weight of all the piled Unicorns, and he shouted, clearly and loudly, in the stale horse sweat stinking air:

-Manhattan Project Blast!

And there was silence.

The silence was vast and seemingly eternal. It was here in the time before time itself, and it will be here forever, long after the Universe, or rather the Multiverse, grows cold and still, and then collapses into a singularity again only to give birth to another Big Bang in the never-ending cycle, launching the particles on their predetermined routes once again, driven by undying curiosity of finding out 'did we do better this time?'

And in this silence, a voice, quiet, calm and viperous, said:

-Did you miss me, Marco Diaz?

'What? Who the hell are you?' thought Marco lazily. His body was light as a feather, but simultaneously his limbs were heavy as if they were full of lead.

-You can cure the symptoms -answered the voice in the same calm vicious tone -but you can't cure the virus.

•••

Her head felt like a watermelon stuffed with cotton, corn stumps and fireclay bricks.

Which was how she described this much later, for in the moment her thoughts sounded more like in between 'uhhhhh' and 'ohhhhhh'.

The queen opened one eye carefully. And shut it immediately back because the light smashed her in the eye so hard her head almost bursted.

Slowly, she opened her eye a little again.

Good news - if it hurt so much, she was probably somehow still alive.

The next thought made her gasp (internally, for her throat was so dry it won't make any actual sound) and open her eyes wide. Thankfully, this didn't kill her.

'Star!'

The queen searched around her field of vision and saw nothing but the smooth purple surface, disturbed only by distant protruding crystals.

Carefully, she turned her head to the other side.

The soles of Eclipsa's boots were still motionless where she fell. Is she dead?

The Unicorns were gone. This was good. Someone was romping in the purple goo, trying to stand up. Probably Marco, which was even better.

Star was sitting a dozen feet from her, in her Butterfly form, rubbing her eyes. This was a huge load off Moon's mind in an instant.

-Sweetie? -she croaked, startled by how her own voice did sound -cough… Are you alright?

Star didn't answer, looking at the Earth boy with her eyes wide.

-Marco... -she whispered.

The Neverzone Dweller finally got on his feet and stood straight.

Queen Moon could only see his silhouette against the pale pink sky from where she lay. And this was enough to say something was not right with the boy.

-Marco! -Star cried, hopping on her feet and rushing to him.

SMASH!

Something whipped in the air so fast Moon barely saw a shadow. With a loud sharp slap Star bent in half and flew back to where she sat. She landed with a splash, travelling several feet on her side.

You didn't know Star if you thought this was going to stop her.

-Marco! -she cried again, hopping back on her feet and rushing to him one more.

-Star, no! -shouted the queen, prostrating her hand. Somewhere in the back of her mind a cynical thought noted calmly, how cliched and useless the gesture was.

SMASH!

This one probably hit Star in the head, for she dropped like a stone.

-Star!

Before she knew it, Moon was on her feet, her six hands protruded towards Marco's silhouette, charging… what?

Forget it, there was no time to think.

-Summoning Neon Whip!

Six whips of white light shot from her palms, swirling around the boy…

...who raised a whip of his own!

-What the…

Marco blocked her six attacks in a single sweep! The dark whip darted towards her, making her step to the side and bear off, letting the whip past her.

She had a second to take a look at it, and she didn't like what she saw.

A thick beefy stem. Slimy pointy scales. Big suckers along one side.

There was no time to think how Marco got infected with this (the answer was pretty obvious anyway… she hoped). Thankfully, this problem was normally rather easy to solve, for an experienced magic user.

Moon pulled her whips back into her palms and reconfigured the magic orbs for a Transmutation spell.

-Returneo Armeus Normalreno!

Six bleak blue rays shot from her palms, with pale white spirals swirling around them, merging into one big ray as they close in on the boy.

Too bleak.

Not strong enough.

Moon watched helplessly as the big ray crushed against the Monster Arm, which had positioned itself to deliberately block the attack in less than a second.

The ray dissipated.

Marco stood as he were, his eyes glowing white on a face hidden in the shadow of his bent down head.

The Monster Arm was wriggling, undamaged, at his feet.

The boy's gaze wandered to her, then to Star protruded in the purple goo, then stopped back on her.

-We don't have time for this -Marco's voice was blank and distant -They're coming.

-YES THEY ARE! -Moon startled, the voice came from Marco's general direction, but not from his mouth, and this one was raspy, male, adult and disgustingly full of itself -EAT THEIR BOWELS!

Without saying another word, Marco turned to his side and humped. The Monster Arm raised above his head, wriggling triumphantly.

Moon turned to the same side and saw another seething cloud on the horizon.

There was no time to see how Star or Eclipsa were doing. All she could do is do her best to protect them from the coming wave of trouble.

Moon turned to Marco and the Monster Arm.

-I come at them from above -she said -you hold the ground and protect these two. Is this understood?

She couldn't help her voice being shaky, if only a little, betraying her real feelings about all this.

-YOU DON'T GIVE ME ORDERS, HAG!

-We will do as she says -said Marco's blank voice.

There was no time to continue this discussion. The swarm of Unicorns was getting closer. Thankfully, the Monster Arm seemingly preferred bigger prey to smaller one.

As did Moon the Undaunted.

-Demonic Whip Tornado Sweep! -she cried, bringing six flaming crimson whips down upon the first row of Unicorns.

•••

Star groaned and opened her eyes. It hurt all over, especially in her gut and in her head. She raised her hand to her forehead and felt something wet and sticky.

'Oh. wonderful!'

She looked at her head, not entirely surprised to see smears of blood on her palm.

What happened?

Thoughts were like viscous syrup. What was she doing? She and Mom attacked Unicorns who kicked Eclipsa…

She glanced at her right. Eclipsa was lying in the purple goo - face up, thankfully. Star couldn't tell if her chest was moving from where she lay.

Wait. This wasn't all. The Unicorn kicked Eclipsa and turned to…

-Marco! -she gasped, sitting up like a spring let loose.

This was a mistake. It got dark in her eyes. She felt sick. A lead ball lying quietly on the inside of her hindhead rolled over.

Star grabbed her head in her hands and froze, afraid to move a muscle. Slowly, lazily, the sickness went away and the light came back.

The Unicorn kicked Eclipsa, turned to Marco and then the whole horde piled on top of him. Marco… cast a spell?

Her memories of what probably happened five minutes ago were messy. Did he pick up the wand? Did she hallucinate all of this?

Anyway, something else happened after that. Something scary.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but a feeling lingered in the back of her heart.

She was suddenly very afraid for Marco's life. Why?

Finally, the tinnitus weakened (she didn't realise she couldn't hear a thing until then) and sounds began catching her attention.

Stomping. Neighing. Screeching. Smashing. Kicking.

Star turned to her left.

The sight was actually… pretty darn glorious, if she did say so herself. Above the raving horde of purple Unicorns, a smear of black and blue, splashes of brightly burning crimson whipping the poppling bowl of purple flesh, rage and hatred. And on the ground, amidst the cursed Unicorns…

A blurry shadow. A miniature raging tornado. A wraith.

Something, whatever it was, dashed from Unicorn to Unicorn, loud snaps coming so close one after another it sounded almost like a round of applause. With each snap, a Unicorn cried in panic and pain, or collapsed silently and motionlessly splashing in the purple stuff under their hooves. The raging ghost didn't wait to see, which, already flying to another target even before its current hit even landed.

Star looked at this, bewitched, and then finally she heard the voice. The raspy low viperous voice shouting in flaming vicious triumph:

-KILL THEM! CRUSH THEM! EVISCERATE THEM! EAT THEIR BOWELS!

-Marco! -It came back to her in a flash. The feeling of impending doom as Marco charged something big and nasty.

'You can cure the symptoms' she remembered someone - the same vicious voice -say, 'but you can't cure the virus'.

Her every muscle protested as she began picking herself up from the ground. To hell with this, Marco and Mom need her help!

Something separated from the mess up ahead and flew in her general direction. Seemingly slowly, in a shallow arc, the dark thing crossed the distance in less than a second and splashed under her feet, spraying her in a fountain of purple drops.

'Marco?!'

-O my gosh! -she dropped on her knees -Tom!

They had completely forgotten about the demon prince. There was neither time nor reason to think where he ended up - and it turns out, he didn't end up anywhere at all, instead he remained where he was. In the Realm of Magic, where she irresponsibly led her friends.

-Tom! -she called, shaking him by the shoulder -Tom, wake up!

Lucitor didn't react. His lips were moving, muttering something. Star bent closer and recognized only it was in Demon speech.

'Oh. Right.'

Star patted her pockets. Damn, who had the extra pudding cans?

She hopped up, turned around and ran to where Eclipsa lay. Before searching the Dark Queen's pockets, Star put a hand on her chest and felt a weak, but definitely existing heartbeat.

Sighing in relief (only now she realized this, too, was a load on her mind), Star fished a can of pudding from Eclipsa's pocket and ran back, opening the can on the go. She collapsed on her knees by Tom's side (who knows if how long he stays under the effects is important), opened his mouth and tipped the can over inside.

-Cough... cough… UGH!

Tom began tossing, coughing and spitting pudding everywhere, but something must have made it into his stomach, for he opened his eyes and they were foggy, yet focused on her.

-Star? -wheezed Lucitor -what the hell?!

-Here, finish this! -she pushed the half-empty cup in his hand and jumped on her feet -I need to help Marco…

...the fight concluded while she was not looking…

-...and Mom. What a mess!

The battleground was a mess indeed. A cloud of bleak purple mist lingered above the goo like fog. Here and there, a lump of steaming purple flesh lay in the goo, motionless and breathless. The air was stiff with the smell of burned hair, burned meat, what was probably evaporated Dark Magic and, strangely, ozone (the last one making the air somewhat breathable without making you immediately and dangerously sick).

A huge silver and blue butterfly circled above, glaring red whips dangling from her six hands, searching for movement. She did another round, found nothing and began descending, closing in.

And in the middle of this dump yard stood a silent dark figure. A silhouette of a skinny boy, a huge shapeless lump of flesh protruding from his right shoulder.

Moon flapped her wings and landed, splashing slightly, in the goo next to Star, facing Marco and his… companion.

Behind them, Tom stood up, making as little noise as he could.

For a moment, nobody said a word.

And then, the raspy malicious male voice spoke:

-Very well -said the voice -YOU'RE NEXT!

•••

-Very well -said the voice -YOU'RE NEXT!

Marco humped, preparing for a dash.

-Stop!

Queen Moon raised her hand, charging a dense ball of deadly red magic in her palm. She made sure it glowed as brightly, as she could manage. She wasn't bluffing, it was crucial the thing understood that.

-Tom -she heard Star ask quietly -are Demon curses Dark Magic?

-YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME, HAG? -roared the Monster Arm -HA! I DEFEATED THINGS TWICE YOUR SIZE WHEN I WAS HALF THE AGE!

-Ignore this, Mom -Star said, not in a whisper but so the Arm couldn't hear her -the worst it had ever defeated was an eight years old spoiled brat with golden brass knuckles.

-And an army of Unicorns -muttered the queen in response -How strong was it before?

-Not nearly this strong -said Star worriedly

-Never mind the question, Tom -said Moon -we can safely assume this one is Dark. Can you dispel it?

-Did you try Returneo Armeus Normalreno? -asked Tom in response -if you did, I'm out of my league here.

-SO, WHAT WILL IT BE? -shouted the Arm -DO WE FIGHT, OR CAN I JUST EAT YOUR BOWELS?

-What's with him and bowels? -muttered Moon with a grimace.

-That's his thing -replied Star -never mind. I think I have an idea.

-Star? -something in her voice told Moon it was one of her daughter's ideas involving saying the Whispering Spell on narrow watchtowers without a quick way out of there

-Play along, guys -Star transformed into her Mewman form -but don't come close.

She spread her hands and stepped towards the boy and the Arm.

-Hey -she said -so we don't have to fight if we don't want to?

-WHAT?! YOU THINK YOU CAN TRICK ME?!

-No tricks! -said Star, taking another step towards him -See, I'm not even armed!

-WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BOY?! CRUSH HER!

-I'm not afraid -Star continued talking, taking yet another step towards Marco -take me!

-KILL HER! KILL HER NOW!

Moon noticed the boy's legs pushing more firmly against the ground under the purple goo. Is he preparing for an attack? Or?..

Then she realized. Marco was holding back.

-Take me whole -said Star with a smile, approaching the boy and leaning against his chest -Eat my bowels!

-Ugh! -Tom spat behind her back

-NO! DON'T HOLD ME BACK YOU FOOL! FINISH HER!

-Do it, Star -Marco's own blank voice said.

And then she heard her daughter say so quietly she had to strain her ears to make out the words:

-Piercing Slim Harmony Beam!

And Marco's body limped in her hands.

Only now Moon felt her knees were shaking.

She turned around and walked unsteadily to wake up Eclipsa. There was work to do.

•••

-The ritual- -Glossaryck had explained -will hardly take five minutes. Then, if you don't make it in five minutes, you are extremely likely to die.

They were sitting in a circle - herself, Star and Eclipsa - and in the center, pinned to an empty pudding can so that it didn't have to float in the purple goo, lay a piece of paper.

-the reasons for this is simple - you are going to VIOLATE the Realm of Magic and make it do what you want it to do. It's not going to like that.

-Vinculum frange -muttered Moon, her hands wrist-deep in the purple goo -Texturam lace

The words for the ritual were written on the paper. She and Eclipsa memorized them before going to the Realm, so the paper was facing Star, who missed the preparation talking to Glossaryck.

-Lapidem finde -echoed Star diligently -Revivus es in pacem

There was no time to ask Glossaryck what the words actually meant, so they could only trust this was going to work. And apparently they were on a tight schedule, because:

-The Realm is going to throw everything it has at you. Make absolutely sure there isn't a single Unicorn in sight before you begin! Only then you will have your five minute window before the nearest bunch arrives and tramples you into the ground!.

Tom, whom they didn't risk allowing to be included in the ritual, stood guard, looking for the first sign of trouble. Not that this was going to do any good should they fail.

-And one more thing. The processes happening in the Realm have advanced pretty far. If you end up failing, you may be able to escape... only you should know it probably won't do you or anybody else any good.

Marco was still sitting collapsed on his knees several paces from them. Returneo Armeus Normalreno! didn't work on him even after Star pacified the malicious demon possessing his body. So the obvious plan was to try again after the Dark enhancement of its Demon power was no longer an issue.

-Vinculum frange... -Texturam lace

Something was not right.

Moon had set up a magical timer before they began. Glossaryck said they were going to see the effects starting from approximately halfway through the purification process. So, two and a half minutes.

The timer was at three and a half. The goo around her wrists was just as purple.

-Tom -she said, without breaking away from the process -Lapidem finde... do you see any changes? Revivus es in pacem

-It's… becoming dark green -said Tom -everywhere except around Marco.

What?!

-Continue -she said sharply to Star and Eclipsa and turned around.

The purple goo in the distance was now of an oily dark green color, much like she'd seen in the Temple of Magic a lifetime (almost a year) ago. So was the goo nearby, on the side opposite to where the Earth boy was on his knees.

The goo around Marco was still purple.

Moon turned back, splashed her hands down in the goo and began chanting faster.

The timer showed four minutes. She squinted back.

The goo was now dark green all the way under Eclipsa's wide skirt. Herself and Star were sitting half in green, half in purple.

Tom was standing ankle-deep in untouched purple goo next to Marco.

-Star -she said, her voice shaky -we might have a problem with your boyfriend.

Her daughter shot a flaming gaze at her and looked at Marco. Suddenly she had the same worried expression Moon was probably wearing.

-Right -muttered the princess -Just a sec

She jumped on her feet, ran to Marco, dropped on her knees in front of him and took his shoulders in her hands.

-Vinculum frange-she began chanting frantically-Texturam lace...

Four minutes twenty seconds. No visible effect.

-Lapidem finde... Revivus es in pacem...

-Your Majesty -said Tom calmly -we may have another problem.

Moon didn't look. There was no time.

-How far? -she asked, concentrated on the purification -on the horizon?

-Yes. How fast are these things?

-Faster than I'd like them to be -she muttered and then saw something weird.

Eclipsa was still chanting, but her hands lifted from the goo and disappeared from Moon's field of vision. Moon looked up and the next line froze on her lips.

The Dark Queen was slowly raising the Magic Wand towards the back of her daughter.

-Star! -she cried desperately

•••

-Excellent job, Moon! -growled the Dark Queen, still aiming the wand at Star -now she is going to have to watch this!

Everybody stopped chanting. Star, looking over her shoulder in horror. Eclipsa, aiming the wand, the look of grim angry determination on her face. Moon, her hand clasped to her mouth in complete and utter shock.

-Wait -asked Star -what's going on?!

-Step away, dear -said Eclipsa in the same tone, making the word 'dear' stand out in a completely uncomfortable fashion -there is now only one way to save the world!

-No… -whispered Star, still holding Marco's shoulders -No!

She jumped up, facing them, her hands spread in a protective gesture.

-Very well -shrugged Eclipsa -Dreamless Sle…

-No! -Tom exclaimed from behind her back and a clod of fire shot aiming at the Dark Queen's wand hand.

Eclipsa dodged and waved the wand in response, muttering something quickly. Moon heard a splashing sound of a body hitting the goo behind her.

-I was willing to sacrifice my daughter for just Mewni -growled Eclipsa angrily -Dreamless Sleep!

The timer was showing four minutes and forty-five seconds.

Shocked, unable to move a muscle, Moon watched as the curse separated from the umbrella's tip and flew towards her daughter. Slowly. Lazily. And scapelessly.

Moon wanted to close her eyes but her eyelids won't obey her.

The stomping noise behind her back was louder and louder with each passing second.

Star didn't flinch or look away. She stood there, her arms spread, looking straight into Eclipsa's eyes, as the Sleeping Hex darted towards her.

Moon wished she could die right here and right now. Before she has to see any more of this.

And then the spell exploded in midair.

-Star! -the familiar somewhat sneering old man's voice called from above somewhere, only now it wasn't exactly sneering -Do the thing!

Star looked up. Moon did as well.

In tattered robes, looking more like a piece of plastic Johanssen cheese than a person, Glossaryck was descending from the pink sky, his right hand (what was left of it anyway) protruding ahead of him and downwards.

Moon blinked. A semi-transparent half-round purplish pink wall emerged from thin air between her and Eclipsa and Star and Marco.

-Are you sure?! -shouted Star as the sage approached sweepingly and smoothly, working his left hand (which looked even worse than the other hand) loose from under his robes and pointing it at Moon… no, at something behind her back.

-Do it, Princess -said Glossaryck and a surge of purple spikes escaped his fingers. A shriek of many horse voices behind her probably meant Glossaryck has just saved her life -we don't have any time left.

Moon squinted at the timer, still visible, although bleak, in the air. Five minutes and five seconds.

The time was up indeed.

-I'm not a princess -muttered Star, getting on her knees and putting her hands back in the purple goo.

-Of course you are! -exclaimed Glossaryck cheerily and another round of purple spikes dashed from his fingers -Who in the world told you otherwise?

•••

-Star, I need to tell you something. And just so you know, I am DEADLY serious right now

Eclipsa was still holding the wand aimed at her, with a mixed expression of rage and sorrow. Her mom was sitting in the corner, her hand clasped to her mouth, her eyes open wide. Tom was not visible, only his legs. Behind their backs, a wall of purple flame glared, separating them (for the time being) from another horde of purple Unicorns ravaging on the other side.

She turned away from all of them, facing Marco, sat down on her knees and put her hands down in the purple stuff.

This begins to sound JUST like another one of your games -she squinted skeptically -why do I believe ANYTHING you say?

The words hopped around the corner of her memory, as if they were there this whole time, waiting. Heck, who says they weren't?

In fact, she was absolutely, totally sure they were.

You will have to take my word on this -the blue sage looked at her strictly -and we don't have much time. Are you going to listen or not?

-Fine -she sighed -there is no way around this, is it? Go on and let's get this over with.

Funny thing, Eclipsa did look scary and do scary things when pressed into a corner. Come to think of this, how was she to even know she had another choice?

She had to kill her own daughter once. It was by a happy quirk of fate Meteora was spared, even better - returned to her baby self instead. Dark curses aren't supposed to be able to do good things.

Right?

-Star -Glossaryck looked her dead in the eye, an unfamiliar serious and somewhat sad expression on his face. Not how he looked back when they were stranded in this Limbo thing maybe-killed-by-Toffee -Star, you probably guessed right. There IS a way to destroy the magic.

Something she would have guessed herself even without Glossaryck's clues, had she been given the time. And the need to consider such scary options.

-Say the Whispering Spell inside the Magic -she muttered -and then 'poof'?

-'Poof' indeed -confirmed Glossaryck, looking at her without a smile.

The first spell her mother told her. A self-destruction mechanism? A means of escaping to the Realm of Magic, trading your memory and sanity for dear life?

Nobody knew anymore. But the words, they remained. And she had to repeat them in front of her mother morning after morning, until she could say this right nine times out of nine.

-What will happen to you? -she asked -Or my spells? Or the Commission?

This wasn't any easier since the damn spell didn't even rhyme.

-Nobody knows -Glossaryck shrugged -Magic has never been destroyed before. Maybe I die, maybe I don't. Look…

He flew up to the level of her face and looked at her very closely in both senses of the word

-You can't be thinking of this. Remember, this is absolutely a worst case option, do you hear me?

-When do I know I do this, then? -she asked

Star took a deep breath. Enough stalling. Or, perish the thought, the Unicorns make it through the flames and actually kill somebody.

-When there is no other way to save the world

Technically, killing Marco would have probably saved the world as well...

This thought tripped every breaker in her imagination and warned her never to imagine this ever again.

Duly noted.

Besides, she has Glossaryck's own blessing and order to do this, like, right now, sooooo…

Star concentrated. The words were flaming brightly in her mind, clearly readable and learned by heart at a very young age. She was maybe six. Or five. She didn't even remember anymore.

It was like the words were always there.

For all of the horrible things I've said and done…

She tried to fix Mewmans and Monsters. She failed miserably. She was a jerk to her friends more than often. Heck, was she a jerk to Marco this year!

One more to remember me…

What will the people remember her for, really?A rebel princess? Star the Underestimated? A maid with the buttercup hair? The One Who Killed The Magic?

The savior of the world? As if.

I'm one to worship something out of nothing.

What if people were bad? Like, simply bad, and grumpy, and always looking for someone to blame for their problems?

What if she was chasing rainbows? Or butterflies, as Marco's dad would say?

What if nothing can be fixed?

You are forever determined in our hearts.

No. The real magic is not spells and curses. The real magic is in our hearts!

The night is darkest just before the dawn.

The purple goo around her wrists was oily dark green now.

•••

-Hohohoho! I can't believe you actually did it!

Glossaryck was floating at the level of their astounded faces now. As they watched, his skin returned to its normal blue color, the holes in his body closing.

-It looks like the age of magic is coming to a close! -he continued -Well, for what it's worth…

He turned to Star and smiled warmly at her

...I think you made the right choice.

A thunder struck in the now grey swirling sky. The Unicorns behind the wall (now also vanished) had melted into the same dark green goo, only their purple-horned skulls lying in piles everywhere.

Crystals began to crack and crumble in the distance.

-Star -she heard her mom's worried voice -we need to go!

She turned around and saw Moon (now holding the wand), Eclipsa and Tom standing next to an upward stream of a well leading, likely, to Mewni.

-The portals are closing!

-Star?

She turned around sharply. Marco was standing, his arm normal (and thankfully not broken this time)

-Marco… -she muttered. There was something she didn't quite think through.

-OK -he took her shoulders in his hands, probably seeing her expression change -what's the plan?

And then it was immediately obvious what the plan was.

-You have to go back through the Earth well! -she shouted, forcing back the tears, praying to the Queens he doesn't notice, he doesn't understand. She pointed at the upwards stream marked by the pile of garbage they had thrown down here a day ago.

-Yeah, OK -he made a desperate gesture -but what's the plan for seeing each other? There's a plan, right?

-Uh, yeah! -she had to employ every bit of her strength to smile -of course! Of course there's a plan!

She put a hand on his shoulder

-But you gotta get going before we get stuck here!

Please just go! Please just go now!

-Er.. Star?

She couldn't do this anymore.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. Damn!

Before she knew it, she was holding him tight as she could, sobbing.

He hugged her back.

A thunder rumbled above.

They just stood like this for a long, long couple of seconds.

When he let her go, there were tears in his eyes too.

-Bye, Star…

-Bye… -she said in a strange high-pitched voice.

And then he turned around and started running.

-Star! -her mom called in near-panic from behind her back.

She wiped her tears, turning around, and ran as well.

Moon stood alone by the portal, her hand protruded towards her.

She grabbed this hand, the stream swooped them up and carried away, pushing the green goo in their mouths, nostrils and ears in the process.

By the time they were up there, Star thought she would suffocate. Coughing and panting, they hung over the parapet of the well.

-Star -her mother said -I'm so sorry..

Being sorry didn't help.

-We need to get out of here! -she heard Eclipsa's voice approaching.

Getting out of here didn't help as well.

Unless…

-Star? -asked her mother in a horrifiedly worried voice.

She looked up at them.

-I'm going to Earth.

Tears emerged in Moon's widely opened eyes.

-I'm sorry, Mom!

-No… -her mother whispered.

She let go. Air whooshed in her ears ash she fell backwards, faster and faster, back into the portal.

She didn't think of how exactly she was going to land.

•••

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

THUD!

Somehow, she survived.

Star sprung to her feet, looking for the Earth well. There was zero time to waste.

The pile of garbage was there all right, but the stream itself…

-The Earth well closed a while ago! -shouted Glossaryck's voice from somewhere above.

Oh NO. Oh Nononononononononono…

-...but the kid's still here.

And there he was, covering under the remains of a shattered crystal.

-Star?!

She approached and sat beside him, tears in her eyes.

-What are you doing here? -she asked.

-Heh -he chuckled -apparently the same thing as you. So, there's no way back?

She just shook her head. This should have been really sad and problematic...

Only she couldn't force herself to feel really bad right now if she wanted. Maybe it was simply exhaustion, so she physically couldn't give a damn anymore.

-What happens if we stay here? -asked the boy.

-I don't know -she answered, hugging him -and I don't care. It doesn't matter where we are…

Her cheeks felt warm all of a sudden. Maybe this was tears streaming down her face.

-...we simply belong together -echoed Marco, hugging her back.

And this was when a surge of white light arose from below, enveloping them and the doomed dimension around and carrying her and Marco up and above, from all the green goo and broken crystals and hopelessness.

And then something began pulling him from her hands gently, but firmly.

-No... -she whispered, holding him tight -go away… leave us alone…

Her head felt heavier with every passing second. The last thing she remembered was Marco's shoulder slipping from her fingers as she drifted away.

A soft sad chuckle in Glossaryck's voice was the last thing she heard, and then darkness and silence claimed her for themselves.

•••

-Star! Sweetie, please wake up!

The princess opened her eyes carefully. Her head felt like a crude iron cauldron someone filled with rubber erasers. Melted them on a fire and left to cool down in a dark cold damp cellar.

-Mom? -she croaked, her mouth basically crying for water -what happened?

Instead of answering her mother gave her a hug much bigger than Butterfly virtues normally allowed.

-I'm so sorry, Star -she whispered, hot tears streaming down her cheeks on Star's face -I'm so glad to have you back.

And then Star remembered.

-Mom? -she asked quietly (afraid to try and speak out loud so sore her throat was) -Marco? He… isn't here, right?

Moon sobbed frantically when she heard this question.

-No -she answered -Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie…

-I see -replied Star blankly. A dusty screen of stale air separated something inside her from the rest of the world, and outside was left only exhaustion. And apathy.

-Do you have something to drink? -she asked in an almost normal, if still quiet, voice -I'm thirsty.

While her mother was bustling about, looking for something to scoop up water from the lake (to which they were still nearby, apparently), Star simply lay, looking in the pale pink Mewni sky, trying not to think of anything at all.

She felt so tired, so broken and so done with everything this wasn't even hard.

-Your Majesties!

Star squinted at the male voice which had said this, but from this position she could only tell the speaker was wearing an Earth sky blue armor. She couldn't find it in herself to be curious at this moment, so she just looked back up in the real Mewni sky.

Moon, however, must have recognized him or something, for she stood up, wiping her hands with the hem of her dress, and approached the visitor.

-Your… Majesty? I guess… Sorry.

-Please go on -replied Moon -No, wait. Do you have something to drink?

-Sure -Star heard a sound of metal clanking against metal.

-Thank you -said Moon, and a flask of the same celestial blue tin appeared in Star's field of vision -Star, drink this.

-Thanks… -she muttered, taking the flask. Trying to drink while lying down didn't work out.

Coughing, Star sat up and took another sip from the flask, carefully this time.

In the flask there was water. The tastiest water she'd ever tried.

While she was finishing the flask, her mother turned back to the ruby red soldier.

-Please report -she said quietly.

-We went in as soon as our Princess' curfew was due -began the soldier. Star turned around and realized the soldier was actually a flying pony head. The armor had tine metal wings on shoulder pads, and looked unlike the corresponding portion of a Warnicorn armor, only way more refined. Probably good enough for a Queen's own Warnicorn even. 'Ponyheads army' she thought.

-We arrived soon after -continued the soldier -but apparently the fight was already over. The rebels were confused, and none of their equipment worked anymore, so we took custody of them. They're in the capital, awaiting your decision.

-Tell me -asked Moon worriedly -did you find one Mina Loveberry? She's about this tall -she showed how tall Mina was, has pink hair and wears a spiked he…

-I know who she is, Your Majesty -interrupted her the demon soldier -and I'm afraid she's beyond your judgement. Or anyone's, really.

-Did you have to kill her? -asked the queen -not that I'd be extremely upset…

-Not us -explained the soldier -the leader of the local Monsters. Apparently he's a former mercenary or something, and she had the stupidity to engage him bare-handedly, even though her powers didn't work anymore. I… he pretty much tore her to shreds.

Buff Frog…

-I'm sorry -asked Star, her voice somewhat more steady now -are the Monsters alright?

What made Buff Frog so angry he not simply killed Mina but tore her to shreds? Oh, please, please let it not be one of the Buff Babies…

The warrior raised his visor. He had small eyes, a piercing gaze and a large moustache, and looked pretty menacing overall. Still, he smiled at her comfortingly and earnestly.

-Don't you worry, your highness. As far as we could tell, there were no casualties. Oh, by the way - your friends recuperating in the Temple say hi!

Oh dear. She completely forgot.

-Mom -she turned to Moon -is it OK if I go there? I mean, now?

-I… of course, only… Queen Moon stumbled -how do you?..

-Do not worry, Your Majesty -the warrior turned back to her -I am here for this purpose precisely. Is there anyone else we need to fetch to the capital?

-Yes, thank you. Eclipsa! -Moon turned around and shouted -a ride back to the Temple! Get your family down here now!

•••

-B-FLY!

-Hey, Pony…

The trip was not very long, still it did something very weird. Star was feeling like a soft springy coon was between her and the rest of the world. She could see, she could hear, she could even smell if she wanted.

She couldn't care anymore.

It's like a part of her responsible for feeling things was on vacation.

The Pony Head hopped up from where she lay on her bunk. Her glittering trace was gone, but otherwise the waywardest of princesses seemed alright.

-Girl, you're alive! -Pony flew right up Star's face, staring right through with the big star-pupiled eyes of hers -You're not gonna believe this, like, this guy, Quirky, he went poof! and gone! And then Heckapoo like barged through this door, goons at her heels, and like kicked their hinds! And then she, I dunno, she smiled, not her usual, you know, grin, and opened a portal, and…

Star listened, nodding mechanically. Sounds began to muffle in her ears, colors fading.

-And then -went on Pony Head -there was a flash and Kelly and that bird guy… wait.

She looked closer at Star, an uncharacteristically serious expression of concern on her face.

-What happened on your end, girl? Where did they go? And where is?..

She suddenly and abruptly went silent.

-Star -she asked finally -Where is Earth Turd? Where's Marco?

The wall was hard as stone now.

-He's gone -Star heard her own voice say -and he's not coming back.

-Wait, he's like dead?! -Ponyhead jumped, which would be an amusing gesture by someone flying in the air. If Star cared for amusing.

-No -it was still like someone else was using her lips to speak, her chest to draw breath -he's alive and well. I made sure of that.

-Well, okay, but what did you do?

-I destroyed the magic, Pony -heard Star someone explain in her voice -it was this or his life. I chose his life.

-Er… well… okay… -Pony was out of words, a rare sight.

Star found she was sitting on a bunk. When did she sit? Oh, who cares…

-Star!

The voice came from the door. Star turned around.

Prince Lucitor was standing in the doorway, panting.

-There's something… are you alright?

Star didn't answer. This question made like zero sense right now.

-Okay, I don't know what happened -said Tom, approaching -but this is not your normal face, so I figure something went very wrong.

Yeah. Something. Went wrong.

-Anyway - he continued -there is something you need to see outside, and looking at you I think you need to see this now.

…

-Like, right now -he added, seeing her lack of reaction.

…

-Or, for Mewni's sake… -he muttered, taking her by the elbow -do I need to drag you?

-Tom! -Pony exclaimed indignantly.

Star let herself be picked up on her feet. By accident, she glanced in the window.

•••

A flytrap the size of a horse dropped behind her with a rumble worthy of a house.

Star didn't turn around to look at the damage she'd done. She was busy. Busy running.

The cocoon shattered.

Trees were rushing towards her like they were alive and running from an army of lumberjacks. Air whooshed in her ears. Every tree made a sound somewhat unique, still somewhat like any other in these woods.

Star barely noticed the trees.

I guess this has something to do with whatever you've been up to?

-Hey, Star Butterfly, wanna play?

When did she make it to Castle Avarius? On foot?

-Not now, Ludo! -she shouted, not bothering to even turn her head.

Amidst the pale pink sky, a swirling pool of every color in the Multiverse. Calling. Waiting. For her.

She could hear, smell, breathe and feel again.

And she felt like running.

Corn stalks hitting her in the face. Never mind. Something squeaking under her feet, hurrying to get out of her way. Good call.

The portal was closer now.

Keep running.

•••

All was lost.

Where was he?

Jackie's skateboard lay somewhere near.

Marco felt hot tears crawling down his cheeks. He couldn't be bothered.

A hope given and then snatched away at the very last possible second.

And nobody but himself to blame.

This was cruel.

The world was cruel.

He wished he could die.

He tripped. Damn it all, he tripped!

And then the world was enveloped in white light so bright he had to cover his face with his forearm in order to not be blinded.

And then….

Then…

The portal was gone.

Just like this.

Marco felt weeps bursting from his chest. This was not fair! This. Was. NOT. FAIR!

A dragon bike's engine revved somewhere nearby. Yeah, Nachos was probably lost too, only Marco couldn't be mourning about two things right now.

Wait…

Maro opened his eyes.

The sky wasn't of normal Earth color anymore. Instead, it was a crazy blaze of blue and Mewni pink, striated by something which looked like polar lights in California, of all places, and then a pack of wild Dragon Bikes passed over him, heading north, if north was even there anymore.

-What?..

Which was when he heard someone panting and looked below.

Star was standing right there. She looked like she had run ten miles without having a break (which, knowing her, could be like a hundred miles all the same). This was the most beautiful he'd ever seen her.

A Warnicorn pranced between them, whining.

A car drove in the opposite direction, honking like crazy.

Slowly, afraid to scare away the mirage, Marco stood up.

Something was going on around, sounds, noises, but he stopped paying attention.

All he could see was the girl in front of him.

Carefully, he took several steps forward.

-Hey…

-Hi…

And then he was embraced in a hug so fierce he had to take half a step back to avoid falling over.

-Take the damn horns off if they're poking you -he heard his girlfriend mutter in his chest.

He embraced her carefully and said nothing. He could feel his shirt was becoming hot and soggy.

•••

The letter arrived some time later, in the middle of the summer.

Echo Creek was still under quarantine, and people tended to stay at home, where there was AC (when there was electricity) and things somewhat resembled normalcy. So they were spending their days watching movies from VHS or on Marco's laptop, eating and generally doing nothing in particular.

They tried watching TV at first, but the news became really old real quick. California was a mess, it wasn't likely improving soon, and still nobody could find anything else to discuss, so they gave up after several days.

Queen (well, former queen) Moon was very busy helping making things work, so they hardly saw her. Eclipsa and Globgor somehow acquired the job of administering the refugee camp. When offered help, Eclipsa snorted and told Star to lay down and worry about nothing, she's got this. Fair enough.

Star had enough of doing things for a while anyway.

Miraculously, Tom's portals to the Underworld still worked. So they hardly saw him as well, him being busy helping establish a makeshift communications network between all the dimensions which depended on this. He made sure to call once in a while, informing them when he found another one of their friends. It seemed like the Quirky guy ended up being the only confirmed casualty besides Mina.

When asked about her, Buff Frog stated peremptorily he had no memories of what happened, and was sure this was self defence anyway. This supported by Katrina and other Monsters who saw the whole scene, he was summarily absolved by Moon and worked in the refugee camp alongside Eclipsa and Globgor.

Nobody heard from the Magical High Commission. Marco tried hard to hide this from her, and still Star knew he was secretly mourning Heckapoo. She didn't dare touch the subject in his presence.

Pony was grounded. She was so busy making the Pony Head Show a thing on Earth's web she barely noticed she was.

Janna's parents said they always knew she was going to die a gruesome death anyway and had long come to terms with the thought, so she wasn't grounded. Therefore she practically lived at the Diazes' now, leaving for home once in several days to grab clean clothes. She was going to come back soon on the day.

Every parent in this crazy system (meaning Rafael, Angie, Moon, River and Eclipsa, for Globgor refused to be bugged for decisions on anything he was unprepared to advise on, and therefore away from said system) unanimously decreed Star and Marco were going back to school. It was a good question whether Echo Creek Academy, whose grounds and premises were now a portion of the refugee camp, was going to open its doors on the scheduled day, which was more than a month away in any case so nobody bothered. Going to the same school as Buff Babies and Monster kids in general could have been exciting, though.

(Former) King Pony Head expressed unhealthy enthusiasm when offered the opportunity for his daughters. The opposition offered by daughters themselves, however, made the project an affair of questionable viability (this school didn't have robo guards to drag unwilling students to class, after all. KPH believed this was an unfortunate inadvertence).

Overall, Californians were surprisingly cool with all the newcomer aliens, Mewman or otherwise. There already were rumors of bulky Monsters invited as players into football teams, for example. It was possible Moon had something to do with this. Anyway, Star couldn't be happier.

So, on a particularly sunny and scorching day, the doorbell rang.

-Ugh… will you get it?

Electricity was down again. So there were no movies and no AC, and Star was feeling like a ball of ice cream in an oven. Like she could practically see her face melt in the mirror.

-Why me-he-hee? -whined Marco from the other side of the sofa.

Cuddling was out of the question. Perish the idea, simply being less than a yard away from another person was a trial of endurance and overall temperature resistance.

Star was five minutes away from saying 'to hell with decency' and dragging Marco in a nice cool tub. Well, lukewarm more likely (good luck having any really cold water these days), still even this would be a chilling cool opportunity right now.

Besides, they had swimsuits. Well, she knew she had one.

Then, Janna was coming back soon.

Oh, Janna could join them for all she cared. The tub was big enough for three.

If only this didn't mean getting on her feet…

-It's your house, so, you know… -she muttered.

-Ugh, fine! I swear, one of these days…

Grumbling, Marco got up and shuffled to the door. Without asking who this was, he opened it.

-Hey!

Suddenly his voice became more lively. Lounging on the sofa, Star listened to the conversation lazily, more like catching separate words and phrases.

In several minutes, Marco came back. With a puzzled expression, carrying an envelope of dense brown paper.

-What is it? -she asked, squinting at him for lifting her head was too hard.

-A letter -he dropped it when she could see the envelope and then collapsed on the sofa next to it. The springs creaked protestingly. -It's for you.

-For me? -well, now she had to sit up -from who?

-I dunno -Marco shrugged -not signed. Open and see?

So she did, only this didn't help.

-What is this, Arabic?

The letter was handwritten, and the handwriting was positively unreadable.

-Nah, it's English -said Marco, coming around and looking over her shoulder (his breath on her neck made her grimace, and not with pleasure) -Oh, sorry -he stepped back a little, earning a grateful smile from her -I could… decipher this… I think. You okay with me reading it?

Instead of answering she handed him the paper.

-Let's see… -Marco dropped on the sofa and plunged into reading.

-I'm gonna need a pen and paper -he said after several minutes.

-And a looking glass -another five minutes later.

In another ten (she was simply lying and staring upwards this whole time) he sighed and cracked his neck.

-Star, you should probably go make something to eat. This is gonna take a while.

She simply ignored this and Marco didn't begin insisting.

Still, she was hungry by the time he was finished.

-You are going to love this -said Marco, giving her the original and his paper.

-Who's it from? -she sat up again with a moan

-Glossaryck.

Suddenly it felt chilly in the scorching living room.

She grabbed the paper.

Dear Star!

I hope this letter finds you well. In any case, if you're reading this you and the Multiverse are alive, so this should be well enough anyway.

Then again, this particular letter is for the case when you destroyed all magic to save Marco's life. Which you may or may not be blaming yourself for.

She'd have lied if she said she didn't.

So I am going to do something very uncharacteristic of myself and apologize.

But first we shall establish some context. This needs to begin from far away, so bear with me, if you please.

The whole story began long before you, or your mother, or even Eclipsa were born. If I have to guess, I'd say this began when Eclipsa's ancestors found their way from Earth to Mewni.

'A humble people only looking for life, liberty, and corn'. The thing is, Mewni is basically terrible for raising corn. Or any other crop with high enough yield to feed a kingdom larger than several thousands of people.

The Monsters and other inhabitants of Mewni understood this, more or less. Their tiny villages of gatherers and fishermen were well-balanced with the world they lived in, and this had worked for generations.

Which the first Butterflies had no idea was the issue.

So then some bad things happened, several wars, a genocide or two, you know, normal Mewni weekdays. Soon enough I and the Magical High Commission realized what was going to happen, and prepared to introduce some very well-conceived, mild and hardly noticeable measures.

And then Solaria had to use ungodly amounts of Dark Magic on her Warriors.

We never knew what the price of using this really was. Mewmans, Humans, Monsters - mortal creatures in general - have high resistance to one particular delicate effect me and the Commission had no defence against whatsoever. Namely, whenever somebody used Dark Magic, our judgements, our very personalities became tainted.

Surely you noticed how unreasonable, dumb and plainly evil the Commission behaved. This was never my plan when I created them, and for centuries they were probably of the more sane and normal people I knew.

I only recently understood how this all happened exactly.

Our minds clouded, we sided with Shastacan instead of having him, you know, divorce Eclipsa and be on his way. We ran with every idea his offended pride produced. We had Meteora shipped away, replaced by Festivia, I personally altered the archives. And all this time we honestly believed we were doing what was good, proper and necessary for the realm.

There were, of course, other players involved. A Septarian named Seth, who you probably never heard of and who was the mastermind behind Toffee for centuries, probably understood how Dark Magic really worked long, long ago and planned around our compromised mind condition. Then, even weak of mind, I managed to plan around his plans and have you finally kill Toffee.

By which time Mewni was beyond saving anyway. So I made another plan, and for this I wished to apologize from the beginning.

I can't say how much of this plan was me and how much was whispered in my ears by Dark Magic. Anyway, I knew playing around with who belonged where could make dimension merge, making sure certain people stay together regardless of whatever, and I knew you and Marco could do this. The question was, how to lie to you so that you believed magic needed to be destroyed.

Which, by the way, is NOT what you really did… I hope.

And then your mom accidentally poisoned the Realm of Magic. Manipulating you four into going in to solve the issue, making sure Marco's curse awakens and having Eclipsa, who is so cursed with Dark Magic murder is a LOGICAL solution of nearly any problem to her while under the influence, on the scene with a wand was, really, easier than donning a can of pudding.

Which would, in turn, make a teenage girl save her bethroned's life by sacrificing the whole world.

This is what I had you believe you did for several months, probably (depending on when exactly this letter arrives).

This is what I need to apologize for.

Star, you did NOT, I repeat, DID NOT make magical genocide a sad reality. Somewhere, some day, every magical creature will reappear in some form or another. You can tell Marco Heckapoo is alive, by the way. You may believe you have reasons not to, if so, please do anyway. She is a friend and he is probably suffering. Don't you worry, YOUR kids will be probably in the age you are now when she is able to come back.

You can't actually destroy magic. Magic is how the Multiverse works, the basic underlying law of Nature. Wands and spells may be gone, for long, though hardly forever. Still magic prevails.

This was all a plan by an old concerned man in questionable mind to save Mewni from unavoidable and probably unfixable crisis. Should you have chosen to sacrifice Marco's life instead, I would have guided you through said crisis with the best of my ability, raising you the Queen this would have shown you had the potential to become. Sadly, in my present condition I can't feel like the real you dying inside by his cold body is an unacceptable price. For this as well I should be (when this is all over and you're reading this) really sorry.

This is becoming long. I hope I make it back in time to see the wonderful person you become. Well, even more wonderful than you are now.

Make sure to pursue your dreams, unrestrained by royal duties and whatever.

See you in the vaguely foreseeable future.

Sincerely

Sir Glossaryck

(of Terms)

P. S. If you happen to find the Book of Spells, please take away Eclipsa's and Solaria's pages and burn them. Believe me, nobody should ever have to deal with THIS ever again.

-Man, what an unspeakable jerk -she heard Marco mutter behind her back. He was there again, re-reading over her shoulder.

Star shrugged.

-Well, he says this was Dark Magic messing with his brain, so…

On an impulse, she turned around and hugged the boy.

-Still, he had a plan for me killing you -she whispered -he really did. Maybe he is a huge jerk.

-Hey, it's scorching in here, you know -grumbled Marco, and then hugged her back. -Don't you worry -he said -our kids are probably going to be in the age we are now when we have to deal with any of this again.

Star could only giggle at this, rubbing her head against Marco's chest. His heartbeat, even and strong, made her comfortable again.

The letter dropped from her fingers.