"See, I need to get home, and the only way home is down that well and through a big ol' magic Slip 'N Slide that makes ya lose your mind if you're in it too long.
"So I'm trying to call my daughter, my unicorn daughter, because she stays sane in the magic, and she can guide us through in one piece." Star had explained this to Oskar, and despite the complete nonsensical nature of the explanation, he had seemed to understand. What had followed was a desperate attempt to push a meat cooler and suddenly here she appeared.
"Firstborn!" Star was eager to see her creation, the unicorn that ran the Realm of Magic.
[A/N: this is where it splits into AU]
The magic well bubbled.
"Stay out of my realm," Firstborn stated succinctly. She began disappearing back down the well.
"Wait! Please! We need your help to get back to Mewni!" Star called after the unicorn. It seemed as if she was going to be completely ignored, but just as the top of her head went below the magic, leaving just her horn visible, Firstborn rose back out of the well.
"I will not have you damaging my realm. If you really must come through, you must be prepared to do exactly as I say, even if that means I have to remove you."
"Yes! We'll do it! We just have to get back to Mewni!" Star was getting desperate, and Marco was worried about her. Communication and transport between Earth and Mewni had been out for almost twenty-four hours, and Marco could tell Star was afraid. "Can you please take us?"
"I will take you. But only four of you can come." Star, Marco, Tom, and Janna all looked at Oskar.
"Why are you all looking at me?"
Oskar's footsteps receded up the ladder. The four turned back to Firstborn.
"I don't know if we're all going to be able to ride on her back at once..." Tom spoke up.
"I will NOT have anyone riding on my back." Declared Firstborn. "If you wish to travel through the magic, I will merely be your guide. You will have to provide your own methods of transportation."
"Hey Tom, can I travel with you?" Janna's grin was unsettling.
"What makes you think I'll be flying? Do you know how tiring that is for me? Especially when carrying someone else! I will NOT be carrying you!"
"That's what you think," Janna muttered.
"Hey Star? How are we going to get through the Realm of Magic?" Marco asked.
"I'll summon Cloudy and he can take us through," Star said it so simply, that Marco almost didn't question it. But he did.
"Will he be able to take all of us?"
"He's taken three people before, and one of was my dad, who weighs as much as two people. If he can't then we'll have to try something else."
"Okay then. What other choice do we have? Let's get through this magic and go save Mewni."
Cloudy was struggling to carry them all. Star hadn't managed to notice it through her determination to get to Mewni. The others had, however, and were beginning to worry that they weren't going to be able to make it.
"Um, Star?" Marco began to say.
"What is it, Marco? Can't you see I'm trying to get us to Mewni?" Star snapped at them.
Oh no, Marco thought. Star really was worried. Marco didn't take her harsh tone to heart - he knew she didn't mean it - but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. "How about we put Cloudy down and let him rest. He's working pretty hard." They had been following Firstborn for about one Earth hour, so who knows how long it had been in the Realm of Magic. It was a miracle they had retained their memories so far - far longer than anyone else ever had.
"No! We have to get to Mewni as quickly as possible. We can't afford to stop now or at all. Besides, if we do, we might begin to lose our minds. It's all I can do to keep us flying up this high so that we're as far away from the magic's scenery." Star was more determined than Marco had ever seen her. It must've really been tearing her apart, knowing something was wrong on Mewni but not knowing what. It was at that moment that Cloudy began to shake far more violently than before. Star still didn't seem to notice, but everyone else did.
"Uh, Star?" Marco's distress was evident as his voice shook. His worry was echoed by Tom and Janna. Star apparently hadn't heard them though, because, after a moment, Cloudy's form began to disappear. It flickered for a few seconds, and then…
Marco awoke to be covered in a golden liquid. Ugh, magic. He looked around. He must have dropped from...dropped from...from where? What was he doing here? Where were the others? Star, and...Tim? Jane? Oh no. His memories were going. Marco stood up. He was going to have to figure out what was happening. Then he noticed two forms lying on the ground not far away. He made his way over. It was his friends! If only he could remember their names, he could wake them up. Something felt wrong though. Stop thinking like that, this is a nice place! He shook the two sleeping people. Wait, why am I shaking them? The boy regained his composure. Whoever these two people were, they seemed happy sleeping in the golden liquid. As he started to wander off though, something tweaked his quickly receding memories. He had looked up at the sky and seen a number of- STAR! Marco ran back to Tom and Janna.
"TOM! JANNA! WAKE UP!" Marco shook them hard. They had to get up. They needed to find Star! Slowly, groggily, they sat up.
"Where am I?" they said in unison. It was followed by a startled, "who are you?"
"I'm Marco Diaz. You're Tom Lucitor and Janna Ordonia. You're my friends! Our other friend, Star Butterfly, has gone missing! You guys need to get up and come with me, otherwise, we'll lose her!"
Marco had been running for what felt like days. He was reminded of his time in Heckapoo's dimension, on a quest for scissors, except this was much less fun and much more worrisome. He was afraid that something had happened to Star. As much as it seemed like it, the Realm of Magic was not a safe place. He needed to get to Star before she lost her mind, or before the magic turned on her like he was afraid it would. Tom and Janna had called upon Firstborn to return them to Mewni in whatever way was possible, and she had zapped them with her horn. He hoped they had ended up somewhere safe. They had told him to come with them, that they could find her with the help of Eclipsa, using the Seeing Eye Spell or something along those lines. But Marco couldn't do that. He knew that something was wrong, he could feel it in his guts, and he knew he had to find her. After all, he was her best friend. So he had run. Somehow he knew which direction to go. He didn't know how far away she was, or what situation she was in, but that gut-wrenching feeling he was having was directing him to where he knew he would find Star.
He had failed. He was certain of it. Marco had been looking for Star for what must have been hours. The feeling in his gut still hadn't gone away, but he was starting to think it might not have been what he had initially thought. However, he knew he couldn't give up. He had spent 16 years fighting against Heckapoo in his trial to earn his scissors. This was far more important than that. He would keep searching for the rest of his life if it meant keeping Star safe. Marco sat down. He needed to focus. Searching his feelings, he thought about where Star was. Marco thought about everything Star had done for him, everything that had brought them closer, as best friends, and shaping the way he felt about her. The way she had come to save him when he'd been kidnapped by Toffee; how she had helped him get together with Jackie, because he hadn't known what he really wanted at the time; getting him that Quest Buy gift card, even though it had tried to kill him; making him her squire; saving him from being turned into a painting; making his knight's cape for him. She had done so much. He couldn't let her down now.