I don't know, I always thought that the Mewnipendence episode was homage to America's own problem with it's backstory of how "The land of the Free" came to be and it's own holiday of Thanksgiving. I don't know.
I don't own SVTFOE.
"Get them, you fools!"
Star smirked, no matter how many different baddies there were; most of them seemed to be like Ludo and his minions - and to be honest, it worked in their favour. So while they had never battled with these guys before, both Star and Marco were accustomed to Ludo and his monsters' tricks and knew how to spot them. Defeating these guys would be pretty easy.
One thing however, was their ringleader. He definitely was nothing like Ludo. He gave off an air of mystery and cunningness, something that reminded them of Toffee. Star shivered, pushing the thought of the villain out of her mind. She needed to focus.
The blonde felt a presence behind her and would've turned to attack with a wand blast, if not for a familiar battle cry which led to a sound she was used to; a hand making contact with skin. She finally did turn, meeting Marco who; gave a look of distaste to the fallen monster before looking up to her.
He winked, making the princess smile. "You know I've got your back."
She opened her mouth for a snarky reply but her eyes widened as there was suddenly claws gripping the back of her dress. Marco's startled look was the last thing she saw before being thrown adjacent from where she last was, towards one of the tower's poles. She huffed, using the momentum of the throw to flip herself as quick as she could, making her land at an angled by her feet. She then jumped to the ground, readying a rainbow-ish blast. Marco, who had the monster in a choke hold immediately after it threw Star, saw her at the ready and, spun them around to make sure it was the target. She fired, and he held on until it was a millisecond before them, jumping off.
The two were now back to back, facing the rest of the monsters who were racing towards them. A voice bellowed from the balcony belonging to the same unknown monster.
"Leave her! She's mine!"
Marco frowned at the words, hesitantly glancing towards the 'her' in question. She gave him a shrug but gave a small smile at the worry in his eyes. "I'll be fine. Can you handle them by yourself?"
He snorted, but stopped at the now serious look on her face. "I'll keep 'em busy, princesa."
She nodded once, flicking her arm with the wand downwards to blast her to the balcony. She landed, and faced the monster with a purposeful glare. He sneered, his claws twitching and his expression menacing and she felt something uneasy in her stomach. She swallowed the feeling down, readying her wand.
She lunged, jumping and rolling in the air, her wand like a sword poised over her head. A foot appeared in her vision before she could register it, and she flew back. She met the ground faster than she expected and she tried to shake off the light-headed feeling, a pain in her side.
She drew up again and growled at the look of superiority on his face. She attacked again, blasting with her wand. He sidestepped all of them, coming closer towards her. He flung his arm, Star barely avoiding it. He countered it with a kick, drawing her legs from under her and making her sink.
Standing up quickly, her muscles screamed at the past strain on them. She inwardly cursed, her normally fluid movements were starting to become jerks of power. She ignored it, using her wand to boost her up and spin into a jump-kick. It struck him, but only barely; bouncing off of him and dropped onto the ground with a loud thud.
She inhaled as her head met the ground, raising her wand to fire at him but a magical blast hit her hand, flinging the wand from her grasp. She gasped, mind trying not to focus on the on the now harsh sting. She darted towards the wand but was knocked aside into the pillar, her back burning most likely from his wand.
He paused - wand twirling in his grasp - to see if she would at least move, a small smile forming when a few seconds passed by. He then strolled towards her, not making anymore moves than that save for leaning against the pillar.
"Well, well, well Princess Butterfly. You have no wand, and your bodyguard is occupied."
Star winced as she lifted her head. It was pounding, a bit away from being head- splitting and her body was incredibly sore. Still, she tried to get up. He grinned with yellow, dagger-like teeth at her attempt.
"And you're still trying. I have to admit, I'm impressed."
She attempted to get to her feet but let out a cry of pain at the now searing pain in her leg.
"However," He circled around her. "You are now defenseless."
She huffed at his words, wiping her tears of pain and frustration. He took note of this, smirking. "How does it feel, Princess?"
She growled, glancing up towards him.
"To be injured, helpless and outnumbered. Well," He rubbed his chin "Not in number but in power."
She eyed her wand a long way from her, his words lessened by her thinking. How many seconds would it take for her to sprint there? She had to plan this carefully, she slowly moved her leg; flinching at the pain the movement made.
If she was paying closer attention to him, she would have seen the far-off look in his eye and the way his fists clenched. "Now you know how my people felt."
Wait, what?
Star's eyes widened, confusion in her eyes. Her confusion seemed to make him more delighted, if his now brighter eyes was anything to go by.
"What's the matter, Princess? Suddenly reminded of the blood on your hands?"
Her shoulders slackened, staring up at him. Her brain was muddled, trying to figure out the meaning behind his words. "I...I d-don't - "
"Everything that your kingdom stands for - " He shuddered, his eyes burning into her own. " - Is a lie. They even have a holiday to celebrate their victory, their genocide of creatures that tried to defend their home from being stolen from them; and yet you continue that tradition."
Her heart pounded in her ears, and her eyes fell to the ground. Her head was swimming, she tried to find words to answer. He took note of her silence and shook his head, as if he was disappointed.
"Thousands of monsters dead because of your ancestors. Did you know that there was war between our kinds thereafter? Wars and deaths of monsters who continued to fight against the Mewni rule." He cast his harsh gaze to the stone ground. "They're all dead now. Did you know that?"
Star grimaced. She did know, at least; the fact that the royal holiday was a sham. Her earlier years of practicing Mewnipendence on Earth and Marco's observations of its 'legitimacy' stuck with her. So yes, she did know. What she didn't know and now eating her; was his words, genocide of creatures that tried to defend their home from being stolen from them, thousands of monsters dead because of your ancestors, they're all dead now.
Images of blood and gore flashed before her eyes and she felt the uneasiness in her stomach. "No."
"No?" He blinked, and raised an eyebrow. "Of course you wouldn't. They grew you up with the lies. They begged for mercy - "
The scent of blood reached her nose and she bit down the vomit she knew was now in her throat.
"They were overpowered and outnumbered - "
Screams suddenly flashed in her mind, wailing and torturous and she winced as her headache grew worse.
" - And you fight our kind in the name of you ancestors and in the name of good."
"I fight them," Star's voice was hoarse and weak. "Because they do evil. I never resort to murder and, I never will."
"But you have the methods of fighting that can easily lead to murder. Are you honestly trying to say that you have never thought about it?"
"Yes," She hissed, sluggishly getting to her feet. She eyed the wand a few steps away from her. "And I'm proud to say that."
"But how long will it be before you leave that reasoning?"
She jogged towards her wand; legs screaming at her to rest, grabbing it and pointed it towards him. He eyed her hands, raising them to meet her own, voice bitter as he spoke. "See? Your first response is to grab a weapon."
"Only for defense. I could never kill."
"But it would be so easy, wouldn't it? Just blast a spell to shut me up."
Her hand shook as she growled. "No. I'm not like you."
He shrugged. "The only reason I may be that way is because of our history. You would do the same."
"No, I wouldn't." Her legs shaking as she ignored the pain in them. "I have my own morals."
"But what would you do if your kind was killed for thousands of years? You'd want to fight for them, wouldn't you?" He was eerily calm, making the blonde agitated. "Just one sword to end them, to pay them them back."
Star flinched, closing her eyes. "Stop."
"You'd do what we did; fight for the lives of the innocent and the murdered over the lives of the oppressors."
"S-stop it!"
His eyes seemed to harden even more. "So how do you feel now, Princess Butterfly? It's terrible, isn't it?"
Her eyes were filling with hot tears as she stared at him with fury. "You're terrible."
He shrugged slightly. "Maybe so, but at least my actions are of noble background."
Her wand came to life, at the ready to fire but she paused. He said nothing, his eyes daring her to carry it out. Her hands shook, head on fire and body in pain. She broke away from their stare down, dropping the wand. It landed with a clang and he raised his eyebrow.
"Looks like I was wrong." He nodded down at her wand. "If only your people got that message sooner."
His wand came to life however, and Star paled at it before glancing up at him. He didn't fire though; as a body slammed into his and as he was unprepared for it, went stumbling sideways. Marco took advantage of it; plucking a dimensional scissors from his belt loop to open a portal, giving one final kick to send him inside. He then sealed it up and relaxed, breathing heavily and glancing towards Star.
She was staring at the spot where he disappeared, but her eyes weren't focused. They were glassy and she was shaking. He instantly raced towards her, hesitantly standing there before letting his hands roam her arms. "Star?"
She didn't answer but blinked, giving confirmation that she heard looked into his worry-filled eyes and he tried again, shaking her shoulders slightly. "Star."
"Marco?" The way she said his name was as if she was unsure and his eyes roamed over her form.
"Does anywhere hurts?" His hand rubbed her back a little and she hissed, flinching. He immediately released her, grabbing the scissors again to open a portal back to the castle. He reached for her wand. "Let's get you checked out, okay?"
She nodded slightly and he picked her, his arms supporting her back and legs. As they left, Star's gaze was at the monster's last place, eyes dejected.
The royal doctor - Marco for the life of him couldn't recall her name - insisted that Star take time off from her studies and adventures for her to heal and - she handed him a pill bottle- to take this. She told it specifically to Marco, knowing the princess' nature to not listen to orders should the chance of adventure arrive. She had been here through all her life, after all.
Marco nodded, determined to follow through and led Star up to her room to rest. He was exhausted, it wasn't easy fighting those monsters on his own. He had to be extra cautious and even move quicker. But, he wouldn't tell her that.
He left on her bed and strolled to the dresser where he placed her antibiotics earlier. He turned towards her, pills in hand when he caught her expression. Her head was down slightly, eyes dejected and seemed to curl into herself. His heart clenched and he spoke:
"Are you okay?"
She knew he obviously wasn't asking about her injuries. She sighed, deciding to be honest. "No."
He sat next to her, his legs crying in happiness, offering a hug that she readily accepted and curled his fingers through her hair. "Talk to me."
She dropped her eyes to the sofa cover. "It's just...what he said. I can't stop thinking about what that guy said."
Marco blinked at that, pausing his hair soothing. "What'd he say."
There was no answer and he just about near panicked. "Star, what did he say?"
She sighed and drew circles with her index finger on his arm. "Remember when you talked to me about Mewnipendence Day?"
He did. He remembered when he pointed out the unfairness of the battle from the pop-up book she had, the moment later that day; when he explained the similarities from that war to other Earth wars that her face fell while she came to the realization. He remembered all too well.
"Yeah." There was an uplift in his tone and she caught the inflection, the question.
"Well, he reminded me of that. He made sure to talk about the unfairness for monsters over the years and in that battle."
Marco caught the slight shudder at her words and resumed his hair soothing. "And?"
"...H-he just, there was so much blood. I saw it in my head." She choked on her words, the reminiscence of blood returning. "They were defenseless and outnumbered and..."
Her voice was hitching, a clear indicator that she was crying and Marco drew his arm down slightly to hug her tightly.
"...I come from a family of murderers."
He froze, glancing down at her and speaking slowly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that my ancestors killed thousands hell, maybe millions of monsters; Marco!" The blonde separated from his grasp, and he let her warily, voice growing from her normal volume to a shout. Her hair spiked up widely, eyes filled with hot tears and Marco shrunk a bit from her. "They killed them even though they were defending themselves and it has been going on for many years. There's a freaking holiday celebrating that."
"Many years?" Marco echoed in confusion.
"Monsters have been discriminated against and killed many years after." Star trembled. "I - I knew that the holiday was awful when you talked with me but I never realized.."
She cut herself off and Marco understood, his voice soft. "You never realized it was this bad."
She nodded slightly and he embraced her again, Star burying her head into his chest and her sniffs reaching his ears. He drew her in tighter and placed his head onto hers. "Star," He breathed. "You shouldn't feel guilty."
"Why?" She spat bitterly and Marco flinched at the uncommon tone coming from her and clenched his jaw.
"Because you shouldn't. Your ancestors' actions have nothing to do with you, you're nothing like them."
She laughed, a hollow sound that vibrated through her chest. "I beg to differ."
"...Star, if you think - "
"I wanted him to shut up."
It was silent after her words, save for the overhead room fan and Marco rubbed her back. "I understand - "
"No, Marco." She trembled. "No, you don't."
He blinked but she continued. "I- I just...he kept talking about their death and I just saw the blood and heard the screams and - " Her breath hitched. "My wand lit up. I was this close to firing. I would've been just like them."
"Oh," She felt the surprised tensing of his arms, and the droop of his shoulders. He then tightened his embrace, rocking them slowly. He kept it up for a few minutes, exhaling a heavy breath. "But you didn't."
"But I almost did -"
" - But you didn't." He stressed.
"But that doesn't change the fact that I thought about it, Marco!" She gestured wildly, though hard to do as Marco's arms were around her. "The thought was there, I could have acted on it - "
"But you didn't, did you?" Marco pressed. "You didn't follow through. Why?"
She was silent and huffed as she picked at her hair strands. "I just...couldn't. Killing someone is just...I mean, I wasn't going to. I was going to blast him but it still is - " She fumbled for the right word to describe exactly why but sighed when she couldn't find it. " - wrong."
Marco stopped her hands with his own, entwining their fingers. "Exactly. You have morals. Many people have the thought to do many things but don't because they know they can't."
"And - " He continued. "It's not wrong that you thought about it. It's all about whether or not you act on it."
She said nothing but he could tell his words got through; the atmosphere was more subdued, but was still melancholy in a way. He poked her nose. "You're still not saying something."
Her eyes widened but nodded. "I understand."
He raised an eyebrow, a question on his lips but she answered it without him asking. "I understand his reasoning. They had no other choice, it seemed. And, they've been put down and stolen from and oppressed for so long..." She huffed and he squeezed his arms to remind her that he was still there. " - so I understand."
Marco nodded and she lay back into him more. "What can I do? I know all this but...I want to do something." She sighed. "So what can I do?"
Marco smiled sadly. "You can't stop it. There's always going to be one Mewnian who will hate them for as long as they live in Mewni or wherever." He could feel her deflation and he continued. "But, you can stand up for them and in turn, people will follow. And maybe, there will be more people fighting for them rather than against them."
She blinked, eyes roaming to mimic her thinking and relaxed. "Maybe."
They stayed in the comfort of each other, enjoying the quiet with hair playing or finger-tracing. After a while, Marco looked down at her; a hopeful smile on his face. "You feeling better about it?"
"No." His expression dropped. "But I will be, I just need time, y'know?"
"Yeah, I gotcha."
They continued their relaxation, until later in the evening where they fell asleep. Snores filled the room and if one were to check up on them, they would've seen the princess snuggled against the chest of her boyfriend, sleeping soundly from their exhaustion.
Reviews are appreciated.