Marcocrushed

by Jack Coffison

Follow up to 'My Dinner with Buff Frog'. Post 'Monster Bash'. Marco's feelings are tearing him apart, and now more than ever... He needs his friends.

3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Fractured Bonds

It was a cold, dark night in the kingdom of Mewni. A harsh blizzard swept across the land as the residents of the kingdom huddled away in their homes. Collectively and quietly hoping desperately that they would be spared a visit from 'the Stump'.

Stump Day was a day of unity. Unity in the fear and worship of 'the Stump'. An entity born to punish those it deemed disrespectful of its supreme power and grace. Those who dared anger the Stump during the twenty-four hour period known as 'Stump Day' would find themselves punished by the angry roots of the almighty Stump.

At least, that was part of the legend. Many people on Mewni believed this to be a myth. Or at least, an exaggeration. And Marco Diaz had been one of those people.

Until about twenty minutes ago.

Marco breathed a heavy sigh as he stood with his back against a wall. On the other side of the room, the mariachi band appeared to be getting into full swing of things. As they filled the room with music, everybody else seemed to dancing, laughing or eating cake. Sometimes all three.

Marco smiled a little as he buried his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. It was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. King River and Queen Moon were laughing together as they danced wildly in each others arms. It was the first time he had ever seen the Queen let loose like that. Starfan13 was busily taking glamour shots of Ponyhead with her bulky looking camera. And Star and Tom were giggling together as they fed each other pieces of rainbow cake.

Marco felt his eye twitch and quickly moved his gaze elsewhere.

It was nice to think that the surprise Quinceañera he had planned for Star hadn't been a total disaster. Just... Most of it.

Marco sighed again. Most of the decorations had been destroyed during the Stump's attack. Along with at least half of the enormous rainbow cake he had spent the last week researching and preparing. And most of Star's birthday presents had been reduced to tatters.

But even still... Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. And that was all he really wanted.

Of course, he still couldn't help but feel disappointed that things hadn't gone the way he planned. He had spent a great deal of time on preparing for this party- only to have it all ripped to shreds by some random magical creature. And the worst part of it all was that the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it was all his fault.

It was hard to admit, even just to himself. But Tom was right. Ponyhead was right. He hadn't put enough thought into what Star wanted. He should have asked. Even if it meant ruining the surprise.

Marco frowned as he breathed a frustrated sigh. '...I just wanted to throw her a surprise party. She loves surprise parties. Mom and Dad threw her a surprise party for over a hundred days in a row... And she never got tired of it.' he thought. '...I guess it's just my luck that I managed to find the worst possible time to throw her a party...'

'And on her birthday too...' Marco's frown softened as he found himself looking over at Star again. '...It's such a shame she has to give up her special day for some dumb stump...'

Once again, Marco found himself smiling as he watched Star laugh. She and Tom had their arms around each other, but he quietly ignored that. What really mattered was the smile on her face.

"Happy Stump Day, Marco. Again."

Marco blinked as he Kelly approached him, holding a plastic cup in one hand and a piece of cake in the other. As she leaned on the wall beside him, she let out a long, tired yawn.

"Happy Stump Day to you too, Kelly. Although-... It's after midnight, so I guess... 'Happy Day After Stump Day'?" said Marco, with a soft smile.

Kelly yawned again and removed her glasses to rub her eyes. "Yeah..." she muttered, as she slid her glasses back on to her face. "I still can't believe the Stump turned out to be real..." she muttered.

Marco sighed. "...Yeah." he muttered.

Kelly glanced over at him and smiled a little. "You know... You might be being a little 'obvious' there, Marco Ubaldo Diaz." she said.

Marco blinked. "Uh-... What?" he muttered.

Kelly gestured toward Star, and shot him a knowing grin. "You're staring." she said, in a matter of fact tone.

Marco immediately felt his cheeks flush as he quickly shifted his gaze away from Star. "...Right. Sorry." he muttered.

"Oh, it doesn't bother me- I just figured... You know... If you're still planning on keeping quiet about... Well- You know..." Kelly trailed off, but her point was made.

"...You're right." said Marco. "So-... How're you?"

Kelly smiled. "...Tired." she said, before giving another loud yawn. "Sorry. I'm usually a whole lot better at stayin' up late... I guess maybe all the excitement wound up takin' it outta me..."

Marco sighed. "...Sorry about that." he muttered.

"It's not your fault, Marco." said Kelly. "I didn't believe in the Stump either. Nobody did. I mean- except Star..."

Marco sighed again. "...Right." he muttered.

Kelly went quiet for a moment and then gave Marco a soft nudge with her elbow. "So-... It turns out you're a pretty good dancer..." she said, with a grin. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised- After all, I still remember the little show you put on back when we were trying to save the Bounce Lounge."

Marco blushed a little. "Hey- I got carried away in the moment, okay?" he muttered.

Kelly giggled at Marco's reaction. "Hey- I didn't say anything about it being bad. In fact- I thought it was kinda cute." she said.

Marco rolled his eyes. "...Uh-huh..." he muttered. "You're just jealous 'cuz I know how to bust a move when I need too."

"Oh? That kinda sounds like a challenge..." said Kelly.

Marco smiled a little. "...It might be." he muttered. "But- Maybe next time. I'm a little, uh... 'Danced out' at the moment."

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "...That kinda sounds like an excuse to me, Marco Ubaldo Diaz. But... I guess I'll let you off the hook. For now..."

Marco gave a light chuckle. "...Thanks, Kelly." he muttered. As they spoke, Marco found his eye being drawn to the piece of rainbow cake that Kelly was holding. After of all the Stump-related chaos, he still hadn't had the time to try a piece for himself. Thinking for a moment, he eventually decided to try his luck.

"Hey... Do you think you could let me have some of that cake your holding?" asked Marco. "I'm pretty sure the rest of it has either been eaten or ruined by now..."

Kelly gave him an apologetic look. "...Sorry. I kinda already licked it..." she muttered.

Marco raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look! I live with a big family! And if you don't mark something as yours, it can be taken away at any moment!" she exclaimed. "Food is a battleground, man."

Marco sighed. "Alright, I get it. I guess I should've grabbed a piece while I had the chance..." he muttered.

Kelly looked down at her piece of cake and then back up at Marco. "...I mean... I guess I could-" she began, only to be interrupted by Marco.

"No, no- Don't worry about it. You're right. Food is a battleground." he said, flashing her a soft smile.

Kelly took a few guilty bites of her cake and sighed. As she licked the icing from her fingers, she desperately searched her brain for a new topic of conversation. "...So, uh... How's your Mom?" she eventually asked, before taking a sip from her plastic cup.

Marco smiled. It had been over a month since the 'Diaz Dinner Party'. In that time, not much had really changed. Star still spent most of her time feeling overwhelmed by a mountain of new princess duties, along with her ongoing investigation into the true history of her family and her kingdom. And Marco still spent most of his time by her side, trying to help her as best he could.

And so had Tom.

Recently, tensions had begun to flare between Marco and Tom. And before the Stump had attacked, those tensions had finally come to a boil, resulting in a short fight between the two of them. Marco still hadn't apologized to Tom for starting the argument earlier, and he didn't really want to.

Marco knew that he was being petty and jealous. But unfortunately, he couldn't seem to help it. The jealousy had been building up for quite a while now, and letting some of it come bursting out in that moment had actually felt a little... Cathartic.

Still- deep down, he knew that he was being a jerk. Tom had been spending a lot of time trying to be the best boyfriend he could be for Star. And while he was doing that, he was also working on himself. Trying to become a better person. Both for Star and himself. And for the most part... It was working.

Meanwhile, Marco was essentially stuck in the same place he always was. And growing ever more bitter and sad as time went on.

It wasn't all bad, though. After the Diaz Dinner Party, Marco had decided to try and reach out to people other than Star every now and again. This had resulted in him taking breaks from his Squire duties every now and again to go spar with Kelly or hang out at the swamp with Buff Frog. And those short breaks had been doing wonders for him.

Every now and again, he would still find himself staring into a dark void. Feeling hopeless, and writhing in despair. But at least now... He didn't feel quite as alone.

"Uh- Marco? Are you there?" asked Kelly, as she gave him another gentle nudge.

Marco blinked. "Huh? Oh... Sorry, I guess I spaced out there for a second..." he muttered, as he slowly rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Mom's doing fine. She's really starting to show now, and she's super excited. Dad keeps going from being excited to being really worried. I think he's child-proofed the house twice now... I think I'm starting to understand where I got my 'safe' side from."

Kelly laughed. "Aw, that's really sweet. Are you still excited about being a big brother?"

Marco nodded and grinned. "Definitely." he said. "I'm gonna be the coolest big brother that there ever was. First, I'm gonna teach them karate... Then, I'm gonna help out with their homework- and anything else they might need help with."

Kelly smiled. "That sounds very sweet, Marco. But what're you going to do while it's still a baby?"

"Don't worry. I already bought a bunch of guidebooks and stuff, so when the time comes, I'll be ready for anything." said Marco, as he proudly puffed out his chest.

Kelly laughed a little. "Yeah, well- I remember having to look after some of my younger siblings and trust me... It can be difficult. So, y'know- Don't be afraid to gimme a call when the time comes. I'd be happy to provide some back up if you need it." she said.

Marco smiled. "Sure. That sounds great." he said.

Marco and Kelly continued to chat amongst themselves for a little while, with topics of conversation ranging from food to movies, to music. Eventually, they were interrupted by a sudden flash of light. And in an instant, Marco and Kelly were suddenly standing back to back in a fighting pose.

Starfan13 laughed as she lowered her camera and picked up the photograph it had just spit out. "Happy Star's Birthday, you two!" she exclaimed, as she held the picture out for them to see. In the picture, both Marco and Kelly looked equally surprised and disoriented.

Before either Marco or Kelly could say anything, Janna suddenly appeared beside them and snatched the photo out of Starfan13's hand. "I'll take that." she said, as she calmly stuffed the photo in her pocket.

"Would you like a photo of the three of you together!?" asked Starfan13, with an excited grin.

"No thanks. But, hey- I heard Tom say that he'd love it if you'd take a couple of photos of him. Just remember to set that camera flash to 'ultra bright'. Remember- there's no such thing as too much brightness." said Janna.

"Okay!" exclaimed Starfan13, before spinning around and quickly running off into the distance. Janna smiled and waved as she left, earning a disapproving look from Marco.

Upon noticing the expression on Marco's face, Janna rolled her eyes. "Oh, lighten up, Diaz. If he bursts into flames again, I'm sure Star'll take care of it." she said.

"That might be true, Janna. But it doesn't mean you should go around playing with fire like that." said Marco.

"Pfft- Like you get to talk, Marco." muttered Janna. "Last time I checked, you were the one who started playing 'argue with the demon'. You two looked really cute when you were wrestling around with each other, by the way." she said, with a sly wink.

Marco ignored her and turned his attention back to Kelly. "So- Where were we? Oh, yeah... You were saying that your older brother was some kinda musician?" he asked.

Kelly smiled and nodded. "Yeah! He's really good, too. He can play a whole bunch of instruments all at once, and he's got a really good singing voice. When I was a kid, I used to be really jealous of him..." said Kelly, sounding wistful. "All the boys in my species are smaller than the girls... But they also get a bunch of extra arms. I was always jealous, 'cuz so many of my brothers were able to do really cool things with their extra arms... There's Jelly, the musician. But also, Belly- he's competing at a multi-dimensional eating contest next year... And then there's Yelly, Melly, and Felly..."

Kelly trailed off for a moment, as she slowly adjusted her glasses and seemed to lose herself in thought. Eventually, she shook her head and smiled. "Of course- I've got a bunch of awesome sisters, too. There's Telly, Helly and Zelly... I don't really get along with Gelly- but, she's got her good points." she said.

Marco smiled "If they're all half as awesome as you are, then they must be one heck of a family." he said.

Kelly laughed and snorted before giving Marco a playful shove. "No one likes a suck up, Marco Ubaldo Diaz." she said, as Marco laughed along with her.

Janna watched the exchange between Kelly and Marco with a mixture of curiosity and disgust. "...Gross." she muttered. "Are you two flirting now?"

Marco and Kelly froze mid-laugh and sent Janna a dirty look. "No." they said, in perfect unison.

Janna raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? 'Cuz you two look pretty chummy from where I'm standing..." she said, as she flashed them both a sly grin.

Kelly crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "We're friends, Janna." she growled.

Janna rolled her eyes. "There's no need to get all huffy about it, Kelly. I'm only teasing." she said.

Kelly frowned. "Well do me a favor and cut it out, okay? I don't like it." she said.

"Are you still mad about what I said before? I was only being half serious about that..." said Janna.

Kelly's frown only deepened as Janna spoke.

Sensing that he had suddenly found himself standing in the middle of some kind of conflict between the two girls, Marco was quick to play arbitrator. After clearing his throat to get their attention, Marco gave Janna a look. "Janna-... What exactly did you say to Kelly before?" he asked.

Janna frowned a little. "I simply asked, in my usual friendly manner, whether or not Kelly was feeling a little jealous of the way you were fighting Tom over Star. That's all." she said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kelly sent Janna another dirty look. "I was only worried because my friend almost got burned to a crisp." she growled. "And I still don't get why you didn't seem to care."

Janna rolled her eyes again. "Well, that's 'cuz I don't care about Marco. Duh. And I don't care about his dumb, jealous spat with Tom either." she said.

"Oh, yeah? I seem to recall you saying something a little different the last time we spoke..." said Kelly.

Janna grit her teeth. "That stuff was private." she hissed.

As tensions began to escalate, Marco quickly stepped between the two angry girls. "Okay, okay- Why don't we all calm down? I almost ruined the party by getting into a fight over dumb stuff... Let's not repeat my mistakes." he said.

Janna and Kelly both huffed and turned away from each other.

"...Come on, you two. Aren't you 'prank buddies'? Or-... 'Hot sauce sisters'?" asked Marco.

"Not everyone needs a stupid nickname for their relationships, Marco." growled Janna.

Marco sighed. "Come on, Janna. You and Kelly are friends, aren't you? I know you subsist on the dark pleasure of tormenting others and all- But can't you at least dial it back a notch or two?" asked Marco. "And... Kelly. I know she can be annoying sometimes, but you really shouldn't take anything Janna says too seriously. I know she can go too far sometimes... Trust me, I know. But like she said-... She really is just teasing you."

Kelly breathed a heavy sigh. "...You're right..." she muttered, as she turned back around to face Janna. "...Listen, Janna... My species... Works differently from all the Mewman ones. I don't know a whole lot about you Earthlings, but... It's probably a lot different than whatever you guys have goin' on as well." said Kelly.

"See-... At a certain age, as we grow... We begin to lose more and more of our independence. It's... Kind of a biological thing. Basically... We're symbiotic. As we begin to mature, the boys and the girls are supposed to set out and find partners. When they do, they slowly begin to live off each other. In the best case scenario, they'll support each other on equal footing. Your partner'll become the most important person in your life, and you'll become theirs... And when you start to grow older, you'll begin to fuse together. Becoming one body with two minds.

"There's a lotta pressure to find your partner as early as possible. And most people do. ...And I-... I thought I was one of those people. I thought that... With Tad... I'd really found the partner I was supposed to be with. That's part of the reason I tried so hard to make it work with him. ...But-... It didn't work out.

"And so now, here I am... Single for the first time in what feels like forever... And you know what? It feels... Good. For the first time, I feel independent. And, sure- I've felt lonely from time to time... But not enough to give up this new feeling. All of a sudden, I feel like it's okay for me not to worry about finding a partner. Because, maybe... I'll be fine on my own. Heck- I know I'll be fine... 'Cuz whenever I start to feel lonely, all I have to do is think about all the awesome friends I have. Friends like Marco. And... Well- Maybe you... Unless you're gonna keep being a jerk." said Kelly.

Janna breathed a long, heavy sigh as she slowly turned to face Kelly. "...Was all that backstory really necessary?" she muttered, as she buried her hands in the pockets of her winter jacket. Feeling the collective gaze of both Marco and Kelly, Janna winced a little and breathed another heavy sigh.

"...Fine." she muttered. "I get it. No teasing you about Kellco. I guess I can live with that..."

Marco and Kelly gave Janna a curious look. "Kellco?" they muttered, in unison.

"That's your ship name. Star and Marco are Starco, Marco and Tom are Tomco... Let's see, there are a whole lot more- but I don't really remember most of them. You can ask Starfan13 if you're curious." said Janna, with a light shrug.

Marco sighed. "...No thanks." he muttered.

Kelly gave a light chuckle as she slowly adjusted her glasses. "Well... Now that all the drama is taken care of... What do you guys wanna do now? It's getting late, but... Well, I wouldn't mind doing one last crazy thing to cap off this crazy night." she said.

Janna rubbed her chin in thought. "Hmm... Well, it's not exactly 'crazy', but... I did recently manage to get my hands on a special uncut version of 'Milkman 2: The Milkening'. It only came out in theatres pretty recently, but... I've got connections. And I hear it's in the running to be the best worst horror movie of the year..." she said.

Kelly blinked. "Huh... An Earth movie, you say? Interesting... The only Earth movies I've seen are the ones Marco showed me..." she said. "Most of them were about this one karate guy who makes a bunch of weird noises when he fights... 'Mackie Hand', right?" she asked, as she looked to Marco for confirmation.

Marco gave a solemn nod. "Yes... Mackie Hand. The master of masters..."

Janna huffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Mackie Hand is a total poser. Everyone known Luce Bree is the real king of karate." she said.

Marco gave a melodramatic gasp. "Blasphemy!" he exclaimed.

Janna rolled her eyes. "Luce Bree is the one who introduced the magic of kung fu movies to the west! Mackie Hand was just a follower. And a lame one at that!"

Marco huffed. "That's not true and you know it! Sure, Luce Bree was the first- and we all respect him for that. But Mackie Hand brought something new and special to the art of cheesy action movies!"

Janna put her hands on her hips and scoffed. "What, like dumb one-liners and explosions? Please! Luce Bree's movies had depth! Plus, every now and again he'd rip a guys spine out! Obviously that makes him the best in every way!"

"I am so sick of having this argument with you, Janna! Ultra-violence doesn't automatically make something better! It's about the laughs you share along the way!" exclaimed Marco.

Janna gave an obnoxious snort as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, please. Don't act like you don't like the violent stuff as much as I do!" she said, with a huff.

"Of course I do! But it's all about finding the right balance! And everyone knows that when it comes to balance, Mackie Hand is truly the master." said Marco.

"Alright- that's it!" exclaimed Janna. "There's only one way to settle this. You and I are gonna show Kelly our favorite Mackie Hand and Luce Bree movies, and let her be the judge! And whatever she says is the final call! The loser has to suck it up, and never mention it again!"

"Fine by me." said Marco, with a huff.

Kelly smiled and laughed. "Alright, I'm in. Sounds like fun." she said.

Marco grinned. "Great!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna prove once and for all who the true master of karate movies is, Janna!"

Janna rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn't quite conceal the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Whatever, 'Karate Boy'." she muttered.

Marco opened his mouth to retort, only to be suddenly interrupted by a loud, obnoxious voice.

"HEY! EVERYONE! PLEASE FOCUS ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION ON ME!" exclaimed Ponyhead, at an incredible volume.

The mariachi band suddenly stopped playing, and everyone in the room who had been dancing or laughing with each other suddenly stopped and turned their attention to the middle of the room.

Ponyhead loudly cleared her throat, as she hovered above everyone else. "Thank you." she said. "Now, like- everyone group up over here! And hurry it up!"

Marco blinked as he watched everyone in the room grumble lightly to themselves as they all began to group up around Ponyhead. Tom and Star had an arm around each other and a thick layer of cake and icing smeared across their faces. They both flashed a smile at each other as they stood in front of Ponyhead. Behind them, King River and Queen Moon looked tired and hesitant. Starfan13 approached Ponyhead from behind, as she continued to fiddle with her camera.

The mariachi band seemed to be at a loss. Eventually, they seemed to decide on standing perfectly still while everyone else crowded around Ponyhead.

Marco breathed a heavy sigh. "...I guess we'd better go over there too..." he muttered. Janna shrugged, and Kelly gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Hey- don't worry... I'm sure it won't take too long..." said Kelly.

As Marco, Kelly and Janna joined the group, Tom gave Star a light squeeze. Star smiled brightly as she squeezed him back, not noticing the odd look on her boyfriend's face.

Tom gave a light huff as he kept his eyes trained on Marco. Deep in his chest, he could still feel the fires of rage burning as he recalled their previous altercation. Part of him wanted to confront him again, and maybe vent a little more frustration. While his more sensible side was doing its best to tell him to let it go, and relax in his girlfriend's arms.

Tom grit his teeth a little, as he forced his gaze away from Marco and back to Star. There was something about her bright cheery smile that always made him feel better, no matter what. Unfortunately, even Star's happy face wasn't quite enough to do away with the niggling feeling in his chest.

Why had the argument between him and Marco escalated so quickly? Why did he seem so desperate to turn his surprise party into something truly special for Star?

Was it because he was her friend?

Because he was her squire?

Tom frowned and slowly shook his head. Deep down, he knew the answer. Or at least... He thought he did. And he hoped desperately that his suspicions were wrong. That he was just over thinking things.

But all the signs were there. And they had been getting clearer and clearer as time went on.

Tom snuck another glance at Marco, and his frown deepened. Marco was looking in their direction. More specifically, he seemed to be looking at Star. Tom's jaw tightened, as he did his best to calm the sudden burst of jealous and possessive anger he felt swirling around in his body.

'It can't be true...' he told himself. 'Not now... There's no way...'

"Alright! Is everyone here!? Do I have to keep yelling!? 'Cuz I will!" bellowed Ponyhead.

King River politely cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, Princess- I do believe we are all here... Unless you wanted the entertainment to join us?" he asked, gesturing toward the mariachi band.

Ponyhead huffed. "I don't care! Any other questions!? Or can we get this thing started already!?" she exclaimed.

Queen Moon slipped back into her 'Queen' mode with ease, as she gave Ponyhead a look. "What exactly is this 'thing' you are starting?" she asked, in an authoritative tone.

Ponyheads eyes lowered a little under the Queens gaze. "Well... Uh-... I just happened to find a little party thing I thought we could play with together..." she muttered, as she flew over to a table and picked something up with her mouth. After flying back to the group, Ponyhead dropped what looked like a large plant on the floor and gave a satisfied whinny. "Check it out! I almost forgot that I bought this thing!" she exclaimed.

Tom blinked as he and Star leaned in to get a better look. The plant appeared to be shaped into some kind of crown. It was made up of bright red and green leaves, twisted together with golden vines. Scattered amongst the leaves were dozens of small multicolored orbs and dark red ribbons tied into bows.

Everyone stared at the bulky plant-crown for a moment, until Queen Moon suddenly gave a quiet gasp. "Oh! I recognize this! I read about it when I was a girl... This is 'Thistlemoe', isn't it?" she asked.

Ponyhead gave a proud nod. "Yeah! I know how into this Stump Day stuff Star is- she is my best friend after all -and so, I took it upon myself to by this random old 'Stump Day' thing I found on discount while I was out buyin' scarfs." said Ponyhead. "The shopkeeper said it was really rare, or whatever, but he let me have it after I turned on the ol' Pony charm. Also, I gave him money I took outta my sisters piggybank."

"Aww! That's so sweet, Ponyhead! Huuugs!" exclaimed Star, as she slipped out of Tom's grasp to envelop Ponyhead in a hug.

"Aw, girl- Y'know it ain't nothin'. I'm just bein' the best bestie ever is all." said Ponyhead, as she shot Marco a look.

Marco frowned a little, and rolled his eyes.

"Anyhow- I haven't even gotten to the best part yet! Apparently, this 'Thistlemoe' thing has got a lotta special magic stuff goin' on." said Ponyhead, as Star released her from the hug. "The shopkeeper told me that it used to be used in special 'Stump Day Games' and junk. So, I figured- why don't we give it a try?"

Star began to bounce up and down in excitement. "That's so cool! How do we play!?" she exclaimed.

Ponyhead huffed. "I dunno. The shopkeeper kinda got boring after a while. He just wouldn't stop with the obnoxious talking, y'know? You ever meet someone like that? Someone who just seems to talk too much? Like- they just don't seem to get how to end a speech or something, so they just keep on droning on and on, forever and ever until finally-"

"I believe I know how to use it." said Queen Moon, interrupting Ponyhead to the great relief of almost everyone in the room. "From what I recall... One wears the Thistlemoe crown, and it magically coerces its wearer to reveal a deep, fundamental truth about themselves. It was used in the spirit of not keeping anything from the ones closest to you during this day of togetherness and fear... Of the Stump." she explained.

Star grinned. "Ooh! So it's about spilling secrets, huh?" she said, sounding excited. "Sounds like fun! Who wants to go first!?"

Marco winced a little. "Uh... Star? Didn't we kinda go through something similar to this a while ago? And, uh... Didn't that turn out kinda... Dangerous?" he muttered.

Ponyhead rolled her eyes. "Oh, quit living in the past, Earth Turd." she huffed. "I'm sure this is going to work out fine, with no negative consequences whatsoever."

Marco frowned. "...Somehow, I really don't that's gonna be the case." he muttered.

"Oh, what do you know?" said Ponyhead. "Now- Who's gonna be the first volunteer? C'mon, hurry up! We're gonna go through all of you eventually... Unless, you know- it turns out to be super boring."

All of sudden, Starfan13 popped up- seemingly out of nowhere. "I'll do it!" she exclaimed, as she lowered her camera and grinned.

"Cool. Thanks for bein' a team player- Now put on the weird lookin' magical plant-crown and let's see what happens!" exclaimed Ponyhead.

Without waiting for Marco or Queen Moon to voice their concerns about the safety of shoving a magical plant on her head, Starfan13 picked up the Thistlemoe crown and put it on. Immediately, the Thistlemoe crown seemed to tighten to fit her head, and the multi-colored orbs that decorated it began to glow. Slowly, Starfan13's eyes began to roll into the back of her head, and her jaw went slack.

"...Being here with Star fills me with tremendous joy... I used to be scared to be who I was... Because people used to call me a freak... But Star showed me how to express myself the way I want to... That it's okay..." said Starfan13, in a slow monotone voice. "She showed me that anything is possible... I love Star, and I love being her fan... Happy birthday, Star."

The orbs on the Thistlemoe crown began to fade, as Starfan13's eyes slowly rolled back into place. "...Whoah-..." she exclaimed. "That was wild!"

Star quickly wrapped Starfan13 in a bone-crunching hug and laughed. "That was really sweet!" she exclaimed. "Thank you, Starfan13! I love being your fan, too!"

Starfan13 blushed and laughed as she slowly pulled the Thistlemoe crown off of her head. "Aww... Thanks, Star." she said.

Ponyhead grinned. "That was pretty cool! Who's gonna be next!? And this time, why don't you throw in some nice stuff about me as well?" she exclaimed.

Tom grit his teeth for a moment and frowned a little. Glancing over at Marco, he took a sharp breath. 'I gotta know for sure...' he thought. 'No matter what-... I gotta know if... If I'm just being dumb and paranoid, or if...'

Tom shook his head and took a deep breath. "...How about Marco?" he said, doing his best to keep his tone as neutral as possible.

Star gave a bright smile. "That's a great idea! Come over here, Marco!" she exclaimed, as Marco recoiled in horror.

"Uh-... No, no! I'm not- I mean... I can't do it, because, I- uh... I'm allergic! Or-... Or something!" exclaimed Marco, as he did his best to back away from Star.

"Aw, don't be silly Marco! C'mon! It's gonna be fun!" she exclaimed.

Marco was overwhelmed with the urge to run. Even if it meant jumping through a window and running through the snow. His entire body was seized with fear and overwhelmed by a sudden burst of adrenalin. Before he had a chance to turn and run, however- Star had already closed the distance between them and shoved the Thistlemoe Crown on his head.

"No!" yelped Marco, as he made a desperate grab at the crown- only for his arms to suddenly fall limp. As his eyes slowly rolled into the back of his head, Kelly gasped. As the orbs on the crown began to glow, Kelly grit her teeth and sent Tom a withering glare. It went unnoticed, as everyone focused their attention on Marco.

"...I..." muttered Marco, his voice cracking a little as he spoke.

"...I'm sad."

The smile on Star's face quickly faded away, as everyone in the group suddenly froze.

"...I am truly... Deeply... Powerfully... Sad." said Marco. As he spoke, his features began to tremble. "And... I'll always feel this way... Always... Broken... Because I'll never get what I really, truly want... Because... I don't deserve it..."

All of a sudden, Marco grabbed the Thistlemoe crown and ripped it off of his head. There was a long pause, as everyone in the room went completely still and silent.

Marco dropped the crown, and took a long, deep breath.

"...I'm going to bed." he muttered. "Goodnight, everyone. And-... Happy Birthday, Star."

And with that, he turned and left the room.

---

For a little while, Marco simply walked down the hallway in a dreary haze. But as he felt tears begin to run down his cheeks, he soon found himself running as fast as he could. His body surged with energy and a powerful whirlwind of emotions. It made him want to scream, cry and laugh all at once.

Everything around him seemed to blur into one long dark corridor. Eventually, he found himself coming to a slow stop in front of his bedroom door. It felt like he had been running for an eternity. His body was drenched in sweat, and still twitching from adrenalin.

As he slowly opened the door, he suddenly realized that he had his dimensional scissors in his pocket the entire time. Breathing a weary sigh, he slowly shook his head. "You idiot..." he muttered under his breath. He was about to step into his room when a voice suddenly stopped him.

"Marco."

Marco paused for a moment, and then breathed another heavy sigh as he spared Tom a glance. It looked like he had been waiting for him. Standing by his bedroom door.

"...You-... You just popped up there... With your fire magic... Huh?" muttered Marco, his mind a delirious mess. "...That's really cool..."

Tom opened his mouth to say something, and then slowly closed. "...I-... I'm sorry..." he muttered. "I'm-... I'm so sorry... It's my fault, I-... I just... I didn't..." Tom gave a frustrated growl as he struggled desperately to find the right words.

"D-don't worry about it..." said Marco. "...I was the one who ruined everything. Again. I-... I... I let... My... Feelings... Take over... And I said stuff to you that-... That wasn't fair. And I-... I made a complete jerk outta myself. Again."

Tom clenched his teeth. "If you're a jerk, then so am I!" he bellowed, as flames erupted all around him. "You were right! I did forget her birthday! And I was jealous that you did! I was angry at myself for being so thoughtless- and I lashed out at you! That's on me!"

Tom's voice practically shook the hallway they were standing in, as the flames around him slowly burned brighter. "When you said that I forgot- I got angry 'cuz you were right! And you're probably right about everything else! I am a bad boyfriend! And I haven't changed! Look at me! LOOK AT THE WAY I'M YELLING RIGHT NOW!"

Marco grit his teeth, and slowly shook his head. "...No. That's not true, Tom." he muttered. "I've been around you and Star for long enough... And I've seen how happy you make her... How good a team you make... You are a good boyfriend to her. One dumb mistake doesn't change that."

"YES IT DOES!" yelled Tom. "You didn't forget! Did you!?"

Marco felt his hand clench into fists as he took a step closer to Tom. "No- I didn't! And y'know what that means!? Nothing! Because I went and made it all about myself! Trying to impress her with some big party that she didn't even want! All I did was mess stuff up! Like I always do!" he bellowed.

"SHUT UP!" growled Tom. "Don't you talk like that! You're not a screw-up! And don't act like throwing her a surprise party was some big selfish act! You did it because you love her! And you worked really hard!"

Marco froze. For a moment, time seemed to stand still between the two of them.

"...You-... You know?" he breathed.

The fire surrounding Tom slowly dissipated, as Tom gave a short nod. "...I-... I had suspicions..." he muttered. "...And I've had them... For a while. But I-... I didn't wanna... Believe it."

Marco looked down at the floor. "...I'm sorry." he muttered.

"Shut up." growled Tom. "I don't wanna hear it. You've done nothing wrong... You-..." Tom paused for a moment, as he felt another burst of anger rising up to his chest. Taking a long, deep breath, he did his best to calm himself down before he spoke.

"...When you came here... And you found out that-... That she was dating me... You could've just left. But you didn't. And why? Because you care about her so much... That you were willing to deal with the jealousy... And the pain... As long it meant being by her side... And helping her any way you could. Even if it meant... That you were just a squire." said Tom.

Marco frowned and shook his head. "...That's not how it happened." he muttered.

"But it worked out that way, didn't it?" said Tom. "At some point... You figured it out-... And you just... Kept going. You sucked it up, and stood by her. Through so much... Just to help her. To support her. Don't you-... I mean... Don't you get how incredible that is? I-... I could never do something like that. Not without the jealousy eating me alive."

Marco sighed. "...The jealousy is eating me alive..." he muttered, in a quiet voice. "...And-... How do you know that's why I'm staying here? How do you know I'm not just clinging to her out of nothing but desperation and fear..."

"Because you're more than that, Marco." said Tom.

Marco took a slow, deep breath as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "...So are you, Tom." said Marco. "...You... You've changed. For the better. And it's not just because of Star. It's because deep down, you're really not that bad a guy. And I mean that."

Tom smiled a little. "...Thanks, Marco. That... That really means a lot to me."

The two boys shared a weary smile, as they stood together in silence. There was still a lot left to be said... But for the moment, they both felt... Satisfied.

Then, all of a sudden, the silence was broken.

"MARCO!"

Marco gasped as turned around to see Star barrelling down the hallway. In a flash of movement, he quickly dived into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. In a flash of yellow and pink, Star sped up to the door and came to a sudden stop. "MARCO!" she yelled again, as she banged on the door. "MARCO! ARE YOU OKAY!?"

Tom watched as Star banged against the door with both hands. Her hair was a mess, and her cheeks were stained with tears. Her voice trembled with a palpable sense of desperation as she banged on the door.

"S-star?"

Star stopped as soon as she heard his voice. How she managed to hear it through all the noise she was making was a complete mystery.

"Marco.." she whispered, as her knees seemed to shake and go weak. "Marco..." she repeated, as more tears streamed down her face.

"...I'm sorry, Star." said Marco, from the other side of the door. "...I-... I ruined your birthday... Just like I ruined Stump Day..."

"I don't care about that stuff, Marco." growled Star, as she stifled another sob. "...I care about you."

There was silence again, as Star slowly pressed her forehead against the door. On the other side of the door, Marco did the same.

"...I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"Stop saying that..." muttered Star.

There was another moment of silence, as Star slowly wiped her face with her sleeve and ran her fingers through her hair. Eventually, she took a deep breath and spoke up once more.

"...Marco... Please. Tell me... Tell me what's wrong." she said. "Just-... Tell me."

Marco took a deep breath, and held it. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to let it all out. To finally tell the truth. To stop hiding. To open the door, and tell her that he loved her. That he wasn't sure if he could live without her anymore... That he wanted nothing more than to be the one by her side... Making her smile, and supporting her with everything he had.

Marco grit his teeth.

"...I can't." he muttered. "...I'm sorry, Star."

Star sat still for a moment. Then, she slowly rose to her feet. "...Fine." muttered Star. "If you don't think I can help, then... Fine."

"Star, that's not-"

"No! Forget it, Marco! I get it!" yelled Star. "...I-... I get it."

Tom watched in silence, as Star slowly turned around and walked away. As she left, there were no objections, nor sounds of any kind from the other side of the door.

Tom bit his lip.

"...Listen, Marco... I-... I'm not in really in a position to say this, but... For your sake... You gotta make a choice. If you're gonna stay here... With her... You have to... You have to tell her the truth. Either that... Or-... You're gonna have to let go... And try to move on. Otherwise... You're gonna spend a good chunk of your life wallowing in self-pity and despair. And that's not fun, Marco. And you don't deserve it. Trust me."

With a bitter sigh, Tom disappeared in a burst of flame.

One the other side of the door, Marco slowly slumped over. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and it took everything he had just to pick himself up and drop himself into bed.

---

The golden girl stood at the shore, staring out into the horizon.

As Marco stood next to her, he felt a cool breeze sweep across his weary frame.

It was a cold night. And the moon loomed large in the distance. Taking up most of the sky, and bathing everything in a beautiful red glow. The dark, black ocean in front of them seemed to sparkle with red. And the enormous rock formations all around them seemed to light up along with it.

Marco could feel his feet begin to sink into the black sand underneath him. Frowning, he took a few steps forward, hoping to find a more solid footing. As he moved, he suddenly felt grasp his hand.

His heart fluttered, as he turned to find the golden girl holding his hand in hers and staring deeply into his eyes.

He could see the features of her face. Her light shone too bright. All he could really see was the golden silhouette of a girl he thought he recognized. As she held his hand, Marco felt a creeping sense of dread.

"...You're going to disappear again... Aren't you?" he asked.

The golden girl slowly reached out, and gently stroked his cheek.

Tears began to form in his eyes.

"...Please... Please don't..." he muttered.

The golden girl was silent. As she always was.

"...I wanted to help you..." muttered Marco, as he wiped away the tears. "...But-... I couldn't. At least-... Not enough."

Marco went silent for a while, and the sounds of the dark ocean filled the air.

Splashing waves... The soft, cool breeze...

"...I know... That I can't keep going on like this. I-... I thought I could... I thought-... I thought I'd be strong enough... To just keep going... Always keeping everything inside... And helping you as best I could..."

"But... I can't. It's been tearing me apart for so long... And-... I can't keep living like this... Like a broken shell... I-... I have other people... People that care about me... And-... I owe it to them... To try and fix this..."

The golden girl stayed perfectly still, as the wind swept up her hair. Staring at her, Marco felt his heart skip a beat.

"...Star..." he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "Is this it? Is this... How it ends? Do I just... Let go... And try to live the rest of my life... Without you?"

The golden girl slowly began to rise into the air. As he felt her being pulled away, Marco held her hand as tightly as he could. Tiny golden particles began to break away from her body and disappear into the night's sky. As the golden girl continued to rise into the air, the pull slowly got stronger and stronger. Until finally, it began to lift Marco off the ground as well.

Marco grit his teeth, as he felt himself being pulled higher and higher into the air. As the golden girl began to pick up speed, she continued to dissolve into tiny sparks of light. Marco kept his grip as tight as he could, and closed his eyes.

If he held on, he would soon find himself plummeting to the ground.

If he let go, he would find himself suffering the very same fate.

Tears stung his eyes as Marco held his breath.

He had to choose.

---

The Royal Dining Hall was filled with an eery silence, save for the sounds of King River hastily shoving as much food into his mouth as possible. Queen Moon glanced over at her husband and breathed a small sigh.

The air around the table was thick with tension. Queen Moon had spent most of her life attending meetings where the stakes were often as high as life and death. Whether it was a strategy meeting with her generals, or the royalty of other kingdoms, or the Magic High Commision. Queen Moon had grown accustomed to dealing with a certain amount of tension.

But even she couldn't help but feel a hint of fatigue as she watched Star and Marco slowly eat their breakfast. They were sitting at opposite ends of the table, as far away from each other as possible. Every now and then, Moon would notice Star glancing over at Marco. Her eyes brimming with frustration, along with a small hint of concern. Marco, on the other hand, kept his eyes on his food at all times. His expression entirely blank.

This only seemed to agitate Star further. As she bit into a piece of meat, she gave a low growl before tearing it apart with her teeth. Ordinarily, Queen Moon would attempt to chastise her daughter for such un-princess-like behavior. But Star was obviously on the verge of snapping at any moment, and Moon didn't feel like arguing with her daughter so early in the morning.

And so, she simply watched Star and Marco through concerned eyes as she slowly and gracefully finished her breakfast.

It had been a few weeks since the big 'Stump Day' commotion. In that time, Star and Marco's relationship seemed to have rapidly deteriorated. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen them speak to each other in more than a few words at a time. And they seemed to avoid each other at every opportunity.

Moon had never seen them like this before. Normally, Star and Marco would be sitting with their chairs pushed together as they laughed and loudly discussed their plans for the day.

Something had obviously changed between the two of them. Long before Stump Day, Moon had sensed a growing disconnect between the two friends. For a long time, Moon had simply assumed that Marco was having a hard time adjusting to life on Mewni. Star seemed completely oblivious to this, thanks in large part to how distracted she had become recently. She had become so deeply focused on her new goals that she seemed to miss a lot of the signs of Marco's growing discontentment.

At the time, Moon had assumed that things would work themselves out rather quickly. After all, Star and Marco seemed to share a special bond. One that had always seemed completely unbreakable.

Then, the incident with the 'Thistlemoe' occurred. And all of a sudden, the situation appeared more dire than she had ever imagined.

Marco wasn't just dissatisfied. He was utterly depressed. And in that moment, Moon couldn't believe that she too had managed to miss all the signs. Apparently, it wasn't just her daughter who had been oblivious all this time.

Moon had taken the sudden revelation of Marco's condition very seriously. After all, she was supposed to be acting as some form of guardian over the young boy during his time on Mewni. Much like Mr and Mrs Diaz had for Star. And in hearing the revelation straight from Marco himself, she couldn't help but feel like she had failed.

Moon had always struggled in finding a balance between her role as dutiful Queen, and her role as a mother. And part of her knew that she had failed her daughter more than once by leaning too far into her role as Queen, and not far enough into her role as mother.

After almost losing Star during Toffee's attack, she had resolved herself to be a better mother to her daughter. Unfortunately, she had no real idea how to go about doing that. And very quickly, she found herself reverting back into old habits.

So far, things seemed to have been working out alright between Moon and Star. Moon had been surprised and deeply impressed by her daughter's newfound determination in becoming 'the best princess she could be', as Star herself would put it. She had been making incredible progress, even in her attempts at forging better relations between Monsters and Mewmans. Something that Moon herself had always assumed to be impossible.

She was watching her little girl grow into womanhood right before her eyes. And yet, something still felt missing between them. Their bond still suffered from the same strains that it always had. The fact that Star had still not confided in her about what was going on with Marco was proof enough. Moon had tried a few times to broach the subject with her daughter- but whenever she did, Star would either change the subject or flatly refuse to talk about it. As far as she knew, Star hadn't talked to anyone about Marco. Not Princess Ponyhead, or even her boyfriend.

It seemed to be something that she was determined to push down as far as possible, and ignore.

Moon breathed a soft, weary sigh. As her eyes turned downcast, she failed to notice her husband suddenly stop eating and give her a concerned look.

Why didn't Star trust her enough to confide in her? Deep down, Moon knew the answer. It was because of all the secrets that she was keeping from her. The truth about Meteora, along with some of the details of the true history of Mewni and the Butterfly family. But those secrets could not be given to her until she was officially crowned Queen. Until then, Moon was duty bound to keep them.

Moon bit her lower lip, and River slowly edged himself closer to her. Still going unnoticed by Moon, or by Star and Marco- who were both absorbed in their own thoughts.

'...I'm doing it again, aren't I?' she thought. '...Sacrificing my bond with my daughter... And for what? My role as Queen?'

She sighed, and slowly shook her head. '...No. Almost all of the Queens of Mewni's past were able to uphold both their role as Queen, and their role as mother. They had to- in order that the next in line for the throne be properly prepared.' she thought. '...Why... Why is it that I can't do the same? Why is it that I still feel such a disconnect with my own daughter?'

'...Why is it that I feel so very helpless? Am I-... Am I failing her? My own daughter... All over again?' she thought, as she looked over at Star and then at Marco. '...Have I failed the both of you? In allowing things to go along this way for so long?'

All of a sudden, Moon gave a sharp gasp as she suddenly felt River grab her hand, and give it a light squeeze. Moon looked over at her husband, to find his brilliant blue eyes brimming with genuine concern. His face and beard were completely covered in maple syrup, along with a few fried eggs and some strips of bacon. His knife and fork appeared to have gotten stuck to his forehead.

Moon couldn't help but laugh a little at the serious face her husband had underneath the mess of breakfast foods, causing River to raise a confused eyebrow. He opened his mouth to say something- only to be suddenly interrupted by a sudden burst of music.

"Space Unicorn! Soaring through the stars! Delivering the rainbows all across the-"

Marco hurriedly pulled out his smartphone and tapped on the screen, doing his best to hide a flush of embarrassment as he got out of his chair. "...Sorry." he mumbled, as he brought the phone to his ear. As he walked away from the table while listening carefully to voice on the other side of the phone, he suddenly pulled out his interdimensional scissors and opened a portal. Still holding the phone to his ear, he looked over at Star and quietly cleared his throat.

"Uh-... I'm... I'm not gonna be able to make it to Squire duties today. Sorry." he said, in a quiet voice- before quickly disappearing into the portal.

As Marco's portal dissipated, Star suddenly slammed her hands on the table as she stood out of her chair. "...I'm gonna go somewhere." she growled. "...I'll be back in time to study."

As she moodily stomped toward the door, she suddenly stopped and spun around to face her parents. For a brief moment, all of the anger in her features seemed to disappear. Replaced by a soft sadness. "...I love you, Mom and Dad." she said.

And with that, she spun around again and left the dining hall. Slamming the door loudly behind her.

For a while, Moon and River simply sat there in stunned silence. Eventually, Moon turned to her husband and handed him a dainty napkin.

"River, dear- You, uh... You have a little something on your-... Well... Everywhere." she said.

River gave a loud chuckle. "Ah, yes. I got into a little tussle with the syrup dispenser. My hands were already covered in butter at the time." he said, as he peeled the knife and fork off of his forehead. "Yes, I was in a hurry to finish up... I just can't help but feel uncomfortable with the tension between those two. And you know me- I don't like all of that 'teen drama' stuff. It reminds me of my own youth. Oof- Painful days, those." he continued.

Moon smiled. "...Yes, I remember." she said.

River returned her smile, before slowly taking her hands in his and giving them a slight squeeze. "Yes, dear. And I'm sure you also remember how crazy and confusing a time it is to be a 'teen'. All of the drama and such..." he said. "And I'm sure you also remember that eventually... It passes. Just as it did for you and I."

Moon breathed a small sigh. "...I certainly hope it will, River." she muttered.

River grinned. "Oh, of course it will! Those two will work out whatever it is that's troubling them... Or not! Either way, with enough time to grow and mature, I'm sure they'll figure out what's best." he said, as he proudly puffed out his chest. "I believe in those two youngsters. And I believe that no matter what comes their way, they will persevere- and grow to become the best they can be! Or my name isn't River Tidings Johanson-Butterfly!"

Moon smiled and nodded. "Yes... I certainly hope so."

---

Star Butterfly breathed a heavy, weary sigh as she made her way up the long spiral staircase to Eclipsa's room. She had been making the journey almost every day for several months now and still, she had nothing to show for it. Every time she visited her ancient ancestor, she would bombard her with questions. And unfortunately, Eclipsa had proved herself to be quite adept at either dodging her questions or simply not answering them at all. Eclipsa also had a habit of throwing out difficult questions of her own. Questions that Star all too often didn't have the answers too.

Their relationship had still remained positive throughout all of this. Eclipsa was incredibly easy to talk too, and she always seemed to exude an aura sage-like wisdom that made her incredibly easy to confide in. But that didn't make Eclipsa's continued evasiveness when it came to the topic of Meteora any easier for Star to take. If anything, it made it all the more frustrating.

As of now, Star and Eclipsa seemed to be at a perpetual impasse. But still, Star wasn't about to give up. There was no way that Eclipsa didn't know anything about Meteora and the true history of Mewni. Eclipsa seemed to know something about everything. Even things that she had no way of knowing. It was hard to tell if Eclipsa simply had an incredible intuition, or if it was something more... Either way, she had become something of a fount of knowledge for Star.

Eclipsa had already taught Star a lot about magic and life in general. Meteora and the history of Mewni seemed to be the only things in existence that would make Eclipsa hold her tongue.

Star sighed again as she finally reached the top of the staircase. It was early in the morning, which meant that the royal guard would be switching shifts. This left her about a five-minute window to burst into Eclipsa's room and talk to her before she was discovered. If the royal guard found her talking to Eclipsa alone, they would no doubt report it to her mother- and there would likely be dire consequences. Her mother was utterly paranoid when it came to Eclipsa- and in all honestly, Star could see where she was coming from.

Eclipsa was a bag full of secrets, and sometimes it seemed like everything she or said was carefully crafted to manipulate the world around her. Still... Whenever Star spoke with Eclipsa, she always seemed utterly sincere. And while it was possible that her sincerity was merely a trick... There was also this strange and subtle shade of sadness in her eyes. Especially whenever Star brought up the topic of Meteora. And there was something about the look in her eyes that made Star believe her.

Even now, Star was hesitant to trust her completely. But more often than not, she simply couldn't help it. Almost everyone else in Star's life seemed to be hiding something... Especially recently. But Eclipsa always seemed to be completely honest with her, and that meant more to Star than she could express.

Star had been getting sick and tired of secrets. Although some part of her understood that everyone had something they would rather not talk about, she couldn't help but feel more than a little fed up about the whole thing. For the past several months, Star had been desperate for answers. Ever since the disaster that was the Mewman/Monster party. She had searched for answers in every place she could think of- both with and without Tom and Marco. And still... She had nothing.

Every magical multi-dimensional library she had visited seemed to have nothing on the subject of Eclipsa or the history of Mewni. All she ever found were a few old scrolls of propaganda, and that was it. Her mother had also been of no help whatsoever. Her continued silence on nearly subject that Star brought to her attention had put a massive strain on their relationship.

No matter what, Star was not about to give up on her quest for answers. She had to know, as the future ruler of Mewni... She had to find the truth about her kingdom. Her home. No matter how painful the truth might turn out to be, she would find it and face it head-on. Only when she had done that could she lead her kingdom into the future. And bring about a new age of peaceful co-existence between the Mewmans and the Monsters.

Or at least... She hoped so. She truly, desperately hoped so.

As she approached Eclipsa's door, she breathed yet another weary sigh. '...Please let this be the day...' she thought. '...The day I finally get the truth.'

After taking the time to look both ways for any signs of approaching royal guards, Star fiddled with her headband a little, took another deep breath, and finally knocked on the door.

"Uh-... Eclipsa? Are you awake?" she asked. "I'm... I'm here for my morning visit... Just like always..."

Silence.

Star began to tap her foot as she waited impatiently for any kind of sound from the other side fo the door. She was just about to try knocking again, when something suddenly poked out from underneath the door.

"Globgor?"

Star blinked as she watched Glossaryk slowly wriggle his way out from under Eclipsa's door.

"...You two hanging out again?" asked Star. Glossaryk looked up at her with a blank expression on his face, and then slowly cocked his head to the side.

"Globgor?"

Star sighed. "...Well, I'm glad that she's willing to keep an eye on you... I can't-... I can't ask Marco to Glossaryk-sit anymore... And the Royal Gaurd are all afraid of you at this point..." she muttered.

Glossaryk blinked with one eye and then the other, before swiftly stretching out one of his hairy legs and scratching the side of his head with his foot.

Star stared at him for a moment, her eyes slightly downcast. "...Are you okay, Glossaryk?" she asked.

Glossaryk looked up at her with a blank look on his face.

"I really hope so, Glossaryk." said Star. "I-... I really hope that one day you'll be back to your old, frustrating self..." she said, as she reached down and gently patted her former teacher on the head.

Glossaryk yawned and stretched out his limbs as Star offered the tiny blue man a sad smile.

All of a sudden, Eclipsa's door swung open. Revealing Eclipsa herself, wearing a bathrobe and pink fuzzy slippers. "Good morning, Star. I apologize for the delay." she said, with a cheery smile. "I'm afraid Glossy here had a little incident with my alarm... Long story short, he managed to eat it. I'm afraid I'll have to send away for another one. I wonder if 'Quest Buy' is still around..."

Star quickly stood up straight and shot Eclipsa a cheery smile of her own. "Good morning, Eclipsa!" she exclaimed.

"Globgor!" exclaimed Glossaryk, before scurrying back into Eclipsa's room.

"Come on inside, Star. I've just put the tea on..." said Eclipsa.

Star grinned and nodded. As she followed Eclipsa inside, she was hit by a wave of strong, familiar smells. Eclipsa's room was decorated with dozens of scented candles. Filling the room with a mixture of powerful scents ranging from sweet to strangely bitter. Each candle burned with a flickering green flame, giving her room a somewhat ominous green glow.

Star closed the door behind her before following Eclipsa over to a small set of table and chairs that sat in the middle of the room. The chairs were formed out of long black tendrils twisted around each other into the shape of an armchair. They were both ancient, and they always moaned and whined in protest whenever Star sat down in one. The table was also black, with a series of images carved all over its surface and outlined in gold. Most of the outlines had faded over time, making it difficult to make out most of the images. But looking closely, it was easy to spot a few outlines of dragons, demons and mewman warriors.

As Star sat down in her chair, Eclipsa sat a large teapot on the table. The teapot was fairly large, and shaped like a portly black dragon. It's surface was decorated in tiny black scales, and its spout was shaped like a horned, snarling dragon. There were small wings on either side of the teapot, and its handle had obviously been shaped to resemble a dragon's tail. The wings on the teapot seemed to flutter a little as Eclipsa poured tea into a delicate green teacup and passed it over to Star.

Star smiled a little as she blew softly on the piping hot liquid, and took a small, cautious sip.

"How was your night, Star? Did you sleep well?" asked Eclipsa, as she poured her own cup and took a seat facing her.

Star nodded. "...Yeah. I, uh... I had another board game night with Tom..." she said, before taking another slow sip of her tea. "That was fun. Unfortunately, I still had a whole bunch of princess work to do afterwards, so... I wound up staying up pretty late."

Eclipsa gave a slow nod. "Ah, yes. Your mother has been working you quite hard recently, hasn't she?" she asked.

Star sighed and nodded. "...Yeah. She keeps giving me all these books to read and pile after pile of worksheets... It kinda reminds me of the way Earth school always gave us a bunch of homework..." she said, as she lowered her gaze. "Of course... The difference is that I'm actually doing this stuff... And-"

Star furrowed her brows as she felt a sudden tightness in her chest. Eclipsa recognized the expression on her face right away. She was thinking about Marco.

Star quickly cleared her throat and shook her head. "Anyway- I kinda wish Mom would try and let up a little on all the 'princess duty' stuff... It feels like I've barely had any time all year to actually have some fun."

Eclipsa gave Star a sympathetic smile as she slowly sipped her tea. "Yes, it seems your mother has been quite enthusiastic about preparing you for your role as Queen." she said. "I cannot blame her. Much like myself, your mother found herself quickly thrust into the role of Queen with very little preparation. She must be intensely aware of just how difficult that can be. And I'm sure she hopes to spare her daughter such pain and anxiety."

Star breathed a heavy sigh, and gave a slow nod. "...I know. It's just-... I've been feeling so... Overwhelmed..." she muttered. "Especially recently... Between princess duties, trying to find the secrets of Mewni and trying to heal the wounds built up over hundreds of years between Mewmans and Monsters... I'm lucky to find any time at all just to hang out with my boyfriend. Let alone anything else."

Eclipsa nodded, as Star took another sip of her tea.

A long silence filled the room as the queen of distant past enjoyed her tea while calmly observing the future queen. Eclipsa considered letting the subject fall to the wayside, as she had done several times in the past. It was obvious that Star had been avoiding a certain subject recently. And for a while now, Eclipsa had been gracious enough not to bring it up.

But, it felt like enough time had passed. And it seemed that Star was determined not to bring the subject up herself, no matter how much it seemed to be eating her up inside.

And so, Eclipsa drew a long, deep breath and set her teacup down on the table. "...And what of that boy... The cute one who does that little 'sword hand dance'..." she said.

Star bit her bottom lip, and sunk down in her chair. "...Marco..." she muttered, her voice just above a whisper.

"Yes, that's the one. What about him? Have you two gone on any wonderful adventures together recently?" asked Eclipsa, as she leaned her elbow on the table and casually rested her chin in her hand.

Star was silent for a moment. Eventually, she breathed another heavy sigh and slowly shook her head.

"...No." she muttered.

"Is that so?" asked Eclipsa, barely putting any effort into sounding surprised. "Did something happen?"

Star stared down at her tea. Watching her reflection for a moment as a range of emotions seemed to flash across her eyes. Worry. Sadness. Anger. And something else. Something that even she couldn't quite put a finger on.

"...Yeah." she eventually muttered, her voice trembling a little as she spoke. "Yeah, something happened."

Eclipsa reached out and placed a hand on Stars shoulder. "...I thought so. I've noticed these past few weeks... Something has been weighing quite heavily on your mind, hasn't it?" she asked. "...It is not good to keep such things raging on inside you. Please. Feel free to tell me anything and everything. I am always happy to lend an ear."

Star looked up into Eclipsa's eyes for a moment. Eclipsa's eyes overflowed with genuine concern. Star's eyes were brimming with a wide range of conflicting emotions. Eventually, Star lowered her gaze back to the table and took a slow, deep breath.

"...So... It was my birthday a while ago..." muttered Star.

Eclipsa blinked. "Oh, my! Happy birthday, Star! I'm ashamed that I was not aware! I'd have looked for a nice little present for you..." she said. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Star sighed. "...Well-... My birthday is kinda on Stump Day. So... I don't celebrate it on the actual day. I usually wait a couple weeks." she said.

"Oh, is that so? My, how unfortunate to have your birthday fall on Stump Day of all days..." said Eclipsa. "I was never a fan of the holiday myself. I certainly understand the wish to pay respects to those that have made sacrifices so that others may live... But I always found the 'worship' aspect to be quite... Creepy. If I may say so."

Star blinked a few times and gave Eclipsa a curious look. "...Is that so?" she muttered.

Eclipsa nodded. "It is quite so. Now then- am I to assume that whatever it is that happened, occurred on Stump Day?" she asked. "That was well over two weeks ago by my estimation... How long were you planning on keeping this bottled up inside of you?"

Star sighed. "...I dunno..." she muttered.

Eclipsa offered Star a sympathetic look, before leaning back into her chair. "...Well then. I believe it's about time you shared the details with me. Why not start at the beginning?" she asked, before taking another slow sip of her tea. "We have plenty of time."

Star bit her bottom lip and furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Eventually, she slowly shook her head and looked at Eclipsa with determination in her eyes. "...I didn't come here to talk about my stuff." she said. "...I came here to talk about yours."

Eclipsa breathed a heavy sigh. For a moment, she leaned back in her chair and seemed to lose herself in thought. Eventually, she spoke up again in a hushed tone that Star had never heard from her before. "...You know, you may not believe me Star... But I happen to detest secrets. It is my fervent belief that all things should be out in the open. All knowledge is good knowledge, I always say. No matter how painful the truth may be, it is still the truth. And I hold truth in the highest of all regards." she said. "I have spent much of my life as a seeker of the truth... Searching among even the darkest corners in all the dimensions. And yet... I find myself sitting here... Keeping things from you. It is a truly uncomfortable position for one such as myself to be in. And yet... Here I am."

"Perhaps this is a sign of my age finally catching up to me..." she said, her tone becoming somewhat wistful. "All of a sudden I've found myself in the position of 'keeper of secrets'. Something I had always resented in the ancient magical creatures I stumbled across during my travels... I suppose one can mark this as yet another trick of fate."

Eclipsa went quiet for a moment. Eventually, she leaned forward and took a slow sip of tea before looking Star right in the eyes.

"Star. You do not need me to provide you with those answers. You have the power to find them yourself... And I'm afraid some truths require a journey in order to be fully appreciated. Besides- Your mother may be right about me... There is no reason to believe that I would not lie to you... To try and manipulate you into doing what I wish." she said. "If you find the answers for yourself, then you may be more steadfast in your belief that those answers are the truth."

Star sighed. "...That kinda just sounds like an excuse to keep me searching for answers for... forever." she said.

Eclipsa smiled. "...I suppose it does." she said, as she reached into the sleeve of her bathrobe. "Perhaps... I can offer you a small piece of guidance. At the very least."

Star blinked as she watched Eclipsa produce a small golden envelope from the sleeve of her bathrobe. As she placed on the table in front of her, Star stared at it with her jaw slightly agape. The front of the golden envelope was covered four large red symbols. The two symbols on the right side of the envelope stayed static, while the two symbols on the left side changed continuously. Every now and again, all four symbols would blink, reminding Star of something she had seen on Earth a few times. A digital clock. However, the symbols on the envelope looked nothing like numbers. They also didn't resemble Mewnian writing. They looked altogether different from anything she had ever encountered before.

"...Take it." said Eclipsa. Star blinked again, as she slowly reached out and picked up the envelope. Staring blankly at it as she held it in her hand.

"You will not be able to open it quite yet. And if you try to force it open, I'm afraid the contents may well explode. Or turn to dust. Or possibly water. I'm afraid I don't quite remember the details..." said Eclipsa. "But when the time is right... You will be able to open it. And take the first step toward the truth."

Star was quiet for a moment as she stared at the envelope. Eventually, she moved her gaze over to Eclipsa. Then to the envelope. And then to Eclipsa again.

"Wha-... Why now?" she muttered.

Eclipsa smiled. "Because I don't like to lead people in circles the way that the elders of my time did." Eclipsa suddenly lowered her gaze, and her features suddenly stiffened. "...It's not right... Although I suppose now I have some appreciation for how tempting it is... To keep certain things shrouded in darkness... Forever."

There was yet another brief moment of silence between the two of them, as Star struggled to wrap her head around what had just happened, and Eclipsa calmly took another long sip of tea.

"Now then... I've given you something, Star." said Eclipsa. "Now it's your turn."

Star blinked. "...What do you mean?" she asked.

Eclipsa smiled. "Stump Day. And Marco. If you would be so kind... I am quite curious." she said.

Star breathed a long, heavy sigh. Glancing down at the envelope and then back to Eclipsa, she finally gave a small nod. "...Okay." she muttered. "...So, it was Stump Day- and... Well, okay- Maybe I should start over... So... Uh..."

Star furrowed her brows as she struggled to find the right words. Eventually, she sighed again and slowly shook her head. "Okay... So, Stump Day is one of my favorite times of the year. Because it's all about being close to the people you love... And fearing the Stump. And I'm great at both of those things." she said. "And Stump Day itself was really fun. I got to hang out with a bunch of my little cousins, and we drank a whole bunch of this awesome sap cider... Even Marco seemed to be having a good time. And-... That's... That's been kinda rare recently."

Star sighed again, as she began to fiddle around with her teacup. "...All day, he seemed... Excited. And I guess... Now I know why." she said. "...It was 'cuz he'd been planning this whole 'surprise birthday party' for me."

Eclipsa smiled, and slowly brought her hand to her mouth as she gave a light chuckle. "Oh my. How sweet." she said.

Star kept her gaze trained on the table and gave a slow nod. "...Yeah. Except... It was still Stump Day. And-... It's too dangerous to celebrate my birthday on Stump Day. If the Stump sees someone else being on honored on the day that was set aside just for it... Well, there's no way it won't reign down its stumpy wrath on all of us. And that's exactly what ended up happening." said Star. "Although I guess, to be fair- I don't really know if the Stump showed up because of the surprise party or because Janna went and threw our stump idol into the fire."

Eclipsa gave another light chuckle. "This 'Janna' sounds like a person after my own heart." she said.

Star gave a quiet nod, her mind obviously elsewhere. "...Yeah." she muttered. "...Anyway... ...We ended up getting pretty lucky, 'cuz the Stump attacked up pretty close to midnight... And once midnight came, the Stump just... Disappeared. 'Cuz technically, it wasn't Stump Day anymore. ...I guess now we just gotta hope that the Stump doesn't remember what happened and wind up holding a grudge next year..."

Eclipsa shrugged. "Oh, you needn't worry yourself too much about that." she said. "Simply hold another party in its honor and all will be forgiven. Probably."

Star gave another quiet nod. "Mhmm..." she muttered.

Eclipsa leaned back in her chair and waited patiently for Star to find her voice again.

"...So, anyway... After the Stump disappeared, we decided to celebrate my birthday anyway. Most of the decorations had been all busted up, and at least half of the cake had been destroyed- but... It was still a whole lotta fun. Mostly 'cuz so many of my friends were there... And my parents." said Star. "I spent most of the night hanging out with Tom. My boyfriend. And Marco-... Well, he was hanging out with Kelly. He's been doing that a lot lately..." her voice trailed off for a moment, and Star frowned a little before slowly shaking her head.

"...Anyway. We were all having a lot of fun. Then, Ponyhead brought out this thing called a 'Thistlemoe Crown'..." Star continued.

Eclipsa raised an eyebrow but refrained from interrupting her.

"And-... It was just supposed to be this fun, dumb thing. But when I put it on Marco's head..." Star trailed off again, as she felt several strong emotions begin to bubble up in her chest. Star grit her teeth, as she felt a burst of anger. Then sadness. Then more anger.

Finally, she took a deep breath and did her best to calm herself down.

"...So... When I put it on Marco's head... He said... In a really serious, emotional voice... That-... That he was sad. Really, really sad." said Star. "And then-... He just... He ripped off the crown and walked off. For a while, all of us were kinda left wondering what exactly had just happened. Then I saw Kelly march up to Tom, and- Well, I don't think I've ever seen her look so angry. Tom told her something- and then he just disappeared in a burst of flames."

"...It, uh... It kinda took me a while to process what was going on. I remember... Ponyhead nudging me with her horn... And Mom and Dad talking amongst themselves... Looking worried..." said Star. As she spoke, her voice trembled ever so slightly, and without realizing it, she had balled her hands into fists. "When everything finally clicked for me, I just... I started running. As fast as I could. And-... As I ran... I just... I felt this wave of desperation that... Honestly, kinda scared me. In that moment, it kinda felt like my whole world had just started... Falling apart..."

Star bit her lip. "...I-... I've known that... That there was something 'up' with Marco for a while now. I was never totally sure what it was, but..." Star breathed a heavy sigh. "...I guess-... I thought that maybe... He was mad at me."

Eclipsa took a long sip of tea. "Is that so?" she muttered, as she set her teacup back down on the table. "...What made you think that?"

Star placed her hands in her lap and frowned a little. "...I-... I dunno... I guess... Well-..." Star sighed again, and stared down at her hands. "...Every now and again... When I look at him... I catch him making a face. It's usually somewhere between a wince and a grimace. A 'grince'. I only see it for a moment- and whenever he notices me looking at him... He'll look away. And-... Sometimes, when I hug him... He just kinda freezes up. Sometimes he'll even start backing out of it right away. He's even left me hug-hanging a couple of times... And he never used to do that."

Star bit her bottom lip as she slowly clasped her hands together in her lap. "...He doesn't talk to me the way he used too. He-... He's been keeping stuff inside. A whole bunch of stuff... A lot more than I thought." she muttered. "He's been getting more and more distant. I-... I can feel it. It's like... The Marco I used to know has just... Drifted away. He still helps me out with my princess duties... And-... He's been a great squire. But-... I feel like..."

Star's grip tightened, as her voice began to tremble again. "...It kinda feels like he's become more of a squire than a friend. And-... That's not what I wanted. I made him my squire so that we could be friends again. So that we could hang out and do fun stuff together... Like we used too... And I just-..." Star cut herself off, as she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. Her chest felt heavy, and her mind was swirling with a mess of emotions. Star sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes.

"...Why couldn't it just be like how it used to be?" she asked, her voice swelling with emotion. "...How-... How did I let things get this bad? I-... I don't get it! Why-... Why was I so afraid to confront Marco about this sooner!? Why did I wait so long!? And-... And why won't he tell me what's wrong!?" as she spoke, Star's voice got progressively louder. Soon, she found herself standing out of her chair and leaning over the table, focusing her teary eyes on Eclipsa with an intense stare.

"I-... I knew that he was feeling out of place here! And-... And I wanted to help him adjust more! But-... But I had other stuff I had to do! And-... And I thought Marco could handle it! He's Marco! Marco's always been able to adjust to the crazy stuff that follows me around!" she exclaimed. "But- But he couldn't! I thought he just needed some time, and he'd get better on his own... But he just got worse! And-... And when I shoved that Thistlemoe crown on him... And he was supposed to tell everyone his deepest truth... He said that- He said..."

Tears began to roll down her cheeks, but in the moment, Star didn't seem to notice. "He said that he was sad! That was his deepest truth! He's miserable here! He's miserable with me!" she exclaimed. "And-... And... I'm just so angry! I'm so, so angry! Angry at everything! Angry at him for butting into my life the way he did! Angry at him for keeping his feelings bottled up! And treating me like I'm not even his best friend anymore! But most of all- I'm angry because it's all my fault! All of it!"

"I should've let him go back to Earth! I should never have made him my squire! All that did was make him miserable! And-... And I pretended that I didn't really notice... Becuase I didn't wanna admit that I made a mistake! I didn't want to face the possibility that I was the one making him feel this way!" exclaimed Star. "And! And-... I didn't... I didn't want to admit... That I was losing him all over again... But-... But worse! Because now... Now I don't even know if we can be friends anymore."

Eclipsa gave Star a soft, sweet smile. "It's okay, dear. Let it all out." she said, in a quiet, comforting tone.

Star slowly sat down in her chair as her entire frame began to tremble. As she buried her head in her hands, she began to quietly sob as weeks of tremendous anguish began to pour out of her all at once. Eclipsa calmly got out of her chair, walked over to Star, and wrapped her dark purple arms around her. Squeezing her tight and pulling her into her chest. As Star continued to sob, Eclipsa calmly stroked her hair and cooed softly.

"It's okay, dear. It's okay." she whispered.

Star cried for a while, her body trembling even in the warmth of Eclipsa's embrace. Ever since Stump Day, Star had felt as if she were on the verge of falling apart. It reminded her of the devastation she had felt when her Mewman/Monster party had fallen apart, all thanks to an attack by Mina Loveberry. Her one time greatest hero. That night, she had felt as if everything she had worked for had dissipated in front of her very eyes.

Ever since defeating Toffee, Star had dedicated herself to becoming something better. For the first time in her life, she had actually wanted to try and grow up. It felt right. It felt like what she was supposed to do. And she genuinely believed that if she managed to change for the better... Then she could fix all that was right in the world.

On the night of the Monster/Mewman party disaster, she was suddenly faced with a painful truth.

She hadn't changed. She was still the same immature princess she was before. Some dark, awful part of her wanted to blame Marco for that. To her, in that moment, he represented everything she used to be. Including many of the things that she truly hated about herself.

And Tom... Represented something new. A new chance. A new opportunity... To grow up and become something incredible.

But deep down inside, she knew that none of that was true. None of it. As good as it felt to be comforted by Tom that night... To be held in his warm embrace, and to be told that everything would be okay... Somewhere in the deepest part of her... The part that she had tried so desperately to lock away and move on from...

She knew that there was something missing. And it made her feel all the more desperate and alone. Everything was wrong, and she didn't know how to fix it.

As she continued to release a torrent of long-withheld emotions, Eclipsa held her as tightly as she could.

"It's okay, dear. It's going to be okay." she whispered.

As Star continued to cry, she truly and desperately wished that she could keep believing that. But at that moment... Nothing could seem further from the truth.

---

To be continued...

---

((AN: So... I'm sure many of you are disappointed by the length of this chapter... Fortunately, I do have an explanation. See, I actually decided to split the 'Chapter 3' I'd been working on into two parts. I decided to do this after it began to climb over the 30K mark. At that point, it was beginning to feel a little ridiculous- even for me.

I'm really sorry that there were no big action sequences or anything like that this time... I honestly wasn't expecting to have to post the chapter this way. I hope that you're able to find it acceptable all the same.

Obviously, I have a pretty good headstart on Chapter Four now, but it's still not quite finished. It might take as long as a week- maybe more. Once again, I apologize.))

PS: Another big shout out to robertkellet. This chapter has been particularly challenging for me, and he has been incredibly helpful and patient. I can't thank him enough.

PPS: To those who left reviews as 'Guests', obviously I'm unable to PM you a response individually. I think I might give responses to here at the end of the chapter. For those reviewers who login and review, I'll continue to respond via Private Message.

Anonymous - I did take your criticism to heart, and I hope to do a better job handling Star in the future. I do disagree with the idea that Star is closer to Marco than Tom at this point, however. If anything, I think the end of 'Monster Bash' really reinforces the TomStar relationship and does nothing for Starco. But then, that's just my own opinion.

MaybeYouKnowMe - Thank you very much for the kind words. It's always appreciated. Sorry about the lack of Buff Frog in this chapter... He'll definitely show up in the next chapter. I'm actually not a fan of TomStar by any stretch, but I did wanna try and treat it with some kind of respect- and at least show that they really do make each other happy. I don't know how successful I've been at that, but... Yeah.

Until next time... Have a good day, everyone!