"Ok, Star, are you ready for your first lesson?"

That was Scott's voice, coming from the top of a tree. He was resting comfortably on a low-hanging branch, while Star was trying to climb too.

"Sure, thing chief…What's the first lesson?"

"Defensive spells," Scott placidly said, trying to make the most boring voice he could pull off. It worked, as it already had an effect on the exuberant princess.

"Awww, man. Come on, can't you like teach me any laser blast or something?"

Scott jumped off, rendering Star's attempts in vain. She frowned slightly, then jumped down as well, landing on her feet, but then falling on her back.

"Nope. I have my obvious, mind you, reasons why we are going to learn shields. Now, come, chop-chop. We are not going to train in a highly dense forest, where deflecting your attacks will result in an enormous number of innocent critters evaporated."

"Urghh…" Star groaned frustrated. "Fine, can we at least take the dimensional scissors there?"

"Negative. We'll walk. Also, no magic until we get to that clearing."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, no magic…No magic?!" Star yelled only then realizing what he said. She had a knack for turning her hearing off, when Scott was talking. It wasn't because she wasn't interested…Actually, no it was because she wasn't interested and because mostly every word he said was about magic and lessons…Star found that pretty boring; he was the person who would speak about school every single moment of the day, even at parties. But alas this was her conception.

"Yes. No magic. Look, if you want to know why and how, rest assured that, at the end of the lesson, I'm going to give you an extremely thorough explanation of every one of my actions, ok?"

"Hmmm…" Star wasn't sure if this bargain was worth. But at least it guaranteed some insight. "Fine, deal," she said, shaking his hand.

Without any further discussions, the two started their amazing journey towards an immense clearing that was going to serve as their training ground. Scott was the silent type, while Star was a talking type. She tried numerous times to ask him anything, start a conversation, but the second the words were about to leave her mouth, she stopped. Just seeing the way he was lost in thoughts, his eyes daringly scraping the tips of the distant mountains, made her lose any hope of human contact. Instead, she tried to focus on her surroundings. This place was not very different from what she was used to, back in her home dimension. Surely, the burning heat and a strangely white glowing sun on the sky, plus the strange tentacles on the trees set it apart from Mewni, but it still had a strangely familiar feeling. She could hear the grass rustling and the hooves of a heavy ungulate (it's a term for any herbivore that you know to be preyed upon in savannahs) clopping around on the rocky soil. A river completed the strange harmony with its soothing sound which, albeit distant, added a classical note to the symphony. That was how Star saw things around her…however put in Scott's words.

If we were to study the cynical boy's perspective things would've been slightly less…poetic, although his vocabulary was fit for that vocation. He saw the world in shades, not in hues or spots of colors. Everything was gray-scaled for him. It was hard for him to experience the same feelings Star did. It wasn't a matter of choice, but a matter of history. The rainbow in the distance wasn't whimsical or filling him with a sense of child-like wonder…it was the mere refraction of light through the humid atmosphere… He was a man of science, after all, versed in the subtle art of magic. And an artist without a purpose is void… There was a paradoxical war raging inside him… Scott was a man, who despite young, knew a lot more than any of the brightest minds in the known universe and its many layers. And that was all while being…off the grid, which was extremely rare, if not unique. The High Council of Magic was known to possess an archive that kept in pristine order every single being in the universe. Apart from a few… Scott was obviously one of them. And he was extremely successful at keeping himself under board. Magical beings like Glossaryck, or Hekapoo have a sort of innate ability to control this kind of forces, but the key is in their name. "Magical beings." Scott was obviously not that. These things are usually humanoid but keep on a slightly…weird appearance. And there he was. Standing a little over 5'8", dark brown hair, emerald green eyes, wearing a signature coat paired with the same white shirt and brown pants, giving him the look of a scholar, or a last year student, rather than a boy who should decide what he wants to do with his life. He was always lost in thought, his irises always glimmering, but absent every time. When he spoke, he never looked the person in the eye. He was grazing the sky, or burning holes in the ground, but his voice was never shaky. He was determined and eloquent, knowing what to say at the exact time. He was calm, collected and calculated, while most other were reckless and quick-tempered. There was one capital and crucial difference though. He was completely void of any sentiment… He was aware of them, and knew them through and through, yet he couldn't experience them. It was a setback, but he knew to turn it around. He spent some time, studying psychology, finding it rather interesting…It felt like a fairy tale, rather than something he'd relate to. This was the final piece in the puzzle he had built. He knew to interpret signals that other people gave away, he knew what and how to say in order to achieve his goal…all while he felt nothing…

"You okay, there?" Star asked, staring innocently at the back of his head. It's worth noting that for a while now, Scott was leading the way.

"Yes, I am fine."

"Sure? You seem lost in thought. You've been like this for a while now."

"I am fine," Scott repeated in his same monotone way.

"You don't seem fine."

"Star, I am the same as I was before and as I was the day I met you. Nothing has changed, nothing is new, and I know you're desperately trying to make conversation, because you're bored. We're almost there, Star. You'll be able to fight in an instant."

The clearing was dominated by a huge rock, looking as if a hand came down from the sky and just threw it there. However, Scott smiled as he laid eyes on the odd occurrence.

"Great, now, I'd like you to turn your back to that immense stone and prepare yourself. Stretch, or whatever you have to do."

Star followed his instructions obediently, growing confused as Scott was flailing his arms around, like he was dancing. However, he wasn't just rehearsing a choreography. He didn't just shake around, he was actually conjuring a strange entity, whose body type she had seen before.

"What are you doing?" Star asked curious as to what he was trying to summon.

"Creating the enemy you'll be facing."

"And who's that?"

Scott was done and, with a flash of light, a short and ugly bird-like creature was roaming the Earth, carrying a stick with a rock stuck to it. After the temporary blindness faded away, Star was able to identify it as the most annoying mignon pest in the entire universe, Ludo.

"I'm gonna be fighting Ludo?"

"Precisely. Wand up, you're going to have to start protecting yourself," Scott said calmly as Ludo's wand started glowing, signaling that he was casting a spell. A dark green blast came out of the half-star on his wand, and was swiftly travelling towards Star. She replied soon enough with her Narwhal Blast, but as soon as the beams collided, they stopped and exploded, causing Star to shield her face with her arm. However, her reflex was deemed useless as the destructive force was contained inside a protective bubble, about a foot away from her. The multicolored shockwave was resonating beautifully inside its impenetrable casing and she couldn't help but stare in awe at the cacophony that was unfolding before her eyes. As she touched it, the bubble deformed, causing a disturbance inside. Seeing that she had enjoyed it for a while now, clenching his hand into a fist, he made his own spell disappear.

"That's enough."

"Oh, come on, man…"

"You see where you did wrong, Star?"

"Ummm…No, not really," she said with a confused look.

"Well, if it weren't for that shield, your face would be severely burnt and that golden hair of yours would've been lost forever. You don't fight fire with fire, Star, because it births more fire. If an enemy attacks, what do you do?" Scott ask, sounding like a general scolding his privates.

"I…attack back?"

"No, you dodge or shield yourself. Enemies will come that will be far beyond your power level. Even though Ludo doesn't seem like much, he can and will not hesitate to obliterate you, only to tilt the game in his favor. Plus, you've only met enemies whose power level was lesser or equal to yours, but now you'll face evil that surpasses your skill level and your power level. The game is over, and from now on, I'm going to need you to give 100%, ok?" His voice had gradually turned from abrasive to calming. He was perfectly emulating empathy for her…

"Okay, just a problem, now, Mr. Teacher."

"What's that?"

"I don't know how to make a shield and I have no start…"

"You didn't have a start when you first performed magic without a wand, but that didn't stop you. Although, come to think of it, you had an enabler…"

"An enabler? You mean…Marco? "

"You're extremely insightful, Star," he said sincerely. "Now, for the shield. You know any sort of blast you're trying to create? Try focusing it on yourself. It's that easy actually."

"Okay…thanks…for nothing," she mumbled for herself.

Scott knew he had to brace himself for a lot of failures, but his patience was so trained, it was basically limitless. The fake Ludo had already charged another blast… and it's needless to say that Star had failed to conjure her shield in time…

"Nice try, Star. Again!"

Another blast.

"One more time!"

And another.

"Work harder!"

And another…

"You aren't projecting your energy as you should! Try again!"

And yet another…

"Almost there! Try again!"

And one more…Failed again. Star was exhausted, after training all day. The sun was close to setting and it was bidding farewell to the last parts of the horizon, but she hadn't made any real progress. Panting, while leaning on her knees she was barely holding herself from yelling at her teacher. It was a "been there done that" situation. Glossaryck had been vague in the past, but at least he shut up afterwards. He wasn't continuously trying to encourage her with absolutely no voice inflexions whatsoever. It only took him to say "Again!" once for her to flip. And when she was angry, although rare, there was nothing to joke about.

"You know, what? I've had it with you, too. I initially stood up for you, when Marco criticized your every move, but now, I see where it's actually coming from all of it. You are nothing but an infuriating jerk who so desperately tries to replace a millennia old servant of our family. And you fail…miserably! I don't know why my mother sent you here, and I don't want to know. Now go!"

"Perfect." Scott was completely unaffected. The fake Ludo was already preparing for another blast. Without any warning now, he fired. Instinctively Star retaliated, with the same attacks as before, forgetting anything she's been taught. As before, the explosion happened, but this time it was not contained. Since the beams crossed slightly further than before, the shockwave was not strong enough to hurt, but it sure knocked Star off her feet.

"What are you going to do? Destroy me just because I told you the truth?" Star yelled infuriated. Scott didn't answer, he didn't even budge.

Ludo prepared another attack and fired it, as if he were real, not giving her a chance to catch her breath. But now, his attacks varied. They weren't only meaningless straight blasts. They started to curve outwards, to become almost sentient…Knowing they need to be drifty in order to avoid getting destroyed. Star did nothing more but run and fight back, but every time the streams crossed, an explosion followed. The night was now illuminated by their fight. The silent woods were animated by a confrontation, never before seen.

"Stop that! Isn't this breaking some sort of law, or arrangement you had with mom?" Star asked trying to reason with a seemingly mad man. But she was knocking at a closed door… His little minion was vividly casting spells, fueled by a blinding desire to destroy her and its master, her friend, she thought was sitting there, ruthlessly watching over as a Caesar over his gladiators.

A few more shots were fired, with the same outcome. It was as if she didn't learn from her mistakes, only repeating them, aggravating her situation. After yet another barrage, she decided to take shelter behind the huge stone in the middle of the clearing.

"I can't reason with this guy," she thought to herself. "I can't touch that little guy, only thing I have left to do is try to hit him…" Without rethinking her plan over, she decided it was for the best to just go full on. She got up, ran from her hiding spot, and used the most powerful attack she could think of to obliterate her former friend. Her Warnicorn Stampede shout echoed through the night as it summoned one of the strongest herd of unicorns she had in store. They were rampaging through the grass, breathing fire from their noses, their neighs having the power to crush the spirits of anyone who would hear them. The collision with the two was formidable, raising a dust cloud that obstructed her view of the duo. Without double checking, she turned back searching her dress pockets for her dimensional scissors, when suddenly an energy blast was fired at her feet, sending her flying into the air. She landed on the enormous stone, bruises and scratches covering her arms.

As the dust settled, she could see the two were unscathed… A purple glimmer surrounded them, showcasing the shields they used to protect them. Star had no time to relax, as the tiny minion tirelessly attacked her in a murdering frenzy. She didn't have any more fight in her… With her last powers she fired off her last few attacks, retaliating for what could be the last time. She was weakened and as the last spell flew from her wand, she fell to the ground, powerless.

They say that in the last moments of your life, you rethink every moment of your life. Starting with your first. Her childhood. Her mother. Her duties. Her powers. They were all flashing before her closed eyes. She thought of her journey to Earth. She remembered her first days with Marco. Her best moments with him. Their first class…her mewberty crisis… the ball, with the blood moon that bound their souls together forever… Then the confrontation with Toffee, the fear of losing him drove her to destroy her wand in order to save him. Then the new wand…the new powers that she found out right as he was about to read her diary. The sleepover, where she nearly got caught, but cleverly avoided the truth. Then the faithful night that brought them to this very moment. The remorse she felt when she saw him and Jackie having the time of their lives. The envy that corrupted her spells. Ludo stealing her book, as she sought refuge and comfort in his arms…And then Scott. Coming in like a hurricane inside her life, uncovering secrets she's been long hiding. She resented that. But she couldn't do anything about it. He knew her through and through, but that was not enough. She put her trust in him, only to find out what he really was. He wasn't shy and distant. He was cold…and mad. In his pure task, his noble mission he jumped the line twice already, and she didn't forget that. As usual she kept her spirits high, but it was pointless. He countered her easy-going and cheerful attitude with his stoic and brute self. Still, she considered him a friend, but now she saw how cheated she was. A friend stays beside you for better or worse and understands you… But he failed these requirements. Now there he was, down below commanding his little minion to destroy her, just because he couldn't take in the fact that he was an awful teacher. Friends never let you down, and now, just because he was so set in his ways…he was about to kill her…for no reason at all.

Time was slowed to a halt, but she could still sense the green, evil light emanating from the crazed Ludo's wand. In the blink of an eye, for her, the unforgiving blast was already near her, milliseconds away from dictating her demise. She clenched her hand on her wand, trying to murmur the last spell of her life, but it was too much for her. She closed her eyes, one more time and laid there, awaiting her doom. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes, but she was too proud to let them free…The blast hit, its sound resonating through the empty dark forest, its light illuminating the sky with the corrupted tint of evil. The deed was done.

Scott was left speechless. He didn't think that his summon would actually go through with it. He wanted to force her into learning, to give her the impulse she had always needed in the past. But it was too much for her. He'd brag to himself that he knew how people think, but in the end his pride, albeit little, was his downfall. He destroyed his minion and let his body fall on the harsh grass, kneeling before the effigy of his mistake, the enormous rock. He laid kneeling staring at the dark emerald fire burning on top of the stone pillar. Now it was his time to rethink his life and purpose. As he laid there, on the brink of finally having a human emotion in the form of despair, a small rock flew past his head. Looking in the direction of where it came from, he saw a silhouette casting a shadow through the flames… He couldn't believe his eyes, when he saw that his method, although excessive has paid off and Star, surrounded by a pink aura.

She jumped down and with shaky steps approached her mentor and, with a smile crossing her face, she asked:

"Now it's time for those questions?"

Scott paused for a while, grateful that she was alright and, smiling back he replied:

"Sure."

"Why didn't you attack me, and put that little evil thing to do the dirty deed for you?"

"Well, I believed that fighting an enemy you were accustomed to was going to motivate you more and I can't attack you, Star."

"Why is that?"

Scott didn't answer, but instead he stepped up and with a short flick of the hand, he unleashed a pulse of indigo energy that, when came in contact with the rock, sent it flying miles away, crossing the line of the horizon in mere seconds.

"This is why…"

"You know, you can't play this card forever. Star is not as tough as you are."

"I overstepped this time, but it turned better than I thought, didn't it?"

"Luck is not something to take pride in. You could've actually harmed her, and Moon wouldn't have forgiven you, as powerful and needed as you are."

"You are right…I must plan more carefully… "

"On the contrary, boy. You must stop overthinking it. You are trying to force Star to follow your ways, but you should leave her influence you as well. Two people colliding…"

"Share together, or fight each other…"

As the portal opened, Scott only said one more thing.

"Try following that advice yourself, Glossaryck," and with that he left and the tiny old man disappeared in the pages of the book.