Epilogue

A whole day was needed just to write down the repairs castle Butterfly needed. Four towers were badly damaged, one had collapsed completely. The main wall had five different holes with the size of a small house. The inner wall had two more. Three gates had been turned into a pile of rubber and debris. With reduced staff, it would take at least a year to restore the castle.

Now that Toffee was permanently gone, and his army crumbled, the repairs could wait a few days. The Queen and King of Mewnie decided it was best to honor the people they lost as early as possible.

On the first day of mourning, the royal family and their subjects said goodbye to the six men and two women from the Royal Guard. Star tried to hold her tears for later, when she was alone. But every time a familiar face had his coffin closed, she would lose control just enough to get her face wet. Moon on the other hand was cold as a stone on the outside. Star wondered if her mother had such self-control because of training, or because this was not her first funeral.

Second and third day were left for the all eighty six soldiers who had fallen while defending the castle. Hundreds of mewmans came to send them to the afterlife. Star had never seen so many crying people on one place. Watching them was as if somebody was stabbing her in the heart. With a suffocating hugs, she shared the pain with Marco, Kelly and Pony Head.

When Queen Moon was not helping with castle's restoration, she would be busy dealing with the monster army's remains. On the day after the funerals she paid a visit to the frozen monster. Hours of interrogation with Rhombulus yielded somewhat useful results. She said goodbye to the crystal man and left for Mewnie. Rhombulus continued fixing his own dimension.

Moon concluded Toffee's army was an improvised effort. Its strength lied in the magic he used to arm his creatures, and the overwhelming number of monsters with frenzied determination. Without magical weapons and a leader, they were left demoralized and disorganized. She doubted any monster would try attacking castle Butterfly anytime soon. That did not meant she would let judgment pass by the ones responsible for so many deaths.

While Moon was gone, Star was busy with a task of her own. Escorted by Eric and Buff Frog, both in knight armors, she visited the mewnian city's remains. Some houses were scotched to ashes. Some had remains left behind, similar to a tornado ripping the building off its foundation. Just a few days ago, Toffee used these houses to bombard the castle with. And a few days earlier, Star helped families with children leave the exact same buildings. Back then, they were homes.

Visiting the two cities, where the mewmans evacuated, was not a light task. Star personally brought the good and bad news. The monster army was defeated, but the city and the castle were badly damaged. As expected, people were not happy they lost their homes. Cheers and applauds for the victory were also expected. What surprised Star was how badly people wanted to hear details about the battle. And she told them about the siege and the shapeshifter, about the Queen and Toffee, about her fight with the undying monsters. Some details she changed to make the story sound even more epic. Other the people did not need to know. When Star was done, the mewmans were mesmerized. She had lifted their spirits again, she had become closer to them. A relationship Star needed if the rulers and people of Mewnie would overcome the upcoming mewnitarian crisis.

Another surprise was Buff Frog himself. The whole trip and back he and Eric were getting alone quite well. The Queen and King had recognized what the monster had done for their daughter. They gave him a special seal, granting him a protection under the royal family itself. "Basically, you're a something like a royalty now" Star explained. Buff Frog appreciated the gift, but reminded he was a Mewnian monster who just wanted to raise his babies in peace. And many like him were still out there, in the swamps. Again, Star questioned how history had portraited monsters.

On the way back to the castle the Princess remembered she dumped Ludo into another dimension. By now being surrounded by a race of tiny cuddle bears should have made him forget about exacting revenge on Toffee. Buff Frog argued with Star to go check on him. She promised to do it at some point in the future.

Hekapoo and Omnitraxus spent a lot of time hunting down Eclipsa. Their effort to capture her again was fruitless. Since Toffee's death, nobody had seen or heard of the Queen of Darkness. The monster's warning about his mother had put the High Commission on alert. Star never told them about her talk with Eclipsa. Afraid that Moon would lock her in the castle again, she decided to believe in the High Commission. For now.

XXX

Morning sun rays showered the courtyard. Light breeze gently waved Star's golden hair. Wearing a sky blue royal dress, she watched as Kelly passed through a whirling portal, and went home. Earlier, she had said goodbye to Buff Frog, the tadpole babies, and Pony Head. That left only Marco.

One by one, the boy gave the Queen and King a light hug. He stepped in front of Star. Both her parents turned at them.

- Star, we have a surprise for you - River said, obviously excited.

- Surprise! You guys know how much I love surprises - the girl shined.

- I spoke with your parents - Marco was smiling gently. - They said you can come back to Earth.

- Really? - shocked, she looked at her mother.

- Yes. It would be good for you - Moon responded.

To be completely honest, Star was not sure how to feel. Ever since the girl returned to Mewnie, she was looking forward to this moment. Living with the Diazes and being independent was one of the best times Star had. And more fun awaited with her friends, even in school.

The Princess stared up at the castle's damaged towers. Going back to Earth also meant she would have to face some hard dilemmas. Two particular were directly related to Marco and Jackie. On Mewnie, Star had more than enough problems to deal with. But they were solvable. With these two, she wasn't sure what to do. If Eclipsa was right, Star had to face her best friend, his girlfriend, and herself. But that time was yet to come.

- Thank you all, but I won't be going back to Earth - she smiled sadly.

A mix of shock and misunderstanding was written on Marco and her parents' faces. Before questions started raining, Star continued:

- Mewnie is still recovering from the heavy battle. The people, they... they need my help. I can't just ignore them - Star turned at the boy. - Sorry, Marco. For now, I have to stay here.

Marco took a few steps closer to Star. He wrapped his arm around her.

- You don't have to apologize.

Instead of saying anything, the Princess just hugged him back. Proud pair of tears escaped Moon's eyes.

Several long seconds passed, before Star and Marco let each other go. With his own dimensional scissors, the boy opened a gateway to home. He waved at his friend.

- Feel free to drop by anytime.

- Sure - Star brighten up. - And don't forget. We'll be celebrating our victory over Toffee.

- I'm looking forward to it - Marco smiled playfully. - Star the Fate Breaker.


Wow, that became bigger than anticipated.

Anyway thank you, my dear reader. I hope you had as much fun reading as I had creating this story. Liked/disliked something? Have some thoughts on the story itself? Please, let me know with a general review.