December 24th (four months after the Cleaving)
"So I'm driving home, thinking about work and dinner. I pull into my driveway, there's this huge boom, and suddenly, there's a giant spider nest on top of my house. I get a call from my friend down the block. He now has a bunch of mermaids chilling in his pool."
Amidst much laughter from the audience, he went on.
"Yeah, it was a strange moment, to say the least. However, thanks to No Being Left Behind, I can say my family and I are doing okay. Only thing bothering us now are the goblins who keep getting into our trash."
Clapping filled the auditorium as the massive screen behind the speaker changed to a picture of a Mewman, monster, and human all shaking hands, with the words "No Being Left Behind" flashing above.
The man went back to his seat and his spot on the podium was replaced by Eclipsa Butterfly.
"Thank you, Johnathan," she said. "As we all know, he was just one of the many lives forever altered by the Cleaving." she chuckled, "However, as of today, I am proud to announce that No Being Left Behind has successfully relocated it's 100,000th recipient."
Everyone clapped.
"Now obviously, we've still got a long way to go," she said, "but I believe this is a sign of good things to come. And for that, I just want to say thank you.
More clapping as the press approached the podium.
"Mrs Butterfly," a reporter asked. "Now that your relief organization is thriving, what are you going to do now?" The former queen smiled, "I'm going home to spend Christmas with my family."
Everyone clapped (and some awed) as she left the podium.
She exited the convention center, the freezing temperature and falling frost adding to her already pale complexion as she crunched her boots through the snow towards her dark purple Cadillac. Getting inside, Eclipsa turned up the heat and lay back in the driver's seat, letting out an exhasted sigh as the car began to fill with warmth. Relaxing for a moment, she thought back to everything that had occured over the last few months.
It was hard to believe that four months ago, her biggest concern had been finding a kindergarten for Meteora. Minutes later, a blinding flash had gone off and she and the Butterflies had found themselves in the middle of a traffic-clogged freeway leading out of Echo Creek. To say things had turned chaotic would have been an understatement, and that was before they'd managed to locate Star and Marco and learned what had happened.
With no way to reverse the new event (which they would later dub "the Cleaving"), the Butterflies had rounded up the heads of the other kingdoms and all made their way to the White House in Washington. There, they'd met the President and broadcasted themselves to the whole world, introducing them to the concepts of Mewni, Mewmen, and magic and explaining what had happened. Most importantly, they'd all requested for pure and absolute peace.
What followed had been a tense series of negociations between NATO and the kingdoms. Thankfully, aside from asking an exhastingly long list of questions, the governments of the world, realizing how massive this cataclysmic event truly was, had seemingly agreed that conflict would only make things worse and accepted and welcomed their presence.
Then came the treaty and the formation of New Mewni. The Cleaving had left the Butterfly Kingdom smack dab in the middle of Echo Creek, Los Angeles, with the other kingdoms all bunched around. The royals, not wanting to abolish their kingdoms, but also not wanting to challenge the diplomatic system of the US, had finally settled
for a comprimise. The US would allow them to continue their rule, but on a much lower scale and in subservience to their government. The territory their kingdoms now occupied would be given to them, with the entire region comprising them all to be reformed into a new state; New Mewni. As was promised by the very nature of the United States, the kingdoms were all relatively free to continue their culture and way of life as long as they complied with US law and paid their dues. Basically, they were now glorified mayors of cities where their subjects would live as Mewman Americans alongside those already there before the Cleaving. The technological simularities between Mewni and human culture thankfully made assimulation not as difficult as would have been imagined.
As for the Butterfly Kingdom, Eclipsa and Star had unanimously agreed to dissolve it (much to the horrors of Moon and River). Having lived in Echo Creek for quite some time, Star couldn't bare to take it from it's people and Eclipsa had no intention to continue ruling. So, while the city would now be a part of New Mewni, the kingdom would be no more. Echo Creek would absorb the wealth, land, and citizens from the Butterfly Kingdom, transforming from a small city to a bustling hub of Earth-Mewni culture, as well as a famous landmark as the site of the Cleaving and the capital of New Mewni. Eclipsa and her family would be granted enough money to support themselves while Star would be placed back into the care of the Diazes while her parents continued to run their yurt community.
Of course, there still stood the matter of the millions of humans, Mewmans, and monsters whose homes and businesses had been interrupted, interfered with, or (as hard as it was to swallow) destroyed by the Cleaving. So, in an idea proposed by Star and Eclipsa, all the kingdoms had donated a large sum of their wealth to form the No Being Left Behind program, a global relief organization designed to relocate and house all people left homeless by the event.
There had been many other factors in their negotiations regarding not just the establishment of monsters as free and equal citizens, but also the definitions of Mewmans and how they specifically differ from humans, the categorization of said newly-established Mewman race into ethnic categories (humanoid Mewmans, non-human Mewmans, Monster Mewmans, etc), the copyright use of the term "monster," the standards for separating monsters from Mewni plants and animals, the establishment of Mewni wildlife as property of each individual state, and a huge bundle of other topics that honestly hurt the woman's head. Needless to say, it had been a LONG four months!
But… none of that mattered now. The ink on the treaty was dry, the relief organization was booming, and everyone Eclipsa cared about was safe and comfortable.
Now, she could direct all her focus towards the one thing that mattered more to her than anything else: her family.
Eclipsa let out a long, happy sigh, finally feeling free for the first time in her life. Smiling and feeling very toasty, she sat up, took the wheel, and backed out of the parking lot. Turning onto the snow-covered freeway, she switched on the radio and was greeted with a shrill monkey screech.
"Hellooooo New Mewni! This is Foolduke and you're listening to Monkey Buttz, the voice of the fools! It is a chilly 25 degrees, the snow is piling up, and we've even got reports that the Underworld has frozen over. Is this the start of the apocalypse… or does lovely Queen Wraithmelior just have the chills? You decide!"
"Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that a certain holiday has been creeping up on us and is now right around the corner. Last week we introduced the people of Earth to the festivities of Stump Day and now it's their turn to enlighten us. Ladies and gentlemen, happy Christmas Eve!"
Holiday music, accomplied by more monkey screeching, blared out the speakers.
"Obviously, if you're a Mewman like me, you've probably never heard of this holiday before. Thankfully for all of us, the people on this rock don't know when to shut up about it! But in all seriousness, I think we all get the gist by now. Fat man in suit, reindeer sleigh, all that jazz. And who doesn't love getting stuff for free, am I right? Still, for all it's cracked up to be, I feel like there's something we're missing, some bigger picture we just aren't seeing. I mean, come on, I can't be the only fool around here, you know? So, why don't we introduce someone with a bit more Christmas knowledge? Someone with the key tar all this? My trusty co-host, Oskar Greason everyone!"
There was a sound of chittering.
"Sup Foolduke?"
"Hey Oskar, nice to see you again. So before I get distracted by those huge diamonds you call eyes again, tell us here at Monkey Buttz what Christmas means to you."
"Well, Foolduke, to me, Christmas is the time where my mom and I put aside our issues and learn to live under the same roof."
"Must feel nice not sleeping in a parking lot."
"Hey, the whole world's my studio, but yeah, it is nice. Mom was nice enough to not throw away all my keytars, now that's a Christmas miracle if I've ever heard one. Plus, she makes some sick sugar cookies."
"Aw!"
"But don't think this means I'm moving back in, Mom!"
"I feel you, bro. Left my place right after jester school and never looked back. Only so many times I could tell Ma and Pa that I didn't want to be a thief. But (sigh) with my husband on tour (shoutout to you, Rubriot, my love), I'm pretty much guarenteed to be spending the holidays at their place over on Pie Island."
"Oh, so they're doing Christmas over there too?"
"Yeah, but I swear, if the gifts they give me aren't stolen property, I'll eat Julius."
Another monkey screetch.
"I'm just kidding, Jules (another sigh). Ah well, least I can expect some good gifts. You know, they gave us a hot air balloon for our wedding."
"Hey, at least they care about you, Fool. And I think that's what Christmas is meant to be about. Spending time with those who care about you… even if you can't stand them."
"Well, I can say, I've heard worst reasons to celebrate a holiday. Least you get gifts out of this one. So, to all you listeners with family problems, we over here at Monkey Buttz salute you and hope you have a great Christmas!"
Another screetch.
"Julius, put that ferret down!"
Eclipsa laughed before switching to another station.
"Hey hey hey, Mews and Hues, it's your favorite girl, Ponyyyyyyyyyy, reminding you all to tune into my 24/7 Christmas livestream. Starting at 7, it'll be guests, goodies, gifts, and glam, all directed of course at me. So unless you're a loser, I'd advise you to keep your dials turned to me!"
With a roll of her eyes, she switched once more.
"-alledged sightings of Loveberry across the country," a crime reporter came up. "Citizens please be advised that this woman is considered very unstable and dangerous. If you have any information that can aid in her capture, please call or report to your local authorities. Stay safe this holiday."
Another eye roll. The sooner that crazy woman was in a padded cell, the better. Not wanting to be put down by that reminder of the biggest thorn in her side, Eclipsa switched again, smiling as she heard a cheerful voice on the speaker. "Here's some classic Christmas tunes!" The speakers began blasting Mariah Carey's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) .
"The snow's coming down!
(Christmas) I'm watching it fall!
(Christmas) Lots of people around!
(Christmas) Baby, please come home!"
Smiling with satisfaction, Eclipsa looked out ahead. Branching off the road were marked exits to the other kingdoms. She continued on, eventually passing the familiar city sign, greeting her with the snow-encrusted Welcome to Echo Creek, The Source of the Cleaving!
The city finally came into view. Like everywhere else, it was covered in snow, yet still made it's presence known as the multicultural municipality of the new world. Even from far away, she could make out Butterfly Castle, nestled among the modern city skyscrapers in the more urban part of the city. The once dominating symbol of Butterfly royalty was now apparently being used for office space (the property was practically useless to the family now anyway). At the forefront of the city stood the Monster Temple, having been repaired since Mina's attack, but no longer occupied by Eclipsa and her family. A snow-frosted sign in front announced it as the future History of Mewni museum. All the better too, as the former queen felt that too many bad memories kept it from being a happy place to raise her child. Surrounding the city were the sprawing suburban districts, now riddled with forested areas and monster dwellings, with the eastern Echo River cutting through the land like an energy sword through flesh. Even under a growing blanket of snow, it was clear to see why Echo Creek now served as a symbol for the deminsional merging. For Eclipsa, however, it was now just home. And that's all she wanted.
As she drove further inwards, it became obvious that the Cleaving hadn't put a damper on the Christmas spirit in the slightest. Red and green lights flickered off every structure, with candy canes, snowmen, and wreaths covering every store window and marking every street corner. Huge, fat Christmas trees dressed in tinsel and ornaments were everywhere, as was the sounds of Christmas music and the hustle and bustle of last-minute Christmas shoppers, all dressed to the nines in winter gear.
The sight brought a big smile to Eclipsa's face. Like Foolduke, she'd learned of the holiday during the start of the winter season and had immediately grown excited at the opportunity to not only experience this new and uniquely interesting Earth holiday, but also have the opprotunity to do so openly and unabashedly with her family. For the first time in her life, she wouldn't have to worry about the security of her family, the status of the kingdom, or the politics of Monster-Mewman relations.
Oh yes, she was finally, finally, FINALLY free.
"(Christmas) Baby please come home!"
Soon, she pulled up to her townhouse. It wasn't as big or elegant as the Monster Temple, but they hadn't needed it to be (especially since they no longer employed servants). Bracing herself, Eclipsa got out of her car, shaking as her body was hit by the sudden, rapid tempature change. Locking her car, she quickly, but carefully paced the slick and icy stone walkway up to her front door and, after digging through her coat, unlocked and opened it.
The bright, white winter landscape was replaced with a modestly elegant and cosy foyer of rich, dark violet walls and a mix of Victorian and Mewnian furniture. Adjascent was the living room, where a warm fire sat alit in the stone fireplace, bathing the house with a nice warmth and ambiant lighting. A decorated Christmas tree stood nearby and three stockings (one them super large) hung above the mantle. Stepping inside, she quickly shut the door.
"Hello?"
Aside from the flicker of the fire and the ticking of a nearby grandfather clock, everything was silent and still. "Globgor? Meteora?"
No reply. Odd. Despite the spacious interior, Eclipsa was sure they would have heard her come in. She'd expected to be immedately swarmed by her daughter, the precious girl likely overjoyed after not seeing her mother this morning. Thinking of the most likely place for them to be, Eclipsa walked down one of the adjascent halls, her feet clicking the polished floor.
A minute or so later, Eclipsa was halted by two sudden changes in the enviroment; a scurrying sound and a faint aroma that she could swore smelled like baby powder. The sound got louder and harder until her body instinctly forced her to look up… just in time to see a pudgy pink figure land on her face.
"ROAR!"
"Ohh!" She stumbled back, somehow not losing her balance as the attacker knocked her hat off. Latching onto her head with four short limbs and a tiny tail, whatever (or whoever) it was began playfully gnawing on her forehead with tiny little teeth.
Far from terrified, Eclipsa broke out into laughter as she heard approaching footsteps. "Oh Globby, help!" She cried in mock distress as her daughter crawled down her back and between her legs. "There's a naked baby on the loose!"
"NAKEY!" Meteora's head popped out the bottom of Eclipsa's skirt and turned to face her mother, her mouth breaking out into a huge semi-toothed smile. "MAMA!" She jump-crawled up her chest and into her arms and the two hugged each other.
"Oh baby, Mama missed you," Eclipsa cooed, carassing and rocking her daughter in her arms. Looking into her dark pink eyes, she added, "But why on Earth are you naked when it's freezing outside?"
"It's my fault," her husband, the former monster king Globgor, explained as he approached them. "I was changing her when she heard you pull up. Never seen her move so fast." He chuckled before pulling his wife in a hug of his own. "Welcome home, honey." He leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
"Mama gone!" Meteora cooed when they finally broke apart, "No Mama."
"Oh, I know, sweetie. Mummy had a really important meeting this morning." Her daughter folded her arms and grumbled. "Yeah, you're right. I've been saying that for months, haven't I? Well, Mummy's got just the thing to make it up to you. How about… we go spend Christmas with a certain somebody?" Meteora opened her eyes, "Somebody little and cute, just like you?"
Meteora gasped and squeaked, "Mar-Mar?" Her mother nodded. "Yay!" The baby shook and clapped her hands in excitment.
Eclipsa sighed at the adorable sight. She carassed her baby some more, nustling her cheek against her soft head. "Oh, I can't tell you how happy I am to finally be out of that office. At least on the throne, you two were with me. But enough of that. Let's get you dressed before you catch a cold, young lady. We can't have a sick baby visiting Santa, now can we?"
Globgor's smile dimmed as they walked back into the nursery. "Are you sure you don't want to rest?"
"On any other day, I would, Globby," Eclipsa placed her daughter back on the changing table, "but it's Christmas Eve and we've a lot to do. There's the Diazes, the mall, the dinner. Marco's got it all planned out," She finished tapping a new diaper on Meteora. "Do you have your suit ready?"
"Ironed and pressed. Her parka's over there," he pointed before letting out a small sigh. Eclipsa turned to face him, now looking concerned. "Globby, what's wrong?"
Her monster husband rubbed the back of his head, looking very much unlike himself. "It's just… do you think they're ready for me?"
Eclipsa smirked, "Globby, don't be silly. Star told me all about Marco's family. They practically adopted her." Globgor didn't seem convinced. "Star is one thing, but me?"
"The Mewmans accepted you," his wife replied.
"They were used to monsters. People here have probably never seen a real monster before. I mean, you saw the way they looked at me when we went public," he thought back to their introduction at the White House. He hadn't forgotten all the scared looks he'd received while making his way through Washington DC. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered him; after all, he'd still only recently been freed from his crystal prison.
However, after Mina's attack, the former monster king had come to view anti-monster prejudice in a much more serious light. He'd failed to protect his family from Mina and his wife had nearly died just fighting ONE of her many Solarian knights. Even though magic was gone, Mina was still out there, people were still getting to used to this new way of life, and, as they'd all quickly learned during their stay, the people of Earth had PLENTY of destructive weapons to compensate for a lack of magic. In Mewni, prejudice had allowed Mina to create an entire army of super soldiers. On Earth, Globgor could only imagine the equivalent. "I'm just… afraid that things haven't changed enough yet."
"Globby, change doesn't happen UNLESS you fight for it," she chuckled, "What do you think I've been fighting for the past four months?"
"What about-?"
"Mina? Ugh, I wouldn't worry about her. There's only so many dumpsters for her to hide in. Sooner or later, she'll be found and given the help she needs." She kissed her husband. "We can't let people like her scare us back into hiding. We just have to go out there and show the world who we really are."
Globgor smiled. "Wow, you sound like Star."
"Yes, that girl really has rubbed off on me, hasn't she?" Eclipsa smiled. "Ah, I can't wait to see her again." "Sta-da, sta-da!" Meteora agreed.
This finally seemed to get through to her father, who laughed and hugged them both. "You better not leave me out of that."
"Wouldn't dream of it," his wife smiled. "Now, how about I get Meteora ready while you get ready?"
Nodding, her husband walked out and she turned to her baby. "Daddy's a little nervous about the holiday," she rubbed her daughter's head. "Let's be sure to get him in the holiday spirit." Meteora gave her a thumbs up and she trilled. "That's the spirit, my little monster-boo!" She bounced her laughing daughter in her arms before the Christmas spirit overwhelmed her and, in a fit of holiday joy, she launched her in the air.