Starco vs Parenthood Introduction - All of these chapters can be read separately but they are connected. It's always the same Star & Marco, same kids, same world.

Sometimes listening to other people's stories can really change your perspective. This chapter is set about 2 months after Cleaved, the day before school starts up again at Echo Creek Academy for Star and a week before classes start at Echo Creek Community College for Marco.

Favs, reviews, and constructive feedback is really helpful. Thanks! (They help give me perspective.)

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Chapter 25 - Change of Perspective

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The evening sky is filled with an array of pinks and purples as the sun sets behind Echo Creek. It is not just the end of a beautiful day but also the end of a most unusual summer. On the Diaz roof our young couple ignores the colorful display, instead sitting with their lips locked together focused on each other. As the darkness creeps over them a conversation begins in-between kisses.

"Mmmm. I don't know what you think Star...mmm...but I think we should start dating."

"Mmm. Very funny Diaz. You know this totally isn't helping. Tomorrows going to be awful and now kissing you is all I'm going to think about when I'm totally bored in class...mmm."

"Why does it need to be awful? Mmmm. We just need to make sure we get some good kisses in...mmmm...when I drop you off and pick you up."

"Mmmm. Yeah, whatever. Tomorrow and this whole school year is totally going to suck without my bestie being there with me."

The red hooded young man pulls back a bit wanting to focus more on their conversation.

"Hey. Do you really think the year is going to be that bad? If you're really going to miss me that much would you want to wear one of my hoodies for the first day of school?"

"How about you wear one of my dresses to your first day of college. That'll help me feel better."

Marco gives her a warm smile as he entertains the thought.

"I don't mind some attention but that might get me more than I can handle on my first day. I'm already going to be the youngest student there."

"I don't get this. You're acting all happy like you're going to enjoy not having me around! Do I bug you that much? We've been dating for two months and I'm starting to think that you're already sick of me!"

"Hey, give me your hand. No matter what, I'm going to miss you BUT I'm also looking forward to seeing what college is like. For you, maybe think about the school day as extra time to spend with our other friends."

"Whatever. All I'm thinking about is that I'm going to have the...the worst time of anyone in this whole cleaved world."

"Worst? Really?"

He stares into her frustrated blue eyes as he thinks about her words.

"I know what you need."

"A new best friend who actually wants to hang out with me?"

"Ouch! No. You m'lady, you need a change of perspective. Grab a jacket. We're going out!"

"Out? Out or like adventure out?"

"We're going to the Cheer-Up-Your-Girlfriend Dimension. Backyard, fifteen minutes. I'll just need some time to get Nachos ready and pack a few things."

"Dimension? What kind of adventure do you have planned? What happened to distracting me with kisses? I liked that!"

"Mmmm. If you still need more I'll have a whole bunch of them ready for you when we get back."

"Fine but if we're going out this adventure better include ice cream."

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Thirty minutes later our young couple, both wearing red hoodies, slowly ride their dragon-cycle through several of the more rundown sections of Echo Creek. This part of town is far from the shadows of Butterfly Castle, Monster Temple, or the human-filled suburbia. Star and Marco's hoods are drawn low over their heads as if they are attempting to conceal their identities. Although the largest moon is new, the faces of mewmans, humans, and monsters are lit up by small outdoor fires as some of the less fortunate residents of town try to find warmth before returning to the cardboard box or blue tarp that they currently call home.

Marco, who's driving, pulls over to the edge of the sidewalk and stops a few feet away from a rail thin twenty something year old man who sports a Mewni style bowl haircut. Star, whose arms are tight around her boyfriend's waist, waits until the poorly dressed man has finished eating his roasted corn cob before addressing him.

"Hey, mister. What's your story?"

"Who, me?"

"Yeah."

"Three months ago I was making good corn dealing Pix-shrooms out of a tavern south of Monster Town. Now I have no supplier, the tavern has been cleaved with something called a yogurt bar, and nobody wants to buy what I have left of Mewni corn because they'd rather eat that Earth crap that comes in silver wrappers. Why do you care? Are you buying? I still have a little bit of stock left but it'll cost you."

"Pix-shrooms? Eww. Here, this bag has some apples and a map to a new shelter that just opened. If you need help cleaning up and making some new life choices they should be able to help you get started."

"Yeah, well maybe I just want my old life back. But...thanks."

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After tossing the man the paper bag the dragon-cycle takes the young couple a few blocks further down the same road. There they come across a middle aged woman and her young daughter. They are standing on a corner holding an open box of unused glow sticks.

"Magic light sticks for sale! Earth light sticks!"

"Hey miss. How much for one?"

"Six-fifty."

The former princess reaches into her boyfriend's pocket and pulls out his wallet. Without even counting Star hands the woman a handful of 'monies' before choosing a pink glow stick. The whole time Marco just shakes his head and sighs. With another paper bag in hand Star again talks to the woman.

"Miss, what's your story?"

"We-we were still looking for a new home. Eclipsa gave our farm over to some monsters who said that their family used to own it. Then the Cleave happened and we've been wandering. A month ago my husband discovered a mysterious Earth temple called 'The Mall'. There he traded the last of our coin for Earth style clothing and then he left us. He said he was going to go north to look for All-ak-an Gold or something crazy like that. All we have left now are these light sticks. My husband bought them thinking they had the last of the magic. I don't know who is stupider, him for his crazy ideas or me for marrying him."

"Here, this bag has some apples and information on the new shelter that just opened. Sorry about your husband. Also schools are starting in the morning, you should bring your daughter to one of them."

"Human school? I don't want my daughter acting like one of those no-good humans."

"They are planning on having both human and mewman teachers and students. It'll be very different then anything we had back on Mewni but I promise, it'll be worth it for both of you. Ask about it at the shelter, I bet they can tell you more."

"Well, I guess I should learn more about it before deciding. Thank you."

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After handing the bag to the woman's child, Star and Marco fly out into the night. For several minutes the couple makes circles in the sky before heading back down to street level. When they finally stop they are in front of a sign-wearing monster who is dancing outside of a restaurant known as The Salty Barnacle Club.

~We got your crab legs! We got your fish heads! We got your…~

"Lobster Claws?"

"Oh hey! Who are you mysterious dragon riding strangers? Wait-wait let me guess! The Red Knights! Right? Right?"

Marco giggled while his girlfriend poked him in the ribs before speaking to her former adversary.

"That we are, the mysterious Red Knights. Tell us Lobster Claws how have you fared since the Cleave?"

"WELL! At first I was SO confused! Where was my house? Where were my friends? Then I remembered that I had no house or friends so that was okay. But then I found my sister! Years ago Ludo left her in a different diminution by accident. He always said it wasn't an accident but it was TOTALLY an accident! Anyway, she said just before the Cleave that she got brought back from wherever she was back to Mewni. It was like something magical happened and brought her back to where she belonged. Since then it's been AWESOME!"

"Wow, I wasn't expecting awesome."

"Yeah but it is! Now I got this job selling seafood because you know, lobsters love to eat seafood! Totally worth it! They pay me to sing AND dance. I could do this forever! My sister and I are sharing an apartment now, this new world is freaking AMAZING! Next week I turn sixteen and she is going to have a real party for me with real fish cakes! Ludo never got me fish cakes for my birthday."

"Sixteen? You know, you should think about enrolling in school."

"Me? Schooled? I can't afford that."

"I think it's free if you're under a certain age."

"WOW! This new world keeps getting better and better! Hey, you two hungry for what I am told are not lobster tails? I've seen them and they look really good but they told me they are totally not made out of lobster meat."

"Huh. No, we're good. Keep up the good work Lobster Claws, I hope you try school out."

"Good night Red Knights!"

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After another half-hour of handing out shelter information and asking for stories, the Red Knights fly their dragon-cycle into the Echo Creek Academy parking lot where they pull down their hoods and begin talking about their adventure. Noticing knots in her hair, Star pulls out a hairbrush and begins working on them while they talk.

"Red Knights! I like it. Think about it Star, we could totally pull off the misunderstood vigilante couple. Although I wonder if that name has already been taken."

"I hope you like helping me with my hair too. It always gets all knotted when I wear a hoodie up and don't have it tied back right. And before you get your heart set on a name, Scarlet Demons would be way better."

"Nope, we are definitely the Red Knights. Also, we should always talk to people in a pirate accent. I so thought you were going to use one while talking to Lobster Claws. -Rrrrr...how have yee fared?-"

"Whatever. So what was the goal of that adventure anyway? I mean, I'm glad we helped some people and maybe we should make that a regular thing but school is still going to suck tomorrow."

"I was hoping our problems wouldn't look as big when we compare them to what other people are going through. Bonus, I think everything that happened with magic and the Cleave is going to make the lives of all the people we met tonight better in the long run."

"I guess maybe."

"Maybe? Let's start with the first guy. Destroying magic ended a Mewni-Pixie drug ring. That has to be good. Related to Pixies, we both know that they enslaved people from other dimensions to work in their mines. I bet the magic put everyone back to where they belong when it was destroyed just like it did for Lobster Claws' sister. That is one-hundred percent good. Weird question, is there a whole Pixie underworld crime syndicate?"

"X-na on the Pixie Mofia-na. So yeah, stopping the Pixies was a good thing but that first guy still has a lot of problems."

"I agree but the problems he has left are ones that he should solve by himself. Luckily because of the Cleave, if he wants help making an honest life for himself he now has people who can help him get started."

Star gives up on brushing her hair herself and hands the hairbrush over to her boyfriend. After carefully separating her golden strands into three different sections he starts from the bottom and slowly works his way up.

"What about the woman with the glow lights? What we did didn't help her."

"Star, her husband was likely not very smart before or after the Cleave. If it wasn't Alaskan Gold it would have been Johanson Silver or something else. The changes that took place because of the Cleave are going to give her daughter a chance for a real education, way better than she could have had on Mewni. Same goes for Lobster Claws. Those are both good."

"Speaking of schools, Echo Creek Academy still looks about the same but it's weird not seeing Oskar's car in the parking lot. I thought he was living out of his...oh corn..."

"WE OWE OSKAR A CAR!"
"WE OWE OSKAR A CAR!"

"I'll talk to Eclipsa. Maybe replacing it can be a kingdom expense."

"Yeah, we do kind of owe him. It was weird how cool he was with us just taking it. Anyway, your hair is back to it's normal amazing untangled self."

"Thank you."

"I was thinking about visiting the college one last time before my classes start. Do you want to come with me to do that?"

"Now?"

"Yeah. We're already out."

"Sorry Marco, time to pull off the Band-Aid here. You go cruise around your new campus and make sure you're good for next week. It's been a year since I've visited the high school so I'm just going to walk around here for a bit."

"Want me to walk around with you?"

"Nope, I'll be fine."

"Want me to pick you up after?"

"Na, I'll walk. Just give me a really good kiss goodbye."

"Mmmmm."
"Mmmmm."

"Is this practice for your first school day tomorrow?"

"Yes but I expect a better kiss than that in the morning. Way better!"

"In front of everyone?"

"Totally in front of everyone! I want the whole school to know that Marco Diaz is my bestie AND my boyfriend."

Hearing those words makes Marco give his blonde girlfriend a smile that completely fills his face. After one more kiss he gives a quick wave before pulling away in the direction of Echo Creek Community College. Once her former squire is out of sight she begins walking toward the high school's main door and notices that several lights are on inside.

'Okay Star. Time to think about being a student again. Books, school lunches, pop quizzes, arrgh this going to suck. Hmm. I wonder why the front door is open?'

Slowly stepping into the silent school Star notes that all the halls are lit up. While deciding which directions to head she is surprised when a familiar figure carrying a stack of papers turns the corner and walks toward her.

"Aaack! Principle Skeeves!?"

"Star Butterfly! I did not expect to see you here tonight but I'm glad you stopped by. Here, take some flyers and help me put them up."

"Are you usually here this late before the first day of school?"

"Not usually but this is an extra special school year with many things to prepare for! Almost twice as many children will be joining us this year and they are all different types. Very exciting!"

"Exciting? I guess. So where are you going to put us all?"

"Incredibly four extremely large barns cleaved into the back of the school. We've spent a few weeks cleaning them out and building some walls inside. We now have twelve new classrooms ready to go. To make it all work we've hired a number of new teachers including a few from Mewni. I don't know if you've met him but I've been really impressed with Sir Crandle so far. The cafeteria is going to be a bit crowded until we expand the kitchen so for now we'll be bringing in food trucks to assist with keeping the students fed. Have you ever heard of something called a Goblin Dog?"

Star giggled as she remembered her first experience with that food truck. "Yeah, I've heard they're pretty good. It's going to be an interesting school year if students can get Goblin Dogs any day they want."

"Interesting and exciting! Here, you put up the flyers for the vaccine clinic that is going to visit the school next week. We don't want our mewmans getting the mumps!"

"Got it. What are you putting up?"

"We have a number of new organizations and events planned to help everyone. Bowling nights, wacky hat contests, and celebrations of the different heritages. We even plan on sponsoring a new student-led Integration Committee."

"Wow, I had no idea the school would be so...so supportive."

"The aim of education is to make the world a better place and if I can pull this off I might see a principle of the year award sometime in my future! Now, there's a reason why I'm glad to see you specifically Ms. Butterfly. With all these new students I'll be needing more guides. Sadly Mr. Diaz is not going to be with us this year."

Hearing her bestie's name made Star look down and sigh. "Yeah, he was a good guide but he's all college bad-boy now. Well...college safe-kid bad-boy wanna-bee."

"Since you've been hanging out with Mr. Diaz so much, do you think you've learned enough from him where you could be a student guide?"

"Me? Aaaah...Principle Skeeves I'm not exactly a safe-kid."

"No but I heard about all the wonderful things you did on Mewni. And to be frank with you, I did not ask Mr. Diaz to be your guild because of his safety concerns. It was because he has a good heart and based on everything I've seen and heard, I believe you have a good heart too."

"Thanks. That-that's a really nice thing to say."

"So is it decided? Are you ready to take on the mantle of new student guide for the junior class?"

"Sure. I mean...how hard can it be if Marco did it? Am I right!"

"Excellent, I'll be assigning twelve new juniors to you."

"TWELVE!?"

"Are you good at dealing with teenagers who are made out of slime? Do you know if we need extra cleaning supplies to wipe off everything they touch?"

"I don't remember any slime monsters leaving messes that need extra cleaning. But Principle Skeeves, twelve seems like kind of a lot."

"Think of them as children, Ms. Butterfly. Once you get them going you only need to help the ones that need it."

"Yeah...I'll keep that in mind."

"Enough dilly-dally, flyer time! You take this hallway and I'll go the other way around. Make sure to hit every bulletin board, we need to make sure our students stay informed. It's going to be an interesting year!"

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Late that night a pajamaed Marco is sitting on the roof alone, gazing up into the night sky. Hearing noises coming from their shared room, he looks over as Star begins climbing out of the window.

"Hey, I thought you might be out here. Ow, you look so sad. What happened?"

"I rode around the college by myself and I realized, I'm not going to know ANYBODY there. At least when I went to Mewni I knew you, Tom, and a few other people. I guess that feeling of being alone that you talked about, it finally sank in for me."

"Do you need some alone time now or is it okay if I come out and join you?"

"Of course you can join me. I was hoping that you would. I missed you."

"Marco, you know you're going to do great and they must offer some sort of guides for new students?"

"Yeah I guess and they do. I missed all of the new student events over the summer because of our Cleave appearances but I'll be able to make the ones they have planned for this coming week."

Star sits down and wraps her arms around him while placing her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me, does it feel like you're a fourteen year old princess banished to another dimension who is walking into a school for the first time not knowing anyone?"

"Wow...I-I never ever thought about that. It all must have been so hard for you when you first got here. You REALLY didn't know anybody but you did great."

"Meh, I had a good guide. Plus your parents were awesome. I was scared but at the same time I was so excited to be out of the castle that I didn't think about being alone too much. Plus I had the wand to distract me. When I did think about how I was just dropped into a place without knowing anyone you were always there to hang out with.

Marco, you are going to do great at college even if you won't have somebody with you. I don't know if it makes you feel any better but everyday I'll be thinking about you and looking forward to when school is over so we can be together. Everyday I will."

"Thanks, that...HEY! You're doing that change of perspective thing on me!"

"Yup. But I do it way better. Mine comes with a hug."

"Thank you. You seem in a better mood now. Did the walk around the high school help you?"

"Sure did. I ran into Skeeves and we started talking about how I can help other students this school year. Seems I'm a 'Mewman going to Earth school' expert so he asked me to adopt some teenagers for the first few weeks while they are getting settled."

"Adopt? Are you going to be their school mom?"

"Pretty much. Mama Star just needs to make sure they have everything they need to succeed and then she'll watch her pimply faced teenage babies fly away."

"You are going to do awesome. Just don't offer to help anyone with their math homework just yet."

"Yeah-yeah."

"You know, seeing you happy always makes me feel better about everything."

"Well, I'm still really worried about one thing."

"What's that?"

"Each morning when you drop me off, I'm going to need a way better goodbye kiss than the one you gave me in the parking lot today."

"We still have a half-hour before bedtime, should we get some more practice tonight?"

"Tonight? We can start tonight but we need to make practicing part of our whole nightly homework routine."

"Mmmm."
"Mmmm."

"Sometimes you come up with the best ideas."

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As always this was a few ideas tossed together. My goal was to show more about what else is going on in the world. A few side notes, I've basically mapped out the rest of this series and the plan is too still make updates every few weeks. If I end up including everything it'll be about 10-12 more chapters.

Hopefully you enjoyed this one. I tried changing the formatting around to something more normal. I wish FanFiction had some better options for spacing but it is what it is. If you think this way looks better let me know and maybe I'll swap the old chapters to look like this. Thanks. - Olin

1228248 - Sadly Spider with a Top Hat and the other magic story threads that are spread throughout the chapters won't come together until we get to the end of the series. For now I'll say that she doesn't yet know about Spider but you might notice all of the stories stop before their daughter is fifteen. I won't be passing that point in the timeline until the story is ready to tie those threads together.

NightAroma - The Cleaved Spell in the story is the spell that merged Earth and Mewni together. I figured if all the other spells are there, why not that one. As for kid names, there is a reason why they have not been included and it'll be a while before it is all revealed.

Jkrust78 - With the spells I'd like to think that they ended up safe living in a pocket dimension waiting until they can be summoned again. I know that the argument can be made that every magic creature died but I'm thinking that if Ponyhead can still float around without magic then the spells can exist too.