This story starts seven years after Cleaved. Both Star and Marco are twenty-two and have been married for about a year. For those keeping track, this takes place after 'Chapter 22 - Death in the Meat Aisle'.

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Chapter 32 - Axes and Guns, Fish and Bunnies

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'Auntie Janna and Tom dottle over my baby. For my friend Tom this was expected, his sister was born just a few weeks before I was due and his baby-fever got so bad he was ready to get himself pregnant. For Auntie Janna however, she insists on being called auntie now, it was unexpected. The free spirit from Echo Creek never showed interest in children. Proving this, those desperate enough to hire her as a babysitter had declared whatever alias she was using at the time to be Greater Mewni's worst. However, for unknown reasons that changed when my little pumpkin was born.

Once I was ready to see people again my friend from high school would visit the baby weekly. Janna even professed to enjoying time with my infant, providing she didn't need to get involved with cleaning anything going in through the front or coming out through the back. She also bought gifts. Sometimes it was a baby book, other times a wooden toy. That first day of March the gift was a tiny pink bunny costume along with a matching outfit for Tom's sister. The plan was to dress the infants up as twinsies for a springtime photo shoot in my family's rose garden. If cuteness had a butterfly form it would be these two babies crawling around together in their adorable little outfits.

The first day of spring seemed like the perfect time to give bunny cuteness a test run. It's worth noting that before I took my baby break my husband and I would commute to college together. But now that he'd finished his masters, instead of traveling with my bestie it was just me and my pumpkin singing in the car. That morning was no exception.

Most of my classes were scheduled for the first half of the day so pumpkin and I would head out bright and early, arriving right when our campus daycare opened. My morning ritual involved getting the girl settled and then sitting in the toddler room with my computer so I could catch up on assignments, or if she was hungry I'd give her one last feeding before heading to class.

That first day of spring was supposed to be like all of the others, just better thanks to an adorable bunny outfit. During the drive I remember belting out my husband's second favorite song while my baby was making random mouth noises. I was thinking she was either singing along or desperately yelling at me to stop. After parking I looked in the mirror. Behind me I could see her tall pink ears poking up over the protective car seat. Next I gathered my books, my laptop, a bag with clothes in case of a diaper blowout, and a tiny pink cooler with the milk I pumped the day before.

Everything was perfect that first day of spring, until it wasn't. While opening the door I noticed a strange figure in the driver side mirror. Then the sound of the backseat door startled me. In my head I wondered, how could my husband be here to get the baby out? His new job with the Mewni territorial consul is over an hour away. It wasn't until I was out of the car that I discovered the truth and that's when time seemed to stop.

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After high school my future husband and I moved to a small off-campus apartment. To make it homey I convinced him that we needed a pet. After much debate, a few wrestling matches, and a taco eating contest we settled on fish. On our way back from the store we had a long talk about how our cute little aquarium swimmers needed time to adjust to the water temperature before we placed them in their new tank. It didn't matter how beautiful the new world might be, if there were any differences between the old and new environments we risked stressing out our tiny tropical friends, maybe even killing them.

To be safe we left our new fish floating in a bag on top of the tank for half a day before finally letting them out to explore. That whole time those little creatures could look down at a castle, a few fake plants, and a little plastic mermaid we called Jackie. We did everything we thought was right to prepare them for their new home. And yet within a day, two of our new friends had passed away. Marco called them the unlucky ones.

As I removed our departed pets I thought of all the mewmans, monsters, and humans in the world. Back when I was fifteen each was in a clear plastic bag that suddenly burst open. Without warning we were all tiny fish, free to swim in the beautiful new world that would ended up being calling Earthni. But we never had a chance to adjust to the temperature ahead of time. The air was also different. Really everything from the old worlds felt a little off.

Almost everyone survived the Cleave and most eventually thrived. But even with offers of help and love, the change was too much for some. Those fish never made it.

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Next to my car was a middle-aged woman. Seven years before she could have been a townsperson or villager living in any one of the nearby kingdoms. Her dress had the appearance of what many called their 'Song Day Finest'. But like most outfits from before the Cleave it had aged over time. The woman looked like her clothing, worn. Under her eyes were blue splotches that gave the appearance of having been punched over and over. Her left hand was missing a digit and not in a clean way, not like Toffee's badge of honor. Instead her ring finger had been mangled as if caught in a carriage wheel but those tending to the wound had been too scared of human hospitals to have it properly treated.

Right outside my car we stared at each other. I found that for the first time since I was a teen, I was scared. It wasn't because she was twice my size or that she had dead-vacant eyes. Not even the ax in her hand was particularly troublesome. All I could focus on was that she was closer to my bunny than I was. To make matters worse, she looked ready to exact all the pain and suffering upon me that I'm sure I had unknowingly unleashed upon her. Early on my husband and I learned that our post-cleaved lives wouldn't be all puppies and rainbows, but we thought that anyone wanting to enact vengeance would strike at us directly, the two dorks who wanted to be together. We never considered that someone might go after a little girl who hadn't even learned to walk.

While time seemed to have stopped I examined her weapon. It wasn't a generic implement of destruction. Instead it was a hand forged tool, like those handed down from generation to generation by people who slaughtered animals for a living. It also wasn't just any look that she was giving me. It was the glare of someone who'd given all she had, but instead of being rewarded life had beaten her down over and over again. For me the last seven years could best be described as, 'nachos with friends'. For her the Cleave only produced a plateful of rocks, mud, and heartache. But even if this woman had suffered, wasn't my daughter cute enough to live? Wasn't a child who hadn't yet seen her first birthday too innocent to be punished? My baby's only crime was having parents who were trying to figure out love while the Realm of Magic was falling apart around them.

Immediately I knew how to disarm the woman. Grab the wrist and use leverage to redirect the blow. Then either push her body into the car or pull at the top of the ax in a way that her grip would give. The key to these maneuvers is knowing that an armed opponent, even if unskilled, is always dangerous. If I made even one mistake my blood would be the first to cover that car. To make matters worse, my arms were full of stylish bags and sticker covered notebooks. The chances that I could stop this woman before my daughter or myself became hurt were incredibly small, and yet that was all I had. I decided then, I would at least make sure my little girl would be able to hug her father again.

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Most mornings growing up there was a knight stationed outside my bedroom door. Starting around the age of eight it was Lady Whosits. It wasn't long after that she started instructing me on how to use a spear and a mace. I remember having all sorts of fun with her. When I became older we would arm wrestle, but she'd never let me win. Instead she made sure to push me to my limits knowing it would help me get stronger. I was a lonely child, separated from the world by castle walls. Luckily I had mentors like her around to keep me company, at least while she was on duty. Fondly I remember the day Lady Whosits captured a teenage Earth boy who'd developed an undiagnosed case of princess-crush. The woman was also there when I became queen. She carried out one of my most important orders at the time, arresting Eclipsa.

After the Cleave the knights of Mewni still served a purpose, but like many things in the new world they needed to evolve to stay relevant. One of the first changes was that all of the members of the royal force, both current and former, were asked to go through handgun training. Most complained about the impersonal nature of Earth made weapons. They talked about how you couldn't smell the fear in an opponent you killed from twenty, fifty, or even one-hundred feet away. However, Lady Whosits took to it. Maybe it was because she was a better shot than the others? Maybe she realized that a gun was the great equalizer between large and small, boy and girl, monster and mewman? Some questioned the bravery of a knight with a gun, but none of that bothered Lady Whosits.

My husband and I decided years ago that as long as we lived in a city or suburbia we wouldn't keep a gun in our home. I had enough accidents with the wand to know that even if we did everything right something unexpected could happen. Lady Whosits however always kept a pistol by her side.

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Something I never talk about, when I had magic I had the power available to me to kill millions. Based on the stories in my family's spell book wand welders had turned off gravity and animated the dead. They'd even accidentally destroyed whole dimensions. I admit to hurting many monsters, mumans, and even a few humans back when I was a teen, but only once did I use my magical power with intent to kill. It was against a creature that had led an army against my mother, murdered my grandmother, killed an untold number of other creatures, threatened to kill my best friend, and left me to die on the plane of magic. I felt no remorse when I harnessed every ounce of power available to me and unloaded it upon him. Although I don't remember, I've been told that I smiled while doing it.

Now that I'm older I wonder if I'd make the same decisions today? Was I justified in trying to take his life? Was Toffee in the right when he killed past Butterfly queens for the crimes committed by my ancestors? Were those before them justified when they decided to destroy or kill?

Looking back I found that mumans and monsters were all links in a chain. A very sad long chain of pain, death, and suffering that now connected to a perfect little girl. When I looked into that woman's face I saw that chain running all the way back into times forgotten. To protect monsters I had destroyed magic and unknowingly merged worlds. I was protecting monsters who were being harmed by mumans who had been hurt by monsters who had been hurt by mumans, etc. The chain of 'justice'. Like those before us, she was justified in her mind and her chosen act of vengeance would be ending the life of a small bunny in my backseat.

I wondered, could I use words to end this? Could I get her to understand that I wanted a better world for everyone? Could I convince her to take the path that will break this chain and leave the world a better place? I never was able to find out. Instead two bullets found their mark. Two echoing gunshots. Two punches to the center of the woman's chest. Two places where blood stained her faded 'Song Day Finest'. As I watched, the woman slowly slumped to the ground while her gaze cursed at me. I hoped that before her last heartbeat she would find peace, but she held onto that rage right until the end.

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When we were touring colleges the man I would one day marry told me that Lady Whosits, now Ms. Whosits, was working as a campus security officer while attending classes. She had dreams beyond knighthood and like many of the mewmans who adjusted to the new world, education offered opportunities. When I started school I'd see her everyday between classes, it was like my childhood all over again. I always made sure to greet her with a smile, a wave and sometimes a hug. As luck would have it we shared a science class and became study partners. I still couldn't beat her at arm wrestling, but even as an adult I felt like she still wanted me to become stronger.

Once Ms. Whosits became involved that first day of spring turned into a haze of faces and people running. My only clear memory after was holding my perfect little bunny in one arm while hugging Ms. Whosits with the other. The smell of propellant hung in the air as I cried.

I still think about the fish from Mewni and Earth, all swimming around our new planet sized fish tank. I wonder, was there a way we could have given everyone time to adjust? What could we have done differently? Some fish were lucky and some were not, but when I think about that first day of spring my greatest regret is that we had to rely on luck at all.'

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As the class that would fulfill Star's last college English requirement let out, the young woman slowly packed up her laptop and mentally prepared for the afternoon rituals. In twenty minutes she needed to pick up her trouble-making toddler from daycare. It would then take forty minutes to get her daughter home, assuming traffic was good. The next half-hour would be spent trying to get the girl to eat whatever Marco made for dinner, or if she didn't eat at least keep her from throwing everything against the kitchen walls.

While attempting to get the former princess's attention, Star's professor did her best to force a pleasant smile on her face. "Ms. Butterfly, do you have a moment before you go? I wanted to talk about the springtime incident you wrote about in your last free writing assignment."

"Ah, yeah sure. Was sentence structure an issue again? I'm really sorry. I've been trying to work with my husband on it, but Marco has been crazy busy this week. His current project is getting the statutes around public housing changed. A judge ruled that monster homes have to follow the same laws that apply to human housing and that's going to cause a lot of problems. Having everyone follow the same rules might seem fair, but you have no idea how expensive it is to add a backdoor when you're living in a cave."

"Your sentence structure was not horrid but it still leaves something to be desired. However, I just wanted to check-in and see if you're doing alright. Until that assignment I'd forgotten what happened last year and I'm hoping the three of you are doing alright."

"Oh yeah, me and the kiddo are fine. To keep my mind clear I keep focusing on school, my husband, and that crazy little girl who never stops moving. Building my life around them helps me block out all that other noises in my head. Obviously I still think about what happened, but when I need help I have a good support system around me."

"It's good that you have that, not everyone does."

"One positive note, the incident did open my eyes a bit. I'm now thinking that we need more social services targeting Cleave related mental health issues. It's also motivated me to do more volunteer work and way more speaking engagements. You know, anything that might help people survive the crazy world Marco and I made."

The professor gave her student a nod of agreement. She thought about reminding Star that Earthni was not her fault, but she knew that Star had heard that fact many times before.

"A negative, I get a bit worried now when I'm getting out of cars. I find that I end up triple checking all around before unlocking the doors."

"That makes sense, I think if I went through a situation like that I'd end up doing the same. While I have you, I wanted to let you in on a little staff secret. You might not have the best grades but everyone in the English department is really pulling for you. The way you care for people shows and we all appreciate that. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm hoping for the best of luck for you and your family."

"Thanks. My immediate future is managing a one year old who likes throwing food so I'll take all the luck I can get."

After an exchange of smiles Star left to start her normal afternoon ritual. As always in the back of her mind she was thinking about axes and guns, fish and bunnies.

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This is from one of those monthly r/StarVStheForcesofEvil contests. Sadly it was a bit too serious to win. That said, I bet older Star, if she was real, would have a lot going on in the back of her mind after the Cleave. - Olin