Author's Notes:

Hey! We're back, and much faster than last time! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy. It's less plot-intensive, but I think you'll enjoy! See you at the bottom!

TW: Mentions of a school shooting (There isn't an actual shooting though)

Chapter Two: Princess Problems

"I just- I still can't believe this!" Marco shouted. "You're magic!"

Star nodded with a small smirk, a gust of wind blowing through her hair as the single sun set over the oceanic horizon. She let out a deep sigh, her smile growing as the fresh scent of rain wafted into her nose.

"It's not too bad here," Star remarked, walking by Marco's side as they made their way toward his house.

The walk wasn't short by any means, but it wasn't long either, and after such an eventful day, the fifteen or so minutes were beyond refreshing.

"So," Marco began, curiously. "Where are you actually from? And don't say-"

"Moo Nick," Star answered cheekily, bumping Marco's shoulder as he let out a deep sigh.

"No, I'm really not from here," she explained. "Like… not from this dimension…"

Marco just continued walking, his hands in his hoodie's pockets. It took him several seconds to form a response.

"That's… wow," he remarked, chuckling.

"Just wait 'till you hear about her demon ex-boyfriend," jabbed Glossaryck, peeking out of Star's bag.

"Umm… Who's that?" Marco questioned with a repulsed expression.

Star sighed, "That's Gloss-"

"Sir Glossaryck of Terms," Glossaryck gleamed. "Oh, how I enjoy meeting new people!"

The tiny blue man reached out his hand happily, shaking Marco's finger as he reluctantly held it out.

"Do you ever-"

"No, you don't get used to him," Star interjected. "He is… what's the word?"

"Annoying?" offered the tiny bearded man.

Star snapped, "Yep, that's it."

A small smile slowly crept onto Marco's face as his eyes locked onto the ground. Star watched him discretely but waited a while before finally breaking the silence.

"So are we getting close-"

"I'm glad you're here," Marco remarked, chuckling nervously as he realized he cut her off.

Star sighed.

"Yeah," Star answered emotionlessly, her eyes falling to the ground when Marco finally stopped.

"Wait…" Marco started, glancing from side to side with visible confusion. "Umm… We passed it…"

"Idiot," Glossaryck remarked, Star flicking him almost instantly.

Marco chuckled.

"Yeah, my bad," Marco admitted, pivoting back to the direction from which they came.

The rest of the walk was completed in silence, the sky darkening further with every minute until, finally, they stopped in front of a home nearly identical to its neighbors.

Small lights illuminated the path toward the front door. The house was smaller than anything she was used to, but she would be lying if she said it wasn't charming.

"Finally," Marco remarked with a sigh, massaging his neck as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his house keys. "We can finally relax."

Star nodded, genuinely thrilled to have a moment of peace after such a chaotic day, but as Marco lifted his key to the door, Star heard a familiar sound only a foot behind her.

Star lowered into a defensive stance as she hastily turned around, a dimensional portal ripping open before her eyes.

She pushed Marco back as she stared at the swirling portal with anticipation. Seconds passed. Blood squeezed from the cut across Star's chest. Her breaths grew unsteady, but finally, after what felt like an eternity, her fears were lifted.

Zipping through the portal was her oldest childhood friend, whose very existence was a mystery.

"Pony Head!" Star practically screamed, hurriedly throwing her arms around the disembodied horse head she called a friend.

"B-Fly!" she shouted back, her pearly white horn erupting with light. "I came here as soon as I found out your parents were leaving you on this dump!"

Star chuckled.

"We need to do something," Ponyhead gleamed. "I have the perfect idea!"

Star's eyes lit up as they both shouted in unison.

"THE BOUNCE LOUNGE!"

Ponyhead smiled, holding out a pair of dimensional scissors with her tongue, her eyebrow lifted enticingly.

Star nodded and Ponyhead bit down on the scissors' handle, tearing open a portal.

Marco raised his hand in objection, but Star grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie before he could get a word out.

She stepped through the portal with Marco close behind, her eyes bright as the beautiful spotlights of the Bounce Lounge stared down at her from every angle.

"Wow," she muttered as she turned to Ponyhead, her smile only widening when her floating friend gave her a knowing look.

Without warning, Ponyhead swirled around her, neighing playfully as her bright horn pierced the air.

"Come on B-Fly!" she shouted over the blaring music. "Let's dance!"

Star obeyed, swinging her arms and hips as she felt the rhythm of the music flowing through her.

Her body was tense and tired, but it seemed like with every movement she made, she shook more of her stress away, her mind numb with joy as she finally turned to Marco.

"Come on, Diaz," she called, dancing her way toward him.

He looked lost, his eyes wandering with a look of astonishment on his face and a slight smirk on his lips. It took him several seconds to meet her eyes, but even then he still seemed confused.

Star smiled, grabbing his hands and pulling him toward the center of the dance floor.

"Show me what you've got," she said, swaying in place with the flow of the blaring music.

He shook his head nervously.

"I- I can't dance," he explained, barely able to speak over the song. "I don't know how."

Star shook her head, dropping his hands and twirling in place goofily.

"Like that," she remarked. "Just have fun!"

He chuckled, lightly bobbing his head to the music and Star's smile grew.

"That's it!" she shouted. "Just feel the music!"

She watched as his smile widened, his body loosening as his swaying hastened. He did just as she told him, feeling the music in his very soul as he danced gracelessly on the dancefloor, Star matching every wacky dance move with one of her own.

Just as the two settled into their new environment, however, Ponyhead flew directly between the two, garnering their collective attention in a near instant.

"Ponyhead?" Star questioned. "What's up?"

Ponyhead smiled, holding out her scissors once more.

"Let's blow this dump," Ponyhead suggested, tearing open a portal. "I'm hungry!"

Star tilted her head.

"Why?" she asked. "We just got here…"

Pony smiled as she nudged Star toward the portal, Marco lagging behind.

"I'm just tired of the Bounce Lounge," she explained. "I've been here twice already this week."

"Oh, well sure then, let's eat," Star said, her wide smile surviving as she strode through the portal, dragging her new Earthly friend behind her.

"Oof!" Marco shouted as he tripped through the portal, his eyes wide with marvel as he absorbed the sight around him.

Star smirked, remembering the first time that she'd seen the restaurant. She remembered the joy she felt when she saw the towering marble walls—the twinkle in her eye as she watched the flowing waterfalls of chocolate flowing from the fountains at every table.

She was barely twelve then, but she could see every bit of the same joy in Marco's face.

"Waiter," Ponyhead called in a snobby tone. "Waiter! Come seat us!"

Star shook her head with a smile, chuckling to herself as a nervous, pimply waiter finally came to serve them.

"Finally," Ponyhead remarked as the young man picked up three menus and gestured toward the seating area.

"Right this way," he said with a smile, leading the trio all the way to the back of the restaurant, where a single isolated booth sat.

Star smiled, fully aware of why the waiter would do this, but Ponyhead seemed to be totally unaware.

Finally, as the boy gestured toward the table, Marco slid inside the booth. Star stepped forward to sit beside him, but before she could squeeze into the seat, Ponyhead flew in front of her, smiling as Star slid to her side.

Star was about to question her actions, but again, Ponyhead was too quick.

"So many memories here," Ponyhead remarked with a smile.

Star let out a short sigh.

"Yeah," she agreed. "We've been here so many times, but it's still exciting to be here again."

Ponyhead smiled as the waiter spread the menus around the table.

"Can I get you three started with any appetizers?" he questioned with a pen and notepad in hand.

Marco shook his head, but beside him, Ponyhead and Star were so excited that they spoke over each other.

"Iwantsomebread,somemeat,andsomecheeseplease," Star shouted faster than any human could hear.

"Givemesomemeat,somefruit,somebread,somecrackers,andsomebowls!" Ponyhead practically screamed.

Marco stared at the two in horror, but the waiter merely smiled.

"Got it," he said with a chuckle, clicking his pen and pushing it into his pocket. "And to drink?"

"Do you have water?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

The young man nodded, turning to Star, who smiled back at him with a devious grin.

"You know what I want," Star remarked.

"Me too," Pony added with a chuckle.

"Rainbow chocolate triple scoop sundae with extra sprinkles and whipped cream?"

The girls chuckled. The waiter had his answer.

"Okay," the waiter said. "I'll have your food out before you can say-"

"Now!" the girls shouted, but within an instant, their food appeared, the waiter standing at the edge of the table with a sly grin.

The girls clapped and cheered with wide smiles, but Marco just stared at the waiter, a mixture of horror and astonishment in his eyes.

He clapped slowly, the waiter bowing as Star and Ponyhead tossed roses in his direction, the origins of which not even they knew.

Within an instant, the waiter vanished, leaving the laughing table with a wide assortment of foods to dip in the tall fountain that sat at the center of the table, brimming with the darkest, sweetest-looking chocolate that any of the three had ever seen.

All elegance vanished among the princesses as they devoured their food, spilling chocolate all over themselves as they thrust their various foods into the fountain and their mouths.

Marco chuckled, sheepishly reaching for a single strawberry from Ponyhead's pile of food, but the second she saw him out of the corner of her eye, she zapped his hand with her horn.

"Ouch!" he squealed, rubbing his hand as he glared in the floating head's direction. "Why'd you do that?!"
Ponyhead turned away, shunning him as she continued to shovel food into her mouth, but Star heard him.

"Oh, Marco," she started, "You can't mess with Ponyhead's food. She gets a little… feral."

"Noted," Marco remarked, slouching back in his seat.

Star leaned forward and watched his expression sour. She wanted to help him. She wanted him to feel the joy of one of her favorite places to eat, but just as she opened her mouth, Ponyhead once again held out her scissors, tearing open a portal in front of the chocolate fountain.

"Ponyhead?" she questioned. "What are you doing? We just got here."

Ponyhead huffed.

"I'm bored of this place," she explained. "Come on, I have another place where we can have more fun."

"But what about the bill? We haven't-"

"Don't worry about it," Ponyhead dismissed. "I have a tab here."

"Okay, I guess that's fine, just lemme-"

"Oof," Star said, stumbling as Ponyhead pulled her through the portal, hooking her top with her sharp horn.

Star's head bounced off of the soft ground, her eyes opening to yet another nostalgic sight.

The cushioned floor was lined with arcade machines of infinite varieties in every direction. The beeps of games aplenty chimed through the air as she got to her feet. She remembered so many fun times there as a child, each somehow more unique than the last.

"Ponyhead, I-" she smiled. "It's been so long since I've been here."

She turned to her side.

"Marco, you-"

He wasn't there. She turned to her other side, but he wasn't there either. She turned around completely, scanning from side to side.

"Lilacia Pony Head," Star began, a sour expression on her face. "Where's Marco?"

Ponyhead chuckled, trying and failing to hide her nervousness.

"He probably went home or something, I don't know," she explained quickly, refusing to meet Star's eyes.

"Ponyhead, you did not," Star remarked. "We need to go back and get him before he gets-"

Ponyhead pulled out her dimensional scissors once more, slinging them into the air and slicing open a portal. Before Star could finish her sentence, Ponyhead whipped through the air and pushed her through.

"Wh- Ponyhead, why do you keep doing that?"

Ponyhead's visibly paranoid gaze snapped from side to side, scanning the crowded, busy sidewalks of the cyberpunk city.

Rain poured down on the princesses as the Mewman chased the Unicorn.

"What is your problem?" she interrogated. "You've been acting weird this whole time!"

"Me?" Ponyhead shouted back. "I'm the one acting weird? You're the one that's ignoring me! I keep trying to bring you to our favorite places, but every time, you just focus on that stupid… Earth Turd!"

"I-" Star began, but Ponyhead interrupted her with a loud gasp.

Star followed her eyes to the corner of the street, where two tall, burly men dressed in all black stood, questioning a cyborg who pointed in their direction.

Star's eyes widened.

"Ponyhead," Star called, but before she could turn to face her again, Ponyhead's jaws clamped down on the shoulder of her shirt, pulling her through yet another portal with a loud rip.

Star grasped at her shoulder as the world around her changed in an instant.

Misty skies were replaced by a bright sun, the tall skyscrapers replaced by sunflowers, and the roaming people replaced by tall blades of grass.

"Ponyhead," Star called. "I just met Marco! I'm just trying to show him a good time! I'm just trying to make a new friend!"

"Yeah yeah," Ponyhead dismissed. "No, you couldn't wait to get away."

"Ponyhead, I-"

"No," Ponyhead interrupted. "When was the last time we hung out?"

Star opened her mouth, expecting to know the answer, but as seconds passed, she couldn't even place a guess.

"Exactly," Ponyhead remarked. "Just admit it, you couldn't wait to get away."

"Ponyhead, no!" Star shouted. "I've just been busy. Do you really think that I haven't missed you?!"

Ponyhead glared in her direction, her eyes growing glossy.

In the distance, a portal ripped open, the burly Saint Olga's guards stepping through.

In an instant, Ponyhead pulled out her scissors, charging in Star's direction, but finally, she dodged to the side, shaking her head.

Ponyhead's eyes widened as she stared in Star's direction.

"No more running," Star remarked, slowly pulling her wand from her bag as Glossaryck watched with surprise.

"After all we've been through…" Ponyhead trailed off, her voice crackling as the distant masked men turned in their direction. "You would really choose him over me?"

"Go… back," Star commanded. "I won't let you leave him behind."
A tear rolled down the floating unicorn's cheek as she shook her head. She pulled her scissors from her mouth and tried to tear open a portal, but in the blink of an eye, Star's magic blasted the scissors away.

Star dashed in their direction, but Ponyhead was too quick, scooping the scissors from the ground with her horn and flipping them back into her mouth.

"What happened to you?" Ponyhead questioned with disgust. "You used to be fun."

Star gripped her wand as the Saint Olga's guards approached Ponyhead from behind.

"I grew up," Star remarked, Ponyhead's face falling as Star's wand started to glow.

Star launched an attack as Ponyhead was distracted, but even then, her eldest friend was too quick, zipping to the side just in time.

Doubt was in Ponyhead's eyes as she dodged from side to side, each one of Star's attacks coming closer to hitting her until, finally, Star had her pegged.

"GLAMOROUS GOLDEN LASSO!" she shouted, a brilliant golden lasso shooting from the end of her wand and wrapping around ponyhead's horn.

She yanked down with as much strength as she could muster, and with a pained grunt, Ponyhead's horn was lodged almost completely in the ground.

She squirmed and squirmed, but the ground wouldn't give.

"Star," she called desperately. "Please, let me out!"

Star sighed.

"I can't do that, Ponyhead. You know that."

She continued to writhe in place, but Star could tell she was running out of steam.

"I just wanted to have some fun with my best friend," Ponyhead shouted. "I knew I couldn't escape the Saint O's guards. I just wanted to see you one last time."

Star's face fell.

"I'm sorry," she remarked. "You went too far."

"I-" Ponyhead stammered. "I know…"

Star turned to the Saint Olga's guards, who stood ready behind her, but before she could get a word out, Ponyhead spoke up once more.

"Is he worth it?" she asked. "Is the Earth Turd good?"

"I-" Star began, her eyes on the ground. "I hope so."

Ponyhead exhaled.

"Me too," she remarked.

Again, Star turned to the guards, but again, Ponyhead spoke.

"Hey, Star," she called, dropping her dimensional scissors on the ground in front of her. "I don't think I'll be needing these where I'm going."

Star's eyes widened. She knelt down and lifted the slightly wet scissors, wiping them on the grassy terrain before putting them in her bag.

"Are you sure?" she asked, finally meeting her old friend's eyes.

Ponyhead nodded, and with a small smile, Star wrapped her arms around the disembodied unicorn head.

"I'll miss you," Star remarked. "You better not let them change you."

"You kidding me?" Ponyhead said. "Never."

Star chuckled, her eyes lingering on Ponyhead's pseudo-smile for several seconds before the guards pulled her from the ground, marching her through a dark portal.

Star's smile faded as the portal vanished. She pulled the scissors from her bag and stared at them for at least a full minute.

Finally, with a sigh, she got to her feet, tearing open a deep crimson portal and stepping through.

Back in the restaurant, precisely at the same table as before, Marco sat beside the pimple-faced waiter.

Star watched from a distance, her smile returning as she saw Marco happy and unharmed.

She slowly approached the table, twirling her new scissors in her hand as Marco's eyes finally found her.

Marco waved enthusiastically from a distance.

"You survived," Star remarked.

Marco nodded with a wide smile.

"Yeah, the food is amazing here. The only issue is… I can't afford to pay for it."

The waiter turned to Star with a smirk.

"If you hadn't come, he would have been stuck doing chores here for at least a month."

Star chuckled.

"Good thing I got back when I did then," she remarked, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small pouch. She stuck her entire arm in the bottomless bag, rustling around for several seconds before finally pulling out a single shimmering coin.

She flicked it in the waiter's direction, remarking, "Keep the change," but the waiter merely laughed.

"You're a bit short," he said, holding out his hand.

Star shook her head with a smile, reaching back into her pouch and grabbing three more coins.

"That Pony owes me… so much money."

She placed the coins in the waiter's hand and he nodded, finally standing up. He turned to Star, shook her hand, then walked away proudly.

Star chuckled, turning to Marco.

"You ready to go home?" she asked.

Marco nodded without hesitation and Star tore open another portal.

"Here we go," Star remarked. "Last portal for today… hopefully."

Star chuckled to herself as she followed Marco through the portal, grabbing at her now-sore back as Marco finally lifted his hand.

He swung it toward the door, but before his knuckles could even make contact, the door swung open, his parents standing inside with terrified expressions.

"M- Marco? You're back!" his mother shouted, dashing through the doorway and pulling her son into a tight embrace.

"Where were you?!" she shouted with anger, anxiety, and relief. "We heard that something happened at the school today. They won't tell us exactly what happened, but there were rumors that there was a shooting!"

Star turned to Marco with a confused expression and Marco hurriedly dismissed his parents' worries.

"A shooting? Not that we know of…"

Marco's dad stepped forward.

"Then why did you come home so late? We were worried about you, Marco. You didn't call. You didn't text. You wouldn't even answer the phone. You-"

"It was my fault," Star interjected, the parents growing silent in a hurry. "I got scared and ran from the school. Marco had to come after me.

"Oh… sorry," Marco's mother began. "I almost forgot that you were coming. Everything has just been so crazy today."

"Yeah," Star remarked nervously, shuffling her feet as she struggled to make eye contact.

"Well," Marco's mother started again, holding out her hand. "I'm Angelica, but you can call me Angie."

Star took her hand and shook it, her eyes drifting to Angie's husband as he started to introduce himself.

"Yes, and my name is Rafael, and you can call me Rafael."

Star chuckled as she shook his hand and finally, they moved aside, welcoming the teens into the house.

The inside was far more charming than the exterior. Pictures of the Diaz family hung on nearly every single wall with shelves adorned with many unique decorations, the likes of which she'd never seen on Mewni.

Still, the house was far more quaint than she had seen before. It was only two stories and from what she could see, the floors weren't even that big.

"Well," Rafael began. "Marco can show you to your room. Your parents came by earlier and left all of your things behind, so they're all up there waiting for you."

"Okay, then I'll-"

Before Star could finish her sentence, Angie interrupted with a smile.

"Wait," she said. "Before you head up, me and Rafael had a bet going on earlier… Where are you from?"

Star turned to Marco with hesitant eyes. She knew what she was supposed to say, but she knew she wasn't saying it right.

"She's from Germany… Munich more specifically," Marco answered casually. "She doesn't have an accent though."

"Looks like I won the bet then," Angie remarked with a cheeky smile. "It's definitely nice that you speak such great English. Usually, it's really hard to tell what our foreign exchange students are saying, but we shouldn't have that issue with you."

"Yep," Star enthusiastically answered. "My family taught me English when I was a baby!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Star," Angie said. "Now go get some sleep. I'm sure today was very exhausting."

Star nodded, and without further delay, Marco led her up the stairs and to her new room.

Small in size, the room made her smile. Her old room would have put it to shame. It was a square, only an eighth of the size, and much too tidy, but there was something indescribable about it that she loved.

She stepped inside and scanned the room with a smile before letting out a deep sigh.

She let her shoulders fall as she kicked off her shoes and plopped face-first into her new bed. It was much harder than what she was used to, but after such a tiring day, she couldn't possibly have complained.

"Oof," groaned Glossaryck from inside her bag as her bag bounced onto the bed. "I'm trying to sleep here!"

Star sighed with annoyance but didn't care enough to lift her face from the mattress.

"I assume that you're alright then?" Marco questioned, standing in the doorway. "We can unpack your stuff tomorrow if you want."

"Mmmmmm" Star mumbled into her pillow, but as Marco turned back, she pushed off of the bed in a hurry.

"Wait," she called, gesturing for Marco to come in and shut the door.

"Yeah?" Marco questioned.

"Are you okay?" Star asked, scooching to the side of her bed so he could sit down.

Marco opened his mouth but took a moment to find his words. He nodded slowly, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, I think I'm alright," Marco answered. "It was a lot to handle earlier, but- I mean- I just-"

Star maintained eye contact, giving Marco time to finish his thought.

"I couldn't have dreamed of seeing half of the things I saw today. Like I said earlier, I'm glad you're here."

Star's smile grew as she let out a satisfied sigh, laying back on her bed.

"Me too, Marco."

Author's Notes:

So, there you have it, chapter two. Like I've said before, I'm going for a different approach with this story and I'm gonna add more "filler". Every chapter will be important, but I think it's best that I spread out the plot more and I really like the balance that I've struck here.

If you enjoyed, please feel free to leave a comment, review, kudo, or any other site-specific commendation as every single one helps me get this story out to more people.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram starcovstheworld! I hope you all have a good day! See you soon!

~ lucash21