ACT V: Festivio, the Fun Part 2: Let Them Have Fun

23 Years Ago

The young Festivio Dragonfly woke up with a huge smile on his face. Today was his seventh birthday, and that meant all of his friends and family would be gathered together to help him celebrate. Tossing off the covers of his bedsheet, the young prince rushed to the bathroom to clean himself up for the big day. He put on his best toga, adorned himself with his golden goat-horned crown, grabbed his scepter and favorite stuffed animal and ran downstairs to the grand hall.

But when he arrived at the castle's grand dining hall, there were no decorations. He ventured further into the kitchen, only to see that the chefs were preparing a typical breakfast instead of a birthday cake. And no matter where he went, he couldn't find anyone. At last, Hekapoe walked into the foyer, making his way towards the war room.

"Uncle Hekapoe!" Festivio smiled. "Where's everybody else?"

"Huh?" The magic blacksmith looked up from his scroll at the sound of his king's voice. "Oh, uh, hey, buddy. Listen, I'm sorry, but I can't play with you right now. The Commission has a lot of problems to deal with today."

"But… but today's my birthday." Festivio murmured, sadly.

"Aw, shit." Hekapoe cursed under his breath. "Uh, sorry, pal. Everyone's just really busy today. We'll do something special for you tomorrow. I promise. But for now there's work to be done. Oh, and happy birthday."

Festivio sadly watched as Hekapoe walked away to deal with the boring adult stuff. The young king took a seat at the large dining room table, counting all the empty seats. Ever since he learned about his father's betrayal, he always believed that everyone in his kingdom thought he was going to end up just like Eclipsine.

"... you're not busy with anything, are you, Mrs. Goat?" The prince held up the plush animal, waiting for a response. After a brief pause, the young king smiled and hugged the toy tightly. "I didn't think so! Come on. We'll make our own birthday pie!"

Present Day

Festivio happily used his scepter to light the candle resting atop the miniature cupcake. The entire kingdom had been gathered to celebrate the first birthday of his son, Dirhenno. The king hired the greatest minstrels in all the land to compose the greatest birthday songs, and the entire population of the Pie Island to cater to the entire event. Festivio had even made sure to increase the magical barrier's strength so that the Magical High Commission could attend.

As Queen Chastity gently sat their prince down in his royal high-chair, Festivio placed the cupcake in front of him. "Okay, Dirhenno! Make a wish and blow out the candle!"

Dirhenno's expression didn't show much excitement; in fact, the toddler prince had seemed completely bored with the whole ordeal. With an indifferent sigh, Dirhenno had inadvertently blown out his candle, much to the joy of his parents. "Very good!" Chastity praised. "Now, your daddy has a present for you!"

Festivio happily handed a poorly-wrapped, circular present to his prince. Dirhenno's eyes finally lit up as he eagerly tore at the wrapping paper. Unfortunately, before Festivio could see the joy in his son's eyes as he played with his new crystal ball, a tap on the shoulder drew his attention away from the party. "Your majesty!" Milo saluted. "I apologize for interrupting your son's birthday party, but there is an urgent matter to discuss."

"Can't it wait, Milo?" Festivio pouted.

"I'm afraid not, your majesty." Milo replied. Reluctantly, Festivio left the party to follow General Loveberry into the castle. Milo laid out a map of Mewni on the table and pointed towards the border of the magic barrier. "The monsters seem to be taking advantage of this celebration, your majesty. My scouts tell me that there is a huge gathering of them at this section. I believe they're trying to use their combined strength to break through the barrier."

Festivio gulped, anxiously. In all the years of his rule, the king had never handled the monster situation on his own. At last, he came up with an idea. "Uh, okay, Milo, I know what to do; I am giving you full command of the Solarian Army." He decided. "Do whatever you see fit. Just keep our people safe from the monsters."

With a wicked gleam in his eye, Milo saluted his king once more. "Yes, your majesty!"

With that out of the way, Festivio returned to his son's party. While the entire kingdom rejoiced, Milo and his soldiers laid waste to every monster they spotted at the border.

As the years went by, Festivio and Chastity had brought another son into Mewni. While Dirhenno showed no interest in inheriting the scepter, Crescento found the idea much more appealing. The Magical High Commission had even suggested that Festivio skip his firstborn and give the scepter to Crescento, but the king was determined to give Dirhenno a chance.

One evening, the MHC asked their king to meet with them in private. Bringing a glass of spiked lemonade, he met them in the war room where he immediately spotted a floating kitten. "Awww!" He cooed, scratching him under the chin. "Who's this widdle guy? I've never seen you before!"

The kitten slapped Festivio's finger away in contempt. "Touch me like that again and I'll bite your arm off, bastard."

Festivio took a sip of lemonade to hide his embarrassment. "So who's this?"

"Ahem, Festivio, this is Baby." Indexia explained. "He's here to test your magical capabilities."

Festivio nearly choked on his drink. "M-my… magical capabilities?"

"Yeah, it's just a formality, your highness." Rhombulie explained. "After the whole Eclipsine thing, we decided we needed to come up with a way to make sure none of the future kings are susceptible to dark magic like he was. It's just a little test to see how well you can use the magic of the scepter."

"Of course, if you fail, we'll have to give it to your son early." Hekapoe added, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Lekmat.

"You'll have one week to brush up on your spellbook studies, King Festivio." Baby informed with an arrogant sniff. "The test will be scored from one to one hundred. And just to warn you; I'm not easily impressed."

That night, Festivio stayed up with a candle beside his bed to memorize the spellbook's contents. His queen finally joined him after tucking their sons into bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I never thought I'd actually have to learn all this stuff, y'know?" Festivio sighed, closing the book. "But if I don't pass, Dirhenno is gonna have to take the scepter too early. And the Commission thinks I should just give the scepter to Crescento, anyway… it's just… a lot."

"You can do this, sweetie. I believe in you!" Chastity encouraged her husband with a soft peck on the cheek. "Now, get some rest, and continue studying tomorrow. Then you'll go and show them what you're made of, and I'll have a celebration party ready for you!"

As Festivio studied over the course of the next few days, he was disappointed to learn that the spellbook only went as far back as his great-great-grandfather, Skywind. According to the King of Hours' chapter, King Hymnal was to blame, but there was no use in worrying about that now. So, with the first twenty-six chapters gone and his father's chapter forbidden, he focused on the spells of Skywind, his great-aunt Jeshica, and his grandfather Solarius.

At last, the day came when Baby returned to test the king. Festivio managed to conjure up a buffet of buttered corn with Skywind's food spell, but the magic kitten didn't enjoy the taste. Next, he tried to perform one of Jeshica's fashion spells, dressing himself in a new red toga. Baby examined the fabric, impressed by the finesse in which the king performed that spell. Finally, he managed to use one of Solarius' spells to create a sword. Baby examined the blade and slammed it against a shield, only for it to snap in half.

Festivio gulped as Baby continued scribbling on his clipboard. "Alright, Festivio, we're almost done." The examiner nodded, much to the relief of the king. "All I need now is to see a spell you have invented."

Festivio felt his heart climb into his throat. He had been so focused on studying the spells of previous kings that he hadn't thought to come up with any new spells of his own. Baby clearly wouldn't be impressed with his infinite drink spell, so all he could think to do would be to make up a new spell on the spot.

Taking a deep breath, Festivio lifted the scepter over his head and tried to think happy thoughts. As the purple star-shaped marks on his cheeks began to glow, he thought about his wife and kids preparing his celebratory party. A soft smile crept over his mouth as he spoke. "Colorful… confetti… cloudburst!"

Baby watched as a harmless maelstrom of colored paper materialized from thin air and circled the entire room. The king opened his eyes to see that his spell had worked, but Baby still didn't look very impressed.

"So… how'd I do?" Festivio asked, sheepishly.

"Well…" Baby sighed as he scribbled on his notepad. "With that performance, your final score is… sixty."

"Sixty?!" Festivio blinked in shock. "H-how much do I need to pass?"

"... fifty." Baby replied with a neutral expression.

"WOOOO-HOOOOOO!" Festivio conjured a disco ball and music as he danced in celebration. He had passed his exam by ten whole points!

"Nine." Baby added.

The party-king of Mewni stopped dancing. "What?"

"Fifty-nine." Baby concluded as he began packing up his equipment. "You need fifty-nine points to pass. You got sixty. Two points saved your credibility as a magic-user, Festivio. Still, passing is passing, I suppose. Fare thee well, Festivio the Fun. See you in fourteen years when I test your son." With that, Baby took out a pair of inter-dimensional scissors to return to his own dimension. "Although, if you ask me, you might want to wait until your second son is born."

Festivio stood there in silence and solitude, even as he heard the alluring call of the party from downstairs. Two points. He passed his exam by two measly points. He felt as if every bad hangover he ever experienced were catching up to him all at once. And when that happened, he only had one solution. Using the scepter, he conjured fifteen bottles of wine, filled the scepter to the brim, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Ah… pleasantly sozzled…" He sighed in relief. A few minutes later, the king of Mewni made his way down and the crowd fell silent. After another deep breath, Festivio put on his best smile and lifted his cup. "I passed!"

Everyone cheered. And the party began. But the king would continue to carry the weight of his score.

To Be Continued!

Author's note: Wow. Never thought I'd come back to this story. I'll be honest, I'm not even expecting anyone to read this, let alone leave a review. Maybe I just hit a writer's block and wanted another outlet. But whatever the reason, I hope you all still enjoy this chapter the same way you've enjoyed all the others. I'll try to get the next chapter up by this Saturday.