ACT V: Festivio, the Fun Part 3: What Hides Behind the Smile

The former king of Mewni went around the grand dining hall, handing out drinks to the guests at Crescento's coronation day. The chefs had prepared the prince's favorite dessert; a ten-layer white cake with strawberry frosting. His childhood friends, the Future Leaders of Mewni Club, had all gathered to help him celebrate before they'd join him in running the kingdoms of Mewni. Dirhenno shook his brother's hand and gifted him with a rubber bouncy ball; despite the fact that his younger brother superseded him, the former prince was happy with the current arrangement. Even Indexia seemed to be enjoying herself as she drank Festivio's pudding martini.

Festivio and Chastity mingled with their son's friends as the party went on, thanking them for all the kind gifts they'd brought for the party. Eric Kelpbottom of the Waterfolk Iles - and Crescento's best friend - had brought a beautiful coral statue of Castle Dragonfly. Noblewoman Samantha Abigail Tan - Crescento's fiance - brought the queen a fabulous new dress. King Hortense Luctor of the Underworld brought a herd of tamed warnicorns for the Solarian Army. Duke Robert Spiderbite, having finally redeemed his family name in the eyes of the MHC, brought a new loom for weaving royal tapestries. And Princess Alice Johansen brought thirty bottles of her family's bourbon whiskey.

Currently, Festivio was entertaining his son's friends with tales of his early days.

"I cannot believe that you would ever steal the royal carriage for a joyride!" Clara laughed. "What would ever compel you to do that?"

"Well, heh-heh, it's a funny story…" Festivio chuckled as he drank the champagne. "See, I'm a good person. I know this because - okay - like, I don't cheat on my wife, right?" He shared a smile with his queen, wrapping an arm around her as he continued. "I don't cheat on my wife. And I don't cheat on my wife because I made a promise to myself after Crescento was born. The four of us were all in our pajamas in the master bedroom; we're giggling and having fun. And I said to myself 'this is the most important thing to me. This is what it's all about. I never wanna mess this up,' right? So when Chastity eventually left to put the boys to bed, I swore to myself, 'I will never cheat on my wife. I will never, ever, ever, ever cheat on my wife. And if presented with the opportunity, I'm just gonna, y'know, cock-block myself.'"

"Uh-huh." Robert nodded, amused by the story so far.

"Yeah, see, here's the thing, though; I've never made a similar promise to myself about joyriding the royal carriage." Festivio shrugged, feigning innocence. After his gathered friends laughed and he took another sip, the king went on. "I just - when I was a kid, I always assumed when my friends pressured me into stealing the royal carriage, I'd be all like, 'no thanks, my good dudes, I'm gonna go back inside and work on my spells.' But apparently, when presented with that specific opportunity, I'm like, 'uh, get in, losers; I'm driving!'"

The Future Rulers of Mewni Club burst out laughing. Festivio took pride in seeing his son laugh and enjoy his company. Although he wished Dirhenno had taken the responsibilities of the sceptor more seriously, he had no doubt that Mewni and the scepter would be safe in Crescento's capable hands.

"What do you say, kiddo?" Festivio asked as he slung an arm around his son's shoulders. "Can your old man throw a coronation party, or what?"

"Thank you, so much, dad!" Crescento happily hugged his father. "You won't regret this! I'll make you proud!"

"Aw, you do that every day, son." Festivio replied, giving the young man a pat on the back. "Now, I believe you owe our people a speech."

Beaming widely, Crescento made his way up to the podium, listening to all of his subjects cheer his name. He tapped on the microphone and spoke, confidently. "People of Mewni, I thank you for traveling far and wide to celebrate my coronation! With the scepter in my hand, and my new delegates at my side, we will see a new era of peace and prosperity!"

While everyone else celebrated Crescento's big achievement, Festivio grabbed a glass, a bucket of ice, and a bottle of Johansen bourbon whiskey and discreetly made his way down to the caverns far below Castle Dragonfly. The former king took a seat, set the glass and ice bucket aside, placed one cube into the glass, uncorked the bottle, and looked up to the frozen face of the prison's only prisoner.

"Hello… dad. It's pretty lonely down here, isn't it? Pffft, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Festivio laughed, dryly. He poured the bourbon into his glass and gulped it down. He had now gone from buzzed to tipsy. "You're lookin' well. Y'know, despite being locked up for… hell, sixty years, now. Heh-heh… I talked to Milo yesterday. You remember grandpa's friend? He said the Solarian Army killed fifty monsters in just one week."

Festivio paused to glare at the frozen former king, as if he were expecting a response. After a few more moments of silence, Festivio filled his glass again, only to completely discard the glass and drink straight from the bottle. The king savoured every drop of the liquid warmth running down his throat; it was a comfort he had known for most of his life. Eventually, he looked back up at Eclipsine, pointing accusingly.

"You… y'know, what?" Festivio slurred. "I'm… I'mma… I'mma good frickin' dad… I'mma great frickin' dad! I don't… I don't abuse my wife… or my kids! I-I fuckin' love my wife and kids! I throw 'em… all of 'em… the best birthday parties ever! An' I don't… I definitely don't… leave 'em to… to go make nookie with a fuckin' monster!"

His enraged outburst echoed throughout the cavern. When Eclipsine didn't reply, Festivio took another swig of the bourbon. The warmth had spread from his stomach up to his brain at this point, completely drowning out all inhibitions. At last, the bottle was empty, much to Festivio's disappointment.

"I mean, hey, I'm not mad." Festivio shrugged. "Why should I be? I d-did alright on my own. I-I mean, you weren't there when mom got killed by those monsters, but I got over it, didn't I? Y-you weren't th-there when Auntie Omnitraxus held me up in front of the kingdom and gave me the scepter when I was two, but I turned out alright! I-I-I learned how to drive carriages without you!I learned how to - how to use magic without you! I have two great kids, and I sure as hell didn't need you for that! 'Cause there's not a damn thing you could ever teach me about how to love my kids! I mean, I had sixty fantastic birthdays without so much as an 'I love you, son!' Well, to hell with you!"

Festivio angrily threw the bottle at the crystalline prison, shattering it in front of Ecipsine's frozen face. "Y-you better… you better hope you never get out of that crystal!" He snarled as tears ran down his cheeks. "'Cause if I ever get the chance I'm-! I'm gonna kill you! And I'mma keep killin' you 'til you're dead! An'... an' that's worse!"

Of course, Eclipsine hadn't so much as blinked. Festivio watched as the droplets of alcohol ran down the crystal and his fists unclenched. His hands came up to cup around his mouth as tears slid past the star-shaped marks on his cheeks. "Why'd you leave me, dad…?" He sobbed. "W-why didn't you… stick around?" After a few more minutes of quiet sobs, Festivio made his way back up the stairs. If he had stayed just a bit longer, he might have noticed that Eclipsine's face now looked almost sympathetic.

As the former king of Mewni made his way back up to the party, he missed a step and slipped. Such a sudden movement caused him to lose his lunch over the railing. A few more choked sobs later, he managed to find the handrail and pull himself up the rest of the way.

He was just rubbing the burning tears from his eyes when he bumped into the new king.

"Dad? What're you doing down here?" Crescento asked, concerned. "And why're you crying?"

"Uh…I put a little too much spice in my rum. I took a strong whiff, and it got to my eyes." Festivio lied, trying his best to smile for his youngest. "C'mon, let's get back to the party! We want you to have some fun before you're stuck with all the boring political stuff."

A few hours later, the party finally ended and Crescento had gone to bed in preparation for his first day as King of Mewni. Dirhenno had been offered his old room to sleep in, but insisted on sleeping on the front lawn in a tent. As for the former king and queen, Chastity was the first to climb into bed, with Festivio covering her up with the blanket.

"What's up?" Chastity yawned as her husband's beard tickled her cheek as he kissed her.

"I just love you." Festivio murmured, happily. "So much."

"I love you, too…" She purred, happily, before drifting off.

Festivio brushed a hand over her lovely face one last time before wearily walking over to Crescento's room. He adjusted the new king's blanket and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Crescento. I know you'll make me proud." He then made his way down to the front lawn, ignoring the spinning in his head and the churning in his stomach to kiss his oldest son goodnight. "Goodnight, Dirhenno. I hope you find whatever happiness you're looking for."

The party-king managed to re-enter the castle and stumble into the kitchen. Tired of booze, Festivio prepared a strawberry lemonade; his favorite beverage of all time. With the cold drink in his hand, he took a slice of the leftover cake and made his way to the balcony. A comfortable armchair had been set up years ago so that he and Chastity could enjoy the sunrise every morning. And so, Festivio sat in silence for hours, enjoying his cake and comfort-drink until six o' clock in the morning. The sun had just begun to rise as a soft smile spread over his lips; taking great joy in watching the light slowly illuminate his kingdom.

As he felt his eyelids growing heavier, however, Festivio knew what was coming. So, with the last of his strength, he took one final bite of cake, took one last sip of his favorite drink, set his plate and cup aside, settled into his chair, closed his eyes...

… and quietly passed away.

When the threat of monsters at the gate

Has darkened out the sun,

Let the kingdom find some joy and peace

In Festivio, the Fun

To Be Continued!

Author's note: WOW! I was not expecting last chapter to blow up the way it did! I'm beginning to think this is more popular than I thought. Anyway, that's it for Festivio's story, but not necessarily the last we'll see of him. As always, please leave a review.

Also, one of you asked me if I'd be doing AUs based on this story. At the moment, I am currently focusing on just this storyline and a potential follow-up story, but if you have any ideas for potential AUs in the future, feel free to send me a PM and I'll get back to you.