Possible spoilers between the ⭐🦋 and 🦋⭐.
— OoOoO — OoOoO — OoOoO — OoOoO — OoOoO —
"Star! STAR!" Marco yelled, as he ran into the Rose Garden.
Star jumped off the bench she was sitting on, dropping her book. She raised her wond and shouted, "What is it? A demon?"
"No," Marco replied, "something better." He ran up to Star and showed her the picture on his phone. It was of his mother Angie lying in a hospital bed holding a baby, with his father Rafael standing proudly beside her.
Star squealed in delight. "Marco Junior! So cute! When did this happen?"
"A couple days ago. Email from Earth is sometimes slow due to, you know, being in a different dimension. No idea why texts are instantaneous." Marco swiped to a second photograph, of only the baby. "Star, meet Mariposa, my new baby sister."
"Sister? I thought you were getting a brother."
"Dad says, 'for how much money doctors charge, you'd think they'd be much better at their jobs.'"
Star giggled. "Mariposa, that's a pretty name. Much better than Marco Junior. Your parents wanting to name their son after their son was way weird."
"Um, Star? You know my parents consider you their daughter, right?"
Star blushed. "Yes."
"They named their daughter after their daughter; after you. Mariposa means Butterfly in Spanish."
Star's eyes teared up. "I ... I ... I don't know what to say."
Marco hugged her. "You don't have to say anything, I'm sure they know how honored you are."
"Still weird though," Star responded. Releasing the hug, Star said, "We have to visit. Now!"
"Hold on, Star. Mom had some difficulties during the delivery, and the email said they were going to keep her several extra days for treatment and observation. So, we need to give them a couple days to get home and settled in. Then we can visit. We'll stay several days to help out, and we can visit our friends as well ... maybe have a beach day with them."
Star squealed again, bouncing up and down, clapping her hands. "Yay! You know what this calls for, don't you?"
"I do."
They faced each other and yelled in unison, "Alternate universe!"
— Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO —
⭐🦋 The quiet and darkness of Marco's room gave way to the sound and light of an opening space-time portal. Star walked out of the portal, followed by Marco.
Star flipped on the lights as they slowly walked to the bed and sat down. For a few minutes neither spoke, their shocked faces wearing thousand-yard-stares.
"So," Marco said.
"So," Star replied.
Babystoat appeared from a puff of pink glitter.
"Pregnant," Marco said.
"Pregnant," Star said.
"So, let's see. In that AU Meteora never disappeared and attacked Butterfly Castle. Star, as queen, defeated her somehow, then ... abdicated the throne to Eclipsa. After the battle, Star thought Tom dumped her, leaving her alone with Marco, and both needing comforting and stress relief ... they ... um ... did the thing ... erm ... without proper protection ... and ..."
Star finished the thought, "And Star and Marco will be teen parents." Both teens blushed furiously. "So, they are simultaneously navigating both the political situation, and imminent parenthood."
They stopped, sitting for a few more minutes in silence.
"Not only that," Star continued, "but in that universe Tom and Janna became a thing."
"Welp," they said in unison, "that's going to add to our nightmares." 🦋⭐
Abruptly, a black cloud flew in through the open window. It circled the room twice, then, from a swirling, black, tornado, Baby appeared.
"Squire Marco, please forgive the intrusion. Do you know the whereabouts of Prin ..." Baby stopped as she noticed Babystoat writing furiously in its notebook. Eyes wide with shock, she asked, "What ... is that?"
Babystoat finished writing and finally noticed Baby hovering across the room. The two flying cats stared at each other until Babystoat broke the silence, speaking for the first time.
"Hiya, gorgeous." Whereas Baby's voice was high and ridiculous, like the Bernadette character's voice on that nerd show Star and Marco liked, Babystoat's was silky and deep. Babystoat was male.
"He can talk!" Star and Marco exclaimed together.
"And it's such a strong, handsome-man voice, too," Baby added. "Interesting." With a yowl, Baby flew at Babystoat. Babystoat growled and flung himself at Baby.
Expecting an actual cat fight, Star cried, "No! Don't!"
But it was too late. The two cats met in the air ... and immediately began kissing and fondling each other. The two fell to the floor, rolling around in their amorous embrace. Star opened the bedroom door as Marco gingerly rolled the pair out of the room. Star closed the door, but they could still hear, every now and then, a passionate yowl from one of the rutting cats.
Star and Marco shuddered. Together, they said, "Wish I could unsee that."
Marco added, "That's almost as bad as that dimension of cats with human faces."
The teens walked back to Marco's bed. As they sat in silence, Marco thought over the AUs they'd visited, seeing common threads. Most notably, in most of them, Star and Marco were, in some way, romantically involved.
"Um, Star? Have you noticed anything in common among these AUs? Between all these Stars and Marcos? Something ... familiar?"
Star thought for a few moments. "Yeahhhhh ... we're besties in all of them! Hugs!"
Marco sighed inwardly and, reluctantly for once, hugged Star. Sadly, Star's answer to his question told him he was making the right decision. When they parted, Marco looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Star, I've been thinking. When we go to visit my family and our friends, I won't be coming back."
In a small voice, Star said, "What?"
"It's not because I don't love hanging out with you, but ... I can't stay on Mewni forever. There hasn't been a confirmed sighting of Meteora in more than a month. I have to start thinking about college, and I'm a big brother now. Star, it hurts that I missed my baby sister's birth. And that AU has me thinking about kids of my own. I'm sorry, I ..."
"No, no, no," Star interrupted. "I get it. I mean, obviously, I knew you couldn't stay here forever." The sadness in Star's voice, her slumped shoulders, and her inability to look Marco in the eyes, said something different. Star's compact phone rang.
"It's Tom. I guess I have to ... leave this awkward conversation now." Star left Marco's room. As she did, the laser puppies ran in through the now open door.
Marco sat on the floor to play with the puppies, but he couldn't stop thinking about Star. Her reaction to his announcement that he'd be leaving was ... unexpected.
"Oh, this is bad," Marco said to Barko Diaz. "I didn't mean to hurt Star's feelings, but I had to be honest with her. I have to try to smooth things over. What do you think?" Barko Diaz simply cocked his head. "Ugh. What am I doing? I should be talking to Star ... but I just don't know what to say to her."
Marco thought for a few moments. "But there is something I can give to her..."
— Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO —
In her room, Star flipped open her compact. "Heya, Starship."
"Hi, Tom."
"Uh ... you sound less than happy to hear from me. Should I not have called?"
"I'm glad you called, Tom. Marco has a new baby sister ... and he just told me that he's leaving Mewni."
Conflicted, Tom remained silent. He would be losing a rival for Star's affections, but truth be told, Tom would be losing his best friend too. Finally, he said, "Will you be okay?"
"Yeahhhhh ... nooooo ... I dunno. I mean, I only made him my squire so we could hang out and do silly stuff together. But I never thought he'd, like, stop being my squire, that he'd leave ... again. He swore an oath to be by my side for the rest of our lives, for corn's sake!"
Tom paused, choosing his words carefully before he spoke. "Star, squires don't do that, hus ..."
Hearing the "hu," Star finished Tom's statement with "... huggable guys like Marco do. I know, that's why he's my bestie, and why I'm so surprised by this."
Tom only grimaced in response.
"Ugh, I feel so selfish, being upset. You know what, I should be talking to Marco ... no offense."
"None taken. Remember, I don't do politics."
Star grinned. "I'm going with Marco to visit my new niece and see all our friends. We're planning an awesome beach day. Come with?"
"As fun as a day at the beach with you and Marco sounds, the rest ... not so much. Give Marco and the fam congratulations from me."
"I will. I'll miss you."
"Love you, Starship. Call me as soon as you get back."
"Bye-eee," Star said as she flashed a peace sign. She closed her compact, hanging up the call. Only then did she realize the enormity of what Tom said, and her lack of reaction to it. Oh corn...
— Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO — Oo1oO —
Meteora stepped out of a dimensional portal, just outside a remote Mewmin village deep in the Jaggy Mountains. The village was small, approximately fifty Mewmins scraping out a living in the harsh environment. Bob figured this village would be a good test of Meteora's new powers.
Meteora walked down the only road into the village. At its outskirts, Meteora was challenged by two guards wielding pikes. Seeing no need to trade words with prey, she immediately grew in size to fifteen feet tall. The power was not exactly new, she had the ability all along, inherited from her father. Never having known her father, she did not know she possessed it, but Bob knew, somehow.
The guards, though frightened, held their ground, taking a defensive stance and holding the pikes at the ready. Brave, thought Meteora, brave idiots. Her eyes glowed green, then she fired a beam of purple dark magic, wrapped in a helix of green magical strands, from each of her hands. Each guard was hit by one of the beams.
The guards immediately dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. They were silent, a feature of the spell to prevent alerting others. Their bodies began to contort. They screamed silently, the only sounds those of clothes tearing, armor bursting, and bones cracking.
Unlike true Monsters, which came in many forms, these Mewmonsters were uniform and almost indistinguishable. They retained their original height for the most part, but everything else was changed. Their tough, hairless, skin was a greenish beige, their eyes yellow and catlike. Each hand carried black, sharp, claws at the end of each finger. The toes carried similar claws, with the big toe moving to the back of the heel and turning 180 degrees to create a grasping foot. Their ears were pointed, their mouths filled with sharp teeth and a reptilian tongue, and they carried a muscular tail. There were no outward sexual characteristics to indicate their gender.
The two new Mewmonsters stood, looking to Meteora. They retained some intelligence so they could carry out any orders independently, and were infused by the magic with the ability to think tactically, but were otherwise slavishly bound to Meteora's will. All their compassion, all their empathy, all their Mewminity, gone.
Although capable of acting independently, Meteora still had to maintain some magical control of the Mewmonsters she created, otherwise their now animalistic nature would take over and they would become nothing but a mindless, destructive, horde. That was fine by Meteora ... after their job was done.
"Go," she said, "bring me two more, and do so discreetly." The Mewmonsters ran into the village. Within minutes, each returned holding a struggling Mewmin, their clawed hands clamped tightly over the Mewmins' mouths. Meteora fired her magic, creating two more Mewmonsters.
The process was repeated over and over. As the number of Mewmonsters grew, the speed at which the population was transformed increased. In a very short time, all but five of the fifty or so Mewmins of all ages and genders were transformed.
Meteora began the second phase of the test. The five remaining Mewmins were constables or soldiers. Meteora didn't care which as long as they were armed, armored, and willing to fight. She concentrated, using the magic to telepathically order ten Mewmonsters to attack the five villagers.
The villagers were brave and fought well, but the savagery and natural weaponry of the Mewmonsters, and their ability to act tactically and semi-independently of their master, quickly overwhelmed the villagers. Within only a few minutes, five Mewmins and two Mewmonsters lay dead. Two of the remaining Mewmonsters were grievously injured. Meteora felt no compassion or remorse, only satisfaction.
Meteora started phase three of the test, a much more difficult test. Letting the Mewmonsters loose to rend and tear was easy, but they needed to do more; an army could not fight with aggression alone.
Meteora began giving mental commands. Some Mewmonsters were ordered to begin dismantling the houses and other buildings, while others were ordered to bring carts and wagons to haul away usable debris. The remainder were tasked with fetching the villagers' food stores.
Meteora began to feel fatigued. Her head started to ache; slightly, at first, but within fifteen minutes it was a pounding torture. The Mewmonsters, in ones and twos at first, but more with every minute, became animalistic and turned on each other. Their magical infusions of tactics and obedience became overwhelmed by their innate savagery, as Meteora slowly lost control.
When Meteora lost control of the last Mewmonster, purple bubbles unexpectedly enveloped all the Mewmonsters and Mewmins, alive or dead. There was a brief pause, then the bubbles spiderwebbed with cracks, followed by an internal explosion. The bubbles fell to pieces, and black smoke and ash blew away on the wind. The bubble shards disappeared.
Bob had cleaned up Meteora's mess.
Well, corn, thought Meteora, as a dimensional portal opened next to her. She shrank to her normal size, then walked through the portal. The portal closed behind her, leaving a partially destroyed and empty village.
Meteora stepped out of the rift in the dimension where Bob had been training her. Meteora stood, arms crossed, waiting for Bob's assessment.
"Not too bad," Bob said. "There are still some kinks to work out. We need to refine the magic a bit to produce less strain on you, expand the numbers you can control at once, make it so you don't have to control each and every one all the time, and tone down their bestiality. We need them to work together if you lose control, not rip each other to pieces, and definitely not turn and attack you. I think we also need to go over tactics and logistics a little more, your distribution of ... um ... labor was not optimal. Then you have to practice, practice, practice."
Meteora grunted.
"You're almost there. We won't allow perfect to be the enemy of good, but all of this is for nothing if you attack before you're ready, and lose."
— Oo2oO — Oo2oO — Oo2oO — Oo2oO — Oo2oO —
Moon, Eclipsa, the MHC, and members of the King's Guard searched the village for clues as to what happened there. A Monster had arrived in the village to sell his wares, only to find the village deserted and in partial ruin. He had fled, and when safe in his own village, told what he had seen. The story spread, within a couple days reaching the ears of a Mewmin who relayed it to Butterfly Castle.
"What could have happened here?" Moon asked.
"I don't know," Eclipsa responded. "Back in my day we had disasters that wiped out entire villages, but there were always bodies and some evidence of what happened. There's nothing here."
The two walked through the village, looking for clues, occasionally stopping to examine the ground or a half-destroyed house. They noted the carts, half filled with food or debris.
"It looks like an attack for supplies," Moon mused. "But why would they abandon the supplies?"
"And why no weapons in the carts?" Eclipsa wondered.
"Your majesties, here," Dame Gracile "Grace" Whosits of the King's Guard called. She indicated a patch on the ground that had been cleared of debris by her squire, Sebastian Featherstonehaugh Cholmondeley-Urquhart IV, better known as "Baby-Man."
Moon and Eclipsa walked over to the patch, where they were joined by Omnitraxus and Hekapoo. They saw blood and claw marks on the ground.
"You have more intimate experience with Monsters, Eclipsa," Moon said. "Any ideas?"
Eclipsa kneeled and ran her fingers over the claw marks. "There doesn't seem to be anything unusual about them, other than maybe their uniformity ... except ..." She held out her hand as if she was warming it over a fire. "I can feel magic emanating from them. Dark Magic ... infused, I think, with Meteora's magic."
"Meteora!"
"I can't be certain, Moon. It's more of an echo, for lack of a better term. But I think, to be prudent, we should assume she was involved."
"Omnitraxus, Hekapoo, do you sense anything?" Moon asked.
"Nothing," Hekapoo answered. "Neither Omnitraxus nor I sense anything in the village like we did where Meteora disappeared. Maybe outside the ..."
"Moon," Eclipsa interrupted, "there's more."
"More?"
"I also sensed the echo of a Mewmin, and it's too strong to be Meteora's Mewmin half."
"Stand back." Once the others were clear, Moon enveloped the ground containing the blood and claw marks in a dome of magic. The blood glowed bright pink, showing it to be Mewmin. The claw marks had a very faint pink glow. "What in the world? Could it be from blood on the claws?"
"I don't think so. But I don't know what is causing it, either."
Moon felt a twinge of anger ... and fear. She looked around worriedly, scanning for signs of an imminent ambush, then opened a dimensional portal. "Time to go everybody. Quickly, now!"
When Moon and Dame Grace were the only ones left, Moon took one last, quick, look at the bloody patch of ground. "Meteora ... how?" she mumbled. She turned and entered the portal, followed by Dame Grace.
— OoOoO — OoOoO — OoOoO — OoOoO — OoOoO —
⭐🦋 Royal Secrets by blackwolfwrites (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13315896) 🦋⭐