Star, Marco, and Janna made their way to the dojo, taking in all the sights that their new world had to offer. Thankfully it was nearby so they didn't have too long of a walk to take to get there. It was a bit surreal. Seeing castles next to skyscrapers was something entirely new. Plus, the smells; the scent of pizza, tacos...and pig goat manure are not something that goes together.
Although the three of them were getting used to it all just fine, the humans around them were not taking it so well. Many of them were all running around in a panic. Many looked terrified because monsters were now roaming the streets. If only they understood that monsters are actually very nice. They haven't calmed down even a bit since Mewni and Earth collided. Star fell behind the group with a frown upon her face. Marco took notice of it and walked over to her right away.
"Star?" Marco said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Star turned her head to look at him.
"Oh, I'm fine...I mean...just seeing everyone scared of monsters again...it's just-" Star sighed. Marco knew how hard Star worked to get mewmans and monsters to get along back on Mewni. He could only imagine how frustrating it was for her to see it happen all over again.
"Hey, we fixed this before. I'm sure we can fix it again." Marco looked down at Star's hand. "We'll do it together just like we did before." Marco said as he took her hand. She smiled back at him.
"Thanks, Marco." Star replied as she rested her head on Marco's shoulder.
"So...why do we need to find Ponyhead so badly?" Marco asked.
"A living, floating, disembodied Ponyhead in a world with a ton of human beings who have never seen a monster before except for fake ones on TV? Think about it." Star said, trying to make a point.
"Right..." Marco replied.
"And if Ponyhead is at the dojo...monster temple...uh...place...then maybe everyone else is there too; Mom, Dad, Eclipsa, Tom. It might be a lot easier to find everyone than we think." Star said, optimistic.
"Yeah...except for my family. They were nowhere near the Monster Temple" Marco replied with a slight frown. Star saw the worry in Marco's eyes.
"Hey, we'll find them. I promise." Star told him. Marco nodded, smiling back. He kissed Star's head softly, making her blush. She kissed Marco back on his cheek as well. Marco blushed even more than Star did. It made him giggle a little too.
"So um...I have a question." Marco said to Star.
"Yeeessss?" Star said, curious.
"Have I ever introduced you to Italian food before?" Marco asked her. Star had to take a second to think.
"Italian? Uhhhhhh nope. Why?" Star wondered.
"Oh, uh...no reason." Marco replied before looking away, trying to act nonchalant. Star wondered what the heck that was about. She then got distracted by the sunlight hitting Marco's face. Marco turned his head, seeing Star mesmerized by him.
"Star?" Marco said.
"Hehehe...your face." Star replied as she zoned out. Marco raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? What? Do I have something on my face?!" Marco said, starting to panic. Star tried to calm him down by wrapping her arms around his.
"Don't worry about it. You're fine." Star said, resting her head on Marco's shoulder. Marco was confused. Was he fine? No matter. He liked how Star was holding his arm. It made him feel content. Marco reciprocated and placed his head on top of Star's. Janna turned slightly to look behind her as she walked ahead of them, smiling at the sight of them cuddling as they walked along.
"It's about time." Janna muttered under her breath.
"Eh, what was that?" Marco said, not paying full attention.
"Oh, uh...nothing. Carry on." Janna replied with a grin. Marco suddenly felt a sudden buzz in his pocket. Then, Space Unicorn started to play. Quickly, he pulled a ringing cell phone out of his pocket. He fumbled and lost his grip in excitement, juggling it from hand to hand and somehow preventing it from hitting the ground.
"You had your cell phone this whole time?!" Star asked him, absolutely shocked.
"I thought there would be no signal after what happened!" Marco cried, taking the phone in his hand. He gasped when he saw the caller ID. "It's my mom!"
"Answer it! Answer it!" Star yelled, taking Marco's arm and shaking it. Marco took the phone, tapped the answer call button and put it up to his ear.
"Mom?!" Marco said, eager to talk to them.
"Marco! Sweetie! You're okay! Thank goodness!" Angie exclaimed on the other end of the phone.
"Hi, son!" Rafael added.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine! Don't worry about me! How are you! How's Mariposa!?" Marco asked, keeping the phone close to his ear.
"She doing great! She's such a little trooper just like her big brother!" Angie told him. Marco smiled, relieved to know that his sister was unharmed. One of the last things he would want is for her baby sister to get hurt. "And yes we're doing great! We met a lovely friend in the woods who is helping us out-" Shzzzzzz! "-great per-" Shzzzzzz! "-made us fo-" Shzzzz!." Angie's voice suddenly disappeared into static.
"Wait...who'd you meet in the woods? I think you're losing signal." Marco asked quickly, now very concerned. Who in the world was with his family? "Mom!" He tried. "You're. Losing. The. Siiigggnnnallll." Marco repeated, trying to communicate with her as clearly as possible.
"Oh! Well don't wor-" Shzzzz! "-us! We're fine! Just take ca-" Shzzzz! "-rself. Love you so mu-" Shzzzzz!." Angie tried to say before the phone call ended with a beep.
"Mom? Mom!" Marco cried, trying to get a hold of her again. It was too late. "Well, at least I know they're okay...I guess...I'll just tell her to text me in case of an emergency." Marco said, sighing a bit as he began to tap his screen and send a message. Star could see that he was worried about them. She reached out and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Marco, it's okay. If they say they're fine, then you should trust them." Star smiled at him. Marco smiled back at her and nodded.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Marco pressed send on his phone. "Well, at least my cell phone's working! Positivity is key!" Marco said, looking at his phone in his hand.
"Dude, I could have told you that hours ago. I've been in contact with Tom this whole time." Janna added, casually taking out her cell phone and texting to demonstrate.
"Janna! You knew they worked the whole ti-...hold on." Star stopped both herself and Marco in their tracks, putting an arm in front of him, accidentally hitting Marco in the face.
"Ow!"
"Hold on, you've been talking to Tom? Do you know where he is?" Star wondered.
"Yeah, he's safe at home in the underworld. He's fine." Janna replied, not even looking up as she kept texting him.
"Well, now we know where he is. That's one person off our list." Marco added
"Yeah, that's reassuring. Wait, wait, how long have you been talking to uh...to Tom?" Star asked, getting a little excited to hear the details.
"Oh, uh, ever since you went to that meeting with the Magical High Commission or whatever. I gave him one of my old cell phones because his mirror got destroyed by a giant crow. Then, I gave him my number. Now he hasn't stopped texting me since." Janna shrugged before she began texting again. Star made a cheeky grin.
"Uh huh...go on...please." Star told her as she had a gleaming smile on her face. Janna's had her usually 'no expression' face.
"...it's not like that." Janna told her, trying to appear casual. Star could tell that she was hiding something.
"Uh huh, uh huh...or is it?" Star snickered. Janna stayed silent.
"...I plead the fifth..." Janna said before turning around and continuing to walk. Star backed up, absolutely confused.
"Wait, what are you pleading to a fifth of? A fifth of a pizza? Or a fifth of a-" Star started, but Marco came behind her, taking his hands and putting them on Star's shoulders.
"Star?" Marco said. Star turned her head to him.
"I'm really confused. Like, what is that supposed to me-" Star kept on going.
"Star, I'll tell you later." Marco told her.
"But..."Star sighed, wanting to have an answer. "Fiiiinnee." She said as Marco put his arm around her, starting to walk again.
Some time passed before the three of them made it to the newly combined Monster Temple Plaza.
"Finally...we made it." Star gasped as the three of them stopped in front of it. They looked up to the top of it. "...You know, I forgot how tall it was."
"Weren't you just there a few hours ago?" Marco asked her.
"Yyyyyup." Star replied happily. "And look, my room's still here!"
"So where's the dojo?" Janna asked. Marco simply pointed to the top. The Dojo was sitting right at the peak of the mountain.
"Of course. Naturally." Star added, letting out a breath. "Alright, everybody, let's start climbing." Star said as she started taking the first steps.
"Uh, Star?" Marco said, trying to get her attention.
"Marco, I know you don't want to climb these hundreds of steps and that it already took a biiiiiit of a walk to get here but we don't have a choi-" Star replied until Marco cleared his throat, getting her attention. He pointed down and to the right. Right next to those very steps, was an escalator. Star's head drooped before she stretched her arms out towards the escalator.
"See, now why didn't Mewni have this? Why did Mewni have to be so old-fashioned?" Star grumbled as she lifted her head back up, heading over to the escalator. Marco and Janna followed. Marco fell in step next to Star as Janna walked in front of them, texting on her phone once again. Star got on her tiptoes, trying desperately to see if she was still texting Tom. Janna looked over her shoulder, having noticed Star's huge grin out of the corner of her eye.
"Hehehehehehe." Star giggled. Marco grabbed Star's shoulder and brought her back, flat on her feet.
"What are you doing..." Marco said, keeping a straight face.
"Aw, come on! I just really want to know what's going on with Janna and Tom." Star replied. "Look, after the break-up between him and I, I found someone to be with soon after." Star explained. Marco smiled. "I just want Tom to find that special someone in his life too." Star said as she glanced at Janna. "Everyone deserves a happily ever after, don't you think?"
"Yeah, but...I don't think pushing it on Janna is the way to do it, you know?" Marco said quietly to her. Star crossed her arms as some of her hair fell in her face. She blew it away from her eyes.
"Fine. You're right." Star agreed.
"I gotta say though..." Marco began to say as Star flicked yet more hair away from her face. "I do kind of ship them." Marco said with a wink. That made Star feel a bit better, knowing that they both thought the same thing.
As the three moved up the escalator, they could observe the many ways in which the Monster Temple had changed. It was surely a sight to behold. All of the rooms and halls in the temple have transformed into the kind of stores you might see in a mall. It made them appreciate a long escalator ride. Star took a close look at each and every one of the stores, keeping in mind which ones she might want to stop at now that she had the opportunity once again. Marco, however, was looking in the other direction.
"Hey...you should see this." Marco told her.
"Wait, what?" Star asked. Marco took her and gently spun her around.
Star gasped. "Wowwwwwww."
In front of them was a breathtaking view of their newly formed world. The sky was alive with many lovely shades of purples, pinks, and oranges as the sun went down. The three moons in the sky shone brightly, covering their town in a glistening glow, even though the sun was still visible.
"Look! There's my house!" Marco said as he pointed to it. "Nice to know its close by." He observed.
"There's Ponyhead castle, but that's easy to spot." Star added.
"Well...it is in the sky so..." Marco chuckled.
"Actually I was going to say because the parties there are super loud and you can hear the music miles away, but that too." Star replied. They both chuckled before taking in the view once more.
"I have to say, this is...probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen." Star happily said. Marco turned his head to look at her.
"I've seen more beautiful." Marco said as he gazed at Star's golden hair shining in the sunset and the way her crystal blue eyes sparkled. Star quickly glanced back at Marco, who gave her a soft smile. Star blushed. She felt so lucky to have someone like Marco. She did the only logical thing and lightly booped his nose with her pointer finger.
"Marco, you sly dog." Star told him. "You know, I need to start documenting these moments. New world, new memories!." Star said as she took out her portable mirror phone, opened it, about to take a picture until she realized it was dead. She tried pressing some buttons, but nothing changed. "Aw, I forgot...magic powers this too."
"No worries. I got it." Marco said as he took out his cell phone and brought up his camera. He took a snapshot of the view before turning it around, taking a picture of the two of them. Star smiled at him. "I needed a new wallpaper anyway."
Marco chuckled. After elbowing him playfully, Star took a look at the phone and took a glance at the picture of the two of them.
"Awww, look at us." Star said. Marco watched as a lovely smile grew on her face. She scrolled through Marco's photos, seeing some photos, all the way back, finding some photos from when they had first met. "We've come a long way."
Star began to remember the first day she had met Marco. She remembered how Marco fought to keep her safe from Ludo's goons at the Stop N' Slurp. She remembered his face when he saw the Amethyst Arcade. She remembered when Marco made his Super Awesome Nachos for her to try for the first time. Marco saw her smile brighten even more. Seeing her with the phone gave him an idea.
"You know what? You need a cell phone." Marco told her.
"Wait, what?" Star said.
"Yeah. It's about time I help you adapt to a life without magic. You know, as humans live." Marco said as he shrugged. Star turned her head to look at Marco.
"Besides, you should take some photos of your own...you know...so we can document some new memories...together."
Marco smiled at her as Star smiled back at him. "We'll buy one here after we find Ponyhead. I should still have some money in my pocket." Marco said as he reached into his pockets.
"Oh, pfft, Marco you don't have to pay for my-" Star began as she reached into her own pockets. Nothing was in them. "Okay, nevermind, how much do you have?" Star asked.
"Uhhh..." Marco took out a stack of bills. "$650. I think I have just enough. Good thing St. Olga's is still in this world or else I'd be broke."
"Don't you get paid every month? Where does it all go?" Star asked.
"Well, first I-".
"Oh, we're here." Janna interrupted. The escalator came to an end, stopping right in front of the Dojo at the top of the mountain. There was a slight breeze pushing against them. They could feel the cold that came with being so high up. They walked closer to the door of the dojo, hearing clanging and crashing noises coming from inside. The trio stopped in their tracks.
"Ohhhh no." Marco grimaced.
"Pony, what did you do..." Star wondered as they ran quickly to the door. Janna tried opening it, but it was locked.
"We have a problem." Janna said, pulling the door over and over.
"Ugh, Ponyhead!" Marco growled as Star got in front of him.
"Stand back. I got this." Star crouched into the perfect kicking position.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Star yelled, kicking the door. The door flew open, revealing Sensei and Ponyhead sparring and Seahorse recording the fight with his camera. Star and the gang were extremely confused.
"Pony?" Star uttered.
"Sensei?" Marco said.
"B-fly!" Ponyhead exclaimed.
"Cape bro!" Sensei uttered.
"Greg!" Janna said, pulling a skeleton head out of her pocket.
"What the-" Marco wondered.
"I've been looking for this for ages. I'm trying to bring a skeleton back to life." Janna said with a snicker. Everyone in the room just stared blankly at Janna until Star broke the silence.
"Ponyhead, what is going on?" Star asked, scratching the top of her head. Ponyhead and Sensei calmed down and backed away from each other a bit.
"Oh, yeah, you're probably why this is happening, which is definitely what I would expect from anyone. Well, yeah, okay so I don't know if you heard that the Ponyhead Show is now a radio talk show because the magic mirrors went down." Ponyhead began to explain.
"Believe me. The whole town heard it." Marco said, crossing his arms.
"Well, that's how I wanted it to be alright. I want to become world famous, okay? Now I thought that the Ponyhead Show needed more. You know, like, some pizzazz. So after that giant flash of light and all that I end up here and I see this muscular hunk here-"
"Hey." Sensei interrupted.
"Yeah, so that's when I decided that the Ponyhead Show needs a kung fu movie..." Ponyhead told them with a smirk on her face. Star and Marco looked at each other with faces that clearly said, 'are you kidding me?' before Marco turned to Sensei and raises an eyebrow.
"Uh...I would...like to be famous." Sensei told him. Marco gave him an unamused look on his face. "She said she would pay me!"
Star facepalmed and walked over to Ponyhead. Janna stood by to Sensei.
"Dude, I have another way you can get some money." She said.
"What?" Sensei asked. Janna looked at her skeleton head, stroking it.
"Give me a piece of skin and hair and you'll get $650." Janna said to him. Marco quickly turned his head.
"Wait, I have $650!" Marco's brow furrowed.
"Exactly." Janna said with a wry smile as she held $650 in her hand.
"No...no, no, Janna!" Marco checked his pockets. Nothing was in them. "Did you steal my money?!" Marco said, walking over to her and Sensei. Star and Ponyhead were chatting in another area of the room.
"We're so glad to know you're okay." Star said to her.
"I'm just glad to see my best friend!" Ponyhead exclaimed. Marco turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, and Earthturd, yeah." Ponyhead added as Star grabbed her in a hug. It only lasted for a second or two. "Okay, B-fly, level with me. What happened? You know, with the giant light and two worlds all together now?" She asked her.
"It's a long story, I-" Star said, interrupted by a door opening opposite of the one they had come through. A woman emerged. She had silver hair and wore a blue dress.
"Star!" Moon stepped through the door.
"Mom! You're here!" Star cried as she ran to her mother, embracing her in a loving hug. "Where's dad? And Eclipsa and...and Globgor and...Meteora?"
"Oh, you know your father. He's out exploring...getting a lay of the land now that the world's changed. As for everyone else, well, I'm not quite sure. We'll find them though. I promise." Moon said as she stroked Star's head. "Oh, sweetie! I'm so glad you're alright." Moon said to her.
Marco walked up behind Star just as moon Moon lifted her head. She let go of her daughter, startled. "Marco! But...how..."
"Star and I ran towards a portal in the sky and...well..." Marco proceeded to make a boom sound effect with his mouth. "Now Earth and Mewni are together." Marco explained before taking Star's hand. "Just like how we belong together." Marco said with a smile.
Moon was so joyous to see her daughter so happy. She knew that Marco means the world to her. She felt so good inside. Sure, magic was gone and her world has changed entirely. What was most important to her though, was family. Knowing that she took them both and embraced them.
"I'm so happy for the both of you." Moon said as she wiped away a tear. "You two have my blessing for sure." She added very quietly.
Star's eyes bugged out.
"Wait what..." Star asked. Marco wasn't paying attention.
"Um...nothing! Nothing at all, my love!" Moon said as she gave Star and Marco a tight squeeze. They all let go of one another.
"Oh! Mom-Mom-Mom! Have you looked at my room yet?" Star asked as she pulled away, eager to go and see it.
"I went by the door to it but I didn't look inside. Oh, Star! Did you see the moving steps?" Moon asked her, pointing towards the outdoors.
"Moving ste-...Oh! Mom, that's an escalator." Star told her.
"Really? We should have had those in Mewni." Moon shrugged.
"...that's what I said!" Star chuckled as Marco walked over to Ponyhead to give Star and her mother some time to get reacquainted.
"So, Earthturd..." Ponyhead said as she applied lip balm. "What was that?" Ponyhead nudged him.
"Wha?" Marco asked.
"Hello! I'm not blind. You were holding Star's hand. Are you two a thing now? Please tell me you're a thing now. I will be so happy. No joke. I am not kidding." Ponyhead said, floating around him in circles.
"...yeah...we're a couple...if that's what...you mea-." Marco said before covering his ears. He knew what was coming. Ponyhead lit up in excitement.
"HONEY YAAAAAS! FINALLY! YOU TWO WERE TAKING FOR-EV-ER!" Ponyhead exclaimed raising her head up high and bouncing on top of Marco's head.
"Ah! Ponyhead! I have ears, you know!" Marco reminded her as said ears were ringing. Everyone stopped talking and turned, wondering what in the world just happened.
"What are you guys looking at? We are having a private conversation. Carry on with yours, okay?" Ponyhead told them.
"Actually, we should be going. I feel like we are going to need our sleep tonight. How about we check on your room? It's just outside this door and down the hall." Moon gestured to the door she had just come in through. She turned around and jumped, seeing a muscular gentleman standing there.
"Um...hello, sir."
Sensei waved back with a blank face. Star and Moon started towards the door. Star looked back over her shoulder.
"Come on, guys!" She called them over. Marco and Ponyhead followed them out of the door while Sensei and Seahorse stood there in the dojo. After a moment of silence, Seahorse turned to him.
"Would you like to continue the shoot, sir?" Seahorse asked him with a very unsettling smile.
"Dude...a seahorse is talking to me..." Sensei replied.