A white light welcomed Moon's mind to the brilliance of the world around her. Pink and blue flowers danced around her, whisking her away into the clear, cloudless sky. The royal gardens were a wondrous, beautiful place, complimented further by a cool, winding river. A fantastical breeze welcomed new life.

"Mommy?" a small, gentle voice entered through her ears. The source of the voice frolocked across the riverside, which neatly blended with the array of colors and shades that had caught the small girl's eye, locking her in awe.

She turned towards to her child, a beloved, light grey little rascal. Her father had insisted that Moon name her and she had decided to call her "Star". Had she known what the tyke would be like before, she would've called her something more rambunctious, such as "Supernova" or "Avalanche."

But here she was: her beloved darling. With her long head of pale blue hair, a cute little tail and piercing hazel eyes just like her father's.

It was still enrapturing for her to see a monster-mewman hybrid. It was still almost unheard of, and at any other time in history she would have been put to death. "What a beautiful time to be alive," she thought to herself. It was the kind of thinking that edged on daydreaming; she imagined her wonderful lover.

And speaking of the lizard she had happily married - there he was, smiling from a distance. He stood, otherwise stoic and observant. Moon waved back, her silvery hair blowing in the breeze. To the Queen his suit seemed to pop right out at her in this warm, fantasy-like setting and yet it didn't necessarily feel as though it did not belong.

It was a lovely day, indeed, almost dream-like. The beautiful, pastel colored scenery slowly faded. Moon's magnificent family began to slowly disappear. It was a fleeting memory, one that seemed almost lost, but what she had seen gave her no cause for concern regarding such undesirable thoughts, and so she let them go, knowing she would not lose them. The perfect little painting she had stumbled upon disappeared, as a new, more common setting took its place.

The small half-lizard child turned sharply into the dining room with her mother following slowly behind. She stopped in place. After a second of panting, she looked around and realized where she was.

Her back bolted up and then stiffened like a board. She stared at the the dining table with all who were seated at it, seeming completely distracted by Star who ran around them like the half-monster she was. She jumped, ducked, and crawled, like a gymnast, or a warrior, or maybe even a knight. Star always dreamed of being a knight, she always told her father that. Moon wondered why Star never told her. Their relationship was loving, Moon thought, but she was always more open with her father. Toffee told Moon as much. Moon always felt a hint of guilt, a slight spray of remorse, but she thought it better for Star to refrain from telling her, as the caring mother would never had allowed her little angel to partake in such a dangerous career, especially when she's already destined to be queen.

Moon loosened up and made her way towards her lover. The tall lizard had stopped his young daughter from causing a larger ruckus than she already had with his tail. He picked her up and sat her on his lap. Star seemed unfazed, almost as though nothing had interrupted her. Her head fidgeted in many different directions, looking for a possible escape route. Toffee slightly nudged her face to look at his, somehow locking it in place.

"Star. I want you to promise that you won't perform such a distracting performance before dinner again." His soothing voice calmed down the whole table, including his troublemaking daughter.

Star nodded cheerfully, obviously not taking what her father said to heart. But she had calmed down, and for now, that was all Moon could wish for.

"Good. Now if it wouldn't be a bother, please sit next to Grandma, dinner is starting soon." Star nodded once more and jumped off his lap. She made her way over to Queen Comet and sat down, but not before stopping to envelope her grandma in a tiny hug.

Moon leaned over to her composed husband to whisper "Thank you for calming her down, dear," all the while hoping to re-foster some composure of her own. The servants started to present everyone's meal, each course beautifully complementing the previous one.

"It's no bother, really" Toffee replied. "We wouldn't want to look bad in front of your mother after all," he reassured her. "Or, should I say, our Queen?"

Moon leaned back, facing her mother; the wizened, but still strong-spirited Queen of Mewni. She had been the only one of her relatives to support her marriage of Toffee, for obvious reasons. Mewmans were never fond of monsters. When rumors went out about Princess Moon marrying a monster, and not only a monster, but a monster general of all things, a civil war had begun to stir. Moon's wise mother put a stop to the treachery rather quickly, and rewrote some laws, to allow for Moon's happy ending. Even with Mewman bigotry toward Monsters calming down over the years, the wound is too fresh to allow Star to leave the castle outside of short bursts. Moon always feared that extremists would take away her little angel. Toffee didn't trust the Mewmans much either.

Dinner came and went without much of a ruckus. They all enjoyed their meals and went back to their independent endeavours afterward.

Moon was reclining on a small but comfy bench when she felt a gentle and elegant tap on her shoulder. She placed her book down softly on her lap, and glanced over to see that it was her mother who had decided to pay a visit. She found it strange and, for some reason, unnerving even.

"Moon, sweetie?" Comet asked, her hands tapping against her dress. "I'd like to… talk with you."

Moon immediately moved to the right to leave some room for her mother. Queen Comet smiled sweetly, but decided to remain standing instead. Moon frowned.

"I know that it has been a while since we've been alone like this." Moon began slowly. "And before we talk, I want to know why."

"What more do you want to know?" Comet asked, her hands beginning to tremble. Moon stared at her with cold, darkening eyes. "I worry about the future sometimes. I'm sure you do as well. I'm not blind, I can see how tired and distracted you have been as of late."

Moon felt a pit growing in her stomach before finding her voice. "Well, of course I worry as well. I want my family to be happy, but I want the same for everyone else in the kingdom as well. I worry that I won't be the Queen they need, like you are."

"Don't worry about that, sweetheart. You have a heart for everyone, even the monsters. They will be lucky to have you when you are ready."

Moon flinched a little at the words 'even the monsters' as they were uttered. She knew her mother meant well, but it always stung to know that, deep down, she absolutely didn't see things the same way.

"I just wish you had talked to me first…" Comet trailed off for a moment. "I wish you'd asked me first before actually getting married to a monster."

"That's enough mom!" Moon clenched her fists. "I'm an adult. There is no reason that I couldn't make that decision on my own."

"Without at least consulting your mother?" enquired Comet, who was now twiddling her fingers. "Besides, you know as well as I that there are more reasons involved here than your maturity. You will be the Queen of Mewni some day, Moon. People need to be able to trust their Queen, and your decision, regardless of how highly you view monsters, was a rash one. You cannot force change, even for the better."

Moon just sighed, reclining back for a moment with her eyes glazed over. She knew that her mother was at least partially right about all of this, but there was no way Comet could ever understand her choice. How could she? Thousands of years of Monster-Mewmen prejudices doesn't just disappear. She had only been fortunate enough to befriend some monsters at a young enough age to see how short-sighted these biases were.

"Let's go outside," pleaded Comet, her hands stretched wide. "It may help clear your mind."

It may help clear your mind.

They swept each other up into the Royal Gardens of Mewni, Queen Comet taking in the sweet air of summer, while Moon remained shriveled and recluded. They had situated themselves on the very edge, where the wild grasses met with the magically infused flowers that dotted this part of the Garden as much as weeds may dot that of a commoner's backyard.

Moon had never really approved of infusing the greenery at the castle with wand's magic, especially since it was her wand. Why did her mother get to decide what to do with it? Couldn't she just do it on her own? Glossaryck had always told Moon that once a Princess of Mewni was advanced enough in her studies in magic, and had the approval of the Commission, she could stop using her wand, and resort to dipping down into her own internal magic. Of course, she still needed to hold onto it, at least until her daughter reached the age of fourteen. Then she would be forced to just shove all of those problems away onto the next generation. It seemed a bit foolish to Moon that they would just give all that responsibility to someone not even old enough to steer a carriage.

Moon especially knew that it wasn't easy for her. In the first few months with the wand, she had experienced a lot of…. Unfriendly behavior from the people she knew. It wasn't like she had never had any friends, but they all seemed rather distant from her all of a sudden. She had gotten awfully depressed. Moon had considered making a few new friends on her own, but that was when Toffee showed up. He had always been the tricky fellow, a younger representative from the Monsters. They were first introduced in the diplomatic sector, but obviously their relationship had gone far beyond that.

Toffee was unique from Moon's other friends. She couldn't place her finger on why... but he was always a few steps ahead of the game. Where others were stuck in the mud, he would be up on dry land. This led to quite the attitude, and at first, arrogance, but Moon had thankfully managed to mellow that aspect of his personality.

Moon had also met his people, the Septarians. The Butterfly Kingdom had traditionally always had rocky relations with most non-mewmen people, and the Septarians were no exception. It wasn't like they were bloodthirsty enemies or anything, but Moon's family knew nothing about them until they sent Toffee and a few other representatives to establish relations. At first both sides were very cautious and foreboding, but they eventually grew a mutual respect for each other. In fact, Moon was sent by her father to spend a summer in Septarian territory, where she learned quite a lot about their biology and culture.

For instance, although they were Reptilian on the outside, on the inside, they were actually quite similar to Mewmens, more similar in fact than any other Monster species discovered. They also had a unique ability of extremely advanced regeneration, which prolonged their lifespan almost indefinitely, although the science behind such was inconvenient at best. Many of them still died before reaching a formidable age, due to the same sort of metabolic shutdown, eventually causing their regenerative abilities to take inverse effects. They lived well and long, but died suddenly to rapid, aggressive illnesses.

Culture-wise, they were surprisingly primitive, even for a monster. They were organized in a loose-tribal system with a chieftain, and the Septarsians each had their own certain duties and jobs. They referred to others in their clan as "brothers" or "sisters" which wasn't as troubling from a breeding standpoint as one might believe. Because of their supposed long lifespans, they only needed to breed once in a very long time. The entire species would come together, Septarians from different clans finding their partners.

Moon was shook from the memories by the rustling of a few fallen leaves, blowing away in the tumultuous gust before her.

"Mother?" The young Princess asked, with a pang of annoyance in her voice. "I need you to answer a very important question."

Queen Comet inhaled slowly and then relaxed herself just a bit. She spoke with clarity in her voice. "What is it, Moon? Ask me anything you want."

Her directness had caught Moon off guard, causing her expectations to go haywire. 'There had to be a catch to this…. Right?'

"Fine," Moon said, uncomfortable in the Gardens. She really should do something about the expansiveness of it all… "Why, mother? Why are you always so uncomfortable around Toffee? Is it because he's a 'monster'?"

Queen Comet scoffed, her eyes rolling. "Moon, you should know by now that I've learned to… cope with the new situation in Mewni. Monsters and Mewmans should…. not be held separate. I don't think you were wrong in making friends with the Septarians, but, as I've said, it was a rash, politically absent-minded decision to just up and get married to one of them. Perhaps it would have been easier for us all if you had just allowed a slower transition."

"I'm not a young teenager, mother. When would a "slower transition" have allowed for my husband and me to get married? What if I had asked to marry him today? Would I have even been allowed to remain unwed for this long?"

Comet pushed on, now holding a straight face as best as she could. "Well… it may have been best for you to find another and continued to help develop monster relations slowly over time."

Moon paused for a few moments. She tensed up and glued her eyes upon her mother, trying desperately to read her. Something then clicked inside her, revealing a light that had since been hidden from her. She had to close her eyes for a few moments, she smiled, facing Comet.

"I see. It's not equality that's holding you down. It's Toffee. You don't approve of him, do you?"

Queen Comet became flustered, her eyes wild with surprise. "W-What? I- I…"

Moon rolled her eyes. "Please. Save me the blubber. I know you don't trust him. That's pretty obvious."

Comet bit her lips, glancing away from Moon for a few seconds to gaze at the clouds. "Moon… Whether you are correct or not, this conversation was one that we aren't ready to have. I understand that we- that I still need time to cope with this situation as well."

"How much more time are you going to need to cope before you can just learn to trust someone for who they are instead of what they are?" Moon looked down, distraught and just barely succeeding in holding back tears of frustration.

She stood up, taking a few steps away from Moon before stopping. Moon could barely hear her breathing, but she could tell that it was deep.

"Moon, listen to me here. Toffee... something about him doesn't feel... right. I've tried contacting Glossaryck about it, but he's been oddly silent. I know you think this is just me being an old, xenophobic goat that refuses to change, but I still care about your safety. I wouldn't lie to you. So, please, be careful, okay?"

Moon could only shrug at those words as she pouted, a scowl on her face. "Fine. Whatever."

She left without another word, leaving Moon in the Gardens, staring off into the sky. Neither of them noticed the silent figure listening from behind a still shadow.

Sighing like the weight of the universe had just crumbled on top of her, Moon eventually rose to her feet and shuffled back into the castle, barely opting to stare back at the idyllic Gardens she'd left behind. Trembling slightly, Moon shrugged off a few shivers that had crawled up onto her, seemingly from out of nowhere. Perhaps it was the entrance that was the problem; she'd always had a stark distaste for the large, but dark and muck filled entrances, gates, and doors in and out of the castle.

"Once I'm Queen, I'll change it, I'll make it better," Moon declared, her expression growing a tinge more confident and strong as she took a stride in her walk. Her eyes were a bit irritated by the sun, so she went to brush the dust off of them with her dainty, polished fingers. When she stopped blinking, she noticed, for a split second, what seemed to be the burst of a swift shadow on the wall. The next thing she knew, her beloved was right in front of her.

Moon shrieked in surprise, knocking herself against some oddly dry feeling vines. She supposed it was better then knocking herself on bumpy and cracked stone. Toffee was staring at her with the usual eery look in his eyes, but also with a warmth that made Moon smile, just a bit.

"Hello Moon," Toffee said, putting his hands through Moon's silky soft hair. "How has your day been?"

Moon grinned whimsically, although she detested it when her hair was disturbed. "It has been fine."

Humming an unfamiliar tune, Toffee walked into the castle, carefully avoiding the muck and grime on the walls. Moon followed soon after, eagerly getting as far away from her mother as she could. Her mind paused itself for a few moments, drawing into an odd, pulling sensation. Should she have told Toffee about her Mother? Shouldn't he know how she really felt about him?

Perhaps she was overthinking things. Maybe Toffee already knew, that was the kind of thing that parents did, right? Telling their children's spouses something weird and annoying, while acting all nice and friendly in front of their kids. Moon had a cousin who was in a situation like that, she had married someone from the Johansen Kingdom, a place that most Butterflies thought of as unruly and violent. Her parents especially were rather shocked when they found out that they had a Johansen for a son in law. But they eventually grew out of it, just like all parents did. And thanks to that, there were now a bunch of raggedy Johansens in the Castle, their clothes smelling vaguely like half cooked onions to Moon.

Moon also remembered growing up alongside a specific Johansen clan member, one fellow by the name of River. She was a close friend to herself and Toffee, always supporting her. Though once Toffee and her relationship got more serious, Moon noticed her once close friend becoming more distant, almost a shadow of his normally bright, but timid self. She remembered one day in particular, where River wanted to speak to her about something 'important' before her wedding to Toffee.

Moon remembered the heartbroken look of the young man, seeing his face contort a storm of emotions. But before he could even say anything, she saw Toffee come up, asking River what was the problem. He became silent, just nodding and wishing his friends a joyous wedding. After that day, Moon never saw River much, even now that he was a knight in the castle. He always seemed to hide away from her while in the castle and avoided her gaze.

She pondered. Maybe this was why the Johansens in particular were colder to her than the rest of the Butterfly family. Moon shook her head, letting the shadows of her past glide off of her, absorbed by the walls and lights around her. It always bothered her how much she allowed the opinions of her family to shake her. All she needed to do was look over at the form of her wonderful Toffee as he took strong, confident steps forward for her to remember that she had simply wanted to be happy with the one she loved.

Some hours passed, and the sun dropped down over the horizon as always, and the three moons of Mewni shined in the darkening sky. Everything was docile and quiet, and this even seemed like it would be a dull, but absolutely normal one.

"Star? It's time to go to bed." Moon spoke softly as she tugged on Star's shoulder.

Star sighed, her tail dragging across the floor. "Do I have to?"

Moon replied with a slight sigh, not quite in the annoyed tone as her daughter, saying "Yes, Star. Please?" The soothing voice seemed to have magically tired out the little princess out, because her eyes were now bagging, and her energy began to fade.

The young hybrid yawned, nodding weakly.

A chilling hand was laid on Moon's shoulder, scaly, heartless feeling in a way. It felt dangerous, but welcoming. It was evil. It wasn't evil. It was cold, unfeeling. Out of instinct she tensed up, letting out a short gasp. Tentatively, she looked behind her, loosening up when she saw the face of her husband. She smiled, taking his reptilian hand into hers.

"Scared you?" he looked serious, seemingly more than usual.

"A bit," she responded, still recovering from her scare.

Toffee's eyes glanced over at the tired out Star, whose only will to stay awake was a childish desire to rebel against her mother. Moments ago, Moon seemed just as exhausted.

"Don't worry dear, I'll get her to fall asleep." Toffee reassured, as he normally does, but in a more serious tone than she was used to.

"Star, sweetie, me and your mother have some things to talk about. I would appreciate if… you…" Toffee started to become impatient, and what he was saying seemed like nonsense to Moon. Perhaps he was trying a weird technique to get Star to sleep?

"Please, just go to sleep." The final bit was stern, almost scolding like, as if Star had done something wrong. Even Moon seemed a bit perturbed.

Star slowly nodded, and tugged herself in, apparently unaware of it all.

"There…" Toffee walked out of the room, rapidly placing one foot over the other. "Let's go Moon."

"What? I- I don't-" She spoke, flustered, allowing Toffee to pull her along out of the room.

That evening they read together, but they hadn't spoken much. Moon couldn't help but pour over her memories from the day, bothering herself with the details over and over. She remembered the moment she felt Toffee's hand rest on her shoulder, and the way she felt when he saw him appear before her in the afternoon.

There was something off about it all. She had always loved the unique silky feeling of his scales when she traced her fingers across them. The gaps between each of his scales was unique, a trademark of each Septarian. They were like fingerprints. She always felt a warmness in the past when she imagined the uniqueness of her husband's reptilian features. There was even this sense of joy that she would always get from feeling his touch, knowing without seeing that it couldn't be a Mewman, and could only have been her husband. It was that realization that made her shiver thinking about how she reacted this time. There was a sense of overwhelming dread, even fear. She felt her heart rate intensifying and her stomach dropping, like a small animal staring down a brilliant light.

Long after they had gone off to bed, she continued mulling over the events of the day. She thought back to even earlier in the day and, suddenly, her heart stopped. She was sure that she had the answer. Her mother, the queen, had not spoken to her for very long, but her words resonated in her ears. 'Something about him doesn't feel right'. It all started to make sense, and the guilt began to crash onto her immensely. Ever since her talk with her mother, Moon had begun to feel a sense of alienation around her husband, one that she had to forcibly resist. Having linked the two together, she was sure that Queen Comet had been trying to impress a sense of weariness in her. She was sowing seeds of uncertainty, and they were beginning to sprout. Moon hated it, it felt like she had suddenly betrayed her husband. These delusions were never one to bother her; they had a beautiful daughter and a happy life together. She resolved herself to overcome these fears. She would need to spend some more time with Toffee in the coming days; she would need to come clean about these feelings and work through it all with him. She felt awful at the prospect of talking about her mother's awful words behind her back with her husband, but felt exponentially worse about hiding her feelings from him any longer.

Moon woke up in a cloudy daze, light sparkling in through the windows. She smiled, stepping out of bed, yawning. She picked up a gold and silver crown on her bed stand, placing it gleefully onto her head, like it was always meant to be there. She tried to remember last night's events as a way to ground herself back to reality. It was highly typical of Moon to do this as it would lend itself to her calmer demeanor, but today was different. She could not succeed in the re-establishing procedure, coming up short. Her memories were a distraction; she was a mix of feelings as she pondered both what has happened and the choice she is faced with. Today she had hoped she'd break down the walls she felt rising between her and the people she cared about. She pushed the predicament aside and began rifling through her drawer filled with a variety of options bathed in blues, reds, and silvers.

"Manfred? A little help here, I can't find that rustic dress I like."

A head poked out from the door, looking sullen and bland. Classic Manfred.

"Yes, your majesty," he sighed, bowing. Moon stood up, confused.

"Majesty? Manfred, I'm not-"

Suddenly, a terrible thought poured into Moon's head.

"Manfred…. Did something happen to mom?"

Manfred cocked his head to the side, before continuing to analyze her wardrobe. "Of course not, your majesty."

The young Princess sighed and finished picking out her clothes, deciding to deal with Manfred's strange behavior later. Perhaps Toffee could help.

The unsettling behavior persisted into the rest of the day, not passing as the hours did; all the servants and the nobles were acting up, sometimes calling Moon "Queen". This only furthered her anxiety, even though Toffee insured her that Queen Comet had only gone for a short visit to the Pigeon Kingdom.

Still, Moon had a feeling of anxiety; something had to have happened to her mother. Why else would everyone suddenly start calling her Queen? There were probably millions of other reasons why this was happening, but it seemed straightforward for Moon. "You only become Queen when your mother dies or is unable to fulfill her duties. If they're calling me Queen, then something is wrong with mom."

She sat down on the tiled floor, closing her eyes in agony. A part of her brain remembered that Star was waking up at that point, but she couldn't dwell on it.

"Moon, calm down." Toffee held onto Moon's shoulders. "Nothing's wrong; there's nothing to worry about."

Lies. She was certain that she was being fed lies.

"There has to be something wrong… why else would they call me queen?" The anxiety was overwhelming her.

"Nothing has changed from yesterday, dear." Moon's neck snapped to look at Toffee. "They've always called you Queen."

"What are you talking about? I have never been Queen. Mother is, and has been Queen of Mewni for my entire life. I'm a Princess, not a Queen… unless something happened to her."

Yesterday… last night. What happened last night? Something had to have happened. What was it that happened last night? Her anxiety began to boil over, slowly raising to boiling point.

Moon slapped away Toffee's hand violently.

"No! Something had to have happened to mom! Where is she?" Moon took a hold of a nearby guard. Squeezing him with the heat and power of a thousand suns. Hot, melting fury burning the guards skin. "Where is she!?"

There wasn't a single person who wasn't surprised by the outbursts and desperate actions coming from of the woman. Moon was always one who had suspicions that things weren't quite as they seemed, but would capably suspend her disbelief and let it hold only a small place in the back of her mind as she faced her day with tact and understanding. Suddenly, it was as though the opposite had become reality. Her anxieties filled her with adrenaline, being the only emotion she thought appropriate to display. All the while the small voice that told her she was being crazy and unreasonable, or that she was just wrong and causing a scene, occupied that space in the background of her conscious thoughts. Everything was wrong.

The guard stared back, petrified. He stayed silent, looking at Toffee, who seemed even more shocked than he was. A glance over at Moon taught the guard to not make such a mistake again. As if Moon was Medusa, the guard avoided eye contact fearing an unrelenting curse.

"Sh-sh-she's out t-t-traveling…" he mustered

"WHERE IS SHE REALLY!?"

The roar woke Toffee up from his haze who made a jump towards the frightening Moon.

"Moon! Stop!" Toffee's scaly hands clenched her shoulders, startling Moon enough to let the guard go. Those cold hands weren't helping Moon calm down nor put out the frantic fire inside of her.

"Stop!? My mother could be dead for all I know, and you want me to stop!?" Moon seemed crazy, as if she was about to be attacked by a pack of wolves, facing death head-on, nothing to live for, no future.

"You're being paranoid!" Toffee was starting to get provoked. His voice was taking a sterner tone.

"Paranoid my ass!" Moon's language was so out of character and the fact that her eyes seemed like those possessed by the devil could make Toffee swear he was arguing with a different Moon.

"That is not the language of a Queen!"

"I'm not a Queen!"

"Nonsense!"

"Where's my mother, Toffee!"

"In the Pigeon Kingdom, where else!?"

"WHERE'S MY MOTHER, TOFFEE!"

"Enough of this!"

Moon took a step forward, pulling out her diamond wand. A hard thump was felt on Toffee's chest. This had escalated so quickly that Moon could swear she had been picking out a dress in a more than cheerful mood just hours ago.

"Tell me where my mother is Toffee, cause you know that your immortality is only limited."

It thumped once more as the wand hovered over Toffee's darkened heart.

"MOON, CEASE THIS!"

The wand glowed purple. A strangely more than familiar chant started rolling out of Moon's mouth. And as the chant reached Toffee's ears, Moon's arms had already been tainted by the dark spell.

Toffee started to snarl at the defenseless looking Moon. A pointed hand clenched at Moon's throat as the last word of the ancient chant was about to escape her mouth.

The snarl turned into a growl, whilst Moon's pants got slower and scarcer. Toffee tightened his grip. Moon let out one final pant.

"Mommy… daddy...?"

Moon dropped to the floor. Her wand still in hand, recovering from the glow from before.

Moon heavily gasped for air, the red mark on her neck left by Toffee overshadowing her pale skin.

She glanced upwards.

The image of the reptilian king staring blankly at their daughter, who stared at both of them in utter pain, was all Moon could bear to witness right now.

She collapsed to her knees, coughing weakly. The unbridled impact of what was happening hit her as she realized she was moving backwards, but not on her own. All went black as the scent of lilac flooded her senses.

As Moon woke up from her trance, she found herself back in her bedroom, with all of her belongings untouched and in place. Moon looked over it all. It seemed a little TOO right. 'Why was everything right where it was supposed to be?' Moon reasoned that things were supposed to be this way, but not today. Today was not right. Everything was out of order. Her mother wasn't right where she was supposed to be, so why is her room? Why is everything else?

'No' she thought. This was all part of the plan. Most likely a ploy by Toffee to gain her sympathies. She looked at every item, furnishing, decoration. It was all too uncomfortably perfect. It reminded her of every interaction she had been having with Toffee since yesterday. Somehow, she had become convinced that he was at the center of everything. If only she could find her mother. She would listen to her again, she would give her words some more credence, hear her out. Now that she was gone, Moon couldn't help but brood over the reality that her last conversation with the Queen, her mom, was one of bitter arguing. But now she just didn't know.

She clutched her bedding aggressively. He was probably the one that killed her mother. He must have known about her suspicions. There was nothing in her but anxiety and horror at the realization that she would have to face this situation again. She would have to face Toffee again. The thoughts bounced around in her head for a while, before she finally decided it better to try to escape rather then indulge herself in her own theories.

She rushed to her door, but found it to be locked and, quite possibly, physically barred from the outside.

Moon frowned and plopped back on her bed, silently screeching onto her pillows.

After a second of contemplation, she got back up and searched around for her wand. She pushed her belongings away from the shelf, believing that Toffee had hid it in her room. A stupid thought. The wand rested easily in Toffee's pockets, the new mission was to find the lizard king.

There had to be a key hidden around here somewhere. More rustling filled the echoey room. And after what seemed like an eternity, Moon had given up. She laid back in her bed, welcomed by the mess she had created. A high pitched whine escaped her mouth, the whine turned into a moan, the moan to a sob.

"My sweet daughter" she thought, "what had he done to her…" a weird yet honest thought. She had never been distrustful of her lover before, yet her feeling for him now couldn't have been described any better. She imagined all of the time they spent together. The nights reading, the picnics, the talks, the moments of controlled affection. All of these moments started to REALLY feel like imaginations. It hurt to think about; it made Moon angry. She clenched her fist, stood up and banged on the wooden door. She pounded on the laquered door a few more times until a distinct sound came from the other side of the door, approaching her room. It was unmistakable what was making that sound, the jingling of keys. She dashed back to her bed and covered herself in the covers.

Clang

They reached her.

Clink

That door was about to open, and fear was never more potent in Moon.

Swang

The door opened.

She clenched her blanket as well as she could. Tears started to run down Moon's cheeks.

Clang… clang...

Steps echoed against the silver plated floor. A shadow showering Moon in disgust. She clenched her blanket once more, and although she was determined to make it out alive from this encounter, her pride would not.

"Moon…" an amateurish sounding voice whispered. "Queen Moon?" it repeated.

Moon was relieved that it wasn't Toffee, but remained a bit skeptical about the boyish sounding person. She peeked out cautiously through her covers.

A young mewman guard stared back at her. He was short, and relatively fit. He seemed younger than Moon by about two or three years, but she was sure those looks betrayed the reality that this man was actually a little older than her. His height and young appearance made the man seem like a boy. Long blond hair, reaching up to his shoulders. It didn't take long for Moon to recognize the young man, one whom she had once known so well.

"I have come to help you escape, Queen Moon." he saluted nervously. "It seems I have the only other keys, see?" he demonstrated the collection of keys he had hanging by his waist.

"River?" Moon looked doubtfully, not that her voice could convey such calmness.

"Yes Queen, River Johansen, Guard of the Dungeon, your highness." he once more saluted. "Now quickly here, there's not much time to waste."

Moon had followed the boyish looking man without hesitation. She may have been paranoid and worried about how weird everyone was being, but she had no reason not to trust one of her childhood friends, and any escape was a great escape. The guard seemed to be taking her to the back of the castle, where a secret exit was located. It was a tedious journey, as it seems Toffee had ordered the guard to look out for any Mewni royals.

"It seems I am the only one to remember who they were contracted to serve," River commented, "these guards seem to have cracked under the pressure." She disagreed with this sentiment. The Knights were contracted to serve the Queen, Queen Comet.

After a an hour or two of creeping through long hallways and vacant rooms, they had finally reached the last one.

River stopped Moon and peeked into the other hallways. It was a short passageway with a secret exit at the end, a vending machine labeled "Corn Haven" a machine originally placed there for the royal magic teacher. A floating blue man, as the princesses described him.

The guard stood up and turned around to face the young queen. "Okay Moon, it appears the coast is clear." He looked back at the hallway, confident in their final leg of the escape. What he wasn't counting on was his confidence being welcomed by a particularly serpent looking king. Toffee had appeared from practically out of nowhere, clenching his pointy fingers his rounded, young looking face, trapping it in his cold, nightmarish grasp.

"Welcome sweetie," he snarled, "it seems you've found an old friend while I was gone." He forced his grip onto River's face, until he became limp and lifeless. Its motionless body collapsed in front of the frightened Queen. A wheeze was heard.

"T-T-Toffee…"

"The one and only." A cocky answer, not one Moon would associate with Toffee.

Moon built up her composure once more. "Where's my family, Toffee?"

"Your family?" Toffee looked down at the young guard whom he had squeezed the life out of. His glance made its way to his name tag. River. He chuckled. "They're frolicking by the riverside, Moon, having the time of their lives." Toffee's words came in loud and clear to Moon. An ear-splitting cry bounced around the castle. A group of brave guards, that seemed to have woken up from the hypnosis Toffee had them in, approached the chuckling reptile from every direction.

They were no match for him. With the guards' blood, Toffee painted the walls red. The more that came, the louder Moon's whalings became. Red. Toffee had dipped his hands in more of the dreadful red paint. He had continued to slice and tear, squeeze, smash, and overpower until guards stopped coming. It was only the two of them now.

Toffee's words echoed in Moon's head.

Toffee had nearly coated the walls of the castle completely in blood. He just needed one more stroke. Toffee was tired from all the stroking and slashing needed for the job. He panted slowly in place, nothing but the red paint seemed to interest him or distract him. A whisper reached his ears. An all too familiar whisper. He patted his waist and realized an important royal family heirloom was gone. Where was it? A sharp turn behind him answered that question. Moon, his dear lovely wife, had the wand in hand. The purple shine blinding him so. He growled, and snarled, the final stroke of the red paint was in reach. He leaped forward as the final words of the all too familiar whisper left the broken Queen's mouth.

Before she knew it, she was frolicking by the riverside, the riverside next to the newly painted castle.

"Mother?" The young Princess asked, shaking her own shoulder in fright and panic.

"Mother?"

"Mommy?" She whispered, her voice melting away into the wind like butter on a hot summer day. A few moments passed; she crawled into a smaller form, shivering as her limbs fought to stay closer to her body. Her tail was shaking like a rattlesnake.

Speaking of reptiles….

Star fled to the inner crevices of her room, which had been locked from the outside. Her father was returning, she had to hide! She could hear the pitter patter of his slimy looking feet as he slowly traversed the Castle.

"Captain!" she cried, pounding her hands on the painting on her wall, "Please! Permission to come aboard?"

There was an awful silence that lasted for a few minutes, before the painting finally slid over and revealed an ancient passageway, lost to time before Star had discovered it, weeks earlier.

She frantically launched herself into the tight crevice, hastily working to make sure there was no trace of her escape left in her room. All while the pitter patter of her father's footsteps grew louder and louder. She curled up inside, shivering from the thin plaster that covered her from the outside.

There she waited for the world to balance itself once again. She waited until peace could return. She waited for a time when her mother would come back.

Moon came to with a start. She looked around. At first all she could see was the image of a riverside and a bright sunlight beaming down upon her face. Soon the farce began to dissolve and she saw only moonlight above. She saw shattered glass, cracked and crushed stone and brick, and red. So much red. She saw the vision of her daughter, shivering inside the walls of the castle, crying and alone. It tore into her soul. Then she looked around again.

There were many bodies around her, all cold, and only one still moving. The form of her reptilian husband slowly righted itself, his bodied covered in nicks and scratches, his suit jacket long since deposited somewhere in the hallway. The floor between them was blasted down to the foundation, tiles pulverized from an explosive force. She felt weak, lightheaded, and hot around her collarbone. She thought she felt the trickling of blood.

"I've had my fun, Moon" the lizard uttered. "I think it is time for you to go back to the rivers-".

He stopped. Looking past Moon who still remained helplessly laying on her back, he saw her. The only other monster in the castle. The small Star looked on, petrified at everything. She saw the bodies, the walls, the destruction, and her mother. She shook, stared, and then screamed.

'She's right here now' Moon realized with dread.

"Mommy! Mommy! Wh-waaaah!" The little girl clung to her mother's head with her tiny hands, long beyond words. The terror in her voice and the shaking of her little arms around Moon just intensified the feelings of terror that already filled her. There was nothing she could do to protect her child from this monster.

"Y-you h..ave to r-run, Star."

Star continued to convulse and wail, holding her mother's head. It was all interrupted when his cold, voice returned, piercing the exclusivity of their moment together on the floor.

"Star, sweety, come to me. You'll be happier without these urchins. I will create a better home for you than these disgusting mewmans ever could."

Star looked up at him for the first time. When he saw her eyes, he saw in them something he was all too used to: terror, horror, fear. She didn't bear love, depency, or familiarity in those eyes anymore, instead her eyes looked at him as though he were an alien, a monster.

Toffee's eyes sharpened and his voice became rougher. "Oh, so you're just going to pretend you're one of them now? Like you're NOT a monster? Like I'm the weird one? I still love you, Star, but you've clearly been tainted by these wretched people. So I'm going to take you away from here where you'll learn to treat your monster family with due respect."

He paced toward the little girl who clung to Moon tighter. Moon panicked and mustered up whatever she could to blast the maniacal lizard away. She raised her wand, but not much came out. Toffee simply smacked the magic blasts away with his hand, dismissing Moon completely. When he had finally closed the gap, he reached his hand around their child and began to pick her up. The small lizard girl clutched as tightly as she could to her mother, her unsettling screams picking up frantically. It took just a few seconds before her grip had given way. Toffee held her to him in his hand, the girl wriggling and shivering helplessly as he slung her over his shoulder before turning and beginning to walk away.

"You'll thank me for this later. Both of you."

Moon watched on helplessly. She was sitting up now, but her legs were like gelatin. She feared watching as the last thing she cared about was yanked away and out of her life forever.

Everything had grown cold. Colder than it had ever been. Inside and outside, energy, life, and light had died down. Perhaps this really was the end.

"I told you not to fidget while we're in the portal!"

Suddenly, she felt heat again. She felt warmth, she could see light. Startled by this she turned to see what had just happened. Apparently even Toffee had noticed from a number of paces down the hallway. She saw a wall of fire which had materialized out of thin air. It burned for all of two or three seconds before it had vanished, leaving behind two new people. There was a lilac skinned demon from the underworld, and a small, tanned mewman looking girl wearing rather interesting clothing. It was all a bit too unusual for her.

"Queen Moon! Are you alright!" Tom said as he came over to her and crouched.

"You're looking young, Queen," Janna commented.

Moon stared at them, wide-eyed. She wasn't entirely sure what to say.

"You look like you're from the underworld. Do I know you?"

"Wha-? Of course you do. It's me, Prince Lucitor from the underworld. We were at the party with you just a little while ago."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you do seem familiar. The Lucitors' child was still much younger than you are, though."

Tom scratched his head with confusion. This whole situation seemed strange to him.

Janna spoke up again. "Remember, Tom, things don't all have to make sense in here."

"Fair enough," he replied.

Janna had looked around at all of the destruction and death that surrounded them. It almost bothered her, but she knew that none of it was real. In fact, she couldn't help but find the whole situation incredibly interesting to her simply knowing that she was able to witness something so intense without any actual loss of life. Dreams were really something amazing.

Toffee had turned around to address the new situation, moving a few paces closer to the group. "What do we have here? Are you going to stop me now?"

Janna looked over at Toffee, and then the little girl he was carrying. She also noticed the little cheek marks on the girls face. The pieces started to lock together for her.

"Okay, I think know what is going on here," she said.

Tom helped Moon to her feet and held one of her arms around his shoulder for support. They both turned to face the girl.

"Moon, I know this probably feels super real for you, but this is a dream. None of this is real."

Moon and Toffee's eyes both widened. The Queen wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Star doesn't look like that, in fact, she's as old as we are. You have to come to your senses so we can all get out of here before Star does something reckless like going after Marco alone."

"Marco…?" Moon pondered for a moment. Something about that name seemed familiar. The name Tom seemed familiar too. All of the emotions stirring in her had dulled. Suddenly she felt more confused than concerned. Her mind was caught on the fence between two realities.

"I don't know what you are blathering on about over there, but I'll not allow someone to try and undo any of these." Toffee began closing in, prepared to litter the floors with more bodies. When the lizard reached his hand out, he suddenly felt searing pain. He heard low chanting from the demon before a searing inferno erected itself between him and the rest of them, singing his arm until he chopped it off. Another arm soon rematerialized to take its place.

On the other side of the wall, Janna pleaded with Moon. "I really don't feel like dying in here, so please try and remember." Janna shook the woman's shoulders lightly. "I'm sure Star will wake up King River any time now, and when she does we have to get back to them quickly."

"King… River?" Moon lingered on the words for a few seconds. River? The man who had just died in front of her? The knight who served her for years? Her childhood friend? She had remembered the games they played, the talks they had, even their last conversation before her wedding day. Suddenly, she couldn't see Toffee in any of those memories anymore. It all sounded right… not too right, but exactly right. Just the perfect amount of right for her to finally believe it and be comfortable with the thought. This had to be right.

Suddenly, a flood of memories came flowing back to her. She remembered her childhood, her mom's untimely demise, her ascension to Queen. She remembered her deal with Eclipsa, the spell she unleashed, and her time as Queen of Mewni. Then she remembered her husband, the small, stout, ball of fire that was River Johansen, a brave, dumb, loyal man who stood beside her in her darkest times and fought every battle alongside her. Then she remembered Star. She remembered her Star. Golden locks, a beautiful cheek marks, and a fiery spirit, just like her father. It all locked into place for her. All of this was fake.

She looked beyond the fire at the little girl over Toffee's shoulder and felt a strange mix of emotions. She cared for the little thing, but now she knew it was because the girl resembled her real daughter in so many ways that she did so. She even imagined the girl wielding the wand with its wacky new design. She stood up and steeled herself.

"I'm sorry for getting you both involved in this mess. Do you know how we're supposed to get out of here?"

Janna shrugged her shoulders. "Glossaryck said we just need to 'solve the problem'. I don't know what that means yet, but I assume it has something to do with Scales over there.

Moon looked through the fire wall and thought for a moment, before finally coming to a conclusion. "Okay Tom, you can put the fire down."

"Are you sure about that, Queen Butterfly?"

Moon inhaled. "Yes, I'm positive."

Tom's posture relaxed and the fire disappeared, but on the other side ot it, Toffee's scowl remained in intact.

Moon had regained the feeling in her body, as though the impact of this world was slowly losing its grip on her. Even the feeling of her collarbone had returned to normal. She let go of Tom and stepped forward to face her 'husband'. Toffee stepped forward too.

"You seem confident all of a sudden. Do I need to break you all over again?" he spat.

"You lost a long, long time ago, Toffee. You're only as powerful as I choose to make you, and I've finally decided that it is time to make you the helpless one."

Moon thought back to her memory of her by the riverside with her family. They were happy together, but moreover, they were strong. She imagined herself, her manic, excitable husband, and her beautiful, energetic teen daughter. They were all together, sharing a moment of intimacy with their arms around one another. The lizard was gone.

Moons eyes opened. She stared up at the ceiling and was met with their well lit room in the castle. She sat up and looked around. Some things were out of place, a few pieces of their furniture were even broken or damaged. Despite all of this, it felt right. Completely right. It felt like she had been gone for a lifetime, but she knew she was finally home.

The Queen got out of bed and saw as Tom and Janna also awakened and returned to their feet.

"I don't know about you, but that was pretty cool."

Tom covered his face with his hand. "Maybe for you. I'm just glad we're back out of the dream." Tom scanned the room. "Speaking of which, where are the others?" They saw that River was no longer asleep, but he, Star, and Pony Head were all absent.

"It looks like everything's okay." Janna said. "If River's not here, they must have already woken him up. Now we just gotta figure out where they went-"

They were interrupted by violet light pulsing throw the room. It had come in from the window and practically drowned the room for a full few seconds. Moon made her way over to the window and saw the source, a dying purple glow coming from within the Forest of Certain Death.

Moon's expression darkened quickly as the weight of responsibility perched back onto her shoulders. "I think we know what has their attention..."

Chapter 15 was written by Saokpe, Haunted Melon and KuriyanBBQ.