ACT V: Festivio, the Fun Chapter 1: The Lies Begin

The day after Eclipsine's trial, the Magical High Commission had met in secrecy to discuss the future of Mewni's monarchy. The citizens of Mewni were still in turmoil over the betrayal of their king, worried that he had monster spies hiding within the kingdom's walls. Additionally, the entire Spiderbite family - including Shastica - were now under inspection for Warner's actions against Solarius.

Luckily, Hekaope had come up with the perfect solution. The fiery blacksmith summoned his siblings and creator to the council hall to explain his plan. "Okay, obviously, we have to get rid of the hybrid freak. But we still need someone to hold up the legacy of Dragonfly kings."

"Yeah, so?" Rhombulie shrugged.

"Well, I happened to have taken a little stroll through the Pie Folk village yesterday, and I found an orphan abandoned on the street. We can give Eclipsine's son to… fuck it, let's say St. Olaf's orphanage. Then, we give the royal scepter to the piefolk kid, the magic in the scepter should give him enough power to make him pass off as Eclipsine's kid, and then he'll become the new king."

The other mystics seemed to agree with their brother, but Indexia remained silent. Omnitraxus Prime tried to consider any errors in her brother's logic, but it seemed to be a perfect plan. After all, King Brian - the first king - didn't develope natural magic abilities until thirteen years into his rule.

With a level head, Indexia sighed. "Very well. If you all believe that this is the best option for the kingdom, I will not interfere." With that, the blue mage hovered away.

Hekapoe pointed in Indexia's direction as he looked towards his siblings. "Is it me, or is her voice different?"

The very next day, the Commission assembled the citizens outside of the castle.

"Citizens of Mewni!" Omnitraxus announced. "As you all know, King Eclipsine had abandoned our grand kingdom to elope with a monster. However, we have learned that before the affair, the former king sired a child with his true wife, Queen Shastica!"

Hekapoe stepped forward, holding up a purple-haired baby boy for all to see. Omnitraxus took the baby in her own arms and addressed the citizens again. "With the help of the Magical High Commission, this boy will be able to rebuild the damage his father caused this kingdom! Behold; Prince Festivio!"

Thirteen Years Later...

The Magical High Commission were currently under a lot of stress. Two months ago, Shastica had finally overstepped her authority too far by threatening to have the Commission imprisoned for her father's death. However, a sudden "accident" involving a monster quickly let the four mystics off the hook. Unfortunately, that also meant that Festivio would have to inherit the throne early.

And the last time a prince was crowned early, they ended up with Eclipsine.

"We can't put this off any longer." Omnitraxus pointed out. "The people are growing restless without a ruler."

"But he's just a boy." Rhombulie argued. "Younger than Eclipsine was when he inherited the throne."

("Only by one year.") Lekmat reasoned. ("And Festivio is much more stable than Eclipsine. He's grown up to be a bright, caring, and intelligent young man.")

"He wrecked the royal carriage…" Hekapoe deadpanned. "Three times… a day… for the past five months."

("Okay, so he's not perfect.") Lekmat shrugged. ("But he can't possibly be the worst king. Remember Soupillo?")

"Oh, you had to bring him up!" Omnitraxus groaned.

"Alright, we'll tell him." Hekapoe sighed. "Where is he?"

"What? I thought you were watching him." Rhombulie replied, nervously.

Meanwhile, Festivio Dragonfly was happily strolling down the streets of Mewni. His scepter took the form of a tall, golden goblet with an amethyst jewel embedded in the front. He had cast a unique spell that kept it full of whatever beverage he desired, no matter how much he drank.

He was tired of being sheltered inside the castle, and decided to sneak out for a walk. His purple four-pointed star-marks on his cheeks gave away his status, causing many citizens to smile and wave at him. But despite his cheery demeanor, he couldn't help but notice that everyone else looked so miserable.

"Ow! Stop it!" His attention was drawn to a girl being pushed to the ground by a group of boys.

"Excuse me?" The bullies turned around and jumped in terror. Festivio Dragonfly was aiming his scepter at them as he slowly made his way over to the girl to help her up on her feet. Once he was certain that she was unharmed, the young king shot her hazers a menacing glare. "I don't know much about plebeian culture, but whenever someone tells you to leave them alone… you leave them alone."

"M-my apologies, your majesty!" One bully quivered. "We weren't aware that she was your friend."

"Well, that's quite alright. We all make mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from them. Now, why don't you three run along." Festivo chuckled as the ruffians ran off. Next, he turned his attention to the girl they were harassing, recognizing her as the princess of the Musty Mountains. "I'm terribly sorry if those jerks made you uncomfortable, m'lady." He smiled. "Would you like me to escort you home?"

"That'd be nice…" She blushed. "Thank you so much, your highness."

As they walked down the cobblestone streets, the young monarch conjured up a second cup and offered it to his new friend. "Would you care for a drink?"

"Um… grape juice, if you don't mind, your majesty."

"Coming right up!" Festivio tipped the goblet over the cup, allowing the purple liquid to flow into the cup. He enjoyed seeing how much delight his trick brought her. "So, what was all that about? I can't believe anyone would dare to assault royalty."

"Well, sadly, no one seems to think very highly of the lesser kingdoms." She sighed, sadly. "Our roads are in desperate need of repair. The damages done to them make it easier for monsters to raid our supply convoys. And the rivers are in desperate need of cleaning. And it's not just my kingdom, others are suffering as well."

"Really? Hmm... " Festivio took another sip of his drink as he contemplated her words. "Princess…?"

"Chastity."

"Princess Chastity, would you be willing to spend the night at my family castle and tell me more?"

The Next Day...

The Magical High Commission were still searching for Festivio. Hekapoe and Rhombulie were the first to meet back at the castle. "Did you find him?" The crystalline woman asked.

"What?"

"Did you find him?" She repeated.

"Oh, yes, Rhombulie." He replied, sardonically. "About a half hour ago. But now, I've hidden him so that you can find him."

Rhombulie crossed her snake-arms, angrily. "Y'know, sometimes your sarcasm hurts!"

"Where is he?!" Omnitraxus shouted.

"Excuse me, Commission?" Guard Gerlad interrupted. "But King Festivio has summoned you to the library."

The Commission ran as fast as they could down the halls. Sure enough, the king was conversing with Princess Chastity about all the major problems that plagued Mewman society. Indexia was hovering beside them, enjoying a pudding-based drink made especially for her by her student. It wasn't long before the ruler noticed his Commission had arrived.

"Dudes! I'm so glad you're here! We've got a lot to talk about!" Festivio conjured up a round of drinks for his caretakers and invited them to sit down. Despite their confusion, the Commission obliged his request. "Okay, I want to create a team to fix the roads in every kingdom starting tomorrow. We can have the Solarian warriors keep them safe while they work! At least until I can expand the magical barrier. And we also gotta clean up the rivers, but I think we can get it done if we make a deal with the Waterfolk. And then there's the problem with the economy…"

The Commission was highly impressed. "How do you know all this?" Omnitraxus asked.

"Chastity told me. We're working together, now!" Festivio took a sip from his goblet-scepter and held up his free hand to his new best friend. "POWER BUMP!"

The two young monarchs bumped their fists together in celebration. "P-shew!"

Over the course of the next six months, Festivio had delivered on his promise. The kingdom was now fully protected from all monster threats and the citizens had more than enough to eat. But despite this, the king was still not content. The political responsibilities were becoming too much to bear. He longed for a chance to kick back and relax with his friends.

With his fourteenth birthday approaching, the king made his decision. He would throw a huge party at the castle. There would be drinks, chips, dips, pizzas, barbeque, candy, games, sports, and just general jubilation. Perhaps he would even propose to Chastity.

Festivio felt a strong tingling sensation in his chest. For the first time in so long, he was thinking about his own enjoyment instead of worrying about the problems of the world. This feeling felt like a new high; better than anything he felt after a long drink.

Hekapoe entered the throne room with the latest progress report. "Congratulations, my king! You have definitely improved this kingdom!"

"I figured it out…"

"Huh?"

"I've figured it out!" The king smiled as he sipped from the goblet-scepter. "The whole meaning of life is to enjoy life, y'know? I mean, I understand that there are problems with the world, but what about us, man? It's like, we wake up too early, work too hard, and eat too little because we're worried. Worried about the monsters, worried about the economy, worried about the crops. People need to take time to cut loose! To enjoy themselves!"

"What are you saying?"

"Tomorrow night, I wanna throw a huge party! Let everyone cut loose! Let them be happy! Let them feel good!" Festivo finished off his speech with a vigorous toast. "Let them have fun!"

To Be Continued!

Author's notes: And we've kicked off the false generation of kings with Festivio the Fun! Okay, few things of importance to know; first of all, Daron Nefcy confirmed that Festivia was a hedonist, so that is how I will be portraying Festivio. He seeks pleasure and self-indulgence due to a rough upbringing (no thanks to Shastica and the MHC). Second, the book never gave us the actual name of Festivia's husband, so I didn't really have a lot to work with in that regard.

One more thing: Please. Please, please, please, please, please leave a review. I need constructive feedback to know that I'm improving my writing. For personal reasons, I won't go into detail, but I honestly appreciate it when I get a notification in my emails saying that someone enjoyed my update and that they're enjoying my story.