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DISCLAIMER: did you read the prequel first?

Chapter 1

A Fallen Knight

XxXxXxXxX

Star Butterfly looked out her window, there were hundreds, if not thousands of refugees from the Mewni Crisis and Mewni Civil War, whatever kingdoms left standing took whoever they could, reaching beyond the capacity they could possibly hold. Turning them away no longer became an option, no other dimension would aid or take refugees, fearing a fallout that could happen and most of Mewni became a No Man's Land, utter devastation and lawlessness was rampant.

Forcing them out there was a death sentence and the refugees begged and pleaded not to be turned away.

The castle suffered numerous damages from raids and sieges, thankfully her room and other key rooms were not afflicted with boulders or marred with fire and spells. The peasants below the castle swarmed with refugees greatly outnumbering them, so many temporary tents and rickety shacks were built that it impeded traffic and space.

Queen Moon tried to expand the realm to accommodate the refugees but whenever she did build something outside of the magical barrier, a never ending stream of raids would fall upon the hapless refugees, beaten to death and their meager belongings taken from them. Sometimes their corpses thrown overhead to the castle, the terrified face of a mewman or monster refugee staring blankly at them.

The magical barrier wasn't as resilient anymore, sometimes it would flicker in and out of activity, allowing for sudden but devastating raids to be conducted, sometimes it would just fall apart if enough boulders or slabs of flaming rock smashed into it.

It was a miserable situation, after all the fighting and bloodshed many thought they would be on a road to recovery but it was not meant to be. Suddenly, skirmishes and raids begun to sprout all over Mewni no matter how well the kingdoms tried to control the situations. Several kingdoms soon fell as a result of angry mobs and ceaseless raids, their lands desolate and blighted, nothing could grow there and the stench of the dead spread far and wide.

Other dimensions heard the situation and tried to help.

Their world burned soon after.

They begun to shun Mewni, refusing to let any mewman or monster into their dimensions. Little by whittle, any hope of things getting better began to wither with each passing day.

Star wept when the Johansen Kingdom fell to the onslaught of raids.

Star screamed as Cloud Kingdom fell from the heavens, sinking into the ocean.

Star fell into despair when the Lucitor Kingdom vanished over night, nothing more than a crater, ice and frost encroaching all over it.

Pony Head and her sisters survived the crash, survivors of the Johansen clan and few demons from Lucitor Kingdom came and lived in the Butterfly Castle. Pony Head's usual upbeat personality took a nose dive and she was much more subdued, her father perished getting his children free leaving her as a Queen without a throne or kingdom.

River fell into depression hearing his home demolished and family no longer among the living, when he came back from his home kingdom, he didn't speak for three days only to cry uncontrollably. The demons fared no better and became a shadow of themselves, stating whoever or whatever took down the kingdom was most likely at large.

Capable of destroying kingdoms in a heartbeat and bleed worlds to death.

Star shared the upheavals, using her powers to help feed and soothe her kingdom but everyday the problems grew larger and more impossible. She helped feed the barrier when her mother could not, often Queen Moon did so on her own but everything that has happened even she was feeling the burden.

The biggest blow was the fact the Magical High Commission was out of commission.

Omnitraxis Prime somehow fell into a magical a coma, Rhomobulus was captured and executed by an army of corpses and skeletons bashing his head into a rock until it broke and Hekapoo went on a mission and never returned.

Without their impressive powers at Queen Moon's disposal, things only went downhill.

Star looked at her bed, Pony Head was sound asleep, she couldn't sleep for the first few days after her kingdom sank, her sisters were similarly subdued, enough to the point that they didn't speak for days and ate little. While the Butterfly Kingdom just had enough to eat, those below fought for anything edible leaving so many hungry and desperate, venturing outside the barrier was a gamble, you didn't know if raiders would catch you and filet you.

Star looked at the evening sky, after the fall of so many kingdoms, the sky even at night looked as if it was sobbing, stars blinked out of existence, every night there seemed to be fewer and fewer.

Star stared at the sky, hoping to see something a friend once told: to wish upon a shooting star.

Instead, an arc of red lightning lit up the night sky, thunder nearly deafening as it startled so many of the denizens awake, Star nearly jumped out of her night gown. Pony Head shut through the bed's canopy and floated around with the sheet over her head, "Oh mah gosh Star your alarm clock is cra."

"It's not an alarm clock Pony Head! Oh…no…"

Star saw the sky light up brilliantly before her eyes were drawn to beyond the barrier: there was a giant mob covertly hiding but the sudden lighting gave them away. Star ran out of her room with her wand at hand,

"MOM! DAD! THERE'S A MOB! BATTLE STATIONS!"

The castle's occupancy immediately began rising from their beds and cots, knights and warrior hurried to the siege weapons and armory.

Moon was already running down the hall, she was in her battle attire, as if expecting trouble, she glanced at the 17 year old Butterfly, "Did you see how big it was?"

"Big, Mom, really big. They mean business…"

Moon cursed and the two quickly leapt out of the balcony changing in midflight, Star let her magic work and grew out something akin to her mother's garb. They flew over the camps below, the two grimace at the sight of the mob, with all their body covered in rags and patchy cloaks, no one was even sure if it was mewmans or monsters that did consist of the mob.

The refugees scurried further away from the barrier, knowing when the fighting starts the barrier would likely fall and them in the crossfire.

The two Butterflys faced off the massive mob, knights hurrying to them from the distance, Star gritted her teeth, this was a normal occurrence but they were never so bold to fight in the open and with so many to lose. Mad mobs were given no quarter even if one was taken prisoner, the kingdom would soon lose its guards as the prisoners were akin to a rabid dog.

Star and Moon faced off with the mob as they began to walk closer and closer to the barrier, pressing themselves against it, their eyes driving into the two of them.

"Clear off! Away with the lot of you!"

"Get out of here, if you know what's good for you!"

The mob paused at their words before a ripple of mad laughter rang out, scaring anyone within earshot and even Star couldn't help but feel the deranged tone in the laughter, as if their threats meant nothing to them.

As if their lives meant nothing to them.

"YOU DID THIS TO US!"
"YOU MADE THIS HELLHOLE!"
"YOU SHOULD BE ON A PIKE!"

They stiffen at the accusations but they refused to answer the mob, they drew their weapons and began to carve words into the barrier, Star and Moon narrowed their eyes as insults and crass language bleed into the barrier, knowing slowly the barrier will break and they would be fighting. The thundering march of the knights was apparent and the mob began to whittle at the barrier even faster, Moon and Star readied to blast them into oblivion.

Suddenly the barrier crashed.

Star and Moon couldn't comprehend the sudden fall.

So did the mob as their weapons slashed air before looked around confused.

Star and Moon didn't wait and took out the frontline, the bodies hit the mud and the mob screamed and surged forward, weapons at the ready, screaming to the heavens and the heavens screamed back.

Three massive meteors came crashing overhead and smothered the mob, the shockwave sent Star and Moon flying into the refugee tents, crumpling them and flattening anything not structurally sound. Star pulled herself free from the foul smelling canvas to see the once large mob reduced to few screaming survivors, crawling away as three massive flaming craters speckled the land.

Star stared at it for a moment before something began to move through the flames, Moon grunted as she pulled herself up, "Ugh, I hope that was our artillery…"

"No…"

Moon and Star looked at the ruined battlefield as something was striding forward, a wave of dread washing over the two, a sudden instinct to flee in the opposite direction, coldness seeping into their bones.

"What is this…?"

"…! Star get back!"

Star blinked as the thing walking towards them from the flaming lands was a rather tall and foreboding dark figure, clad in dark armor. Moon grabbed her daughter and painfully limped away, Star watched in horror as it drew a sword and slew the few survivors before looking at their direction, through the helm visor, she felt a fury mounting.

"Mom look out!"

Star pushed her mother to the side when the figure sent a screaming shockwave arc at them, the knights flung themselves to the side as the arc ripped through anything and anyone foolish enough to be on it's path.

The two Butterflys looked at the path of destruction then back to the dark figure calmly walking towards the castle, the knights ran into formation, the captain yelled, "Drop your weapon! You are—oh forget it! Charge!"

The knights surged forward, the figure sheathed its sword before slamming a fist into the ground, suddenly it felt as if ground itself was violently sick as it ruptured in all directions. The knights caught off guard immediately fell into the churning earth, being crushed and buried by tons of dirt before the figure walked forward again.

The surviving knights leveled their swords, lances, axes, maces and halberd at the figure and hacked and slashed into the armor-clad fiend. It easily swayed out of the blade's reach before breaking the weapons with its hands alone. One knight came heroically swinging with a broad axe, the figure was knocked off its feet and into the ground, the knights immediately came crashing on the fiend, smashing their weapons into any open crevice.

"DIE!"
"FOR MEWNI!"
"SCUMBAG!"

The knights stabbed and jabbed but the fiend wasn't affected, on contrary it seemed to be laughing as the helm rattled.

The moment the weapons paused, the figure strike, it was a clever ruse as the sword came flying out of it's sheathe and cut down the knights, blood seeped out of the wounds. It shook itself for a moment before resuming it's course to the castle, Moon and Star stared at it for a moment unsure what it wanted, on one hand it killed the mob and on the other it slew the Butterfly's knights.

The two chose the latter for that lone reason and rained magic blasts at it, the fiend stopped and spun away from the attacks. It was deceptively fast for something in armor, it slid behind the tents and the Butterflys hesitated before blasting through the canvas, something heavy tumbling out the back.

"Mewni...why...?"
"...daddy…why does it…hurt?"

The two monarchs felt their guts twist painfully.

The fiend casually walked out of the scene, it grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it to a charging knight, he sputtered through his helm and ran into a post, knocking himself out. The figure looked at the castle before breaking into a sprint, the armor clanking as the drawbridge was rapidly being brought up at the sight of it.

It pulled out two daggers and lit them on fire, throwing them to the chains pulling the drawbridge, seemingly melting the thick chains and letting the massive construct slam back down.

That got the Butterflys attentions and they desperately raced back, the screams of panic and anger rang around them. Star couldn't help but see the refugees staring at her as if she was some sort of monster, having blast through tents and spilling innocent blood. Moon merely held a stony face, having to make difficult decisions since she was a wee teenager.

The figure walked into the castle, as if looking for something, it leapt back as River and some knights fell from above, axes, swords and spears pointed at it.

"Filthy cretin!"
"Clever beast you are!"

The fiend made no indications at the insult, it drew a plain sword leaving the better looking on in it's sheathe.

River frowned at the sight.

It leveled the sword at them, River and the knights felt the thick waves of killer intent aimed at them. It was a numbing sensation.

No words.
No warning.
No time at all.

River and the knights crashed into the fiend so quickly it bounced off the stonewall and they immediately caught and rammed the interloper through the front door, rolling the figure down the steps. They would have whoop in victory but when the figure stood up and dusted its shoulder, they jumped at it again.

The sword was fast, so fast, so very fast.

River's stature allowed him to duck lower as the sword rend through metal, flesh, bone, flesh, metal and repeating cutting through the knights in half. The king felt their blood splash on him before a steel toe found his mouth and he found himself in a bed of corpses.

The figure looked at him before walking up the steps again.

River felt his fury rise but it fell when Moon and Star came into view, they picked him up, thanking any gods above that he was spared. It was a hollow comfort with so many good knights dead, he put a hand over his mouth, suddenly aware of the pain he just suffered.

"What is it?"
"I don't know…it just…came."
"…it wants something—AH!"

The two spun and saw in time a demon fall from the window and smash into the cobblestone below.

They stared at it for a moment before they rushed back inside the castle.

They could hear the angry and frighten screams of the demons,

"YOU! YOU WERE THE ONE—UGGGHKR!"

Star got to the top of the staircase and nearly fainted as the figure slowly choked a demon it's face contorting painfully from the pressure and lack of air, the others clawing and breathing fire on it but it ignored them, even though the armor turned cherry red.

What happened next blew her away.
Literally.

The armor turned back to normal and a shockwave exploded from the figure, the demons were turned into bloody chucks and the demon it was choking turned into mush. Star was sent flying out of a window and landing in the moat around the castle, she elbowed a Mewni Gator that tried to bite her and flew back up feebly.

Again, something fell out of the castle and into the pavement: a pony head with the unicorn stabbed through its eye.

Star's heart jumped to her throat when she heard her best friend screech at the top of her lungs, "IMMA GOONNA KILL YOUUUUU!"

Shooting back to the castle and through a window, Star looked around frantically, before making a portal and leaping through, she gasped as all the remaining pony heads were blasting the fiend. It was holding Pony Head Princess as she screamed at the monster in front of her,

"You killed my dad! I'm going to gouge your eyes out! Ya hear me!? I'm gonna feed you to the pigs and shit all over your body! We'll make a holiday after yo dumbass!"

The rest of the pony heads screamed in delirious rage at the culprit, Moon held on her husband, keeping him away from the fiend, realizing it was the same one for his kingdom.

"My family…my friends…dead because of YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Moon yelped as River broke free and grabbed a fallen axe and slammed it into the fiend's neck

Star cried as the fiend moved like a blur and caught a pony head and threw it at the path of the axe, she still cursed despite half of her head missing before promptly falling, dead. River stared at the corpse before the pony heads screamed and cried in rage, whether at the fiend or River no one could tell.

Star grabbed her dad and mom and dived them away as the pony heads began a laser show; nothing was safe from their horn blasts. Dragging them around the corner, River had gone all white from what he did, Moon and Star looked at him worriedly before the yelling and blasts from the sister pony heads dwindled by the second until only Pony Head Princess could be heard.

"YOU FUCKIN' SICKO!"

"No…"

"STAR NO!"

Star felt her mother's hand on her wrist, she tugged as her best friend screamed at the fiend, she lamented how her sisters were being stabbed with their own horns or rend by its own hands.

"Mom, Pony Head! She's—!" "NO STAR! IF YOU FIGHT YOU'LL—!"

Star slapped the hand away and ran forward, tears streamed down her face as she tried to fend off morbid thoughts but as she came around the corner she saw her best friend fighting against the hand on her pink mane. Pony Head valiantly blasted away, punching holes through walls and furniture, she shot Star a look of pain, anger and helplessness, all around her were her fallen family,

"B-Fly! Ruuun!

The fiend cocked its arm and forced it through Pony Head's neck and out of her mouth, its thumb popping out of the pony's eye socket. The pony head gurgled, blood seeping out of the new orifices made by the fist before the fiend pointed it to the Butterfly.

'Oh save me save me…I got my siblings and myself…' somehow the fiend got the dead pony head to speak on its behalf before throwing the head aside among the rest.

Star stared at the brutality, her heart cheek marks turning into flaming skulls, her wand pointed at the fiend and it charged at her, arms out and hands like claws.

She didn't care.

The wand shook in her hands as a familiar blast of golden energy spewed forth, the fiend ducked and tackled Star into the wall, she drove her knee and heel up but it merely slammed into solid metal. The fiend put her in a bear hug, Star felt sick to her stomach from the pressure before she realized that her wand was still firing the golden ray, she screamed as she realized what the fiend intended to do.

Before Star could shut the valve to her powers, the fiend swung her in the direction of the refugee camp and the peasant town at the foot of the castle. The citizens didn't stand a chance against a magical death ray, incinerated or vaporized, whoever was left screamed havoc at the sight before them.

Star despaired at what she unintentionally wrought before her mother came to her aid, swinging a magic made sword, the fiend was sent flying as Moon caught her daughter in midair.

"Mom, I—" "Now's not the time, Star!"

The two flew down the hall when Moon hit the floor, clutching her back. Star rolled out of her arms and saw the fiend up again, a dazzling sword in one hand, it pointed at Moon and she shrieked in pain, lightning striking her from sword point.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"

The fiend dodged the axe drop from River and even the following swings, the King didn't back down and managed to slam the blade into the fiend's knee and took the sword and shoved it into the fiend's helm, killing it.

That would have happened if not for the sword shocking River the moment he took the sword leaving him in a brief paralysis, the fiend pulled out another plain sword and drove it into the King's gut despite Star flailing bolts of magic to the fiend.

"DAD!" "RIVER!"

The fiend looked at River for a moment before tossing him out of the window. Moon and Star saw only red and charged at the fiend, nothing but fury and hatred fueling their powers as they lunged and pummel the fiend, punching it through the floor and forcing it to crash to the next floor and the next in quick succession.

Star and Moon panted and sniffled at the destruction they caused, hoping at the least they avenged their loved one. Star sat down on a broken slab of floor and cried, unable to process in a single instant she was robbed of so many dear loved ones, Moon wiped her tears unable to mourn properly as she saw fire burning at the foot of the castle, she could see dark masses coming to the kingdom.

"Star…darling…we need to leave."
"But Dad! He's—"

But Moon merely shook her head sadly, "Star…I was ready…for—!"

The two Butterflys were sent flying as the fiend stood up suddenly and sent a shockwave at them via slamming an armored fist into the floor. The two of them stared in disbelief that the monster still had life in it, Star and Moon took a step back and turned to run out of the castle, changing into their Butterfly forms.

They didn't get far as Moon screamed, the fiend matched her speed and grabbed both of her wings and swung her into the crumbling castle wall. Moon made her magic sword but the fiend easily smashed it to pieces with its gauntlet before grabbing the Queen and smashing her head into the wall, it grabbed her wings and savagely tore it off, Moon's scream rattled the castle.

Star flung herself at the fiend, no longer caring if she got hurt or died, she just wanted to make the monster hurt, hurt as bad as she felt. All the loss, the hate and anger condensed and she smashed into the fiend like a meteor, sending them both flying out of the castle and into the burning refugee camp.

Star pulled herself up, she made her wand into a hammer and began to pulverize the helm of the fiend, striking again and again, sparks and jolts of lightning sprang at each impact. The fiend tried to claw her off but she brutally smashed it's hands, bending fingers and splintering wrists.

Nothing but primal Mewman rage pumped through her system letting her be so savage, so uncaring, so drenched in her pain and unleashing it upon the culprit. Each swing made the ground rumble, each hit made sparks of mad glee, each slam she recited the ones she lost to the monster.

She swung for the umpteenth time when something stopped her from bringing the hammer down, she snarled only to see a bloody Moon staring at her, frighten.

"Star…"

"Mom…"

Star stood up only to slip and fall, she blinked and saw she had reduced the fiend to a crumpled piece of metal, a pool of blood and flesh mush oozing from any openings. Star pulled herself up, unable to comprehend how her mother survived, but she quickly hugged the Queen crying,

"Mom! Mom, I thought I'd lost you too!"

"It's alright Star…"

Star's hands felt the wounds on her mother's back, "Your wings…"

"They'll grow back…right now, we need to leave."

"Where? Where can we possibly go?"

"Eclipsa…if she's still alive…"

Star could tell her mother didn't like the idea, but with their kingdom nearly burnt to the ground and the barrier gone, it was only a matter of time before a marauding group came and raze the kingdom.

"Mom…last time we saw Eclipsa, she wanted to hang you like a piñata and hit you until Snooker bars fall out."

"Star…is piñata code for something."

Star just gave her mother a blank stare before pointing her wand to the sky, "Ultra Fresh Mouthwash Rain."

The beam made a massive cloud and began to rain a frothy shower, sizzling out the fires of the refugee camp. The two limped away, any survivors of the camp were left to their fate, there wasn't anything Star or Moon could do anymore for them…

The surviving refugees looked at them with blank stares, some mustering a look of hate but the two monarchs just continued on as they scurried from the burnt tents and blacken soil. Star heard a far off scream and curse, she moved to go to the scream but Moon caught her wrist and pulled her, she didn't say a word but Star knew what she would have said…

"AAAaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Star felt her mother's hand slip from her wrist, a shadow falling to the mud.

"No…no…NOOOOO!"

Moon coughed, trying to move herself but she was firmly pinned to the ground with several black thorny spikes. Star immediately grabbed one but she cried as the serrated thorns cut her hand, Moon wheezed for breath,

"Don't bother…Star…even if you did pull…them out…I'd still die…"

"Mom, I can't—"
"Just..run…"

Star stared at her mother before her vision was filled with a crumpled helm looking at her, she screamed with what little breath she had, thrashing in the grips of the fiend. She smashed her wand into it, again and again, refugees and peasants just watched, some fearful…some spiteful.

Star smashed the wand again into the helm, this time upwards and under the chin and sent the helm flying into the sky. It clang somewhere in the distance.

The princess never heard it fall. She stared horrified at the face looking at her, eyes burning with righteous fury as it was staring at something absolutely repulsive. It squeezed harder, her muscles shrieked, her bones fractured, she gasped for air even as her vision dimmed, but those eyes seemed to glow ever brighter, burning to her very soul.

Star shot up from her bed covered in cold sweat and hair sticking to her skin, clawing at an attacker that was not there. Tears raced down bloodshot eyes that stared into the darkness; an uncontrollable shiver ran down her entire body, blanket tossed aside and also moist with sweat.

It took some time for Star to calm and to breath properly and even then it was painful, gulping the cold evening air in her room. She glanced around the room paranoid, not believing that it was free of damage and carnage.

A dream.
Just a bad dream.

Star hazard to go back to sleep despite the ordeal she just faced was simply that: a dream where so many died and her kingdom ravaged.

Star curled herself in her bed, tears leaking out.

Just a dream…

But it felt so real. The situation. The emotions. The battles. The overwhelming despair, it was too real. It had to be a premonition of the future...

Her thoughts immediately concluded that the fiend had to be him, it just had to be. No one else was that powerful.

Marco Diaz. The name even made her heartache painfully, her former best friend and runaway Dark Knight of Mewni. He never showed up after he fled to Earth and barring his home from all who wanted to contact or enter the dimension. It made sense: after his mistreatment, the unwanted knighting and for personal reasons he would be angry at all of them, it wouldn't be far fetched if he suddenly decided to attack.

But...that seemed wrong...Marco, he wouldn't—

Star felt a forlorn sigh leave her lips; Marco had been gone for at least two years now...why would he come back? No one could bother him on Earth, he could just pretend like he never left and memories of her would eventually fade away from everyone in Echo Creek.

He was free from her and anything that could hurt him on Mewni.

The thought made anything good of him being gone…hollow. He was on Earth. She was on Mewni. They were cleaved and they have gone on their separate ways.

And that made her cry even more.

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Spoiler: it wasn't Marco.

What's good my avid readers, the sequel I promised and we are already balls deep in tragedy, delicious. Kidding, it's just a dream. A bad one at that. And this sets the tone of the fanfic, I was very hands-off with the prequel, they are only 15, they had the whole world in front of them, they have hopes, dreams, aspirations and ambitions. Soft and light.

Now hard and heavy.
With a side order of sass.

I hope you're hungry my avid readers, it's gonna get a little weird, gonna get a little wild.

Ciao,
I AM NRG

END OF TRANSMISSION