AN: Hello, and welcome to my Moonco fic! I've been planning this one for a few months now, and since I'm back in the saddle, i can finally get to work on it! I hope you enjoy!

It was a dark time in Mewni. Seems like anywhere you went in the kingdom there wasn't a single smile to be seen. Even the sky is dark and dreary as light rained came down. But what could have caused all of this? What made everyone in the Butterfly Kingdom so downcast? It's because today is the funeral of the late King, River Johansen Butterfly.

The day it happened was still in the minds of many, with nearly everyone pointing fingers at who's at fault. Some blamed monsters. Some blamed bad security at the castle. And others blamed the former Queen Eclipsa. But it didn't matter who they blamed, because it won't change anything.

As gloomy as it may be in the city, it is far worse in Butterfly Castle. The hustle and bustle that usually goes through the halls are gone. The number of guards and knights have been noticeably increased. The entry room was in disarray, with servants doing what they can to clean as much as possible.

And of course, there is how this massive event affected the royal family. Ever since the burial, earlier this day, both the queen and princess have retreated themselves in their respective bedrooms. Queen Moon made it very clear that she didn't want anyone disturbing her. As for Princess Star, nobody had to be told not to approach her. The girl was a loose cannon, made even more dangerous with the royal magic wand. So nobody dared come any close to her. All, but one. Her best friend and loyal squire, Marco Diaz.

At this moment, Marco was sitting on the princess's bed, doing everything he could to comfort his friend. Both of them were still in their funeral clothing. She had been bawling into her pillow since her father passed away, only stopping for the funeral service. But since they have come back, she's been at it again.

"That's it, Star. Let it all out." As much as Marco wants to tell her that everything will be alright, he first needed to get her to calm down. The loss of River was a heavy one. For all of them.

"I just… I just can't b-b-believe he's gone." She managed to say between her sobs.

"I know, Star. I know."

"I'm… I'm n-n-n-not ready to let h-h-him g-g-go!"

"Nobody ever is, Star. Losing a loved one is one of the most painful things we can experience."

"And It… it… It's all your fault."

"I- Wait, what?"

Star slowly got off of her pillow, her tear covered face was that of realization. "This… all of this… this was your fault." Her sadness was slowly turning into anger.

Marco was confused and also hurt by what Star was saying. She couldn't really mean that, right? This must just be her emotions getting the better of her. What happened wasn't his fault… Right?

"Star, you can't blame me for what happened!" Marco hoped he could reason with her. He knows she can be a bit difficult to deal with at times, as well as stubborn. He needs to be careful not to set her off even more.

"Oh, can't I?" She jumped off the bed and looked away from him. "Tell me, Marco Diaz, can you honestly say you have no part in it? Can you tell me what you did wasn't the cause of all this?" Her words were filled with venom, each harsher than the last.

Marco opened his mouth to refute her, but no words came out. Could he really deny what he did that day? Could he really say it didn't play any part in what happened? Did he really cause all of this? Was… Marco to blame for River's death? He couldn't say anything. He stayed silent.

"No. Of course you can't. Because no matter what you say, it will still be your fault." Her words hit him hard. Not that she cared. In her eyes, this is justice.

Marco couldn't stay silent any more, and he was tired of being accused of being a killer. "Star, I-"

"Get out." She cut him off.

"Star, wait! Please listen, I-" Before Marco could Finnish, he was hit with a magic blast in his right shoulder, sending him flying across the room. He crashed hard into the door, and hit the floor hard. The pain was intense, pulsing through his body.

He staggered as he tried to get back up. He was in pain, confused, but mostly hurt. Did Star… just blast him? No, that couldn't be it. No, she wouldn't do that. They're best friends. Star would never… hurt him. He pushed himself up to look at Star, but what he saw made his heart sink.

Star, his bestest friend in the whole multiverse… was glaring at him with intense hatred, and aiming her glowing wand directly at him. Star… really did shoot him, didn't she?

"I said GET OUT! You're no longer my friend, and you are no longer my squire! Get out of my room! Get out of my castle! And get out of my dimension! I never want to see you again!" Her voice was full of pure rage, with a volume that caused the whole castle to vibrate.

Marco was scared. He can't think of another time he saw Star was this mad at anyone. And now, it's all being aimed at him. This was not how he planned on helping Star. He really needed to get her to calm down now.

"Star, plea-" Once more, he was cut off by a blast from the wand. This one just barely missing his head. Tears swelled in Marco's as he looked at once more. From the look she was making, that was clearly the last warning he's going to get. As well as being their last act of friendship.

Marco got off the floor as fast as he could and bolted out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He ran down the castle halls for a short while, before slowing down and collapsing against the stone wall. The pain in his shoulder worsened when he did, but it was nowhere near as bad as the pain he was feeling in his heart.

They didn't just lose River, now. No. He had lost something even more valuable.

He lost his best friend.

These last few days have been very hard on Queen Moon. First, there was the trial and learning the truth about her family. Then, there was the civil unrest about Eclipsa being freed. And then… River… Ever since he passed away. She has felt as if a part of her is missing. And it seems like the rest of the kingdom is feeling it as well, with morale being at an all time low.

And her troubles didn't stop there. The Johansen Kingdom has been threatening war with them over the death of River. And now, she's on her way to see why her daughter had been screaming so loudly, even though she made it very clear she wanted some peace and quiet now. It's barely been an hour since her husband has been laid to rest, but it seems like life didn't want to slow down for even a minute. She didn't even have time to change out of her funeral clothing.

As she was nearing her daughters room, the sound of sobbing started to grab her attention. Fearing the worst for her daughter, she picked up the pace and made a slight dash down the hall. As she rounded the last corner, she saw that the origin of the sobbing was not her daughter, but that didn't bring her any comfort. No, instead it was her daughter's friend and squire, who was lying on the ground, slumped against the wall, clutching onto his shoulder as he sobbed there.

Without missing a beat, she ran up to him, and got down to eye level with him. "Marco? Marco, are you alright?" Seems as though he didn't notice her up until now, as he was startled by her as soon as she called his name.

His eyes were shocked for a moment, but he seemed to have calmed down a bit. "Q-Queen Moon? What are you doing here?" He asked, doing his best to hold back his tears.

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is are you alright?" She was concerned for the human boy. What happened to River took a big hit on him.

She looked at him a bit closer. His face showed signs of emotional pain, and it's not just the tears. It looked like… something was missing from him. Another glance, and she saw he was clutching tightly on his shoulder.

"Marco, your shoulder." Her voice was filled with concern for him. While she may not have been close to him like River and Star, she didn't want to see him hurt.

Marco's eyes widened slightly at the mention of his shoulder. He moved it away further from the Queen, and tried to hide it from her. "I-It's nothing, don't worry about it." He said, hoping to keep what happened with Star from her. With all she's been through, she didn't need much more on her mind.

Moon looked at him with a bit of suspicion, reached her hand out to his shoulder. Marco let out a pained reaction as soon as her hand made contact. It was much more intense then she expected, making her retract her hand quickly.

"Marco, this is clearly not nothing. How did this happen?" Her voice was firm with him, but he remained silent. Ugh. Why do teenagers have to be so difficult to work with? How did he even get this injury? Wasn't he with Star this whole… time…

With those words, the gears in her head started turning at record speed. Marco was with Star this whole time. And not too long ago, Star was stirring up a storm with her shouting. And now, she finds Marco severely injured not too far from Star's room. Could Star have…? No, shouldn't… Would she?

"Marco… Did… Star do this to you?" In all honesty, she was afraid of what the answer might be. She really doesn't need any more problems on her hands.

Marco simply turned his face away from her, his face showing discomfort from both the pain and the question. That was not a good sign.

Moon didn't like this. She didn't like being kept out of the loop, especially if it might have something to do with her family. And after recent events, she will not stand for it. She decided to change to the 'stern mom' tactic. Her face became sterner, as she looked at him with more authoritarian eyes.

"Marco. Did Star do this to you?" Her voice was much sterner, making it very clear that she was not going to let Marco go unless he gave her an answer. Not just any answer, the truth. Marco had no other choice.

"Yes." Was his reply.

Moon knew this was the truth, even if she didn't want to believe it. To think her daughter would ever do such a thing. She was going to be in so much trouble.

Moon got up, and started to walk towards her daughters bedroom. But as she was passing by Marco, she felt him grab onto her, looking at her with a pleading face that showed he knew what she was about to do. "Please don't. I don't want to make her any more upset."

Normally, Moon would have brushed this off and punished her daughter. But something about Marco's face and voice made her stop. It seemed like he was scared.

Moon weighed her options for a moment, and caved to Marco's request. "Alright. But I'll be dealing with her once she's calmed down." Her voice was softer now. Marco calmed down at the news, letting out a breath of relief.

Moon turned back to the boy. "And right now we should have your shoulder looked at. Can you stand up?" She asked, holding out a hand. Marco took it, and was pulled up. " Yeah, I can walk. It just… kinda hurts a lot." He said, trying to wipe away his remaining tears.

Moon felt bad for the boy. To have this happen to him must have taken a toll. "Come along, Marco. Let's get your arm fixed."

Marco was sitting down on Queen Moons bed, having taken off his shirt and exposing the burn mark on his shoulder. Queen Moon herself was going through some of her cabinets, looking at different magical potions or items.

The Mark on his shoulder was really bad, being a deep red color, and blisters forming around it. It hurt to move around too much. His muscles were sore from being flung into a door. Under different circumstances, Marco would have mentioned how it wouldn't have been his first time and try to talk about some of his time in Hekapoo's dimension.

But it wasn't under different circumstances. And right now, he didn't want to talk about his old adventures. He didn't want to talk about anything. He felt hollow inside. He didn't want to do anything.

Moon came back and sat down next to Marco, holding a small jar in her hands. "This should heal you right up. It will also take away the soreness. But it will sting, alright?" Marco simply nodded.

Moon sighed, and started applying the medicine to Marco's wounds. Marco winced a bit when her hand touched him, but not as much as last time. The Mewman Queen didn't like seeing the boy like this. He usually had a fighting spirit in his eyes. But now, that's completely gone.

Once Moon was done applying the ointment, it quickly penetrated into Marco's skin, and his burns shrank away until it was completely gone. "There, see? All better now." She said with a forced smile, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. But Marco didn't even move an inch.

Moon dropped the smile, and put the jar aside. She just sat there next to him, both of them completely silent.

Moon didn't like any of this. Too much was happening too fast for her. Losing her husband was painful, and now what remains of her family might be falling apart. And she's not sure if she can handle that. But right now, she has a question she's been wanting to ask for a while now. And she can't hold back any longer.

"Marco… why did Star do this?" She was scared when she asked if it was Star that did it. Asking this made her feel terrified.

"Because she's right."

That's not the answer she was expecting, nor is it an answer she understands. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean by 'Because she's right'?"

Marco took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "She's right about everything. She's right for ending our friendship. She's for firing me as her squire… And she's right about this all being my fault."

There… was a lot to process from that. Does Star really blame Marco for what happened? She ended their friendship? And she also fired him as her squire? Why, this is all absurd.

"She fired you as her squire?" Might not have been the best part to start off of, but she didn't want to go in this too hard.

"Yeah. She did."

"I see… Well, what are you going to do now?" She asked. Being a squire was what kept him here. With that out the window, what will he be doing?

"I guess I'll be going back to Earth… a failure." He replied. She should have guessed that's his next course of action.

"Marco, you are not a failure. And you don't have to leave Mewni either." She hoped her words would reach him.

"Well, I can't really stay here and hide like a coward either. Besides, Star kinda banished from this dimension."

What? Banished him? Star had no right to do that! Legally or otherwise!

"Well, consider this your unbanishing." Moon got off the bed and knelt down in front of Marco, placing a hand under his chin. "Marco, listen to me. Star was wrong about all of that. You are not to blame for what happened that day, understand?"

"But I-"

"No buts. If I couldn't have stopped what happened it was bound to happen regardless of what you did. It was not your fault, understand?" She was firm with her words. She wanted to make him understand that he wasn't to blame.

Marco just nodded slightly. Well, it's a start.

"As for friendship, well, River and I considered you to be a very good and personal friend." There was a soft smile on her face as she was looking him in the eye and it showed no sign of lying anywhere. " And as for squire, well, It's Star's loss. You are a very capable and dependable young man from what I've seen. It would be a shame to just let you go like that." This got her thinking for a moment, and it must have shown on her face, as Marco looked at her puzzled. "In fact. Marco, how about you become my personal squire?"

Marco's eyes widened substantially as he stared at her. Become her squire? Did she just offer him the position of becoming her personal squire? Can he really just accept? "But, what about Star? Wouldn't she-"

"She's not going to hurt you. Not so long as you are under my care and protection." She said. "So, Marco. What do you say?"

Once again, Tears started coming from Marco's eyes. But unlike last time, these were not tears of pain or sadness. These were tears of joy.

Marco startled the Queen by jumping off the bed, and wrapping his arms around her in embrace, tears still flowing down his face. Moon smiled at the boy's antics, and returned the embrace.

"I'll take that as a yes."

-End of Chapter