Summary:
Aren't these some fun little secrets
Moon sipped tea, staring at the queen of darkness across from her. "So … you've been chatting with Steven a lot these days …"
"Why wouldn't I? He's basically a nephew and a grandson rolled up into one." The woman chuckled. "He's quite the adorable bundle of joy."
"Yes, he is." Moon held back a slightly bitter exhausted sigh. "I'm just…trying to make sure he and my daughter don't get themselves hurt looking for answers."
"From everything I've been told, any calamity that's befallen either of them mostly came from the result of information coming out at inopportune times." Eclipsa giggled. "He is very open minded in trying new things, I've given him some advice to aid him in the mental aspect of his powers."
"While I understand that … there's somethings that they shouldn't have to know." She stated. "They're children, they should enjoy life without all the burdens we've caused in the past."
"Ah, the past, a time we're always trying to leave behind." Eclipsa smiled. "But if the past three hundred years have taught me anything, it's that it always manages to catch up to you, no matter how much you try to hide it."
"Don't I know it." Moon sighted. "Just once, I'd like them to have a moment of calm and peace, even if it's with this 'monster ball' they have going on."
The door burst open. "Eclipsa, we need answers!" Steven shouted, followed by an angry Star.
"Sure, I have nothing to hide." The woman shrugged. "Did your party go well?" Please let one good thing happen.
"It did at first but then there was-NOT IMPORTANT!" Star waved off. "Do you have a half Mewman half Monster child!?"
Moon sighed. "Steven, Star, she doesn't have-"
"Oh I do." The queen turned her head, feeling her eyes close to popping out of her skull.
"You what?" Moon almost felt her brain melt just a little.
"Meteora, my pride and joy. She had the cutest clovers on her cheeks and the most adorable tail you could ever see." Eclipsa sighed with a fond look Moon found on herself whenever she thought of her children.
"But Shastican didn't think so, so I was frozen over until … Well, we made our deal." She shrugged. "I know she was replaced by Festiva, who I think did a wonderful job for a girl with no parents whatsoever other than the Commission." A literal nightmare. "I just hope my angel was happy and cared for wherever she ended up."
"She tried to kill us." This time it was the Queen of Darknesses's turn to look like she was having an aneurysm at the sheer confusion of that.
"...What? But.. how is that possible…"
"You know that Ms Heinous woman I told you about that tried to brainwash and kill us multiple times?"
"I'm sorry, did you say multiple times?" Moon demanded with a look.
"Well, to be fair, it's really only Marco that she wants to kill." Star shook her head. "But that's beside the point." It sounded like it should be the main point. "Rhombulus crashed the fight when Mina tried to kill Steven again trying to protect Heinous.."
"Kill Steven again!?" She shouted, feeling her magic flow just a tad.
"I understand you have the right to break out of your rooms when grounded." They didn't. "But for kids that hate secrets you really don't tell your mother about how often you nearly die." For once she agreed with Eclipsa.
"I honestly try to forget every time I do, especially when I end up being friends with the people that do try to kill me." Steven shrugged. "But back to what we were talking about, Rhobulous was trying to be hush-hush about the entire thing, barely acknowledging what we said about Hein-Meteora."
"So the woman who's mentally ill and has been trying to kill you … is my daughter …" Eclipsa stared off into space. "... Thank you for telling me …"
"No..no this isn't right. This can't be.." Moon gripped her hands in anger. "They've accused me of keeping secrets when they've been holding this one over our heads for years." She wouldn't let the commission get away with this. "Steven, Star, I thank you for this." The woman bowed. "Now please, stay out of the castle for the next … I want to say twenty four hours."
"Are you sure Mom?" Star asked.
"I'm with her on this one actually." Eclipsa spoke. "My original plan involved keeping you out while I took down half the castle and left confinement to find my daughter so you could claim innocence, but I'm much more interested in what she has planned."
"You know, if you want my support during the trial, you'd best keep your mouth closed whenever you want to say something like that." Moon groaned.
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Pearl, inside of a guard's outfit, walked up to the men. "Patrol shift, I know the timing's off but the queen's on edge after the Monster Ball went off."
"Makes sense, damn freaks really went wild." They nodded, walking away.
After a few moments she took off the armor, watching as Eclipsa and Moon did the same. "Are you sure knocking them out wasn't an option?" She asked.
"If they woke up they'd sound an alarm. We just need to enter with absolute stealth. Even the queens haven't been allowed in here without Commission ever since …" Eclipsa paused. "Can't remember which one changed the text … so long ago."
"I would often discuss past queens with my children when they were younger, so I believe it was Soupina, if my recollection is correct." Moon muttered. "The history becomes more vague to describe for any queen before Skywyne."
"That is both a blessing and a curse, I'm afraid." Pearl added. "There were quite a few queens I wish I never met, and that's barring Solaria." Babipsa was just so…savage.
"And they call me the Queen of Darkness." Eclipsa chuckled as they entered. "Are you sure it's alright? I'd rather not get anyone who isn't asking for it in trouble."
"A chance to stick one up the Commission's ass?" Pearl cackled. "I'll take that gamble any day."
"So this is why Rose always called you the rebel gem." Moon muttered.
"There's a reason why I was the first to join her cause." Many reasons actually, reasons she couldn't describe for another variety of reasons. "I'm more surprised at you, Moon. I know you share no love for the commission, but I never thought you'd go this far for Eclipsa."
"It's a matter of family at this point …" The queen's gaze grew colder. "You do what you must."
"Well said." The woman in question smiled as they entered a large location with multiple writing machines. "Behold … the writers." She walked forward. "Besides Glossaryck, these guys really do know it all, writing in detail everything that happens in the multiverse."
"Oh really? Everything?" Pearl was both intrigued and disturbed at the same time. The last thing she wanted was for them to uncover certain information about Rose.
Eclispa heard some fast penmanship, looking over. " "Oh really? Everything?" Pearl was both intrigued and disturbed at the same time. The last thing she wanted was for them to uncover CERTAIN information about Rose." The queen read aloud.
"That is a massive invasion of privacy!"
"Oh relax, Pearl dear, you're not the only one who was enthralled by Rose's charms." Eclipsa giggled.
"I liked to think of her as a mother figure and aunt, so that image still disturbs me." Moon muttered, looking at another. "It says here River is taking the kids on the Bog Beast Ritual … typical, but perfect timing."
"Bog beast?" Pearl questioned.
"I don't think I've heard of that one either." Eclipsa added in.
"River explained it all to me back in the early days of our marriage." Moon explained. "It's a tradition where the members of the Johansion clan are taken camping to the nearest swamp as a sort of right of passage. Not my cup of tea, but I won't deny the bonding experience."
Pearl hummed. "So where is the scroll that would have information on Meteora?" Pearl asked.
"Ah, that's a bit of a problem." Eclipsa said. "Over three hundred years … and they still haven't invented a catalog system for that." She pointed as they looked up … and up … and up … "You two take the infinity on the right, I'll take the infinity on the left."
"You do realize dividing infinity by three, if even possible, is still infinity?" The moment Pearl finished the sentence, the writing machine next to her dinged, wrapping up all its paper in a scroll and tossing it into a slot in the wall. It then pulled out a new parchment, continuing to scribble.
"Let's just get started before we manage to multiply infinity by three instead." Moon grumbled, as the matching dinged again. "That was barely one sentence, you have plenty of room left you dumb pen!" Pearl never thought they would see the day a writing implement would flip someone off, but here she was.
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"So why do we have to braid hair again? Wouldn't it be more effective to just cut it if getting in your face is a problem?" His son asked.
"Haha, oh Steven, that's what we all think at one point or another, but it's the challenge of working with small inconveniences like this that make life more exciting!"
"Yeah, because that's clearly what we need to be doing now." Star groaned as she plucked the baby dragon from her head. "As much as I love rolling in mud and getting set on fire, can't we just beat up this bog beast already and go home?"
"Oh no, the ritual must be done with utmost success." River stated. "No skips, missteps, or shortcuts. Perfect preparation is required to take on … The Bogbeast of Baggabah." Lightning stormed in the distance.
"I thought you said it wasn't going to rain?" Star asked.
"It's not, it just happens anytime one says The Bogbeast of Baggabah." The same lightning stormed in the distance.
"Oh really?" Steven said curiously. "The Bogbeast of Baggabah!" The lightning cued again. "Oh, I think I just found a way to psychologically fight people. Imagine the confusion on peoples faces."
He laughed and patted the boy. "Yes, always look for tactics. While honor must be kept among family and beasts, all true foes must use all manner of combat."
"Great, great, good for you. Let me know when we can actually use that against people we can punch." The girl was just as headstrong as he was in his youth. "Can you at least give us a clue for what we're supposed to be looking for?"
"You can identify it by sound rather than sight. It has a call like no other, screeching song in the distance." But he raised his hand. "But we must first complete the ritual. Now, for the sap paint." He grabbed a bowl of the stuff. "It must be done exactly right, and in order."
"Come on, Star, it's not too bad." Steven smiled as he began painting his sister's face. "Mom and Eclipsa are handling things right now, and we haven't had a camping trip with dad in…years by this point."
"Yeah … remember how she 'handled' Toffee?" She grumbled. "Oh, or 'handled', the Rose thing?"
"Star, I believe you're being just a tad harsh on your mother." River defended his wife. "She had a bit of a wild streak herself. Did you know back when we dated, she'd make exploding pies? Epic explosions of flavor were splattered everywhere."
"Wait, seriously?" His two kids looked at him with awe.
"Oh yes, she'd plant them all over the place, mainly to mess with her ex's, which I was more than happy to help with." The man laughed in nostalgia. "Oh, and that's not getting into what little Chauncey did to the Keebler elves." The goat was a vicious little bugger.
"Ah shoot …" Star looked into the distance, hearing a song. "... Monsters really messed her up, didn't they?" She asked, not running after the beast instantly.
"We all deal with our grief and trauma differently. What doesn't seem right and rational from one side of the story, makes perfect sense from another." The man sighed. "Everything she's done for our family was spun out of the love she has for us, especially the both of you."
"Love does do crazy things to people." Steven chuckled as he heard the noise now too. "That's the beast, isn't it?"
"Yes it is." He smiled. "And once we complete the ritual we can … Star, did you paint your leg before your arm?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?" She shrugged.
"That's the wrong order." He gave a fake groan. "We'll have to take it up from the top."
"Nope!" Steven shouted as he stood up. "I am happy to be doing this with you, but I will die if I head into that sauna again!" He began walking off. "I'll wait in the tent!"
Well that was one bog beast that was for sure going to appear. Let's see if they could go for two this year.
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Eclipsa sighed. "All i've been finding so far are recipes from Comet, a few tales of Marco from the never zone, and Toffee being a jerk as a kid!" She shouted to the group. She knew that last part fairly well from personal experience.
"Had I known how intricate these archives were, I probably would've snuck down here ages ago." Moon muttered as she tossed out paper after paper. "They've given me so much insight on Star's thought process through her more crazed shenanigans."
"The same goes for Steven." Pearl looked the parchment over. "Even if they're randomized there's a lot one can gather … if you can get over the random horror." The gem shuddered. "I have never been so grateful that I refuse to eat."
"So glad that your search has at least bore some fruit, there's not even a trace of Meteora's name, there's barely any mention of mine either!" She didn't care about being remembered for anything, but she drew the line at her daughter being tossed into the abyss of history.
"Wait, I found something!" Pearl noted. "It mentions your … eloping process."
"We were young, we wanted to get started right away, previous engagements be damned." And she had absolutely no care for Shastican whatsoever.
"Yes but …" The gem scrolled through page … after page … after page … before opening a second parchment and scrolling through it.
"What can I say, a Butterfly has stamina." She shrugged.
"Alright, I found it." Pearl looked it over. "And so, Eclispa, the Queen of Darkness, gave birth too …" Their eyes widened. "I don't believe it."
"What, what is it..?" Moon looked at the scroll in confusion. "It just says Festiva's name..they're actually trying to make it sound like she's your daughter...I always assumed she was from Jushtin's side of the family."
No … "No." She ran over, looking over the scroll. "They … they just cut her out." They made it like her daughter never existed to begin with.
"They didn't even TRY to make the penmanship match, I mean if you're going to create a cover up don't be sloppy about it." Pearl complained. The other two queens stared accusingly at her. "Sorry, not the important detail we should be focusing on."
"But why would the commission go through all this trouble to change the archives at all?" Moon muttered. "They never regretted a single dubious action before."
"Maybe not with other monsters and enemies … but this is the Butterfly lineage." Eclipsa stated. "Too much for even them to have their regular sway over." She sighed. "This was the only lead we had …"
"Which means that whatever they did with Meteroa, they felt some level of shame, or at least feared being scrutinized by the public for it." Pearl concluded. "We need to dig deeper, find out anything we get on this 'ms. Heinous…"
"Ah…Queen Moon?" A voice came from the entrance of the room, and out came…Sean the security guard. "What..what are you doing here…with a gem…and the Queen of Darkness?"
"Don't worry Ladies, I can keep him quiet for as long as needed." Pearl readied her spear.
"No, don't threaten him! This could ruin whatever chance Eclipsa has at the trial!" Moon freaked out.
"Girls, there is a simple solution to this." She made a finger gun sign on her hand and pointed to Moon. "Just point your finger at him and erase his memories."
"I can do that?" The queen asked.
"Of course you can, you're magic." She smirked.
"She can't do that!" Sean tried to back away.
"Well I can't do it. I don't know magic without the wand, so it's all on her." Eclipsa pointed to the Queen.
Moon pointed at the guy. "You will forget about today."
"Wait, it's my daughter's birth-" Sean passed out.
"This is the most morally questionable act I've done in quite some time." Pearl said with a sigh.
"We can always do worse." Eclipsa giggled "Come on, we better leave before they check up on him."
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"So Festivia, for certain, isn't your daughter, or anyone related you?" Steven asked as he and Star met up with Mom, Eclipsa, and Pearl back in Eclipsa's tower.
"No, as far as I can tell she's not related to the Butterfly family at all." She turned to Star. "We may not be related."
"Blood doesn't matter, especially when it comes to us." Star affirmed as she patted him on the head. "We care about you, so your pretty much family already.
"Yeah, you're still my grandma slash aunt." Steven smiled at the woman.
"Plus on the upside, that means I'm not related to Solaria…eh no offense." Star apologized.
"A little, even if she was a sociopath she was my mother." The woman admitted. "But we still no next to nothing about-"
The door burst open, Ponyhead panting. "B-Fly … Q-Fly … oh why did I take the stairs?"
"She flies, why would stairs matter?" Pearl muttered.
"Big … emergency." She got out.
"Kinda have our own problems pony." Star answered. "Turns out Ms Heinous is actually Eclipsa's daughter."
"Oh…so she's the reason why that crazy old back is such a psychopathic soul sucker?"
"Steven, Star, kindly get your associate out of here before I feel the urge to turn her into glue." Eclipsa said darkly.
"No, I mean it literally!" The girl panicked, pulling out her phone. "Look!" She showed images of princesses … with black and empty eyes.
"What the …" What happened to them? "That's …" How? Why?
"Those are every Princess that's come across Ms Heinous in the past few days, and it's getting worse!" She showed off another picture of…oh dear corn…"These girls were found rotting in a secret basement underneath saint o's! It looks like they've been there for years!"
"What in the name of …" Mom looked pale. "What on … why?"
"… It's how she's stayed alive." Eclipsa spoke, a solemn tone in her voice. "Their lifespans are added to hers."
"So for three hundred years…for three centuries, she's been killing princesses." Star muttered darkly. "In a supposed school, approved by the commission, and no one had noticed until now."
"She's probably been brainwashed …" Steven muttered. "You saw the look on her face when she looked at that room, she probably has so many thoughts jumbled up together."
"Are you defending her?" Star accused.
"No, what she did was bad, it's just … she was a child separated from her mom …" Steven looked to Moon. "If anything went wrong, I could've been the same way."
"Whether or not that is the case is irrelevant if we don't hold the commission accountable for all they've done." Pearl added in. "We need to catch them in their lies and force them to acknowledge it."
"Do we have a truth spell?" Star asked, as Mom's eyes widened.
"No … I believe we have something better." She smirked in a way that really made him believe the pie story.