The Perfect Present

Names from a Hat

T'was the week before Stump Day, and all throughout Mewni,
People were getting gifts for others, of sizes both large and puny.
In Dragonfly Castle, the new-crowned King Storm,
Was keeping all his friends' bodies and hearts warm.
Among visions of sugarplums, their minds held one fear—
What presents would they get each other this year?

"Cocoa?"  Marcia looked up from the little Stump Day skit the small children were putting on for their older relatives to see Storm holding out a mug of steaming hot chocolate towards her and smiling in that way that made her heart sing with glee.  She took the cup from him, feeling a tingle where her fingers brushed against his.  "Thanks."

It had been nearly five years now since they had met that fateful day on Earth.  Back then, she was still the Safe Kid of Echo Creek, and he was still a reckless, out-of-control prince who loved nothing more than beating monsters to a pulp. They had changed and matured since then.  She was now a full-fledged knight of Mewni, ready to take any risk in battle, and he was the beloved King that had brought together monsters and Mewmans in peace and harmony.

He had been crowned almost a year ago, not too long after his eighteenth birthday.  Since then, he had been working nonstop, sometimes with the help of Eclipse and Globgore, to integrate monsters further and further into society.  He had made great progress in such short time.  Now monsters could had access to honest work and better housing.  Not everyone was happy with the changes, but that was inevitable.  There would always be racist people who preferred the old ways.

After three years of knight training, Storm had surprised Marcia on her nineteenth birthday by knighting her.  Rivera approved, having kept a close eye on the Earth girl's progress over the years and agreed that she was ready.  Marcia could not stop smiling as she knelt before her best friend and achieved the dream she had been chasing after since she had arrived to take permanent residence on Mewni.

She beamed at him as she tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.  Storm saw a twinkle in her eyes, and a warm feeling blossomed in his torso.  A while ago, he and Tammy had broken up on a mutual agreement.  They had not been fighting much, but it felt as if they were trying to bring back something that was never there in the first place.  Tammy was constantly trying to prove herself "worthy" of his attention.  It was clear that they had been too fast in restarting their relationship, and at least needed a break from it to think things over.

Ever since, Storm had been spending every free moment with Marcia, watching movies, sparring against each other, riding warnicorns, or just hanging out together.  All throughout it, he had been starting to realize how much he missed her constant company, and began to notice how she had matured physically over the years, with the soft curves of her body, the allure of her smile, the sparkle of her beautiful light brown eyes.  He could get lost in them for hours.

"Storm?"  He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of her fingers snapping in front of his eyes.  "Are you okay?", she asked, concerned.  "You spaced out for a minute there."  He shook his head, smiling at her.  "I'm fine."  They looked out at all their other friends, enjoying themselves and the skit by the little ones.

Pony Head was here, of course, making loud, obnoxious comments on the performance.  Thankfully, the children knew how to drown out his criticism.  Tammy was here, too, for even though she was no longer Storm's girlfriend, she was still his and Marcia's friend.  Also here was Kelly, having finally shook his ex after so many years; Jonah, prompting Marcia to lock up her valuables; and StormFan13, who in his admiration for (or perhaps it was obsession of) Storm that he, too, moved to Mewni and opened a store selling merchandise revolving around his idol and the rest of the royal family.