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~Acorn Plains Way – Acorn Plains – Afternoon
Princess Peach couldn't find herself happier, and the same could be said for her boyfriend: Mario.
Things have been a little crazy on their side lately. From Mario traveling across the globe to stop Bowser’s plans for matrimony to teaming up with looney rabbits to stop an interdimensional threat… twice.
Mario and Peach had only one thing on their minds – a day filled with peace and relaxation.
Of course, it was hard for them to break away from their duties. Mario and Luigi have been called away multiple times to help several Toads, Koopas, and Shy Guys with their plumbing problems whereas Peach battled the dreaded cabin fever – in other words, she'd spent the majority of her time in the castle overseeing everything that happened in her kingdom. Somebody needed to make sure the Mushroom Kingdom wouldn't fall under the Koopa Empire's control, and she was the right one for the job.
From planning battle strategies to doubling security in certain areas of the castle, Peach had been working like a dog to make sure her people were safe, and Mario worked hard to make sure those toilets were unclogged.
But alas, both of them longed for a day off.
Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait that long for the day to come.
Mario approached the castle one day and asked if Peach would like to join him on a trip to the Acorn Plains. While the princess knew her territory from the back of her hand, she surprisingly hadn’t been to that place. In fact, she hadn’t been to most places Mario traveled to whenever he and Luigi would set out to rescue her from Bowser. Peach happily accepted the two of them hiked an eight-mile trail to the forest itself.
As soon as Peach walked through the very last bush, beauty was all that she could see.
The Acorn Plains were a beautiful, luscious landscape filled with trees the size of mountains, bushes covered head to toe with dark green leaves, and smooth green grass that tickled the side of her ankles.
Mario and Peach traveled along the trail for a while and noticed an abundance of creatures in the area. Aside from Goombas and Koopas that danced to the beat of the music, there were creatures that Peach had rarely seen but Mario had run into them several times during his journeys – Waddlewings: orange and brown squirrel-like creatures that could spread their wings and fly around the area. For the most part, they were harmless; however, they didn't appreciate the fact Mario and his friends would occasionally wander through their area. They couldn't do much in terms of fighting, but Mario always found them annoying to deal with. The Waddlewings could say the same about the mustached plumber, especially since he would steal some of their Power-Ups and dress up like one of them.
If there’s one thing they hated aside from invaders, it was imposters.
Luckily, the Waddlewings didn’t bother Mario and Peach during their hike as the two didn’t do anything to harm the environment. Once and a while, the flying squirrels would shoot them a warning glare, to which Mario would shoot one back. Peach kindly told Mario to leave them alone and he reluctantly stopped staring them down.
After an hour of hiking, the Mushroom Kingdom's lovely couple finally set up camp in the middle of the plains – where a giant tree covered in acorns and nesting Waddlewings loomed over them. The leaves were large and thick, and the tree looked like it was the same size as Rosalina's Comet Observatory. Of course, that was an exaggeration, but Mario couldn't but feel that way every time he heard the crunching sound of the wind brushing against the branches.
Both he and the pink-dressed princess sat on a white and red-squared blanket and next to them was a yellow picnic basket with a white question mark on the side. Both of them split a large hoagie filled with salami, provolone cheese, mushrooms, and a special Italian sauce that Luigi was kind to make for them. For health reasons, Peach brought a few apples and peaches while Mario brought snacks such as chips and pretzels.
Afterward, the two of them shared an ice cream cone.
Mario was smart to remember to bring Peach’s favorite – strawberry.
Three hours after they ate their food, both of them found themselves laying on their backs, looking up at the beautiful afternoon sun that gazed over them.
Mario had one arm wrapped around Peach’s shoulder and the one sat behind his head. Peach, on the other hand, leaned against Mario’s head and wrapped both arms around his stomach, holding him tight. Both of them watched Waddlewings land and depart from the tree above them and more dancing from the Koopas and Goombas.
None of them could ask for a better day than this.
Nothing could make this moment any better.
Mario and Peach laid flat on their backs for a few more minutes before the former got up and stretched his arms, feeling his right arm ache because his head was laying on top of it. He rolled his shoulder and heard a loud crack.
“Oh! Mama Mia!” he chuckled. “That was as loud as-a Bob-omb.”
Peach replied with the same gesture as she leaned upward and yawned.
“How are you feeling, Princess?” her boyfriend asked with a warm smile.
“Like a whole new person,” she replied, mirroring his expression. “You won’t believe how long I’ve wanted to get out here. Don’t get me wrong, my job is important, and I would do anything to make sure my kingdom is safe… but it gets tiring once in a while. I need to find a better work/life balance.”
“Believe-a me, Luigi and I had the same-a struggle when we lived in our old world,” Mario shrugged. “Ever since we-a came to the Mushroom Kingdom, I feel we’ve been able to get-a more time to have fun. Work is important, but it’s as you-a said – you-a got to have a work/life balance.”
“Right…” Peach smiled. “Thanks for taking me out here, Mario. How often do you come out here?”
“Not-a often,” Mario replied. “Luigi, Yolk, Dash, and I came here when we went to rescue you that one time.”
“Dash and… Yolk?”
“Yeah… Dash and Yolk. They’ve come with-a me to rescue you.”
Peach was dumbfounded; she raised an eyebrow and scratched her head.
“How do you not-a know who they are?” Mario inquired. “Dash is the Blue Toad who can-a run fast and Yolk’s the Yellow Toad, who… well… Luigi says he reminds him of a sunny-side-up egg."
“Oh!” the princess gently slapped her forehead and released an annoyed sigh. “How could I forget?”
“You-a must be really tired, huh?”
“Mario, you have no idea.”
Both of them shared a chuckle.
“So… do you want to stay here for a while longer or do you want to-“
Peach's question was interrupted when she felt something land on top of her head.
Normally, she’d grunt in pain but whatever fell on her head felt soft and slightly squishy. It also made a weird noise – the same sound that would echo every time Mario would find a magic object from an item block. Peach rubbed the back of her blonde head and Mario gasped as soon as he saw that.
“Princess!” he exclaimed as he crawled towards her, rubbing the back of her head. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Is Bowser on the attack?”
“Whoa, Mario. Calm down, I’m fine,” Peach replied with a smile. “Something just fell on my… head?”
She looked down and noticed something that fell on their blanket – something she’d never seen before.
A red mushroom with two black eyes and stripes that were colored red and yellow.
The princess widened her eyes and gasped at the strange mushrooms. Most ones she’d seen were either green, blue, or occasionally blue. She tilted her head to the right and reached out her white-gloved hand.
Poking it twice, she watched the top of it giggle before she picked it up with both hands.
“What…is this?” she asked.
“That?” Mario said. “Oh, that’s a Super Acorn.”
“A Super Acorn?... where did it come from?”
“Must’ve come from the tree above us. The Waddlewings are always carrying those-a things around. Sometimes, when I try and get one of them from an item block, they’d always harass me. They-a don’t seem to like it when I dress as them. You’d think they’d accept me as one of their own.”
“What does it do?”
“It-a gives the user a flying squirrel suit and it grants them the power to fly. You’ve never used one before?”
“Nope… never did. Can I assume you have?”
“Luigi, Dash, Yolk, and I have found plenty of these during one of our-a journeys. Toadette has used-a one too. We-a offered to teach Nabbit how to use-a one, but he refused. Luigi and I also used them when we needed to find the missing pieces to your castle,” Mario rubbed the back of his head and sighed nervously. “It was uh… that… that-a awkward time we accidentally pressed the Reset Rocket and blew up your castle. Sorry about that again… since you weren’t there during those times, I guess it-a makes sense you’ve never harnessed its power.”
“Right… and you said this thing allows someone to fly?”
“More like-a glide.”
“Do you think… you can teach me how to use this?”
Mario’s eyes lit up like lightbulbs. “W-what?”
“Don't get me wrong, I love sitting here relaxing with you, but I need to stretch these bones out. Whaddya say we glide around the Acorn Plains and see it from a new point of view? Come on, I think it'll be fun."
Just like before, the red-hatted plumber scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I-a… don't know."
“Why are you so nervous to do so? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of this thing.”
“It’s-a not that,” Mario shook his head. He stood up on his feet and stretched his legs. “When I first used that thing, I fell on my-a face at least three times. Yolk and Dash kept crashing into the branches. Toadette kept hitting all of the Waddlewings, and Nabbit… well, he just-a laughed at us like a jerk.”
“What about you and Luigi? Clearly, you two are pros, right?”
“Now we are, but when we-a first got them – Luigi and I were blown away by several gusts of wind. It’s-a not that I don’t-a want to teach you how to use one – they’re fun once you get used to them – but they-a take some time to learn.”
“Well… what better time to start learning than now, right?”
"But… what about our-a picnic? Half of my Italian sandwich still needs to be eaten."
“Mario, you ate that thirty minutes ago.”
“Oh… well, I’m-a still hungry.”
Peach rolled her eyes.
“Come on, Princess. We were-a cuddling and relaxing. Can’t we just-a do that for the rest of the day? I’m-a not in the mood for physical activity.”
“Come on, Mario. I promise… we’ll go back to cuddling once we go for one ride. Sound fair?”
“Hmm…” he folded his arms and stroked his chin.
“Please, Mario?” Peach hugged the Super Acorn with both of her hands. She pouted her lip and widened her eyes.
“Oh-a no. Are you-a seriously giving me the dreaded Poochy eyes?”
“Hey, at least Yoshi’s not doing this.”
Deep down, he knew she was right – no one could resist Yoshi’s Poochy eyes.
Mario rolled his eyes and sighed. “Oh, all-a right. I’ll-a teach you how to use the Super Acorn. But you have to promise me you’ll listen to everything I say.”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” Peach giggled and saluted her teacher.
Mario approached the massive acorn tree behind and gently kicked it.
Like clockwork, a Super Acorn came down and he grabbed it, crushing it with his bare hands.
It didn’t take long for his blue overalls to turn into a flying squirrel suit.
“Awwww,” Peach said, squeezing both of her cheeks. “You look adorable.”
"Haha, Grazie," Mario blushed. "Your turn."
Peach crushed the Power-Up and her outfit suddenly changed. The outside of her suit and the hat were colored brown, but the rest of her attire was pink. Part of her almost thought she was in her Tanooki suit, but with a touch of pink. She extended her wings and noticed she had large wings stuck underneath her armpits. She wiggled them around and turned to a small tail on the back of her waist.
“Oh, this is so cool!” she smiled. “So, when do we start flying?”
“Now-a hold on,” Mario said. “We-a can’t do that from here. We need to find a good vantage point.”
“And where do we find that?”
“Simple…”
~Acorn Plains Way – Acorn Plains – Afternoon
After a few minutes of finding a good place to train, Mario and Peach stood on top of a small hill and looked down. They weren't too high off the ground, but to Mario, it was the perfect place for his student to learn a useful skill.
“There… this should be-a perfect,” he said with a smile, clapping his hands together. “Okay-a, Princess. Are you-a ready for your first day of flying squirrel school?”
Peach suddenly pulled an apple out of her pocket and smiled from ear to ear.
She placed it back where it came from and listened to Mario’s instructions.
He walked past her and explained this, "Using a Super Acorn is not an easy task, but once you get the gist, you'll be flying as high as the Waddlewings above us. Step-a-one, you have to get a good-a-running start."
Stopping at the edge of the hill – right on the left side, he tapped his feet against the ground and stretched his legs.
“Next… you-a got to spread your arms like-a so,” he did just that and shot Peach a wink. “Then, you-a run really fast, and then… here, let me-a show you."
Peach took a few steps to the side and nodded, pressing her white-gloved hands together.
Mario tapped his foot and cracked his fingers before he spread his arms and dashed right past the princess, who backed away so he wouldn’t accidentally step on her toes. As soon as Mario got close to the hill’s edge, he leaped into the air and tilted his upper body forward, lifting both arms higher than before. Peach gasped out of nervousness; however, she soon widened her eyes when an astonishing sight happened.
Mario started gliding downward and he flew past a couple of Waddlewings that shot him dirty looks.
A few Goombas looked up and ran out of the way, not wanting to get stomped on for the millionth time.
Peach’s eyes shined like sparkles and her jaw nearly dropped to the ground – she was amazed by how well Mario displayed the Super Acorn’s power. Granted, she knew he used this item multiple times in the past, but she’s only heard of those times; seeing it was a different story. Peach watched in awe as Mario turned and shot her a wink.
In the blink of an eye, he kicked his legs forward and landed on his feet.
The brown and red plumber turned around and scratched both ears on top of his hat. He then tapped his feet and did a small victory dance, making the princess chuckle.
“How was-a that?” he asked.
“Well… it’s much better than what I’m gonna do,” Peach replied.
“Oh, come on, Princess. Just-a do what I demonstrated. You can-a do it.”
“I appreciate your encouragement, Mario, but…” Peach looked down, watching three Koopas walk past the hill. “I don’t know. What if I fall on my face? Do you know how long it takes for me to put on my make-up?”
Mario rolled his eyes and sighed.
He then gave her a short smile. “You-a won’t know until you-a try.”
The princess soaked that in and nodded.
Peach took a deep breath and walked back three steps, getting close to the left side of the hill. Her eyes darted forward, and she watched Mario climb on top of an item block and two bricks. He sat on the yellow block and watched her with a smile, having full confidence in her. Peach, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. Watching someone else do this was one thing, but having to do it was another story. The pink and brown-suited princess closed her eyes, exhaled one last time, and stretched her shoulders.
Tapping her feet against the ground, she spread her arms and felt her wings flap against the soft wind.
Mario smiled at the fact she aced both of the first steps – only three more to go.
He stood and waited as she continued to run and that was when she leaped off over the edge. Spreading her wings wide, Peach closed her eyes and released the biggest smile possible; she was ready to take flight and see a beautiful place from a new angle. But just as she was about to take to the sky…
PLOP!
…she dove forward and fell on her face.
“Oof!” Mario cringed and closed his eyes.
Once he opened them back up, he saw that the princess had fallen into a bush pile, which was occupied by two Waddlewings looking for Super Acorns. Both flying squirrels shared a menacing glance and glare at their intruder, who rubbed her head and moaned in agony. The Waddlewings snarled before they lifted their tiny feet and started kicking her head. Despite feeling like she was being hit by soft pillows, Peach couldn't help but shield herself and feel a bit of pain.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Hey! Stop that! Ow! I’m sorry! Hey, stop that! Ow! Mario, little help here!?”
"Hey, get away from the princess!" the red and brown-suited plumber grunted. He ran towards the angry squirrels and shooed them away by waving his hands. Both Waddlewings tried to bite his hand, but he was quick enough to dodge them and keep swatting. "Shoo! Shoo! Get-a out of here!"
Both Waddlewings released two more growls before they spread their wings and flew away.
Mario shook his head before he leaned down and helped his girlfriend back on her feet.
Peach adjusted her brown hat and readjusted the ears, watching a few leaves fall out.
“Are you okay, Peach?” Mario asked.
“I don’t get it; I did everything you said,” Peach folded her arms and groaned. “Did I not?”
“Well, yes… and-a no.”
Peach raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
Mario pointed to the hill she leaped off of. "You-a see… you did run and spread your wings like-a demonstrated; however, when you-a jumped, you dived forward, and that's-a what caused you to fall. Also, I-a noticed you closing your-a eyes. Don't ever do-a that. That’ll just cause more problems.”
“I understand now. Do you think I can try it again?”
The plumber stroked his chin. "
Promise me you'll be careful this time?"
"Promise," she nodded.
Mario thought about it as he looked to the left and scratched the back of his head. "
Okay, but follow my steps carefully this time."
The princess nodded and
climbed back onto the top of the hill. She ran towards the left side, reaching the platform and coming to a stop. Mario watched as she stretched her legs and relaxed her shoulders.
Peach cracked her fingers before she got down into a running position – staring blankly at what was in front of her; there were no obstacles in her path and that made her smile. She took one last breath before she took off like a light. She ran across the platform, increasing her speed with each step. As soon as she was at the midway point, she extended her wings and got looked at the ground below her, seeing the edge get closer and closer.
Mario held his stomach and gulped as he observed her movement, feeling happy that she was following the steps he told her; however, he couldn’t help but feel worried given what happened last time.
The eager princess got to the right side of the hill and made her leap of faith.
She gasped as she jumped, which made her tempted to close her eyes; however, she kept them open as she remembered the accident she had a few seconds ago. She opened them wide and kept both eyes on what was in front of her. A few Waddlewings flew by her, but she moved to the right and dodged them with ease. Her wings were spread out, allowing her to smoothly glide across the area.
Mario released a soft exhale and wiped his sweaty forehead. “Thank-a goodness.”
Peach flew around and dodged another set of Waddlewings, looking down at a few Goombas and Koopas that danced to the music they were listening to. A bright smile shined from ear to ear as she looked at Mario for a brief second before she continued looking at everything in her field of vision. Her heart was pumping, her happiness grew larger, and she could feel a wind brush against her face.
"Whooooo-hoooooo!" she screamed as she swerved to the right and made two peace signs with her fingers. "This is amazing! I can see why you and the others love these!"
Mario ran after her and climbed onto the hilltop. "Just-a be careful, okay? Pay attention to what's in front of you!"
“Don’t worry, Mario! I’m doing just fi-“
SNATCH!
Just as she was in the moment, Peach was caught off-guard when she crashed into a nearby tree.
Mario gasped when he saw her get stuck in the leaves, which caused her to disappear from his sight.
“Mama Mia!” he exclaimed. “Peach! Are you okay!?”
The top of the tree started to shake, and Peach popped her head out. She hung upside down and reached around to free herself. She tugged on the bottom half of her costume, where she saw that her left wing was stuck on a branch. With a meticulous touch, she picked the branch off of her wing but that caused her to descend downward. Mario gasped even louder this time as he dashed toward the tree to save her. Thankfully, he stopped as soon as he witnessed a miracle; Peach was able to save herself… kind of.
Her right foot was caught between another set of branches that started to shake, dropping more Super Acorns onto the ground. Mario moved and let them fall, leaving his eyes glued to his girlfriend.
“Peach! Princess! Mama Mia! Hang on! I’m-a gonna save you!”
“Mario, it’s okay!” Peach replied. “I can free myself!”
“If you-a do that, you’re-a gonna fall!”
Peach leaned forward and reached for her feet. “Not if I time it just right.”
“Peach, let me-a save you! You-a can’t!”
MUNCH! MUNCH!
“…huh?”
Mario looked down and saw the one thing that could make everything worse…
…A Piranha Plant.
It rose from a green Warp Pipe and observed the princess above it.
Licking its lips, it showed off its menacing teeth with a grin and opened wide.
Mario felt his skin turn pale at the sight of the plant and he quickly turned his attention back to Peach, who removed a few branches and tossed them aside.
“Peach, stop! You’re gonna-“
“Don’t worry, Mario, I’ll be fine,” she replied, picking off more twigs and sticks. “I’ll just flip over and spread my wings as soon as I-“
SNAP!
The princess removed one more branch expecting to be home free and she was in a way; removing the branch caused her foot to release from its capture; however, she found herself free falling down toward the ground. Unfortunately, she was descending towards the Piranha Plant, which had its mouth wide open. It chomped its teeth together, gearing up for a royal feast.
Mario screamed at the top of his lungs and slapped both hands against his face.
“NOT-A HAPPENING!”
Without much time to think, Mario searched around for anything he could use to kill the Piranha Plant and that was when he found a bright yellow Item Block floating beside him. Gasping with relief, he jumped up and punched it with his fist. A Fire Flower popped out and he grabbed it, crushing it with all of his strength. Its essence flowed through the plumber’s body, which transformed his clothes to white and red.
Peach continued falling and noticed the toothy plant from the corner of her eye. Screaming, she tried to spread her wings but because of how fast she was falling, she couldn’t get herself stable.
Mario landed on the ground and looked up at Peach, seeing her get closer to the plant’s mouth.
The Piranha Plant grinned and revealed its teeth.
The white and red hero grunted before he opened his right hand and spawned a fireball. He held his position for a few seconds, allowing his power to make the projectile larger than normal. As he allowed it to charge, he watched as Peach struggled to save herself. She flipped forward and looked down, seeing the plant's teeth get dangerously close to her feet.
“EEP!” the princess screamed as she spread her wings and swerved to the right.
The Piranha Plant was about to reach out and grab her, but it was too late.
Mario leaped into the air and launched the explosive orb at the plant's stem, watching the enemy itself burn to a crisp.
Peach’s eyes widened as the fire quickly vanished and she fell on her rear, landing near a bush that was occupied by two Waddlewings looking for acorns. Both of them flew off, scared at the sudden figure appearing in front of them. Mario flipped over and landed on both brown boots, watching the rest of the fire disappear as the Piranha Plant quickly burnt out.
The princess leaned up and pressed her right against her stomach, huffing, and puffing.
Mario did the same, only his breathing was softer than hers.
Taking a deep breath, the plumber closed his eyes and approached the princess.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Peach looked up at the pipe that once sat the Piranha Plant and replied with a low sigh. “…yeah. I’m fine, I guess.”
“That was quite a scare you gave me," Mario replied. "Toadsworth would never let me hear the end of it if you have gotten eaten."
The princess nodded.
“Why don’t we-a move somewhere else,” Mario suggested, looking around for a clear spot. “Somewhere with no Piranha Plants or Waddlewings. I can’t-a guarantee we won’t-a find any Koopas and Goombas though. We probably don’t need to worry about them though.”
“No, that’s okay.”
Noticing the distress in her tone, he looked at her with concern. “Hmm?”
Peach began to walk past her boyfriend with her head hung low. “Let’s just head back to the picnic spot. I’ll find something that can help me get this thing off.”
Mario watched as the princess walked a few steps forward before he followed her and tapped her shoulder.
“Peach?” he asked, approaching her slowly. “Are you okay?”
“Not… really. No, I’m not okay,” she replied, stopping in her tracks. “But I will be once we get back to our picnic cloth.”
“Somehow, I-a doubt that… what’s wrong?”
The squirrel-costumed princess released her shoulder and wiped her eyes, which slowly formed tiny teardrops. “I’m sorry, Mario… I just… I thought that if I learned how to use this, I would… I… I believed that…”
She stopped.
Mario placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly. “It’s okay… you-a don’t have to rush it. Take as much time as you need to say what you want to say. I’m-a always gonna be here for you.”
That bit of reassurance caused Peach to smile, but it didn’t last long as she frowned again. “I… wanted to learn how to use the Super Acorn because…" She looked down again before replying, "I thought it would be something fun we could do together.”
“Weren’t we already having fun with the picnic and the hike?”
“Yes. I’m not trying to imply those weren’t fun, but…”
She stopped again, exhaling softly.
“But what?” Mario inquired.
Peach rubbed her right shoulder. “Can I be honest with you, Mario?”
“I was-a hoping you would.”
“I love spending time with you; I really do… however, we always do the same thing – we go for long walks, sit around and cuddle, admire the scenery, explore the areas, it’s all nice and all, but… I thought we could do something a little more adventurous. Just like the escapades you and the others go on.”
“You make it-a seem like you haven’t accompanied me on some journeys,” the plumber smiled. “Do you remember when we went to Subcon and stopped Wart? Or the time we journeyed to the Sprixie Kingdom to stop Bowser from using the Sprixies’ powers?”
“Yes, but those were only two occasions. There may have been more, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head right now.”
“I can… but I-a want to hear from you first.”
Peach smiled after that comment. “Thanks, Mario. The point is, I'm not always there for the fun adventures you and the others have. I'm either captured or sitting on the sidelines. Again, I love it when we spend time together. I'd rather go on a long hiking trip than do nothing at all, but that’s not the only thing I want to do with you. I want to live more dangerously as you do. You and Luigi are pros at exploring different worlds, fighting enemies, and saving my skin. I want to do that because if there's a time you're not here, I want to step up and make sure I can protect my people… but I can't do that I don't know how to do something simple like using a Super Acorn."
"I-a understand, Princess," Mario winked. "But you-a got to understand. It took Luigi and me a lot of time to get used to the way things work around here. In other words – this world is different compared to the one we came from. Some enemies want to harm us, blocks that give you currency, magical objects that grant you special powers, it was all a lot to take in. When Luigi and I rescued you for the first time, we had-a no idea what we were doing. We kinda just… improvised."
“Well, for two plumbers who were just winging it, I’d say you did a good job saving my neck,” Peach smirked.
“There were a few ups and downs, but… Grazie,” Mario chuckled as he scratched his head. “My point is, my brother and I were not-a pros. We took-a plenty of beatings during our journeys, but… we made sure not to give up. We always say… Nothing will-a make you feel worse than knowing you gave up.”
The princess soaked all of that in and within ten seconds, her frown morphed back into a smile. Her eyes lifted away from the ground and she found herself gazing into her lover’s eyes. She pressed her white-gloved hands together and nodded.
“Thank you, Mario.”
“You’re welcome, Princess,” he replied as he bestowed a kiss upon her cheek. “Would you like to try flying again?”
“Are you okay with staying here to teach me?”
“Of course,” Mario said with a thumbs up. “I’ll stay here for as long as you want.”
The blonde princess nodded again and smiled. “Then what are we waiting for?”
~Yoshi Hill – Acorn Plains – Afternoon
After a few minutes of scoping for a safer spot – Mario and Peach finally arrived at another Acorn Plains landmark – Yoshi Hill. Unlike Acorn Plains Way, this course wasn't filled with as many Waddlewings; although, the two travelers noticed a few of them flying over their heads. Just like the namesake, Yoshis of various colors scoured the area looking for apples and a few Monty Moles to eat. Speaking of the moles, they were busy digging holes so they wouldn't become a dinosaur's next dinner. Mario and Peach walked past a few Yoshis and waved hello, admiring how adorable some of the baby Yoshis were. The two of them traveled for a few minutes before they stationed themselves on top of a small hill. Peach looked around at the Yoshis and Monty Moles roaming the land and she took a whiff of fresh air. The same smile before was still there and she clenched her fists, ready to make this a perfect flight.
With Mario by her side, she looked at him and winked to which he winked back.
“Are you-a ready?” he asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she answered.
“Remember… we can keep trying again if you-a mess up.”
“Right… thanks again, Mario. I’m glad I have you in my life.”
“Likewise,” he beamed from ear to ear. “We’ll do it together this time, okay?”
“Perfect.”
Both of them leaned forward and got down into running positions, staring in front to make sure nothing was in their way.
Mario and Peach clenched their fists and exhaled softly, feeling their hearts pump and the adrenaline starting to kick in. Both of them shared a glance before they started counting down in their heads.
Three…
Two…
One…
Both Mario and Peach took off across the hill and ran as fast as possible.
The sound of their stomps caught the attention of a few Yoshis, who were just about to help themselves to some fresh apples.
Four Monty Moles came out of the ground to see what all of the rumblings from above were about; they could hear the sound of footsteps from beneath the surface.
As for the Waddlewings flying in the sky, they looked down and rolled their eyes.
Mario and Peach, with determined smiles and clenched fists, gritted their teeth as they kept running toward the edge of the hill. After a few more steps, they finally leaped forward and spread their arms outward, showing off their brown-colored wings that stopped them mid-fall. Of course, Mario was able to glide smoothly, but he looked over his shoulder to see if the same thing happened to Peach.
Unlike the previous attempts, the princess kept all eyes forward and her position intact. She felt the wind from behind carry her along as her wings flapped and the ears on her hat brushed against the fresh air. Mario’s eyes lit up with awe and he squealed with amazement.
Peach briefly looked at her wings and the ground below, noticing that she wasn't heading anywhere toward it. Part of her was tempted to share Mario's sentiment, but she shook her head and kept all eyes forward. For a split second, she looked at Mario, who did the same thing she did. Both exchanged a bright smile before they kept going.
Mario performed a small mid-air backflip and shouted "WHA-HOO!" as he continued down the path while Peach spun clockwise and leaped off of a tree.
Both of them flew past multiple Waddlewings that shot them dirty glares while the Yoshis and Monty Moles cheered them on from below.
The Mushroom Kingdom’s couple waved at the audience below before they locked hands. Both of them looked at the ground before they raised their heads, seeing a beautiful afternoon sun just over the horizon.
Mario and Peach continued flying around for a while without a care about how long they would be flying.
The Yoshis and the Monty Moles went about their business, occasionally keeping an eye on the flying couple.
END OF STORY