Rotten Peaches
By: Hilia2021

She should have known that it would end badly. She was even told by some of her closest friends, and even Rosalina, that strange girl who lives in space, that it would end badly. But she ignored them, thinking that they were wrong, that they had to be wrong. But yet, if they were, she wouldn't be here, letting her vibes get out of control. That was why, at this moment, her room was flooded with water, her bed floating above it. She had only been there for about 2-3 weeks, and she hadn't been out since.

Through the sounds of her loud sobs, she heard the faint sound of somebody knocking on her door. "Y-Yes…" she choked out, trying to keep her emotions hidden, only to let a single sob get through. After all, princesses aren't supposed to show any emotions but serenity and joy. "Princess Peach! You need to come out here. It's been weeks, and we need you to run the kingdom." Recognizing the voice on the other end, she chose to just trying to ignore them.

"Please, Princess, the Toads need you, the kingdom needs you. Even Bowser needs you!"

"No. I-I'm the Princess, and I don't take orders from a-anybody. So j-just go! You can run the kingdom, you can order the Toads what to do, and you can get kidnapped instead! J-Just leave me alone!" Peach just wanted alone time, and not even the Chancellor could tell her what to do. She was the law, and she could do what she wanted. After all, you couldn't challenge the crown, as you'd have the law vs. the law.

After a moment, she heard small footsteps, walking away, until she heard nothing. Alone again, she tried to cry, but she couldn't. She had run out of tears, and even then, it was easier to think when you weren't trying to cry your heart out. Her eyes red from crying, she thought back to what had happened.

. . .

She was having a great day, as usual. The sky was clear, and not too windy. So, of course, she had decided to bring the parasol Toadsworth had given to her as a gift when she had to go and save Mario from Bowser and get the Vibe Scepter. She had gone on a walk, and had just returned to the castle when she noticed something. There, in front of the castle, was Luigi on Mario's Race Kart. As she drew closer, he spotted her, walking over to her to meet her halfway.

"Hello, Luigi! What brings you to my castle today?" she greeted. While Mario had a tendency to ignore and degrade his brother, Peach was okay with him, and was more than happy to sit down and have a conversation with him.

"Hello, Peach. Mario wanted to come by, and he told me to drive him here. When we got here, one of the Toads told us you were out on a walk, so Mario just went in. I was waiting here for him to leave when you had returned." he said solemnly, scratching the back of his head. "Then Daisy came by. I tried to talk to her, but she ignored me and just went in, so I was waiting here."

'That's odd', Peach thought. 'Why would Mario stop by when he knew I wasn't here?' Of course, she had a thought in mind, but pushed it away. Although she had heard it from several of her most trusted advisors and even that strange space girl, she chose to believe that the rumors and speculation wasn't true.

"Well, let's go in! I'm sure that we can wait in the kitchen for them. Besides, I need to talk to Daisy about a treaty that Toadsworth's been reminding me about, and now seem like the perfect time to do it." With this line, Peach walked through the door and into the castle, with Luigi following in close step behind her. As they traversed the maze of halls filled with bustling around them, Peach remembered that she had to put Perry away in her room. As they entered the kitchen, Peach asked Luigi to stay there while she put it away before turning and heading towards her room in one of the private parts of the castle. Because of that, it was practically a wasteland in there, the only other people she saw every now and then being the random lost Toad who couldn't remember the layout of the castle and was lost.

As she neared her room, she heard a noise. At first, she was confused, unsure of where it was coming from, until she heard it again. Now, for sure, she knew that it was coming from her room. At first, she was hesitant, remembering what she was told. But, pushing the thought asides, she grabbed the knob of her door, determined to prove that it wasn't true. But oh, was she wrong, so very wrong. As the door of her room swung open, she saw Mario, back to her, his face pressed against Daisy's.

After that, everything began to blur together. From what she managed to remember, she had (literally) kicked them out of her room. Then, she locked her door and crumpled onto the floor, tears already streaming down her face. To Peach, she thought that their relationship was going perfectly, with the closed thing they had ever come to having a romantic moment was when she gave him a cake that she had forced the Toads to make and gave him a kiss on the nose. But, from what she saw, she could guess that Mario didn't think the same. That, of course, was when she had snapped, and her vibes had taken over.

. . .

Peach was all out of tears, and her heart was broken into millions of pieces. She and Mario hadn't had much of a relationship, besides her giving him cake and kissing him on the nose, but to her it was perfect. Though, apparently to Mario, it was a horrible one. She should have expected this, really, since this had happened once before with Pauline.

But now she felt different. What was for a while sadness, had transformed into rage. She was before powered by her own distraught, but now was running on unbridled fury. As she got even angrier, flames began to sprout from her body, until finally she was shrouded in them, scorching the walls. Before, Peach was hoping that this would all blow over, and that this could eventually be forgotten. But now she only had one thought: that Mario must pay.