This can be considered an unofficial alternate epilogue ending to The First Step by Verran and DarkFoxKit. It's not anything too in depth, and nowhere near the official (which I implore you to read if you want to make absolute sense of this one-shot!) but it's a drabble.
A one-shot of wistful proportions.

Criticism or not, all reviews are welcome!

- Great Mistake

Something abhorrent happened. It was something insane, something that no living individual had ever done and gotten away with: Mario didn't get what he wanted. It was blasphemy. Hersey! And yet what he felt in the pit of his round stomach when he woke up to find the bed next to him bloodied and empty, was not sadness, or guilt from what happened in the past few days. No, it was more like a tangy taste of acceptance - something that Mario rarely felt. So much so that his body ached from simply feeling it. Or perhaps, that was just him healing from what bits of frostbite still lingered on his fingertips.

In the next few hours Dr. Toadley's assistant deemed Mario fit for the world outside of clinic walls and let him leave. He left with the sun guard of his cap shielding his eyes and his hands deep in his pockets. The nearest warp pipe was still half a mile away, but the nurse insisted that exercise was good for him - his legs, she added, before smiling innocently and closing the door on his face. Just like Luigi, Mario thought, and sighed. Why do things change? If Mario had the chance he would go back in time and stop them from even looking at their first warp pipe...

As he walked he kept his eyes locked on the grass below him.

His mind was left empty until he reached the warp pipe. The only thing keeping him awake was the pain that still tickled his body every now and then. He fell in the pipe feet-first and let it take it's course. Up became down, and down became up. This became that and so on and so forth. It was something that no longer shocked him, and left him with no reason to mentally concern himself about it. When he was thrown out, he landed on his back and looked up. There it was, just as it had been - their, er, his house. Mario's house.

Years later and he still had to get used to that.

Mario stepped into the house, groaning at the sight of it. Not because it was dirty so much as because he would have to clean it now. From the rest of the afternoon and onward to the end of the day he did just that with whatever will he had left.

Mario let the broom fall to the floor and he retreated to his room. He rolled onto his bed and exhaled, staring at the ceiling. Right next to his room was Luigi's, which was still intact, unlike everything else. Mario pulled the covers over him. It didn't matter if he slept, his bed made him feel a little better already. Nonetheless in a matter of minutes sleep encompassed him, and his eyes closed...

Suddenly the house shook. Not again. Those damn pipes! He forced his eyes open and swung his legs over the bed. A bright, orange light filled the room. Quakes aren't usually accompanied by bright, orange lights, he reminded himself. Mario turned and crawled over the bed to the window.

An airship.

Mario slammed his fist against his head. He looked again at the ship. It was flying over his house, and towards Princess Peach's Castle in Toad Town. On top of the pipes they now had to deal with an attack. But it was only one ship...

Then Mario saw two more behind it, then three, then four - they flew in a V formation. The first shot was just a warning shot from the leader. He saw their cannons stand at the ready.

Mario looked at the red and blue overalls that rested on the chair by the door. He lifted himself from his bed.

We are Marios. We don't give up.