The day had finally come. All those weeks of planning had led to this. Nothing could stop it now. That's right, it was the night of the masquerade ball at Toadstool Castle. What, did you forget all about it?
Daisy was in her room, looking in her closet to find the right outfit for the night's festivities. She was interrupted when Princess Peach knocked on the door. Daisy let her in, preparing herself for the storm of giddiness coming at her.
"Are you ready for tonight, Daisy?" Peach asked with genuine excitement. Ever since the balloon incident, the Mushroom Princess showed no signs of being mad at Daisy. It was as if she had forgotten. That, or Peach really didn't want to lose her friend.
"I still gotta find a dress, but other than that, I guess I'm good," Daisy answered with a slight chuckle. Peach sat down on the bed, watching as the flower princess looked from one outfit to another. Was this one right? No, she didn't have shoes to match. How about this one? No, that went out of style last season. Decisions, decisions.
After an eternity of looking through clothes, Peach groaned in boredom (and if she gets bored of clothes, you know that means something). "Why is this such a hard decision, Daisy?" she asked as she stood up; "You never took so long to pick out a dress before. You usually just take whatever you grab first."
Daisy rolled her eyes at the question. "I just wanna look good, is all. Sheesh, is that so bad?" she responded with slight annoyance. A smug grin crawled onto Peach's face, successfully creeping out the flower princess. "What's with the look?" Daisy asked, slightly scared.
"You have a date, don't you, Daisy?" Peach asked through her devilish smile.
Daisy was taken back by the question. She fell into her closet, knocking a few outfits on top of her. "A date?! Don't be ridiculous, Peach!" she replied as she exploded out of the pile. Daisy couldn't fool her friend, however. Peach started squealing with delight, knowing she was right about Daisy.
"Come on, Daisy! You can't fool me. You have a date, no doubt about it," the Mushroom Princess declared as she crossed her arms. Daisy couldn't deny it any longer. She admitted to it, her face red as a cherry all the while. Peach squealed in a way that only dogs would hear. "This is great! I'm very happy for you!"
"Yeah, well, you know," Daisy replied as she scratched the back of her head.
"This'll be so much fun! Me and Mario, you and Luigi! I can't wai-"
"I didn't say my date was Luigi."
Princess Peach's happiness drained almost immediately. She stopped bouncing on the bed and stared blankly at the other princess. "What?" she asked in a whisper.
"I said Luigi is not my date."
"But you two are meant to be! I remember when you two met. There was a spark; I could tell!"
"Peach, Luigi is a nice guy and all, but we're just friends. That's all we'll ever be."
Peach stood up, looking slightly hurt. It made Daisy wonder what the Mushroom Princess cared for about her and Luigi. It was disturbing her. It needed to stop.
"Well, then, Daisy," Peach continued, "if you're not going to the ball with Luigi, who is accompanying you?"
Daisy stopped dead in her tracks. In all this time, she still hadn't told anyone of Mr. L. Truth was, she didn't want to tell anyone. It wasn't any of there business, anyway. But now she was trapped in a corner.
"Um, you'll see," the flower princess replied nervously. Peach tilted her head in confusion at the response, but apparently accepted it, judging by how she didn't ask again.
Daisy continued looking for an outfit in silence. Peach didn't leave, but she also didn't offer conversation; she merely sat there, watching Daisy. The flower princess finally emerged with the black dress she wore on hers and Mr. L's first date. It was perfect. Now all she needed was a mask…
"I wonder where Luigi's been, now that I think about it. I haven't seen him in forever."
That was it. The final straw. The camel's back had been broken. You could almost see them steam burst out of Daisy's ears. She slowly turned to face Peach, a glare stamped onto her face. Daisy dropped the black dress to the ground and clenched her fists and grinded her teeth.
"I haven't seen Luigi," she started slowly; "I don't know where he is. And you know what? I don't care where he is! As far as I'm concerned, Luigi can drop in a hole and rot there, and I wouldn't care!"
Peach couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did Daisy really just…? No, it couldn't be. But she did. Something about her was different, horribly different, and Peach couldn't do anything to fix it.
The Mushroom Princess stood up. She walked towards the door, never saying a word. She finally reached the doorway and stopped. She looked over her shoulder, never turning her head, and asked "What happened to the Daisy I used to know?"
"She's long gone, Peach. Dead and gone."
Peach shook her head and like that, she was gone. Daisy stood there in fury for a good long while before she realized exactly what had happened. She began panting as her head started spinning. She collapsed to the floor, the guilt eating her alive. Daisy crawled to her closet and looked at herself in the mirror, her mascara running through tears, turning her into a raccoon.
"What's happened to me?"