(With it so close, I want to wish everyone a Merry Chirstmas and a Happy New Year. May this next filled with joy and opportunity for us all.)

Back in Peach's room, the floor was covered in pillows. Yoshi questioned where they were going with these. His first impression is that it's nap time which is a disappointment to him since he is still full of energy. Mario observes the pillows, they came in different shapes in sizes. Some are the common white kind, others are rectangular but there are also round ones and square ones of many colors. What kind of game was Peach going to play with all of these?

"I've been thinking, there's a lot of games we can play with all of these don't you think? I mean, we may make a pillow fort, a pile to jump into, a pillow fight," Peach says to give her friends an idea.

"Pillow fight? That sounds great!" Mario and Luigi say together gleefully. That's the only option that Peach was hesitant about. She didn't know how hard they could swing and what if they ganged up on her? She'd have to think of something quickly. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi get ready by picking up a pillow each. Mario's is a red one with white spots on it, it looked like a super mushroom with its patten. Luigi held a gray one that had a ghost on it. When he sees it, he is startled and jumps in shock. Yoshi grabbed one that was shaped like a pineapple. He tried licking it, disappointingly it did not actually taste like a pineapple.

"Alright, we'll play for a few minutes. I don't really know how to keep a score, so we'll just do it for fun," Mario directed them. Yoshi and Luigi understood. They were ready to go but then Luigi notices that Peach hadn't picked up a pillow.

"What's wrong, princess? Don't you want to play with us?" Luigi questions since she is the one who thought up this game.

"Thanks, but I think I rather watch you first. Go ahead without me,"
"Okay, if that's how you want to do it," Luigi didn't understand why she didn't want to play. He sees this as it means that there would be less pillows coming towards his face. Finally, the game begun. Despite only playing this game once in his life, Yoshi seemed to understand it well. Or, well enough. As Mario and Luigi were swinging at each other, Yoshi ends up throwing his pillow at them which ends up whacking them both. Peach was startled by that, but she believes that Yoshi simply didn't know that throwing the pillow as an attack wasn't how one normally is to play. She shakes it off and assumes that Mario and Luigi will show him that it's best to hang onto it. As the game went on, Luigi became wearier of the possibility of him getting hit. Mario and Yoshi were coming for him now, much to his fear. All he could do is dodge the pillows that come his way. He does this by ducking and jumping past all attacks. It wasn't easy but he was managing to keep himself safe. Peach watches him as he does this and is impressed. Luigi seems to be athletic and almost acrobatic despite his age. Peach knew that he was very good and didn't think that she could ever reach his skill. After that, Luigi poses pridefully while lowering his guard. He thought he had won but then Mario comes from behind with a sneak attack. Mario slams his pillow right down on Luigi's head which shocks him and temporarily causes him to enter a daze. He tipsily stumbles before falling forward. As if Luigi's dodging skills weren't bad enough, Mario by far hits the hardest. A good enough shot from him can Peach to see the world upside down. She has to sit down in awe after this.

"Are you sure you don't want to play with us, Peach? There are plenty of pillows to go around," Mario offers but Peach still didn't seem to want to.

"No, I can't! I mean, I would but you three seem to be having so much fun that I wouldn't want to bother you now. I rather wait until we play something else," She couldn't be forced to play, and he knew that. Thus, Mario would have to focus on his game.

"That's fine with me, just sit right there and we'll be done in a minute," After Mario said that the three of them would go again. Like he said earlier, there was no way for them to keep score, so they just play until they get tired. After panting and wiping some sweat of his forehead, Mario decides to call it a game.
"Wow, that felt longer than a few minutes, bro. But it was fun while it lasted," Luigi adds, trying to regain his energy.

"Yeah, too bad we'll never know who won. I think we need a break before we do something else," Mario says not sure what else to do. Now that the pillow fight was over, Peach didn't feel so worried about playing too rough. Now she was coming up with a few more ideas on what to play. When her three friends start to regain their energy after their intense game, she lets them know she wants to make a pile with the pillows and then a fort, like she wanted earlier. They agree, thinking that should be easy and fun. They'd also get more use out of the rest of the pillows that were still scattered across the floor. With so many, it looked as if they would never run out of things to do with them. So far it had been a fun day for the brothers. Considering that they had no idea what to expect from their time at the castle, it was going much better than it could be. They played for a long time, but there was one more thing Peach wants to do with the pillows before anything else. Together they stack the pillows into another pile but this one is noticeably taller, almost like a tower. Peach asks Mario and Luigi to spread more throughout the bottom, so it becomes more stable. Once it's stable enough, she climbs to the top of it and looks down to see her friends.

"Wow, everything sure looks different up here. It's like my own little hill,"

"Be careful not to fall, Peach. Being up so high looks like it's scary!" Luigi feared the idea of her falling on her head, especially from such a height. Mario would then put his hand on his shoulder, to comfort his brother of his concern.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay. But I wonder if it will be like this one day, when I rule the kingdom when I am bigger, will I be able to the world from such a high place? Being in charge seems like it will be a lot of fun and surprising. But for now, this is my pillow tower, and I am the best ruler for it ever!" Peach pridefully claimed.

"If you're queen of it, what does that make me?" Mario questions wanting a part in all of this.

"You may be my jack, or knave, I think that's what my father calls them,"

"What's that?" Mario asks in confusion but caution.

"My servant! You'd be a great one," After Peach cleared it up for him, Mario was annoyed by this. The nerve, as if he would be low ranked enough to become a servant. He knew he was much better than that. Without him noticing his right hand starts to get abnormally hot and begins to glow.

"A servant? But they have the most boring jobs ever! I so am…wait," He stops when his right hand suddenly bursts into flames. Sparks scatter and the flames grew.
"Ah! What's happening? Mario, you're on fire!" Peach shouts in a panic. Mario didn't know what to do. He had experienced this same situation some time ago, but he had no idea why he'd catch on fire like this it was merely something he could do. Luigi and Yoshi didn't know how to help him, they were there when Mario first did this, but they had waited it out the first time.
"Mario, be careful with your fire! We don't want to get burned!" Luigi calls out in fear and Yoshi chips in agreement. Then, the door quickly opens wide as Toadsworth enters the room.

"I heard everything! Stand back children!" Toadsworth's attention had sparked when he heard Peach scream and knew something was wrong. When he heard them mention fire, he wasted no time and brought the fire extinguisher that was within the hall, with him. He began to use it right away, spraying the floor and some of the pillows that had begun to burn. Mario watches him in relief but also a sense of worry. He knew that he was responsible for this fire happening, even if he had no control over it. Thankfully for him, the fire that was flowing on his right hand finally starts to die out. Now any more disaster should be prevented. Toadsworth didn't stop until his job was done, he knew the children were in danger and he was going to put a stop to that immediately. Once he had succeeded, Peach climbs down from the tower, still in amazement and shock of what she had witnessed. Some of the pillows were ruined from the fire which saddened her, but she was also glad that it was over.

"How did you do that, Mario? I didn't know you could create a fire?" Peach saying this catches Toadsworth attention as he turns to the boys who were know standing together.

"Master Mario? Do you have any responsibility for the fire that has happened here? If so, do tell soon. I think the Mushroom King would like to know as well, it shouldn't be possible for you to have done this on your own," He is stern but calm when he says this. He knew that nothing malicious had happened here, but this was dangerous and hard to comprehend on how it happened, the grownups needed to know what was going on. Mario and Luigi were nervous to be in this situation. All they do is hug each other in fear as they spatter out their thoughts, not sure how to describe how the fire started.