Chapter Twenty-Two:

A Prince to Dance With

Within the ever-creeping shadows of his monitoring station, Mr. Puzzles sat back within his chair, smoking a short-stack cigar, as he observed the activity of his fairy tail show with his eyes upon King Bob's Ballin' Ball.

Even with the unplanned addition of Bob talking to Minion Bob, all appeared to be flawless as it could be.

He tapped his fingers together, and smirked in an unhinged manner, watching the other monitor that depicted Princess SMG3 making her way to King Bob's castle for his ball, unaware of what the "evil witch" SMG4 had in store for the fair princess.

The TV-headed cyborg looked at the footage of Meggy and Melony with their "master", and he chuckled in a sadistic fashion.

"Oooh, who could have thought Ms. Spletzer and her 'mirror' would fit the part of henchmen so well?" Mr. Puzzles crooned, "And the sight of SMG4 playing the villain, just like at the castle, I say that I, Mr. Puzzles, have the stroke of a genius when it comes to making these shows.

"This might grant me my five stars yet, then I'll have creative control over EVERYTHING in SMG4's precious shows. I could potentially rewrite swaths of reality, change certain characters, and I could change endings as I see fit. It will be glorious, the greatest of all-star TV shows, and I'LL SURPASS EVERY SINGLE TV NETWORK AND YOUTUBE CHANNEL!"

Just then, he saw SMG3's carriage riding closer towards Bob's castle and the devious TV man laughed again.

"Well, well. Lookie here." Mr. Puzzles sneered happily, "The princess is arriving right now. And this is where the real show begins. Good luck, little 'princess'. Have your ball with the prince of your dreams, before your dance leads into the ugliest of circumstances."

As she lay her eyes upon the majesty of King Bob's castle, Princess SMG3 hoped she wasn't too late. Deer Mario's dash slowed to a crawl, and the half-Italian gasped for breath as he pulled the carriage in for a stop by the entrance to the castle. In those moments, SMG3 could hear the sound of ballroom music.

'It's started, I hope the king's guards are willing to let me in.' The princess thought.

She stepped out of her ride, and walked through the doorway into the grandiose halls of Bob's castle, amazed by the architecture and the decoration that awaited the fair princess. SMG3 followed the music through the hall, until she found a Toad guard by a door.

"I'm here to attend the ball." SMG3 said in a firm manner.

"Oh, yes. The ballin' ball." The Toad bowed his head, "You must've gotten the invitation. Anyone can dance, and attend such a lively event. Enjoy the festivities, Princess, and may you find someone to dance with..."

The Toad opened the door, and the princess stepped forward into the crowded ballroom, greeted by the sight of dancing noblemen, Bob seated upon his throne, and the legendary Bowser, and his band playing music that set the mood for the glorious ballin' ball.

Even some of the guards were enjoying the event, despite having duties to attend to on behalf of their king.

Princess SMG3 smiled, then she began to survey the dance floor, looking for someone to dance with. She would settle for anyone, someone who didn't have a dance partner, a handsome prince or a nobleman. There had to be someone, and she couldn't just dance alone with nobody there.

"AlL tHe NoBlEmEn In ThE KiNgDoM sAy 'HuZzAH'!" King Bob declared as he stood up from his throne.

"Huzzah!" A pair of wealthy nobles proclaimed from the side.

"Huzzah!" The dancers cried.

Unbeknownst to SMG3, the sinister witch known as SMG4 was in the midst of formulating her devious plan to ruin the princess' beauty. Out of the eyesight of the princess and the others, the witch was speaking with the mustached Prince Luigi about his part in the plan.

"Prince Luigi..." SMG4 hissed, "Work your Weegee magic on the princess and give her this apple, then she will become the ugliest princess these lands have ever seen. Now go."

"I-I-I get scared around princesses." Luigi stammered as the witch placed her cursed apple within his inventory. Despite his protest, the prince found himself being pushed towards the dance floor. In seconds, SMG3 spotted Luigi, and froze for a moment, mesmerized by his handsomeness. Perhaps, just perhaps, she'd just found her dance partner.

It was rizz time, and Princess SMG3 knew how to charm a man.

The princess weaved her way through the dancers, and approached Prince Luigi as her heart thumped with infatuation. SMG3 put on the best face she could put on, leveled eye contact with her dance partner to-be and asked, "C-Care to dance with a pretty princess?"

"Uh, what's wrong with your face?" Luigi asked.

Her heart sank, and SMG3's confidence slowly faded. In that moment, the rizz attempt had failed.

In a matter of seconds, SMG3 could hear Mario laughing, that silly Italian deer had somehow gotten permission to attend the ball, and he must've witnessed every second of the princess' interaction with Prince Luigi, with the latter's comment being the most hilarious bit yet.

'No.' SMG3 thought, 'I'm dancing, even my rizz attempt failed.'

"Shut up!" She yelled at Mario, then the princess grabbed Luigi's arm, and dragged him out onto the dance floor in the middle of all the action that was on display.

The music continued to fill the hall, and SMG3's heart thumped with each moment she heard it. King Bob watched from his throne, and hardly lifted an eye to the sight of a princess dragging a prince into the dancing.

"Hold me!" SMG3 told Luigi, ready to start dancing.

"B-B-But, I can't..." The prince started to say, tempted to back out of the fun.

"Hold me!"

She took his arms, and placed Luigi's hands upon her hips, then the princess looped her arms around the Italian prince's neck, and began waltzing and twirling alongside the other guests. At first, SMG3 was leading her partner, then Luigi started to dance proper, and took up the lead, even as he saw SMG4 watching from the corner of his eye.

One, two. One, two. One sweep in a circle, a step forward, and two steps back.

Two steps forward, and three steps back. SMG3 smiled at the prince, who started smiling confidently at her. In those moments, they were beginning to enjoy every moment of the ball.

It felt just right, even as things started to feel too slow for SMG3's liking. While the music sounded thrilling, even fitting for a ballroom event, the princess, dancing slowly with Luigi, felt the event could be a little more exciting. Perhaps it was time to summon some friends who could shake things up a bit.

Luigi briefly glanced over at SMG4 again, who grabbed an elderly man, and shoved a green apple into his mouth. The old man fell over, coughing as the poison took hold, and the prince slowly reached into his pockets before slowly pulling out the apple the witch gave him earlier.

"Hey, uh..." He said to SMG3, "Would you...?"

"Slow dancing is BORING as heck!" The princess complained at last, then she snapped her fingers, and a band of colorfully cloaked entities made their appearance; The Shadow Monkey Wizard Gang, a group of forest wizard ninjas whom the princess had befriended all those years ago.

Many people eyed the newcomers, surprised by what was happening, and the princess faced her associates, ready to give out their new task. She gestured to the stage, and spoke with a semblance of urgency; "Liven this party up, lads."

And they knew what to do.