Peach always knew how to bake, it was a passion.
So the next and final stage on this level made her extremely excited.
They were having a Festival of Sweets, but flying Sour Bunch members had stolen them all. Peach had to use the essence of the Patisserie Sparkla to help bake new sweets for the festival. It begun with making a certain amount of cookies within the time limit. Then, it came to decorating the cakes as professionally as possible, also within a time limit. They all agreed to have Peach put the final topping on the biggest cake.
And then the seal was broken.
Peach, Stella, and Toadsworth watched as the seal shattered and a strange door appeared, also bearing the insignia of the hatted figure. Peach and Stella went to the door. Peach reached for it, then a cold chill struck her. She pulled her hand away and examined the door thoroughly.
"It has no handle, so how do we get inside?"
Stella thought in silence for a moment. "You know those things the Theets have been gifting you as a way of saying thanks?"
Peach held up the teal star-shaped gems. "These?"
Stella nodded. "They're called Sparkle Gems. They hold the power of Sparkle inside them, so with a few of those, I could get a power boost and open this door!"
"Oh! Well, take them then!"
Peach held out her hands, and the gems floated to Stella. They shattered and were absorbed into her Sparkle Gem-shaped head. She faced the door, which then begun to glow the same light teal as the gems. Stella tossed the doors open with a loud, echoing, crash.
"Let's stop this villain!"
"Okay."
The stage was dark, with pairs of red eyes staring intensely at them around the arena. A large disco ball hung from the ceiling. The disco ball began to sway gently before detaching from the ceiling. Fandango wings broke through the sides of the ball, and it took the shape of a bird.
"Hoo are you, and what are you doing here?"
"We're here to stop your evil plans," Stella explained.
Peach nodded.
The bird twirled. "I Disco Feather, and I no like intruders like you!"
"Well too bad! Cause Peach and I are going to make you stop! And could you take a few minutes to learn proper english, at least? It's hard to take you seriously if you talk like a caveman."
Peach shot her a look.
"We rewrite stories with Madame Grape. So if you're here to stop us...Then I punish you with Madame Grape's power of Darkle!"
Disco Feather proved to be a challenge. He summoned small birds that pestered Peach and hurt a lot if they actually managed to peck you. The only way to defeat him was to hit his projectiles back to him, then destroy the deep purple core that revealed itself once the disco ball armored body had been destroyed. Stella told Peach how to transfer Sparkle into the core to shatter it.
They were thrown back into the hall when Disco Feather had been destroyed. The strings blocking the stairway died as the door broke like glass. The lights turned to life, and the banners and posters returned to normal, properly displaying the plays they were assigned to.
Stella twirled, excited. "We did it! Destroying that boss got rid of the corruption on this floor! Now, we just have to keep this up for the next four floors, and then the theater should be saved! Great job in there, Peach!"
Peach went to Toadsworth. "We're going up to the second floor, want to come with us?"
"Oho, of course! I may not be able to do much, but I want to be there if you need me." He rose from his seat and came over, following Peach and Stella up the steps to the next floor.
"Toadsworth..." Peach begun, slowing to a stop. "I think we finally have a name for our theater-taker."
"Oh? Did that floor boss tell you something?"
"He said...'We rewrite stories with Madame Grape.' Could Grape be the one behind this? Have you heard of her before?"
"Madame Grape...? That name doesn't ring a bell. But if she took over the Sour Bunch, that would explain why they went from thieves to theater buffs."
Stella tapped her ribbon hand to the bottom of her head. "So what you're saying is, this 'Grape' person is the reason that the Sour Bunch is being weird?"
"The question is, why a theater? What's so important about a theater that Grape would spend her time taking over it?"
"Whatever her reason," Toadsworth sighed, "she seems very keen on this goal, even as to create floor bosses to try and stop you. You can't let up, Princess. You're the only one who can stop Grape."
"Right. Come on, Stella; let's free the second floor."