The periwinkle sky spread out endlessly above the fluffy cloud layer below. Close above the blankets of cirrus and stratus, the sun shone brightly, almost seeming to touch the very clouds. The thick layer of white wisps reflected the dazzling sunlight that illuminated it, filling the place with an unreal light. All was peaceful here; it was as if there above the clouds, there existed a world all its own. It was a glorious void, with no shadows, no secrets, and no limitations.
In the heavy canopy of the atmosphere separating the sea from the sky, there existed only one tiny disruption; the single trail of a small plane, misty exhaust mingling with the clouds. Leaving its northward path streaking across the sky, it cut through the cloud layer and rose to hover above it, soaring gracefully like a small pink and white bird. Now, the great sky belonged only to her.
Such was the heavenly display visible from within, behind each of her small windows. Dreamy landscape followed dreamy landscape in the perfect view beyond. Watching the gossamer hills blaze by, Mario squinted against the sunny glare and brushed the pale curtains aside, scanning the surface for any signs of the blue planet beneath. His sapphire eyes, almost the same shade as the sky just beyond, were alight with a familiar fire. This was why he loved flying.
The clouds passed below and seemed almost to dissolve at the plane's underbelly. They seemed just inches away; if it weren't for the glass that separated him, Mario could have reached out a hand.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A girl's voice spoke up behind him.
At her sound the young man turned. "Oh, yeah," he replied, in a cheery voice heavy with a foreign accent. Whatever else he didn't say was spoken clearly through the carefree smile that lit his face. Mario often didn't need to speak to elaborate; his vibrant expressions were usually enough.
At least, that was how it seemed to the girl who now watched him. With mild delight she looked over the features of the one who sat in the seat next to hers, familiar as they were.
He was just a young man, no older than she herself, really; and then he was a few good inches shorter as well. His durable brown boots didn't even reach the floor of the plane, and his denim overalls seemed to hug him perhaps just a little too snugly. Beneath that, he wore a looser red t-shirt, along with the pleated white gloves he always insisted to wear.
The fair skin and dark hair were the best giveaways to his Italian ancestry, all otherwise somewhat foreign to the girl. But she had long grown used to his enormous nose over an even more amazing mustache; a lustrous brown display that adorned his face, styled to near-impossible perfection as always. Sometimes it was so voluminous that it bounced when he ran, almost hiding the shapely little mouth that was nearly invisible sometimes.
Comfortably atop his head was his favorite red hat, his trademark apparel since before she could remember. It was certainly unique; it was similar to a flat cap, but never had she seen anything like it elsewhere. On the forehead over the visor was a white patch with a red 'M' embroidered on it.
Sticking out beneath it some brown hair and sideburns showed, almost glinting red in the sunlight. Sometimes she didn't know why he always kept it hidden; Mario had fabulous hair. But along with his fine dark eyebrows and mustache, it might have been too much to handle.
His always-bright blue eyes were filled with excitement, as on any other day; and when their eyes met she couldn't help but return the grin. Mario's was the most contagious smile, and his eyes ran deeper than the ocean.
Despite the slight chubbiness that might have detracted from his ideal form, the young lady saw much otherwise. He might not have looked like much, but he had more hidden beneath that small exterior than most. Always ready to go, never complained... And honestly, who would deny that he was charmingly cute?
Leaning back with a contented sigh, she watched the window idly as the identical skyscape whizzed by. "I should think we're almost there by now," she said.
Upon hearing her, an older man's voice spoke up from behind. "Ah, Princess Peach! We'll touch down in just a couple of minutes."
Turning, Mario and Peach looked to see a short little creature coming up the plane aisle. He was not a human, of course; he was a toadstool, a native of the Mushroom Kingdom from which they had come.
All toadstools were funny little things; or at least, that's how they were usually described. They were not at all scary, but rather endearing. As the name implied, they were related to mushrooms, and thus their enlarged 'mushroom cap' heads and short, stocky bodies were reminiscent of mushrooms themselves.
The one approaching now from the rear was no different. At scarcely four feet, the elder toadstool nonetheless commanded a kind of importance, dressed as he was in a purple vest and bow tie. Tiny glasses were perched above his neat white mustache, and by his side was a small mushroom cane. His spotted mushroom head was various shades of brown, even more akin to real mushrooms.
"Oh, that sounds lovely, Toadsworth," the girl said. "Thank you."
Toadsworth winked at Mario as he passed and took up his own empty seat on the opposite side of her. Although the aircraft had been rightly named the Toad Express, its reserved seats had not been designed with toadstools in mind, and he had to hop up and scramble to his position.
Toadsworth was the longtime steward at Mushroom Castle. Since before the young princess had even been born he had been faithfully serving the royal family; and now, as Princess Peach's friend and butler, he accompanied her on her holiday.
Princess Peach was the lovely ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom; a land brimming with beauty, life, and color. Of course its most famous feature was the various and powerful mushrooms that grew there, a delectable favorite among tourists and natives alike. Nothing could beat a Mushroom Kingdom mushroom.
But despite the happy citizens and the efforts of their kind princess, the Mushroom Kingdom was not always such a relaxing place. Sometimes things could get rough - and it was now, when all was quiet, that the princess had decided to take a much-needed vacation.
Princess Peach did not take the responsibility of her kingdom lightly; but every now and then she had to get a breath somewhere. Still, despite the stress of her rule she managed to be ever cheerful and bright, as she was now.
Glancing up at her, Toadsworth smiled. Peach was as beautiful as ever; a lovely pink sundress that complimented her long golden hair adorned her now as she sat ever-so-patiently waiting for the plane to land. Her eager blue eyes watched the screen on the wall in front of them, taking in a new advertisement for their destination that had just begun playing.
"Ooh, look at that!" she said, calling their attention to it.
Various gorgeous images of beach landscapes and sunny hills flashed before their eyes as the announcer enthusiastically promoted the island. "Welcome to the sun-drenched tropical paradise of Isle Delfino!"
As they looked somewhat enviously on the tempting displays, Peach spoke up, "Are we already there?"
"I don't know," Toadsworth replied, now occupied with the ad. "But look at that lobster!"
Unable to hold back a smile, Peach followed his gaze. She had been looking forward to this getaway for a long time - at least, as long as a few weeks could be.
When Toadsworth first brought up the idea the previous month, he had claimed it to originally have been suggested by Mario. But Princess Peach had been so instantly delighted at the prospect that she began to make plans right away.
Since it was almost indisputably up to her, she had chosen what she deemed the best spot for some real R&R: a small tropic island a few thousand miles off the west coast, Isle Delfino. It was claimed to be the 'jewel of the Southern Seas', and it was apparently under Italian influence. That was part of the reason why she had chosen it; she knew that Mario would have the most splendid time.
Now Mario was not in any way related to the princess. There was no danger of assuming so by looking at them; but he nevertheless had a very important place in her life. As a loyal subject, he had done much to show his close friendship to her, some things she knew she could never repay. It was the least she could do to invite him along on her vacation — as she had once before. She well knew how much he needed it as well.
Not having any prince or authority over her, Peach felt that Mario certainly belonged nearby; indeed, his presence made her feel the safest. Sometimes his presence even made her feel... was it complete?
Shaking the thought from her mind, the princess tried to refocus on the screen. No; he was a close friend, of course, and that was that. No need to jinx the whole vacation with prospects of -
Suddenly her daring thoughts were brought to a halt as she gasped. Eyes wide, for a moment Peach was nearly frozen as her eyes abruptly caught something surprising on the tv. Mario?
Coming back to the present, as the scene had now moved on to advertise the rare seafood, Peach blinked. No; could she have imagined it? Maybe it had only been in her head. But for a couple of solid seconds, she could have sworn she'd caught a strangely familiar silhouette in the background of one of the shots, where a group of natives were standing. A dark little shape with a skip in his step, jumping around just like Mario!
That... that shadow... she thought, turning to look at the real deal beside her. Mario had gone off into some fantasy food land; he was eating up the ad as best he could from where he was, almost drooling over it. As his slight stomach indicated, he really loved fine cuisine. But Peach didn't have any time to be amused.
Maybe I just imagined it, she thought reassuringly. After all, there was no way Mario could have been on Isle Delfino at the time that commercial had been filmed - in fact, Mario had never been there in his life! It was a first for all of them.
Still... turning to Toadsworth, she decided it was best to just ask a second opinion. "Toadsworth... did you see...?"
But just like the daydreaming friend beside her, the butler had also gone into some little dreamland, muttering something about all the rest and time off he'd be getting. She didn't blame him - Toadsworth was a busy man, and he worked very hard. Princess Peach, usually not one to intrude, shook her head and sighed. So... maybe it was nothing.
"Attention passengers," the comm suddenly crackled to life. "We are now beginning touchdown. Please remain seated until we have made a complete landing."
Quickly forgetting about the curious 'Mario' figure, Peach nearly jumped out of her seat from sheer excitement. "Alright, here we go!"
This time Toadsworth did look up. "Ah, good! I was almost beginning to think we'd never arrive."
Peach tilted her head and smiled. She knew he was teasing, but the flight had been a long couple of hours. She loved her private jet, of course, but the Toad Express didn't have a whole lot by way of entertainment. It was roomy and comfortable, for sure, but the in-flight television only played ads. Now, it displayed a map of Isle Delfino and surrounding areas, most of which was ocean, and showed their plotted course.
Peering past Toadsworth through the window, she stretched to see them dip into the fluffy clouds; then they parted, giving way to a deep blue abyss, the sea below. That was their first view of it; then revealed up ahead was a great green island, a mass of land shaped like a dolphin. It rested on the sea's surface scenic and beautiful as if it had been placed there by a great designer.
Sharing an excited glance with Toadsworth, the two continued to watch as its full form came into view. That was the most remarkable thing about Isle Delfino: it was in the natural shape of a leaping dolphin, and that was for what it had been given its name. As it appeared, sprawled out below, more features became visible: a great volcano stood out near the head, almost like a big eye; and the fan-shaped tail was a smaller, separate little island off the end. The hills all covered in green in between made it look positively bursting with life. It all could have been modeled and painted by the world's finest artist, a life-size display.
"It's perfect from here," Peach remarked delightedly. It looked far more amazing in real life than in a brochure. "How gorgeous!"
Suddenly they felt the plane shift a little as the landing procedure began, and the two forced themselves to tear their eyes away. Mario, meanwhile, had remained rather quiet; he was still quite bewitched with the idea of the food, and so hadn't seemed to really notice that they were landing. It was difficult to talk to him when he became like that.
The trio fell to silence as a loud rumble of the plane's engines filled their ears, indicating the plane's careful descent; eventually it died down to just a low hum as they presumably grew closer to the ground. When the wheels finally hit the asphalt, there was a bump, followed by a sudden screech; and abruptly, before anyone knew what was happening, the plane came to a jolting halt that literally threw the passengers from their seats.
With startled cries, Mario, Peach and Toadsworth landed in a heap on the velvety floor. Somehow Peach had been flung face forward and Mario had been thrown across so that he was nearly draped over her. Toadsworth, inexplicably, had landed upside down, propped against Mario's seat with his legless feet in the air.
"Mama mia," Mario moaned into the floor when the excitement was over.
I couldn't agree with you more, the princess thought in surprise.
Well, Mario was awake now. Carefully, he picked himself up and held out a hand, slightly embarrassed. Almost blushing in spite of herself, Peach took it and got to her feet.
Toadsworth, lying on his back, stared at the ceiling, which ironically had stars on it. "Well... I guess that's a lesson not to remove your seatbelt until you've made a complete stop," he remarked.
But Peach shook her head. Something had gone wrong - the plane shouldn't have landed like that. "I don't know," she said. Glancing up at the side door, she asked, "What happened?"
Nobody had a real answer. "Seems like something went wrong with the landing gear," Mario finally offered. "Or maybe change of plans on the runway."
Toadsworth picked himself up and propped on his cane, then proceeded to shoo them for the door. "Come on," he said. "No sense hanging around this stuffy compartment anymore. We'll have a word with the pilot. And get a look around, of course. We're finally here, remember?"
"Yeah," Mario replied as he headed out, sounding as enthusiastic as ever. Nothing was going to ruin their vacation.
Princess Peach was quiet as she followed them. She loved Mario's attitude, but still... she couldn't shake the strange feeling that their troubles might not be so simple.
But there was no going back now. For better or worse, they had arrived on Isle Delfino.