(Cubed Cinder)
Princess Peach awoke to a couple of things that she wasn’t used to. First, the alarm clock that was buzzing beside her and the fact that it read 12:00 AM rather than the usual time she awakens from her deep slumber. And don’t forget about the sky that was still as starry and snowy as ever. Yes, snowy indeed. It was typical for the Mushroom Kingdom at this time of year. Snow on Christmas Eve. It was always a sign for the little children that Christmas was close by and Santa Claus would sneak into their houses and leave presents for the good ones.
On any given normal day, Peach would’ve been grumbling at whatever little thing it was that startled her and woke her up. But not this time. She had been planning something special for tonight. Especially since she and her good friend from Giant Land, Princess Apple, had each considered it for a long time. Peach then went downstairs and ventured deep into the castle basement, looking for the two objects that Apple was asking her to use on midnight of Christmas Day.
Finally, after about three minutes of walking through hallways and doors, and letting guards know that she was on business, Peach approached the small pedestal. On it was a red-and-white colored short dress cut off at just above the knees; a similarly colored hat with a cotton ball attached at the top, red glass slippers, and finally stood the most important item of all. Apple’s custom-made super special mushroom. Peach started to think back to her meeting with Apple earlier in the week over that mushroom.
(FLASHBACK)
At Giant Palace, Princess Peach stood on the pedestal as she watched the gigantic Princess Apple gather a series of items. Afterwards, she set all the items on Prince Hugo the Huge’s empty throne.
“So are all these items needed for Christmas Eve?” Peach asked.
“Specifically at midnight of that day. And you’ll especially need this mushroom.” Apple said.
“What!? Isn’t that the same super special mushroom that you
used to grow so many years ago?” Peach asked.
”In appearance, yes. But this mushroom is meant to last for only 6 hours. It
should give you plenty of time to walk through all the lands and leave the
presents for everyone.” Apple said.
”You mean I’m going to be as big as you for the next 6 hours!?” Peach asked.
”Sure, Peach. Don’t worry too much about it. I think this will be a good
experience for you. You get to see the Mushroom World from a new perspective.
Maybe even leave a Christmas surprise or two for the good citizens.” Apple said.
“Yeah, but everyone will be asleep by that point.” Peach
said. Apple giggled at that remark.
”That’s true. But I can just picture it now… just remember to come visit me when
you reach Giant Land. I’ll try to stay awake at that time.” Apple said. Peach
simply nodded her head
(END FLASHBACK)
Peach didn’t act totally surprised back at Giant Palace, but it was only because she was speechless. The fact that she was, for the record, going to be a 50-foot-tall giantess and be dressed up like Mrs. Santa Claus at the same time. Apple didn’t have anything to worry about. She knew Peach would handle her responsibilities well at such a large size.
After Peach put on her Santa outfit and stepped outside to her backyard where the insanely large bag of toys that stood about twice her size waited. Before she left, she was able to leave a few presents for Mario, Luigi, Toad, and many other members of the mushroom family. As she looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath, Peach pulled the super special mushroom and took a bite out of it. As soon as she gulped the piece down, the results were almost instant.
Peach turned around and could see the door to her castle progressively getting smaller and smaller. Soon, as her entire castle was shrinking, Peach could begin to see the rushing sensation of growing to such large heights. Eventually, after a minute or so, she (and her Santa outfit) reached the full 50 feet in height from the mushroom. Peach looked down and smiled at seeing the toy bag reach up to only her knees. She could carry it around easily through each of the lands.
And with that in mind, Peach gently picked up the toy bag, took one more look back at her castle, and then started to walk out into the distance towards the Mushroom World.
Grass Land
Grass Land was probably the highest populated of all the different lands in the Mushroom World. This was mainly due to the plain nature of the land; nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe except for the fact that the Mario Brothers used to live here. Such a normal land would bode well for the now-gigantic Princess Peach as she carefully made her way for the nearby villages occupied by sleeping mushroom people.
She first looked down and admired her size compared to the entire village. But she didn’t do this for too long because she was only going to stay this big for 6 hours, and there was a lot of ground to cover in the Mushroom World. Peach kneeled down beside one of the houses and looked on her list as to who was going to receive what. The list was tiny compared to her, and she was wishing that she had somehow enlarged the list to go along with herself.
Despite having to zero in on the list so she could pick out the right toys to pull out from her bag, she did her job well. With careful use of her hands, she was able to pick up the right toys from the bag for each household and lay them to rest at the front door. Since hardly any of the houses had chimneys, she had to settle for the next best thing.
By the time she had covered all the houses; she would proceed to the next village and cover every house there, remembering to leave the good presents to the good children, and duds for those that were naughty throughout the entire year. It took another 45 minutes for all of Grass Land to be covered. Afterwards, Peach picked up her toy bag and made her way towards Desert Land.
Desert Land
The fact that Desert Land was always a hot and “deserted” (excuse the pun) place made it an unusual land for people to live in. But for those that did live there, it wasn’t the kind of place if you were looking for peace. It seemed a lot like Dry Dry Outpost. There were more businesses set up than there were normal families.
But this would make Peach’s job that much easier. She also didn’t have to worry about the constant heat of the desert, since the only heat being generated around her body was that of the rush of power that one typically gets for being 50 feet tall. Even with a lack of children compared to the number that Peach faced in Grass Land, she still had quite a few presents to deliver.
And deliver she did. From shops to tents to pyramids, she looked over her list and checked it twice in regards to where the children were and what they wanted for Christmas. As quickly as she made her deliveries, she decided to stop and think once again about her newfound size. She began to truly feel how much easier her job was. To keep it short, miles had become yards for the fair princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.
With just under 5 hours still left in her supersized state, Peach moved on towards the next closest land in the Mushroom World.
Water Land
It was now out of the hot and into the cool. With its many beaches, crystal-clear ocean water, tropical pine trees, and the occasional island oasis, Water Land was a good getaway spot for the wondering Mushroom World traveler. But if you lived in such a wondrous climate, it was a special feeling of home away from home.
As another of the highly-populated lands in the Mushroom World, Peach knew she was going to be spending some time leaving toys at as many places as she could. But being so big meant it was going to take a lot for Peach to back down now. House by house, presents were being left at front doors, eagerly waiting to be opened by a happy child the next morning. Occasionally Peach would have to walk through small seas in order to reach some of the houses, but this was only a minor inconvenience.
Just like before, every house was eventually covered in the land. And Peach can only smile and imagine how the kids would feel when they would get their presents the next morning. Since Giant Land was already being covered and Dark Land was such an evil place inhibited only by Bowser and his Koopa clan, Peach spent the rest of her 6 hours leaving presents in Yoshi’s Island, Sky Land, Ice Land, and Pipe Land. Any extra time was spent walking around comparing her size to everything else.
Epilogue
Peach, now back at her normal size, awoke to the morning sun in a somewhat dingy mood. And who can blame her? She had been up through the early morning hours playing the part of a Mrs. Santa Claus, while fulfilling a fantasy she has had since early childhood. She walked around the castle to see all the mushroom retainers playing with each of their toys that they had received from Peach while sleeping.
Peach was later stopped in the hallway by Mario.
“Good morning, Princess Peach!” Mario said.
“Oh… hi, Mario. Merry Christmas.” Peach said.
”You too. Say, you want to hear something funny I heard from Toad?” Mario asked.
Peach nodded.
“Okay, well, he claims to have seen a giant woman dressed in a Santa suit walking through all the lands of the Mushroom World and leaving presents for all the children of each world. Don’t you find that a bit strange?” Mario asked. Peach briefly thought back to her 6 hours as a giantess walking under the night sky with just her toy bag. Finally she looked back at Mario.
“Well… I guess I should. But sometimes you never know what
you can find in the Mushroom Kingdom.” Peach said.
”Yeah, that’s true. Hey, Luigi and I are going to open up are presents.
Toadsworth is there too. You want to join us?” Mario asked.
”Sure thing!” Peach said. With that, she followed Mario further into the castle
as she wondered just how Mario and Luigi would react to their new gifts.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
END