Bowsette dug into her Meat Pasta Dish and looked out the window to the sun setting over Isle Delfino. The sky hat lit up in a brilliant mix of oranges, blues, and purples, the warm glow of the tropical day fading into the cool hues of the evening.

After the party, they took a boat back to the main island where they spent the day shopping around Delfino Plaza, playing an infuriating game of pachinko, and going Phantamanta watching at the beach. If they had more time they probably would have visited Pinna Park too, but that was enough for its own trip, really.

It was just fun to be doing all of this now, as much as they could cram into one short trip. After this, they’d be going on an adventure once again, and probably wouldn’t be done for a really long time. Well, Bowsette and Peach would. She wasn’t sure who all was going with them, but that would probably be worked out soon enough.

“...and then Kolorado was like, ‘We have to save it! My wallet’s in there!’” Goombella shouted, before bursting into laughter along with Mario. “Man, I miss the guy, but he sure was a real card sometimes.”

Bowsette had no idea what she was talking about most of the time. Goombella was like a completely different woman than herself, and that’s probably why Mario liked her so much. What she couldn’t understand, of course, was the reverse. What was the deal with Mario?

Every girl around was always just fawning over him like he was some big bulky superhero. Bowsette when she was a full-fledged Koopa had way more muscles than that pudgy plumber. In fact, she was pretty shredded now, too; she had abs that stretched on towards infinity and somehow it was Mario who was getting all the attention, all the time.

It couldn’t have just been his charming, happy-go-lucky attitude. No way. Nor his admittedly finely-maintained mustache, nor his sparkling blue eyes... Okay, fine, the guy was a hunk of meat pie. Didn’t mean it didn’t drive her crazy with jealousy.

Even Peach, who was sitting next to Bowsette and with whom she had made some very firm, very solid, very implied plans to meet in the bathtub later this evening, was enthralled with Mario in their current conversation.

“Oh, Mario,” Peach said. “Remember that time you and I went to Robo Land with Luigi and Toad and we had to talk to that Dr. Nerdnick guy all the time? Wasn’t that awful?”

Bowsette was there too, you know. Sure, she was trying to capture the four of them, but... still....

“You know what else is interesting?” Bowsette chimed in. “That time we all took down Smithy together! Huh? Remember that?”

“Wait, you guys all three did that together?” Goombella asked. “I always thought that was one of Mario’s solo adventures. Gee, what was that like?”

“Oh, it was mostly Mario,” Peach said. “He led the way. We just tagged along, right Bowsette? You were the big heavy fighter and I was holding a big frying pan, and then... Geno and Mallow...”

The four of them held a moment of silence.

Yeah, that was Bowsette’s fault too. As was everything... She really shouldn’t bring up any conversation about anything, ever.

Just gonna eat this spaghetti and wait this stupid conversation through

“I wonder what the Axem Rangers are doing these days,” Peach said. “You never hear about them anymore.”

“Landscaping,” said Mario. “That’s all.”

“Man, I thought our adventure out to get Bowsette’s powers back were cool, but...” Goombella would have shrugged here but she had no shoulders. “I think I’m starting to appreciate being a University professor, honestly.” She giggled. “Once classes start again, I’m gonna have a lot of fun grading papers. I’m completely serious.”

“Oh, what are you teaching this semester?” Peach asked.

“Goombology 5300: Goombas in History.” After Goomboss passed away, there’s been a lot of controversy and discussion, so it’s going to be a really lively class. You should sit in sometime.”

“Maybe if I have a good disguise,” she laughed.

Everyone assumed Bowsette had killed Goomboss, but the guy really did just died of a heart attack. It actually wasn’t her fault this time... But she couldn’t help feeling terrible about it. Mario, Peach, and Goombella continued having a good time at this dinner, but Bowsette for the most part just twirled her fork around and pretended to look content.

There was probably no redeeming her for all the idiotic, rude, merciless things she did. Coming out here to rest and relax was improving her health, but not her spirits. She realized that the road to convincing her old allies to rejoin her and take back Dark Land from Morton Koopa was going to be next to impossible, for all the ways she had isolated and spurned them in the past, the ways that her abdication had led to all of this happening in the first place. She wasn’t going to be forgiven. She shouldn’t have even been seeking it, really.

And look at Mario over here, laughing it up with all his friends like the true hero he was. Her ultimate enemy, and she was dining with him just because they were on the same side? Lordess Bowser had reached a new low. The time they had teamed up to defeat Smithy was a fun victory that defeated a Machine Empire that threatened to take over the entire planet... but it was also only a team-up because Bowsette was humiliated and defeated in her own castle. That was the way it always went.

Grrr... she hated Mario,. Always had, always would. What a huge jerk, flirting with two women at the same time, flashing her those cute glances and acting like Bowsette was actually his friend. They weren’t friends. They were temporary allies, and when this was all over they would never speak again except for in the midst of armed combat!