AN: Hey everyone. I was planning on publishing this after I finished with Lovebug. However, I changed my mind. Oh well lol.

Now, this rewrite…this is a rewrite I am doing out of necessity more than anything else. There is quite a bit that I don't like about the original, which is important because Pain of the Past is a very plot significant episode (arguably the most plot significant episode I've done so far). I think a rewrite is something I should do, as (spoiler alert) a lot of the future Super Koopalings Episodes will be affected by the events that occurred in Pain of the Past. If you read Lovebug, you probably know what I mean.

So, you know the drill; from now on, continuity in future stories will carry over from this story as opposed to the original, the rewrite will most likely (or most definitely) be longer, etc.

With all that said, I hope you guys enjoy. :)

Chapter 1 A Somber Brother

Lemmy woke up in a good mood, as he so often did. The mood stuck with him for most of the morning; all the way through breakfast and the hours that followed. It was such a beautiful state to be in; he doubted anyone would disagree. He was thankful for this happiness, the joy that could make even the grayest days blossom with color. As he walked down the second floor hallway, his emotions as high as a kite, he got a brilliant idea. It was an idea that his brain formulated during most days, but one that nevertheless made his mood that much happier by adding excitement into the joyful mix. What was the idea, you might ask?

Lemmy wanted to do some circus tricks.

Grinning, he ran to his room and got his ball. The shiny object, with yellow skin and orange star tattoos, was the perfect thing to symbolize Lemmy and his glee. This ball, despite the fact that it had been through the wringer in the past (Ludwig had popped it, and it took a long time for Iggy to repair it), was perfect. Holding it close to his chest made Lemmy look like he was holding a round, yellow, one pound baby. And, just like a baby, Lemmy loved the ball with all of his heart.

Without wasting anymore time, Lemmy mounted the circus ball. It took him a second to find his balance, but only a second because finding his balance on his circus ball was more or less second nature at this point. He rolled out of his room, slightly disappointed that nobody was in his field of vision. After all, he did circus tricks to make others happy. He wanted to transfer his joy to everyone else, and doing so was impossible when nobody was around to witness.

Oh well. If nobody was in this hallway, then he would make it his personal mission to locate people. Rolling down the hallway, grinning a devilish grin as he bounced down the stairs, Lemmy realized that he wanted to announce his presence. He wanted to make sure that people knew he was approaching; they knew that Lemmy was going to make their day. So, Lemmy decided to sing a song. This song in particular was a classic, one that he had sung again and again whenever he had done circus tricks.

Welcome to the show

I hope you all enjoy

The funkiness is off the charts

So please just watch this boy

As he flies and rolls around

The room that we are in

He'll try to make you all laugh hard

And wear a happy grin

Oh man. This song was so joyful and fun! Even though he hadn't run into anyone who could hear it yet, he himself got a kick out of the wacky tune and goofy lyrics. His grin grew brighter. It was now so big that it was possible to see it from space.

Lemmy continued on with singing the song. He bounced up and down on his ball, doing backflips where he thought was appropriate. When he made his way out into the entrance hall, he actually felt a little winded. But you know what? He wasn't going to let that put a damper on his mood. Why? Because he had finally found someone who he could perform his circus tricks for.

Ludwig. Lemmy's one and only older brother stood in front of the main castle door, his body hidden by his long blue cloak and his mouth curved down into one sinfully steep frown. This was perfect; Ludwig's demeanor was practically begging to be improved. How could Lemmy resist?

"Hello, my dear dear brother!" Lemmy did a backflip, landing on his hands. He giggled as he righted himself, making sure that he was in Ludwig's vision at all times. "You look like you are in need of a pick me up!" He jumped into the air, doing three twirls before landing feet first on the carpet. "How do you feel about being the first to see the Amazing Lemmy's all new and all dangerous circus tricks?"

Ludwig's eyes traveled over to Lemmy. His frown didn't disappear, and neither did his gloom. "No thanks, Lemmy."

Lemmy blinked. "No thanks?" He chuckled. "Did you receive a bonk on your noodle!" He mounted the ball again. "Any sane person would love to witness the miracle that is the Clown Prince of Koopas!"

Ludwig snorted. "Humble, Lems. Humble." Even with that sentiment, his expression did not change and his tone of voice remained in a somber monotone.

Lemmy felt a twinge in his heart. Was Ludwig okay? Sure, the oldest Koopaling wasn't known for being as peppy and sunny as his immediate younger brother. Still, the immediate younger brother in question was growing concerned. Ludwig wasn't just display a pessimistic annoyance to the world. Now, he was displaying a sadness, one that was deep enough to tempt even the bubbly Lemmy to feel down in the dumps.

That was all the more reason why Lemmy needed to help him. No one should be in such a downcast mood! Especially on a day like today! Nothing bad had happened, was happening, or was about to happen. As a matter of fact, even the weather was perfect, which in the Koopa Kingdom was cause to take the day off from work and spend the rest of the day celebrating the presence and visibility of the sunshine. This day was a good day. Ludwig needed to realize that.

But how could Lemmy help him do that? He had already done his trump card circus trick; the triple twirl. What else could he do that was equally as uplifting and funny? Lemmy considered this for a minute before the answer occurred to him. Said answer was so obvious and readily apparent that the fact he needed to think about it was almost comical.

He should tell Ludwig a joke! Ever since Ludwig and Lemmy swapped bodies, the former had stopped pretending that the latter's jokes were the antithesis to comedy and actually laugh at quite a few of them. Jokes always brought Ludwig up. Why would this time be any different?

"Hey Ludwig," Lemmy said, giggling as he did. He always giggled, always trying to not laugh at the punchline before he had the chance to say it out loud.

The oldest Koopaling raised an eyebrow (good, at least that was one change in his dismal expression). "What is it Lems?"

Lemmy chortled, covering his mouth to prevent the giggles from stampeding out of his mouth. "What do birds say when they are feeling sick?"

Silence. Ludwig looked at his brother, his eyebrow rising even higher. "What?"

Lemmy grinned. "I'm feeling a little 'under the feather!'' He burst into laughter, the practice actually making it feel like his lungs were going to collapse. Seriously, that was just so funny! And what made it even better was that he had just come up with it!

Despite Lemmy's joy, Ludwig looked as dismal and as gloomy as ever. "Ha. Funny." He turned back to the door.

Lemmy blinked. What was going on? That was a great joke! Why didn't Ludwig laugh?

Maybe he just needed another joke. After all, if one joke was the best medicine to sadness, than two jokes would definitely combat the morose mood.

So, Lemmy thought of a joke he could tell. Just like before, he fell into a fit of giggling. "Hey Ludwig. What do…" he chuckled, the sound concentrated and wheezy. "What do bloopers say to each other when they don't want to get Mario Kart racers dirty?"

Ludwig sniffed. "I don't know. What?"

Lemmy laughed. "'I don't ink that's a good idea!'" Lemmy burst into laughter, this round somehow even more impactful than the previous one. He felt like he was going to die of happiness.

Ludwig, however, still didn't laugh. "Good one, Lemmy." He scratched the back of his head. "Good one."

Lemmy gawked. Okay seriously, what was Ludwig's deal! This was too downcast even for him! How could anybody avoid laughing at not one but two of Lemmy's famous puns?!

"Ludwig, what's wrong?" Lemmy approached, putting his hand on his brother's arm. "Is everything okay?"

An interesting look appeared on Ludwig's face when that question was asked. So many emotions were present; he looked sad, guilty, depressed, hesitant. Whatever the issue in question was, it certainly had a big impact on him. This tipped Lemmy off that this was a big deal even before Ludwig spoke.

"Today is…today is a sad day for me." He sighed. "It pretty much always has been.'

Lemmy blinked. "Why is that?"

Ludwig bit his lip as he once again scratched the back of his head. "It's…" he hesitated, clearly not wanting to discuss whatever it was that made him so somber. "It's the anniversary of an event that I don't like thinking about."

"Oh." Lemmy thought about this. He…he couldn't really relate to that. All the important events that he kept in his mind had a positive element attached to them, whether they were birthdays or holidays or days commemorating important achievements. How bad must the event Ludwig remembered be if it caused his emotions to be this low, depressingly low?

"That's too bad." There was silence before Lemmy spoke again. "Do you want to talk about it?" He smiled a little. "I'm sure talking about it will help alleviate some of the negativity. In fact, talking about it might also…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Lemmy did a double take. "You don't?" He took his hand off of Ludwig's arm as his brother nodded. "So, there's this really bad event that you have in your memory, one that makes you sad beyond belief, and yet you don't want to talk about it?" Lemmy looked into his brother's eyes. "That's a little backwards, don't you think? I mean, why wouldn't you want to talk about something that important?"

Ludwig sighed. "It's not something that I like talking about. In fact, if given the choice, I would take the secret to my grave." He cleared his throat. "I know it might be hard for you to understand Lemmy, but there are somethings that don't deserve to be talked about."

Lemmy shook his head. "It's like you're speaking a whole different language right now." He gave his brother a desperate look. "Please tell me! I hate seeing you in such a bad mood!"

Ludwig shook his head. "No, Lemmy. I'm not going to tell you." Right as he said that was when the door opened up. Ludwig's face lit up (in the loosest sense possible) when he saw that it was a koopa troopa, holding a bouquet of ice flowers.

"Ah good, my flowers arrived." He took the flowers, handing the koopa troopa money as he did. Once the door closed, Ludwig looked back at Lemmy. "I have to go now. There's something I need to do."

"Where are you going?" Before Lemmy had even finished asking that question, the door closed in his face and his brother was gone. This just increased his confusion. What was wrong with this day? What was it that made today so horrible? What kind of bad memories did Ludwig have involving this day? Did someone die? Lemmy didn't know. He very sincerely wished that he did; he hated seeing Ludwig like this.

But unfortunately, with Ludwig gone, there was nothing he could do about it at this point. So, reluctantly, Lemmy mounted his circus ball again. He rolled away from the door, hoping that showing someone else his tricks would help distract him from his questions.