(A/N: Now it's time for Mario and Luigi to arrive at their birthday party! Are they going to enjoy the big celebration the princess and Toads have prepared? Well, if I start this chapter, we shall find that out!)
As Mario and Luigi walked to the castle for their birthday party, they couldn't help feeling rather excited about the whole thing. To think that the beautiful princess of the Mushroom Kingdom actually wanted to throw a birthday party for them!
"What do you think our party is going to be like, Mario?" Luigi asked.
"I'm not really sure, Luigi. But if our party is going to take place inside of a castle, then I'm willing to bet that it's-a going to be a whole lot of fun! And the best part is that we don't even have to pay for it!" Mario said.
"Hai ragione. You're right. When other kids had their birthday parties at a bowling alley or something like that, it had to cost their parents a lot of money!" Luigi remembered.
"That's right. But we have to remember that Peach lives in the castle, and I don't think she would think of charging us for this. She's throwing this party of her own free will, and she looks at us as speciale people." Mario said.
"Which is pretty surprising for me, because I never really saw myself as anyone speciale before..." Luigi mumbled.
"Well, if it's any consolation, I always have seen you that way. You're my twin brother. That makes you incredibly speciale in my eyes." Mario said.
Luigi smiled at that, a little touched, and said, "Grazie, Mario. Thank you."
"Prego, Luigi. You're welcome." Mario replied.
Before long, the brothers reached the castle doors.
"Well, here we are. Should we knock, or just go right in?" Luigi asked.
"Maybe we should knock, just to be on the safe side." Mario suggested. He was holding Luigi's present in one hand as he knocked on the door with his free one (to the opening of the "Super Mario Bros." main theme).
Seconds later, the door opened, and Princess Peach was standing there. She couldn't help smiling at the sight of her friends.
"Mario! Luigi! I'm so glad to see you!" Peach said, sounding as joyful as she looked.
"Allo stesso modo, principessa. Likewise, Princess." Mario replied, removing his cap and bowing before the princess.
"We're both molto felice, very happy to see you, Princess." Luigi added, copying his brother.
When Mario and Luigi straightened up, Peach hugged the birthday boys and even gave each of them a kiss on the cheek, which made both of them blush as she said, "Happy birthday."
"Grazie, Principessa. Thank you, Princess..." Mario replied, feeling dizzy with passion. To think that the beautiful princess had just kissed him, and wished him a happy birthday!
"Mille grazie. Thank you very much..." Luigi replied, stunned beyond belief at the fact that he too had been kissed by the beautiful princess.
"Well, come on in! You two are the reason why this party is happening in the first place." Peach smiled, motioning for the pair to follow her inside.
Mario and Luigi entered the castle, feeling awed as they looked around the Great Hall, seeing all the red and green decorations, and the 'Happy Birthday' banner. They had to admit, they were pleased to see all of this, and they had Peach to thank for it.
"Look, everyone! The birthday boys have arrived!" Peach suddenly said to the Toads, causing Mario and Luigi to snap to attention.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIO BROS.!" everyone in the castle shouted in unison, turning to look at the brothers who saved their kingdom from the evil Koopas.
"Grazie!" Mario replied, smiling brightly.
"Yes, thank you." Luigi added.
"You boys can set your presents down over there, with the rest of them." Peach said, pointing to a pile of gifts in one corner of the room.
After Mario and Luigi set their presents in the gift pile, the Toads turned on some Beatles songs, and the Mario Bros. were feeling happy and ready to mingle. Well, Mario was, but Luigi, not so much, due to the fact he was painfully shy. He could talk to Mario and Peach with no problems, but not anyone else. If anyone spoke to him first, then he'd talk with them, because he wasn't good at striking up conversations like his brother and the princess.
Other guests began to arrive shortly thereafter, wishing the Mario Bros. a happy birthday upon their arrival. That detail made the two feel very happy, and they thanked the guests for the kind birthday wishes.
When everyone arrived, Peach said, "Okay, now that everyone's here, what should we do first?"
"Let's let the Mario Bros. decide on that, Princess. Today is their birthday, so they should be the ones who choose what we're going to do." Toadsworth suggested.
"That's just what I was thinking. I was asking them what to do." Peach replied.
Everyone turned to look at the birthday boys, wondering what they were wanted to do first.
"Hmm, what should we do first at our birthday party, Luigi? We could play games, open our birthday presents, or have cake and ice cream." Mario said.
"Well, I think it's-a still a bit early for us to be getting into the cake and ice cream. Maybe we should play games first?" Luigi asked.
"All right! That's an idea! But now we need to think of some games to play..." Mario said.
The first game they played was charades. Everyone really seemed to enjoy that one. But after a while, they were getting bored, and so Mario and Luigi decided it was time for something else.
"Well, hide-and-seek is out of the question. There are too many people here, and not that many places for everyone to hide." Luigi said. And he was kind of glad that they couldn't play it. He was afraid that if they did, he'd have to be the seeker, and the people would pop out of their hiding places to try and scare him. And he was very easy to scare!
"That's right." said Peach.
"And it's-a too bad the weather is getting cooler. If we were born in the summer, when the weather is hot, we could have a birthday pool party out by your swimming pool and play games in the pool, like Marco Polo." Mario said to Peach.
"Well, if we played Marco Polo, then you boys would have to teach me the rules because I never played that game before." Peach said. She had seen the game being played in cartoons and in commercials when she was younger, but the rules were never explained to her.
"Don't worry, Peach. We'll teach you how to play Marco Polo when the weather is warm enough for swimming again." Luigi promised.
"Thanks. So, does anyone have any idea of what we should play now?" Peach asked.
"I know! Let's-a play Simon Says!" Mario said.
Everyone liked the sound of that, so that was the next game they were going to play. And because Mario was the one who suggested it, he got to be Simon first. Then Luigi played well enough to be Simon, and then Peach was Simon. None of the Toads got to be Simon, but it didn't really bother them. They had fun taking orders from Simon... when he or she said 'Simon Says', that is.
They had to think of another game to play when Peach saw that everyone was starting to get bored, and she said, "Simon says... is it okay with the birthday boys if we play something else?"
"It's-a fine, Peach. Let's-a play a different game." Mario said.
After some more thinking, they decided to play musical chairs. Those who wanted to play gathered around. Everyone who didn't felt content to watch. Toadsworth was in charge of pressing the 'play' and 'pause' buttons on the stereo.
"Better this than musical pies, right, Mario?" Luigi asked.
"We've never played that one before, but yeah." Mario said.
"Musical what?" Peach asked. She'd never heard of the game they were talking about.
Mario explained that musical pies was very similar to hot potato (Peach knew hot potato), only when the music stops and you're holding the pie, you have to pie yourself in the face, and then you're out. The last person standing was the winner.
"Oh, and just so you know, if you're holding the pie, you can't hit anyone else with the pie to get them out. That's against the rules." Luigi added.
"Ahh, I see." Peach replied. She was already thinking that if Bowser tried to kidnap her again, then she'd make him play that game with Mario and Luigi and rig it so that he would be the first one out.
(A/N: Musical pies was a game I saw during "Slime Time Live" on Nickelodeon during the early 2000s. Those were the days...)
So they played musical chairs. Luigi won that game, much to his happiness. Mario didn't complain, though, since this was Luigi's birthday as much as it was his own. So he congratulated his brother with a pat on the back for winning the game.
After several other fun games (no one suggested Spin The Bottle), Peach decided it was time for a really good game, one that Mario and Luigi never saw coming. It was time for the piñata.
"A piñata?! Mama-mia! Luigi, when was the last time we got to hit one of those things at a party?" Mario asked.
"Non posso ricordare. I can not remember. It's-a been a very long time since we've hit one; that much I know..." Luigi replied.
Then Peach lowered the piñata so everyone could see it clearly, and the object was shaped like a Question Mark block. It even looked like a Question Mark block.
"Wow..." said all the Toads in unison.
"So, Peach, what, may I ask, is inside of that piñata? Does it have power-ups in there?" Mario asked, eyeing the piñata.
"Or does it contain coins?" Luigi asked.
"Neither, but those were actually very good guesses. It just contains candy, like any normal piñata would." Peach replied.
"Ooh, that's even better! I love caramella, candy!" Mario said as the Toads all cheered at the fact they'd get candy.
"Don't worry, Mario, there's caramel candy in there, too, if that's what you like." Peach giggled.
"Uh Peach, 'caramella' is the Italian word for 'candy'." Luigi explained.
"Oh. I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me, or as you might say it, grazie." Peach replied.
"Prego. You're welcome." Luigi said, impressed that Peach used an Italian word.
"You're picking up the Italian language very well, Principessa, Princess." Mario said.
"Well, I've got two very fine teachers helping me learn the language easily." Peach replied, getting a smile from the birthday boys.
"Princess, shall we begin on the piñata?" Toadsworth asked.
"Oh, right." Peach mumbled. She allowed Mario and Luigi to go first, since it was their birthday. Mario was being polite and let Luigi to take his turn before him. So the princess handed Luigi a stick and blindfolded him. Luigi managed to knock a few candies out of the piñata during his turn, but not a whole lot.
"All right. Your turn, Mario." Peach said to Mario as Luigi removed the blindfold and handed the stick to his brother. Then Peach blinfolded Mario. The red-clad plumber hit the piñata with a hard WHACK! The next sound he heard was the sound of candy spilling onto the floor. He removed the blindfold to see that had broken the piñata open.
Everyone else immediately got down on the floor, trying to gather up their fair share of the sweets.
"Hey! Conservane un po' per me! Save some for me!" Mario said as he dove for some candies of his own.
After everyone had gathered up their fair share of sweets (which would more than make up for those who may not end up with much candy on Halloween), Peach said, "Okay, now I think we've played enough games. What do the birthday boys want to do next?"
"Hmm..." Mario and Luigi thought for a moment. Did they want to open their presents, or did they want cake and ice cream now?
That's when Mario's stomach growled loudly. The red-clad plumber blushed lightly as he put his hand on his stomach and said, "Well, I think my stomach just answered the question."
"Yup. Let's-a go have cake!" said Luigi.
"All right, then. Follow me to the dining hall." Peach said. So everyone walked to the dining hall, where they saw the cake sitting on the table, which was set with Peach's fancy dishes and glasses from the Cape Cod Collection.
(A/N: We have lots of dishes and glasses from the Cape Cod Collection, which my mom got back when she bought and sold Avon. They are a deep red color, very fancy, and very beautiful... and breakable.)
Mario and Luigi were very surprised to see that the cake was a three-layer vanilla cake, decorated with multi-colored sprinkles. The top layer also had red and green birthday candles on it, which were just waiting to be lit.
"Mama-mia!" the brothers exclaimed in unison. Never had they had a layer cake at their birthday parties in the past! Birthday parties they attended never had layer cakes, either.
"Do you like it?" Peach asked the Mario Bros., having heard them and seeing how big their eyes were as they looked at the cake.
"No, we don't like it..." Mario began.
Peach looked sad.
"Lo adoriamo! We love it!" Luigi finished.
Peach felt a lot better. She beamed and said, "Thank you so much!"
"Okay, now let's light the candles so the birthday boys can make a wish and blow them out!" said Toad.
"All right. Has anyone got a lighter, or a match so we can light the candles?" Peach asked the crowd.
Mario and Luigi looked at each other, and they each had a light bulb appear over their heads.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mario asked his brother.
"Oh yeah." Luigi smiled.
"Princess, Luigi and I have un'idea migliore, a better idea." Mario said to the princess.
"You do?" Peach asked.
"Sì." Luigi said.
The Mario Bros. each produced a Fire Flower, powering up to their Fire forms. Then they lit the red and green candles with their fire-power.
"Oh yeah! I really should have thought of that method myself!" Peach said with an embarrassed giggle.
Then everyone sang the "Happy Birthday" song to Mario and Luigi. The brothers were somewhat embarrassed about the song, but they smiled anyway.
"Now both of you, make a wish and blow out the candles." Peach urged when the song was over.
Mario and Luigi closed their eyes for a few seconds as they made their wishes. When they opened their eyes, they both took a big breath, and they blew out the candles together in one try. Everyone cheered after that, with a Toad asking them, "So, what did you guys wish for?"
"Non possiamo dirlo. We can't tell you that." Mario replied.
"Why not? Didn't you make a wish?" asked the Toad.
"Of course we did." Mario said.
"But if you tell what you wished for, it won't come true." Luigi added.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that little detail." said the Toad.
Then Peach began cutting the cake, and some Toads brought the ice cream containers into the room. Mario was pleased to see the big container of chocolate ice cream, but he was also surprised to see an equally big container of vanilla ice cream.
"You also got vanilla ice cream?" Mario asked Peach.
"I had to, in case anyone here is allergic to chocolate." Peach explained.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot that people can be allergic to chocolate." Mario said, feeling stupid.
"It's okay, Mario. I'm not upset with you. Sometimes, people don't think about others having an allergy to anything unless they're told beforehand." Peach said as she cut a big slice of cake and set it on his plate.
"Grazie. Thank you." Mario replied.
"You're welcome. " Peach smiled.
Then Mario saw that the ice cream was set over by... the fixings to make an ice cream sundae.
"Mama-mia! This really is the best birthday ever!" Mario said as he got up and went to dish up some ice cream, so he could have himself a sundae.
"Princess, don't look now, but you just made Mario's birthday." Luigi whispered to Peach as she cut him a slice of cake.
"Did I really?" Peach asked, handing Luigi his plate.
"He's fixing himself a sundae." Luigi replied.
Peach looked in that direction and saw Mario dishing up some chocolate ice cream and adding the toppings he wanted.
"I thought it might be nice to have ice cream sundaes at the party. They're just as special as the birthday cake, and the boys I made it for." Peach said.
"Grazie! Thank you." Luigi said.
"You're welcome, Luigi." Peach replied.
Most of the others guests had gone to get their ice cream (and make sundaes, if they wished) while they waited for their slices of cake. There were plenty of sundae supplies, so they didn't have to worry about running out too soon. Peach made sure to stock up on plenty of sundae fixings when she went to the store.
Mario returned to the table with a bowl of chocolate ice cream that he topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles, and a cherry.
"This is going to be good. But my only gripe is that the cherry on top isn't una ciliegia ricoperta di cioccolato, a chocolate-covered cherry." Mario said as he sat down.
"I know you would have loved that, Mario, but like I said, I had to be fair to those who might be allergic." Peach said.
"You truly are una principessa premurosa, a thoughtful princess." Mario told her.
"And you're such a sweet young man." Peach replied, blushing at his kind words.
As for Luigi, his sundae was a little different from Mario's. He had vanilla ice cream, and even though his sundae, like Mario's, was topped with whipped cream and a cherry, his sundae had butterscotch syrup and multi-colored sprinkles.
When Peach was able to get her ice cream, she fixed herself a scoop of chocolate and vanilla ice cream and topped them with caramel syrup, whipped cream, multi-colored sprinkles, and a cherry.
Everyone greatly enjoyed the cake and ice cream, especially Mario and Luigi, who hadn't known that Peach was such a good cook. They complimented her on the birthday cake, and she smiled and thanked them for being so polite. And to drink, they all had sparkling apple cider, which Mario and Luigi discovered was delicious.
With the food out of the way, Mario said, "That was great. Now that we've eaten, it should be time for me and Luigi to open our presents."
"All right! Let's-a go!" said Luigi.
So everyone went back to the Great Hall and gathered around as Mario and Luigi looked at the pile of gifts before them.
"Which ones should we open first?" Mario asked.
"How about the ones we got each other?" Luigi suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Mario said.
"All right. In that case, you go first." Luigi replied.
"How come I go first?" Mario asked.
"You're the firstborn, and I went first when we opened our presents last year. It's-a your turn to go first." Luigi said.
"Right. Okie-dokie." Mario smiled. He opened the card from Luigi first and read the simple yet thoughtful message he had written inside. Then he smiled and said, "Grazie, fratello. Thanks, bro."
"Prego. You're welcome." said Luigi.
Then Mario opened his present, and he grinned when he saw what was inside the wrapped box. He took it out of the box, and everyone saw that it was the Beatles' Red Album.
"All right! I was wondering if and when we were going to get this one for our collection of Beatles albums!" Mario cheered as he hugged Luigi tightly.
"And thanks to me, we've got it now!" Luigi smiled as he returned Mario's hug.
"Okie-dokie. It's-a your turn." Mario smiled, letting go of Luigi and handing him his present.
"I wonder what I'm going to get..." Luigi said as he opened the card and read the message Mario had written inside of it. He looked at Mario with happiness and said, "You're the best."
"Don't say that until you've opened your present, Luigi." Mario told him.
"Why? What is it?" Luigi asked as he opened his present. Then his eyes got big, and he held up the gift to show everyone what it was. It was a copy of the Beatles' first movie "A Hard Day's Night"!
"Grazie mille, Mario! Thank you so much! Please tell me we're going to watch this movie tonight!" Luigi begged.
"Certo che lo siamo! Of course we are! There's no better way for a couple of Beatles fans like us to finish their birthday!" Mario said with a happy laugh.
"You really are the best!" Luigi said, setting the movie off to the side and giving Mario the biggest hug ever, which Mario was happy to return. That sight received a loud 'Awww!' from the princess. She thought their brotherly love was the sweetest thing she had ever witnessed.
The brothers then began opening cards and gifts from everyone else. They got lots of neat things, too. One Toad made bags for each brother to keep power-ups in (in their favorite colors, too). Mario and Luigi found themselves thanking everyone for their nice presents. Princess Peach had surprised both of them with 100 coins each!
"Grazie, principessa! Thank you, Princess!" the birthday boys said to Peach in unison. They'd have to set some of that money aside for Christmas and make sure to get her something really nice.
"You're very welcome, birthday boys." Peach smiled, knowing Mario and Luigi would appreciate her thoughtful gift. It was also another way she wanted to repay them for saving the Mushroom Kingdom from that no-good Koopa King.
The party lasted until 5:00 that evening, and by then, everyone was ready to go home after a day of fun at the castle. Peach and the Mario Bros. thanked the guests for coming, and they all walked out the door with final birthday wishes for Mario and Luigi, who happily thanked them.
Once all the guests had gone home, the Toads began cleaning up the castle, and Peach was busily helping them. Mario and Luigi had been planning to head on home, but then again...
"Would you like some help tidying up, Princess?" Luigi offered as he approached the princess.
"You want to help?" Peach asked.
"Well, this party was for us, and we kind of owe you for it." Mario began.
"Think nothing of it. You earned this party, so you don't owe me anything." Peach said.
"But we want to help." Luigi said. He turned to Mario and asked, "Isn't that right, Mario?"
Mario nodded and said, "Per favore, lascia che ti aiutiamo. Please let us help you."
"How thoughtful!" Peach said, unable to argue.
So Mario and Luigi stayed to help tidy things up after the party, and as they helped, they talked with the princess.
"How did you boys enjoy your birthday party?" Peach asked the Marios.
"Questo è il più grande compleanno di sempre! This was the greatest birthday ever!" Mario replied.
"It sure was!" Luigi agreed.
"I'm so glad! The two of you deserved to have a happy birthday!" Peach smiled.
"Did we really?" Luigi asked.
"Of course! What you did was a big deal for everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom, especially for me! And I still can't thank you enough for doing so!" Peach said, giving them both a hug.
"We're happy to have helped you, Princess." Mario said, happily returning her hug. She was such an amazing woman. He hoped that she liked him as much as he did her.
"And I'm grateful to call you my friends." Peach said.
Luigi felt glad that the princess liked him and Mario enough to call them friends as he hugged her back. He wondered if he'd one day be lucky enough to have the princess as more than a friend.
"You really made our day, Princess." Mario smiled.
"This is a birthday we won't easily forget!" Luigi added.
"As long as you boys enjoyed your day, I'm happy." Peach smiled.
Mario and Luigi helped with the cleaning-up process until the castle was spick-and-span. Then the brothers had to get their presents home. Luckily, one Toad had been kind and thoughtful enough to give them a wagon for their birthday, so they could take their gifts home without having to make multiple trips to the castle to haul everything. Peach even helped them load it up with all their gifts.
"All right. That looks like everything." Mario smiled after everything was in the wagon.
"Yup. That's it." Luigi said.
"Okay. Enjoy the rest of your birthday." Peach said, kissing the brothers good-bye.
"Grazie, principessa. Thank you, Princess." Mario smiled.
"We'll see you again." Luigi said.
"I hope to see you boys at my Halloween party the weekend before Halloween, and on Halloween night itself. I'll be here at the castle, handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters." Peach said.
The brothers smiled and promised to be there before they pulled their wagon home. When they were home, they put the wagon in the garage and put all their presents away inside the house.
After finding places for all their new presents, Mario asked Luigi, "So, what shall we do now?"
"Let's-a have dinner." Luigi said.
"Good idea!" Mario smiled.
So the brothers heated up some leftover spaghetti and enjoyed that for dinner. And for dessert, they each had a slice of cheesecake (which they bought at the bakery the previous day).
"All right. Now maybe we should get ready for bed and watch the Beatles in their first movie?" Luigi suggested.
"We should. It's already turning into a hard day's night." Mario smiled, getting a small chuckle from Luigi.
Then Mario and Luigi changed into their pajamas, fixed themselves some popcorn, and got ready to watch "A Hard Day's Night", a perfect ending to what they had to call the greatest birthday ever!
The End
Well, that's the story. That is what happened when the Mario Bros. celebrated their birthday in the Mushroom Kingdom for the very first time. I hope you all enjoyed reading about it!