(A/N: Okay, I didn't plan on doing this story from the get-go, but a review from VittorioFGC inspired me to write what you're about to read. This is the story of Princess Peach's Halloween party, which she had mentioned to Mario and Luigi the end of The Super Birthday Party. Now it's time for me to start this fanfic! Enjoy!)
It was the last Saturday of October in the Mushroom Kingdom. Halloween was closer than ever, and all the Toads in the kingdom were very excited about the coming holiday. They knew that Halloween meant trick-or-treating and gorging on the sweets they collected until they were sick. But we can't worry about them. We're supposed to be with the Mario Bros. right now, so let's head on over to their place and see what they're up to!
Mario and Luigi were really looking forward to what was going on tonight. It wasn't Halloween yet (that was still a few days away), but Princess Peach was throwing a Halloween party that night, and she had invited them to it! But there was just one problem.
"Mario, don't you think we're going to need to wear... I don't know... costumes to this party?" Luigi asked Mario.
"Hai ragione. You're right, Luigi. People usually dress up in costumes at Halloween parties, so it looks like we're going to need to find some good costumes to wear before it's-a time for us to go to the party." Mario said.
"Like what?" Luigi asked.
"I don't really know..." Mario said after a moment of awkward silence. They didn't really have any Halloween costumes on hand.
"Well, I can tell you right now that I'm not going to attend Peach's Halloween party as something scary, like un fantasma, a ghost. You know that I hate ghosts. I always have, and I always will." Luigi said.
(A/N: He'll have to take that statement back after he gets Polterpup, the cute ghost dog!)
"I wasn't suggesting we go as something weak like ghosts. And if ghosts are a weak thing to dress up as, then so are mummies, since what you have to do to look like one is wrap yourself in either toilet paper or medical tape." Mario mentioned.
"Yeah, and that seems like such a waste..." Luigi said with a sigh. He didn't like the idea of wasting such things in order to dress up for Halloween.
"Wait! I just got an idea! How about we go to the party as a couple of handsome princes?" Mario suggested.
Luigi looked like he was about to agree with the idea, but then his face fell, and he shook his head and said, "No. We'd better not do that."
"Why not? I think that's a great idea!" Mario said.
"No, it's-a not. For one thing, I don't think the princess is going to be dressed as una principessa, a princess. And besides, she might say something like 'You boys look so handsome in your prince costumes, but I hope you know that a princess must fall in love with a real prince, not plumbers who dress up like princes'." Luigi said, using a flirty girl's voice for Peach's words.
"Mama-mia, you're right about that. Peach may not appreciate those costumes, and Halloween is a time when she can be something other than a princess." Mario said, and his face fell.
"Should we dress up as superheroes instead? That would probably work for us, and those are just as popular as the scary costumes..." Luigi suggested.
"No. I don't think we'll need to do that. We're already considered heroes by the people who live here in the Mushroom Kingdom. Why put on tights and a cape when these heroes wear overalls?" Mario asked.
"Buon punto. Good point. Well, we can't just go as plumbers since that's what we already are, so what are we gonna be, if not princes or superheroes?" Luigi asked.
"I... I wish I had a better idea..." Mario sighed, at a loss.
If they didn't come up with any good ideas sooner or later, they just might have to attend the party as something pathetic, and that would be pretty embarrassing. They wouldn't want to go if that was the case, but they really wanted to see the princess. Would they be able to come up with some good costume ideas before party time?
That afternoon, the brothers were sitting in the living room, channel-surfing. Maybe watching T.V. would give them an idea for costumes. Before long, they found out that "The Empire Strikes Back" was playing on one channel, and it was at the scene where Luke Skywalker was fighting Darth Vader.
"Oh, how come we didn't find out that this movie was on a lot sooner?!" Mario complained. They'd already missed most of the good parts, and the movie was near the end.
"Don't complain, Mario! Here comes the interesting part!" Luigi said, turning up the volume, for they knew what was going to happen. And they watched and listened as Luke found out the horrible, shocking truth about Darth Vader, his mortal enemy.
After the movie ended, Mario and Luigi talked about that movie and its sequel... then they suddenly trailed off and looked at each other. They both seemed to have just gotten the same idea, and it might be good enough.
"Are you thinking...?" Mario asked.
"Yup! Let's-a go to the party as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader! But we need to find the costumes first." Luigi said.
"Okie-dokie! When we find them, then I'll go to the party as Darth Vader! You can go as Luke." Mario said.
"You want to be the bad guy, Mario?" Luigi asked.
"He's a pretty epic villain, Luigi! You can't possibly hate him! Besides, he did pretty much redeem himself at the end of "Return of the Jedi", didn't he? Besides, I think you'd be a lot happier if you were dressing up as the good guy." Mario reminded him.
"That's true. Okie-dokie. So I'm going to be Luke, and you're going to play the role of his papa." Luigi said.
(A/N: A little nod to the 1993 "Super Mario Bros." movie, where Luigi says that Mario pretty much raised him.)
"Great! Now let's-a go shopping!" Mario replied.
So Mario and Luigi quickly found the warp pipe back to Brooklyn. Once there, they immediately started looking around for stores that sold Halloween costumes. The first store they looked at, to their luck, had "Star Wars" costumes (complete with lightsabers) on sale!
"Mama-mia! That sure was quick!" Mario said to Luigi as they paid for the costumes.
"Lo so! I know! We've never found what we wanted so quickly before!" Luigi replied.
Then the brothers hurried back to their home in the Mushroom Kingdom to get ready for the party.
"We're not going to wear our caps, are we?" Luigi asked.
"No, not when I can't wear mine. This mask covers my head, so wearing my cap would be fruitless. Besides, Luke didn't wear a cap, either." Mario said.
"All right." Luigi said. He and Mario usually felt naked without their caps, but this was Halloween, so it wouldn't hurt to forgo the caps for one evening.
"Oh, and we're not going to shave off our mustaches, either!" Mario said.
"Good! I know that none of the main characters in "Star Wars" had one, but I rather like having one." Luigi said, inconspicuously breathing a sigh of relief.
"Me too!" Mario replied.
When they were cleaned up and in their costumes, Mario asked Luigi in his best impression of Darth Vader, "Come ti sembro? How do l look?"
Luigi looked at him and said, "Like a short but threatening Sith Lord who can even speak Italian. But I can handle that because you decided not to attend the party as Darth Vader, and better him than the Emperor. That guy is ugly! Now how about me? How do I look?"
"You look like a Jedi Knight, someone who could defeat both me and Bowser in battle. Now let's-a go to the Halloween party." Mario said.
So the brothers locked the doors and windows before leaving, and then they began to make their way to the castle.
As they walked to the party, Mario and Luigi still couldn't believe their good luck. They'd found great costumes, and they'd never been to a Halloween party at a castle before. Their birthday party had taken place at the castle, but this was not the same.
"What do you think the princess is going to be at the party, if she's not going as una principessa, a princess?" Mario asked.
"Non lo so. I don't know, Mario. We'll probably find out when we get there." Luigi replied.
"I sense much fear in you, Luigi... Are you nervous about this party?" Mario asked.
"Sì... Very nervous..." Luigi said.
"How come? There's nothing for you to be afraid of." Mario told him.
"When you're painfully shy, like I am, you have every reason to be nervous about going to a party, Mario. You know that I'm no good at being la vita della festa, the life of the party, unlike you and the princess." Luigi reminded him.
"Don't put yourself down, Luigi. You had fun at our birthday party a couple of weeks ago, and you handled giving orders in Simon Says very well when you got to be Simon." Mario said.
"Exactly! That was our birthday party, Mario, not just yours or mine. Ours. And I was okay with giving orders during Simon Says because you and Peach were playing the game as well." Luigi reminded him.
"I know, but still, you can't be shy tonight. I bet the Toads might want to talk to you, for tonight, you are Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Knight!" Mario told him.
"Mario, this is just a costume, and I'm only gonna wear it for the party. Maybe I'll even wear this on Halloween night if the party goes well." Luigi said.
"But you're still one of the good guys. I'm playing the villain, remember?" Mario asked.
"Yeah, because I didn't want to play him, and you said you wanted to be him." Luigi said.
"I know. But everyone actually seems to like this villain, so I really don't mind." Mario replied.
Before long, they were standing outside of Peach's castle.
"Well, here we are." Luigi said.
Mario knocked on the door, then began imitating Darth Vader's breathing as he waited for someone to answer the door.
"You're really getting into the part, aren't you, Mario?" Luigi asked, trying not to sound amused but failing.
"It's-a fun to get into the part. You really should try it sometime." Mario told him, before getting back to the Darth Vader breathing.
A few seconds later, someone opened the door. It was Princess Peach, only she wasn't dressed as a princess. She appeared to be dressed like a scullery maid, not wearing her jewelry or make-up. Heck, she wasn't even wearing her crown.
"Princess Peach...?!" Mario and Luigi asked in unison, surprise evident in their voices. They almost didn't recognize her in such a costume, but her pretty face and long blonde hair gave her away.
"Luigi! It's good to see you!" Peach said, greeting him with a hug. She had actually recognized him without his cap.
"How did you know it was me?" Luigi asked.
"Your mustache." Peach replied.
Luigi was glad he hadn't shaved. But he was a little surprised that she didn't notice Mario, but then again, that's probably because his costume was so dark that he blended in with the darkness outside.
"Okay, well... Allo stesso modo, principessa. Likewise, Princess." Luigi replied, feeling happy as he returned the hug.
"Hey, don't forget about me, Peach!" Mario said, before saying, "Oops! I mean..." And he started imitating Darth Vader's breathing again.
"Oh! Who's your friend?" Peach asked Luigi with a smile, having recognized Mario's voice from behind the Darth Vader mask and noticing him.
"Oh, he's not mio amico, my friend, Peach. Tonight, he is il mio nemico, my enemy." Luigi said.
"Your enemy?" Peach asked, letting go of Luigi.
"It's-a just me, Peach." Mario said, removing the mask and showing Peach who he really was.
"Mario! You're in that costume?" Peach asked.
"Sì. Do you like it?" Mario asked.
"It's very interesting. Who are you guys supposed to be?" Peach asked as she gave Mario a hug, which the plumber was only too happy to return.
"We're Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, from the "Star Wars" movies. Mario wanted to be Darth Vader, so I decided to dress up as Luke." Luigi said.
"Oh, right... Well, I'm afraid I don't really know all that much about "Star Wars". Those kind of movies don't really interest me..." Peach said apologetically.
"Oh..." Mario said as he and Peach ended their hug.
"But your costumes are very interesting." Peach said, not wanting Mario or Luigi to feel bad.
"Grazie! Thank you, Princess!" Mario replied, happier now.
"And your costume is also interesting, Princess." Luigi said, looking back at Peach's costume.
"It is. Who are you supposed to be...?" Mario asked, still surprised by how Peach was dressed.
"You don't know? I'm supposed to be Cinderella. In her maid outfit, as you can see." Peach replied. (A/N: The Cinderella she's dressed as is the one from Disney's animated version of the film, which came out in 1950.)
"Oh, right! She did wear rags as she did the housework, yet she still managed to look bellissima, which, as you know, means 'beautiful' in Italian. There is one thing that makes you and her different, not just the fact that you were born a princess while she became one by marrying the prince." Mario said.
"What is it?" Peach asked.
"On you, that outfit looks more like a royal gown." Mario replied.
"Oh, Mario, I know you look like a bad guy, but even so, you're still a little flatterer..." Peach replied, her cheeks turning pink.
"I mean it, Peach. You look bellissima, beautiful, in anything." Mario said.
"Yeah, I know that you're not wearing an outfit Cinderella would think of wearing to the royal ball, but you do look really good in it. Better than her, even, if you want our opinions." Luigi said.
"You boys are so sweet to me." Peach replied, feeling lucky to have these wonderful young men as her friends. Then she said, "Well, come on in! The party's just beginning."
What's going to happen at the party? I'm not telling you that! You'll just have to stay tuned for the next chapter if you want to find out so badly!