Chapter 5 Trick or Treat

A cold breeze blew through Stonebrim, nipping at Lemmy's cheek. He observed other trick or treaters making their way through the town, most of them little kids accompanied by their parents. He was worried about this for a minute, reflecting on how it got across the point that Ludwig had made earlier. Ultimately though, he decided to push it to the side.

"Come on, everyone!" he said. "Let's start on our trick or treat journey!"

This was a happy time, and should be treated as such. Halloween only comes once a year, after all.

So, the Koopalings wove their way through Stonebrim. The first house they stopped at belonged to a little old Koopa lady with a baby pink shell and baby pink hair. Celia let out a gasp when she saw them and backed away. Lemmy wasn't entirely sure why.

"Trick or treat!" The Koopalings sang out in unison.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Teenagers? On my doorstep? On Halloween?"

Lemmy felt a pang. "For your information, Halloween is a holiday that can be celebrated by everyone!"

The woman scoffed. "I'm sure." She got out the candy bowl. "Well, don't just stand there; get yourselves some treats."

Lemmy did so, albeit a little reluctantly. As the oldest person here, he felt as if the comments this woman made were directed entirely toward him. As soon as he got his treats, he backed away from her like she had the plague.

Roy, however, looked at her in confusion. "Say, you look a little familiar."

Celia actually whimpered, directing her head to the ground as she did so. Lemmy was seriously wondering what the deal with this woman was.

The woman stared at Roy, her face contorting into a disapproving look. "Do I?"

"Yeah, you do." Suddenly, he let out a gasp. "Oh! I remember now! You're Mavery Marksmite!"

Larry blinked. "Mavery Marksmite?"

Mavery grit her teeth. "Oh. Now I remember. You're that brute who came into my house to introduce me to my granddaughter." She looked out at the party, specifically at Celia cowering in the corner. "I sure am glad that such a crime against nature is hiding her face from the world tonight."

Lemmy gasped. What? Wait, what? She was saying that...to her granddaughter of all people?

"Well, I think you should hide your face from the world considering that you're ugly both inside and out!" Roy exclaimed.

Mavery exhaled in disgust and slammed the door right in their face. The Koopalings exchanged looks, all while Celia shivered.

"That was certainly uncalled for," said Iggy.

"Yes, certainly," said Morton. "Let's go to another house so we can forget about that."

They did just that. Lemmy stayed at the back of the group, allowing his younger siblings some time to chat amongst themselves. Coincidentally, Roy and Celia were also at the back of the group, and Roy was comforting his girlfriend.

"You don't have to listen to her," Roy said. "She's just running her mouth."

Celia nodded, pulling back the hood of her cloak as she did so. "I know."

Roy smiled. "Good. I'm glad you know." He hugged her, and Celia hugged him back. That was when Lemmy noticed something on Celia's finger. Something...shiny.

"Hey, Cee, what's that?"

Celia blinked. "What, this?" She looked down at the ring. "It's a star bit ring." The yellow gem glittered in the moonlight. "It is a family heirloom. It belonged to my Mom's grandmother." She smiled. "Mom says that she discovered the star bit on the night she met her husband. It fell right at their feet, and my grandfather decided to craft their engagement ring out of it."

Lemmy gawked. "That's amazing."

Celia nodded. "It is." She pulled her hood back up. "It really is."

It was then that Lemmy realized that the party had stopped once again. Larry knocked on the door, and it was opened by a bandit.

"Trick or Treat!"

The bandit grinned. "Wow! You guys must have the most creative costumes I've seen all night!" He got out the candy bowl. "That deserves some extra goodies."

Lemmy's spirits soared. Extra goodies! Oh man, this was exactly why he loved Halloween! He held out his bag, and the bandit dropped five whole pieces of chocolate in. Lemmy couldn't help but smile.

The others stepped in line for their candy too. Lemmy noticed that the bandit gave everyone four pieces each instead of five. Lemmy reasoned that this was because he was the cutest person in the party. This made his spirits soar even more.

When the bandit got to Celia, he stared at the star bit ring on her hand. "That's a pretty ring there sweetie."

Celia hesitated. "Uh...thanks."

Lemmy instantly became alert. Bandits were known for stealing prized possessions. What if this one….? Oh dear, Lemmy couldn't let that happen!

The bandit just laughed and placed some candy in her bag. "Well, have a good night everyone. Hopefully, I'll see you next year!"

With that, the bandit closed their door. Lemmy let out a sigh of relief. The ring was still on Celia's finger, meaning that the bandit hadn't done anything shady. And based on the way he had closed the door, he probably wasn't planning on doing anything shady either.

"Alright!" Iggy exclaimed. "Forward march!"

…

The party had visited so many houses at this point that if they had decided to eat all of their candy now, they would enter a sugar coma. Lemmy in particular was swimming in the stuff; he couldn't remember the last time he had seen this much candy in one place.

"That was awesome!" Larry exclaimed as he chowed down on some of his loot.

"Yeah!" said Wendy. She pulled a cinnamon fireball out of her bag. "We're so gonna get diabetes!"

Iggy laughed. "Well, I am appreciative of the fact that we all got to do this as a group. This might be one of the last times we get the opportunity."

Lemmy seized up. "Uh, no! We're gonna do this next year, and the year after that...we're gonna do this til we die!"

Iggy looked down at Lemmy and snickered. "You honestly believe going trick or treating is acceptable as an eighty year old?"

"Of course! You're never too old to have fun!"

Iggy snorted. "Okay. Whatever you say."

Lemmy's jaw dropped. "Why is everyone saying stuff like that? First Ludwig, then Mavery, and now you! Why can't we just ignore our ages and have fun tonight?"

The Koopalings exchanged looks. "Well, you do outgrow certain things, Lems," said Wendy.

Lemmy stomped his feet. "You don't have to! Growing up is a choice?"

"Growing up is a necessity," said Iggy as he narrowed his gaze. "If you refuse to change, then you will become stagnant. And stagnation is not good for anyone. We're beings that are designed to change."

Lemmy shook his head. "I...I want…."

"I know what you want, Lems. But life doesn't work that way." Iggy walked past him. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to follow in Ludwig's footsteps. Heck, some day, you're probably going to want to follow in Ludwig's footsteps."

Lemmy hung his head. "That's not true." He sniffled. "Not true."

Roy put his hand on Lemmy's shoulder. "Hey, buddy." Lemmy looked up into his face and saw that he was smiling. "Just because you might want to someday doesn't mean that day has to be today."

Lemmy's heart skipped a beat. He smiled up at his younger brother. "Thanks, Roy." He gave him a quick hug, which the burly brute gladly returned.

"You're welcome."

When Lemmy let go, he looked over at the rest of the party. He saw that the others were already knocking at another door. Lemmy was about to head over to them, but then he realized that his bag was practically dragging across the ground. He tried lifting it up, but he wasn't strong enough.

"Oh, man," he grunted. He let out a defeated sigh. "I think I need to stop for tonight."

"Nonsense!" said Roy. He lifted up the bag. "Tell you what; Celia and I will go a separate route with your bag. That way, you can get even more candy than you would with them."

Lemmy beamed. "That sounds like a great idea! Thanks so much, Roy."

"Of course." Roy's eyes twinkled. "Anything for my little big brother."

With that, he called Celia over, and the two of them went their separate ways. Lemmy did a little happy jig; he was going to get so much candy!