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~Mario & Luigi’s House – Mushroom Kingdom – Early Afternoon
It was just another Friday morning and both Mario brothers got up to start the day. Mario sat near the kitchen table, reading today’s newspaper. Luigi walked past him to get to the stove when he glanced at the front cover and noticed a black and white photo of a special memory – the day he and his older brother saved Princess Peach from the dreaded Lord Bowser.
Back then, plumbing was their game and they stumbled upon a secret warp zone while working on a drain. Since then, they’ve become the Mushroom Kingdom’s greatest heroes – especially Mario, who’s been on more adventures than anybody could count.
Luigi smiled at the photo before he opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk. Just before he opened it, he couldn’t help but notice the expiration date.
MAR10.
“Heh…” he chuckled to himself. “Even the milk feels like celebrating.”
“What was that, Luigi?” Mario asked, lowering his paper on the table.
“Look at the milk’s expiration date.”
Squinting his eyes, the red-hatted plumber read the date to himself and laughed. “Ha, is it really Mario Day already?”
"Heck yeah, it is," Luigi smiled as he poured the expired milk down the drain. “It’s one of my favorite times of the year. We all get together at Peach’s Castle and celebrate your heroism.”
“Eh, it’s-a just a normal day to me but I appreciate it,” Mario shrugged before he raised an eyebrow. “But… here’s-a one thing I never understood about today.”
Luigi threw away the carton and whipped out a frying pan from the cabinet underneath the sink. He turned over his shoulder and said, “Oh? And what’s-a that, Bro?”
“Why is it just called Mario Day? Why not Mario Brothers Day?”
“Maybe the word bros doesn’t fit on a milk carton,” Luigi joked.
Mario smirked at the quip and shook his head. “I’m-a serious, Luigi. Mario Day is supposed to be the anniversary of when we-a first came here and rescued Peach from the Koopa Kingdom. You were there with me, so it’s unfair that today’s referred to as Mario Day.”
The younger brother widened his bluebell eyes, and he stopped what he was doing; he was just about to crack some eggs onto the pan before he registered all that was said. Looking down to the right, he pondered everything his brother spoke about, and he released a low sigh. Soon, he dropped a few egg yolks onto the pan and gently patted the side with a spatula.
“Well… you’ve-a been on more adventures than I have, Mario,” he said, leaving the eggs alone so they could cook. “I haven’t done anything super heroic.”
“Yes, you have,” Mario gently retorted. “You’ve-a rescued me from not-a one, not-a two, but-a three haunted mansions. Plus, there was that time I-a went missing and you-a saved me from Bowser. Not to mention all the times you’ve tagged along on my adventures. You were there when I was helping Rosalina locate missing Power Stars, you-a went into the Sprixie Kingdom with me, and we’ve-a battled threats like Wart and Cackletta. And let’s-a not forget all of those times we-a teamed up with Starlow.”
Luigi couldn’t help but smile as the memories flowed through his mind like a waterfall. “Yeah… those were-a good times.”
“And they prove that today shouldn’t just be about me.”
“Mio Fratello, I appreciate that you want me to be included in the tradition, but…” he said with the same smile. “The truth is… you’re-a more popular than I am. The Toads, the princess, everybody sees you as the hero, and I'm-a just the sidekick. I-a know you've mentioned all of those journeys we've been on but in the end… you’re the one who does most of the work; therefore, you should get all of the credit.”
“But…” Mario looked down and clenched his fist. “That shouldn’t be fair to you. You-a deserve just as much recognition as I do.”
Noticing his brother's look of guilt, Luigi sat down and patted him on the shoulder. "Mario… I'm-a not bothered by it. I-a don't need everyone to applaud me for my heroics. I-a know what I do for the Mushroom Kingdom.”
“Since-a when did you become so… humble? N-not that you haven’t always been that way, but… back in the day, you’ve a yearned for recognition when I took up a lot of the spotlight.”
“I will admit…” Luigi smiled. “Back-a then, I felt inferior to you. You were the great Super Mario and you still are. I was just some coward who was lucky enough to not die by the hands of strange creatures. But over time… I-a started to gain a lot of self-confidence. Navigating through haunted places with Professor E. Gadd seemed to have helped with that.”
He paused for a moment before he continued, “Those solo adventures taught me to be brave, but… I also realized that I shouldn’t be bothered by what other people think of me. I am who I am… and there’s nothing I would do to change that.”
After hearing that, Mario made a half-smile and nodded. Part of him loved that his brother felt that way but at the same time, he wasn’t completely convinced. Luigi had done a lot in the past, he deserved to be thanked for it. Of course, the red-hatted hero kept his mouth shut as he did not want to risk getting into a heated debate. Instead of talking back, he fully smiled and pulled his brother into a small hug.
“You’re a class act, Luigi.”
“Ha-ha… I try.”
The Mario Brothers hugged for a few seconds before both of them smelt something burning.
“OH NO!” Luigi exclaimed as he ran towards the stove. “The eggs are burning!”
As he watched his panicked brother put out a few flames coming from the pan, Mario stroked his chin and began to think.
~Peach’s Castle – Mushroom Kingdom – Morning
After a non-burnt breakfast, Mario made his way toward his girlfriend's humble adobe and was kindly allowed inside by two guard Toads. As soon as he entered the front door, he widened his eyes as he saw a big surprise.
Princess Peach and two yellow and blue toads (Dash and Yolk) were running around like rats from a sinking ship – they along with a few other Toads were preparing for a big party that was happening later today. Mario entered the chaotic room and avoided bumping into people as he noticed red banners plastered all over the ceiling. They each had the same initial that was on his hat and he followed the banners to the edge of the walls, where dramatic paintings of him were being neatly placed. Some paintings were recreations of past victories like the time he fought King Bob-Omb, the day he and Cappy battled The Broodals, and one of the many times he fought against Bowser, who had used a Mega Mushroom to turn huge.
But then other paintings made him raise an eyebrow – one was a portrait of him sitting on the king's throne wearing a golden crown and a purple robe, one was a picture of him in his boxers with an eagle resting on his forearm, and the last one was a weird picture of him seductively smiling while having a rose between his teeth.
Mario cringed at the last one before he approached the princess, who chatted on the phone with her cousin: Princess Daisy.
“Do you have all of Mario’s favorite meals cooked, Daisy?” Peach asked.
“What? I thought you were supposed to be doing the cooking! You’re the one that bakes him a bunch of cakes!”
“Yeah, but I can’t cook! I got to set up all of the decorations and find him a present!”
“That’s easy, just get him another mug with his face on it.”
“No! He already has a lot of those! Look, just look at the list I sent you and start cooking!”
“Um… Princess?” Mario greeted.
Dash the Blue Toad was the first to notice the hero and gasp. "Aw, man! Mario, you spoiled our surprise!"
“Dude, we’ve done Mario Day for years, he knows what we do by now,” Yolk the Yellow Toad replied. “Hey, Mario. How can we help you?”
Once she heard the name of her boyfriend, Peach hung up and turned around. “Oh, Mario. I didn’t notice you there. Is everything okay? Sorry about the mess, we’re trying to get everything set up for your big day.”
“Peach, today is Mario Day – not my birthday,” Mario chuckled. “I appreciate all of this, but… don’t you think this is a bit much?”
“Well, how else are we supposed to thank you for everything you do?” Peach smiled warmly.
Mario chuckled.
“So, what brings you here?” Peach asked again.
“Oh, right… do you mind if the four of us talk in private?”
“Sure thing. Let’s head upstairs. Dash, would you mind telling Toad to supervise the decorations? I want to make sure everything is perfect.”
“You got it, Princess!” Dash saluted as he took off faster than the speed of light. A strong wind almost blew pictures of Mario’s face out of Yolk’s hands.
The yellow Toad snarled and clenched his fists. “I hate it when he does that!”
~Peach’s Castle – Mushroom Kingdom – Morning
After a couple of minutes of watching Peach, Yolk, and Dash assist in decorations for today's party – Mario joined them upstairs where they met in a room containing the entrance to Tick Tock Clock. Upon first glance, the plumber couldn't help but remember the time he had to collect one hundred and twenty stars to access Bowser's secret base and rescue the princess. Most memories of that world were positive until he remembered falling to his doom before he could reach the last red coin; he shivered at the thought of collecting those darn coins again.
His mind quickly went back on topic when Peach stopped walking, turned around, and said, “Okay, Mario. What was it you needed to talk to us about?”
He scratched the back of his before taking a deep breath. “So… I’ve been-a thinking about… Mario Day.”
“Do you want us to get you a present? I already got you a few, but I can get you more,” Yolk asked, clapping both hands together.
“Yeah, like he really needs another lampshade with his face on it,” Dash rolled his eyes.
“That was one time!” the Yellow Toad snarled.
“Six.”
“Six times! It’s all I can afford!”
“Enough, you two!” Peach barked, startling both Toads. She turned her attention back to Mario and said, “Sorry about that. What were you saying, Mario?”
“I want to make a change to Mario Day this year,” the blue-eyed hero replied, tapping his fingers together. “I don’t want it to just be about me.”
Everyone raised their eyebrows.
"But… it's called Mario Day," Dash shrugged. "It's a day celebrating your first arrival to our kingdom."
“Yeah, that’s the issue,” Mario continued. “Let me just-a say that I'm-a thankful you guys created a whole day centered around my first adventure. It wasn't necessary, but I appreciate it nonetheless, but… I wasn't the only one that rescued Peach from Bowser that day. Do you know who else was there?"
“Luigi,” Peach smiled.
“Exactly!”
“Well, we recognize Luigi as a hero just as much as we do you,” Yolk said, folding his arms. “But today isn’t about him.”
“Then it should be,”
“Huh?” both Toads widened their eyes.
“Instead of Mario Day, it should be Mario and Luigi Day… heck, we should do that for all future Mario Days. Luigi deserves as much credit as I do. Heck, I’d-a argue he deserves more credit for all of the times he’s-a saved us from King Boo and the haunted mansions. Peach, you remember when he rescued you from Hellen Gravely, don’t-a you?”
“Of course, I do,” the princess nodded. “Luigi was very brave that day.”
“Then you-a know why we need to change Mario Day.”
“But… that would break tradition,” Yolk retorted gently.
"Oh, so we're not just gonna give Luigi the credit he deserves?" Mario inquired with a stern expression.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant… we just… we just uh…” the Yellow Toad nervously rubbed his head and clenched his stomach. “We… uh… Mario, you see… we-“
Thankfully, Dash placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and tenderly smiled. "What Yolk means to say is… we have nothing against Luigi. He's looked out for us whenever we join you in rescuing Peach. But we made Mario Day for you. No offense to your brother, but you’re the star of the show. You’re more popular than he is. Yes, he’s done a lot for the Mushroom Kingdom, but you’ve done more.”
“But that’s-a no excuse to not give him recognition.”
“It’s not like we haven’t given him credit at all. We dedicated an entire year to him.”
“Yeah, one year. Mario Day happens every year. He deserves-a more.”
“Hold on…” Peach intervened. “If I may…”
Mario and the two Toads exchanged a glance before they nodded.
The princess released a deep breath before she approached the group with her hands pressed firmly. “Dash, Yolk, I understand that Mario Day's become a tradition in our kingdom and yes, Mario has been on several solo adventures… however, it does not mean that we should disregard the things Luigi's done to keep this kingdom safe. I believe that Mario and Luigi are equal to one another. Both are strong, brave, compassionate, and kind, and will do anything to keep us out of harm's way. Just because today is about Mario doesn't mean we should neglect Luigi's accomplishments. I don't care if it's for the sake of tradition."
Both Toads briefly looked at one another before they sighed in sorrow; feeling bad for the claims they'd made about the younger plumber. They turned to the hero with both hands behind their backs.
“The princess is right,” Dash nodded.
"Yeah… sorry, Mario," Yolk added.
Mario unfolded his arms and patted both of the Toads’ heads. “It’s okay. I-a know you guys wanted to focus on me, and I appreciate it. But… I want to share the spotlight from now on.” He then turned to the princess and nervously rubbed his head. “If… it’s okay with you, Princess.”
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “What changes did you want to make, Mario?”
The plumber stroked his chin and thought about his response. Part of them thought of changing the name to Mario & Luigi Day, but he shook his head, thinking that would be too basic. He also thought of dedicating an entire day to Luigi, but he closed both eyes and groaned, implying that wouldn’t be enough.
After a few seconds of thinking, he snapped his fingers and a warm smile splashed across his face. “I-a have an idea.”
~Peach’s Castle – Mushroom Kingdom – Evening
After a few hours of preparing for today’s party, Mario made his way home to his house where he found Luigi taking a nap on the couch. On the table was a box of chocolate cupcakes with some red velvet frosting.
On top of the box was a red sticky note that read To the best Brother in the world. Happy Mario Day – Love, Luigi.
Upon reading the message, Mario smiled warmly as he covered his younger brother with a blanket. He was happy to know Luigi was sleeping and he quickly rushed into the kitchen to do what he needed to do. Quickly putting on his red apron and white chef's hat, he pulled out all the ingredients needed for his dish: sticks of butter, chocolate chips, sugar, flour, and much more.
After an hour or so, he pulled out a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. He waited for them to cool down for a bit as he whipped out some buttercream frosting and spread it all over the cookies, getting every crook and cranny he could see. Once that was done, he threw a couple of green sprinkles and aligned them to make the shape of his brother's initial.
By the time he was finished, he heard a loud yawn come from behind; Luigi was wide awake. Panicking, Mario gently organized the cookies into a green box and hid them behind his back, watching as the younger brother walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup from the cabinet. Getting some ice cubes from the fridge, he poured some water from the sink into his cup and took a sip.
Noticing his brother in chef’s clothing, Luigi raised an eyebrow and asked what he was up to. Mario hated lying to his brother (or to anyone in general) but he knew he had to keep this a secret. He just said he was hungry, so he whipped out some fresh spaghetti and ravioli for himself.
Luigi rolled his eyes and chuckled before he grabbed his cupcakes from the living room and reminded him that they need to go to Peach’s castle for tonight’s celebration. Mario waited for Luigi to leave the door before he grabbed his box of cookies and followed close behind, keeping the treats hidden behind his back.
The brothers passed through Toadtown Square before they finally made it to their destination: Peach’s Castle – a large white and red building that was impossible to miss.
“I hope you like the cupcakes I-a made for you, Bro,” Luigi smiled, opening up his box of deserts. They were all designed similarly to Mario’s cookies except they were red (obviously) and had the letter M written in sprinkles. “I used mother’s recipe.”
“Oh, I’m-a sure they’re gonna be delicious, Luigi,” Mario smiled, briefly glancing at the box behind him. Everything was still intact.
Luigi noticed Mario looking at the box and he raised an eyebrow. “Huh? What’s-a that you got there, Bro?”
“Oh-a nothing,” he smirked and shrugged. “Just thought I’d-a bring some cookies.”
“You-a brought food to your own party?”
“Why not? I’m-a hungry.”
“Sheesh, that’s-a something Wario would say.”
"Well, unlike that guy, I-a know how to burn off calories.”
The brothers shared a laugh before they approached the castle’s main bridge.
“We’re-a almost there, Luigi,” Mario smiled, tapping his crate of desserts. “I’m-a so excited.”
“Me too. This is going to be the best Mario Day party…” his bright smile suddenly faded and both eyes broadened when he noticed something near the castle’s bridge.
On the two sides, there were red balloons with the letter M printed in the center, but they weren't the only ones. To Luigi's surprise, there were a few green balloons thrown into the mix and much like the red ones, they blew against a cool windy breeze. Thankfully, they were tied together so they wouldn't fly away.
Luigi approached the balloons and squinted his eyes, noticing a familiar letter drawn on them.
L.
Raising an eyebrow, he turned to his brother who just kept walking towards the castle door.
“M-Mario?”
“Yes, Luigi?” his older brother turned around.
“Are… t-these… n-no, t-they can’t be.”
“What’s the matter, Luigi?”
“They must have run out of Mario balloons. Why else would they use Luigi balloons?”
Mario turned back toward the castle doors, not wanting his brother to notice his smirk. “Hmm… I’m-a not sure. Maybe there’s another reason.”
“Mario, are you hiding something from me?”
“I dunno, Luigi… am I?”
“Something tells me you’re-a lying. Mama always said you were a terrible liar.”
Mario and Luigi approached the wooden doors and walked inside. They explored the hallways for a bit before they finally arrived in the main hall. The former was the first to enter and he stepped aside while the latter came in and quickly stopped, seeing something he thought he would see.
Normally, Mario-themed decorations would be the only ones blanketing the place but there were some new additions: paintings, pictures, banners, party streamers, and balloons – all of which contained Luigi's face. Portraits highlighted all of the times Luigi joined his brother, Dash, and Yolk on adventures to save Princess Peach, hand-drawn paintings showcased the spooky feeling he had when he fought ghosts in not one, not two, but three haunted places. One of the pictures was a frighting image of him standing near a window with his Poltergust 5000 aimed at King Boo's face. Luigi stared at that one for a while, remembering how scared he was that day, but he soon smiled once he noticed a look of determination on the picture's face.
Of course, that was just the beginning.
As he veered his eyes to the table in front of him, he noticed one side was filled with presents covered in red wrapping paper and the other side had the same amount, but they were all various shades of green. Luigi turned to his brother, who placed his box of cookies on the table and opened them up, showing them off all of their glory.
Luigi gasped when he saw them, admiring how detailed and neat they were before his attention was snatched by the main attraction.
For most Mario Days – Princess Peach and Princess Daisy would go out of their way to make a large cake with a fondant Mario jumping on top of Goombas and exploring the vast land of the Mushroom Kingdom; this cake was different. Instead of Mario wandering around a colorful landscape, it was a recreation of the day Mario and Luigi (who wore red and green overalls with blue shirts back in the day) working on the same drain that sent them to the magical land. Mario held the shower curtain open and supervised his brother sticking a plunger down the drain. Speaking of which, the young hero himself felt his mustache tingle and his heart pumping. His eyes began to water at the sight of the cake as a wave of memories started flooding through his mind. Mario looked over and noticed a couple of tears dropping down Luigi's cheeks, causing him to smile warmly and pat Luigi on the back.
Just when Luigi’s day couldn’t get better, he heard several footsteps come from the right.
When he and Mario turned in that direction, they saw everyone waiting to surprise them – Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Rosalina, Dash, Yolk, Toad, Toadette, everyone from the Toad Brigade, Toadsworth, Cappy, Tiara, and Yoshi. All of them stood next to one another, holding a large piece of paper in their hands.
Each of them exchanged a smiling glance before they unraveled the paper, revealing a drawing of Mario and Luigi followed by a large title…
HAPPY BROTHERS DAY.
They all shouted the words written on the paper and Luigi was taken aback.
“Bro… Brothers Day?”
“Figured I’d make a few changes to the tradition this year,” Mario smiled, wrapping his arm around the plumber’s shoulder.
“You… you did this… f-for me?”
“You bet he did,” Daisy smiled as she rushed towards her boyfriend, pulled him into a tight hug, and kissed his cheek. “You won’t believe how excited I was when Peach told me you were being included in Mario Day.”
But she did snarl at her cousin. “Although… the extra workload of cooking wasn’t that nice.”
“Ha-ha, sorry,” Peach laughed, rubbing the back of her blonde hair.
"Master Luigi… I'd like to apologize for not including you sooner," Toadsworth frowned, placing his cane on the floor. "Mario Day is supposed to be a celebration of when you two first came to the Mushroom Kingdom and saved our beloved princess from Bowser. I do not know what I was thinking when I didn't include you in the holiday… forgive me, my friend."
“Us too,” Dash and Yolk said at the same time.
“And same here,” Peach nodded.
Luigi stood still for a few seconds before he walked toward everyone and said, “Guys… none of you need to apologize to me. I was never-a bothered by the fact Mario got his own day. Besides, you all dedicated a whole year to me.”
Both Blue and Yellow Toads glared at Mario when they heard that.
“But Luigi…” Mario said, walking closer to his brother. “You-a deserve more than that. You’re my brother. You’ve-a been there for me since the beginning. I couldn’t have saved Peach without you. Yes, there have been times where I’ve-a done it myself, but… those adventures aren’t the same without you by my side.”
Luigi smiled warmly as he placed a hand on Mario’s shoulder. “I-a told you this morning that I don’t-a need a lot of recognition for the things I do. Just-a being by your side is more than enough for me. I appreciate all of this, really, I-a do. This is one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me… but I don’t-a go out of my way to be heroic for recognition, I-a do it because it’s the right thing to do. I may not be as popular as you, Brother, but… that’s okay. I used to be ashamed of who I am because of how cowardly I was… but nowadays, I couldn’t be any happier and it’s all because of you guys.”
He motioned to everyone else. “You all-a shaped me into the person I am today… and I couldn’t thank you all enough for being there for me.”
Finally, he looked at Mario again and wiped some tears away from his eyes. “I appreciate you guys changing Mario Day for me… but as I said… I-a don’t need a lot of recognition. Just knowing I’m here to help you is enough for me.”
Mario and everyone else registered all of that and the red-hatted hero smiled, holding his brother in a warm embrace. Both of them hugged and closed their eyes for a little while before they let go and fist-bumped.
“So… does this mean we need to take down all of the Luigi decorations?” Rosalina asked. “My Lumas and I can help if you guys wish.”
“Yeah, and waste all of that extra cooking I did too,” Daisy huffed, folding her arms.
"Um… I'll-a leave that in you guys' hands," Luigi smiled. "Brothers Day does have a nice ring to it. I don’t mind it being kept around.”
“You really are the best of all of us, Bro,” Mario smiled, lightly punching Luigi’s shoulder. “Let’s-a celebrate. I have a feeling you’re-a going to like those cookies I baked.”
“I just hope they don’t-a taste like the ones you made for Pauline years ago,” Luigi joked.
“How was I supposed to know that wasn’t peanut butter! It-a looked just like it!”
As Luigi and the others laughed, they all approached the table and Peach pulled out a large cutting knife. All of them got ready to have a slice of cake, celebrating a time when two brothers came together to do the impossible.
~Peach’s Castle – Mushroom Kingdom – Night
As the party continued inside, the attendees were unaware that two individuals were spying on them from a large tree. Those two Wario and Waluigi. They shook their heads and groaned in annoyance.
“Waaaah! This blows! Mario decides to include Luigi in Mario Day, but he doesn’t include us!” Waluigi snarled. “What a rip, am I right, Wario!?”
“You’re telling me, Waluigi,” Wario mumbled, clapping his fists together. “Doesn’t Mario remember the time I helped him, Luigi, and Yoshi save Peach? But then again, Mario was the one that got all of the hugs and kisses. What did I get? Nothing! I worked my butt off throwing that Bully over the side of a cliff and yet Mario gets all of the credit! I swear, I hate that guy so much!”
“I hate him just as much as I hate Luigi!” Waluigi barked.
Both of them gritted their teeth and kept their fists curled up.
But suddenly, Wario calmed down and stroked his chin. “You know what, Waluigi… if the residents of this smelly kingdom don’t want to give us a holiday, we should make our own. I could get everybody at WarioWare to make us a party.”
“Yeah! We can have our own Brothers Day!” Waluigi smiled, snapping his fingers. “Wait! Better yet… every day can be Wario Brothers Day!”
The bulky man smiled as bright as the moon. “I like the way you think, Waluigi!”
“I thought you might say that. Do you hear that, Mario Brothers! Every day is going to be Wario Brothers day from here on out!”
“Yeah! Keep your stupid holiday because ours is better than yours!”
“Waaaah! Take that, stupid Mario Brothers!”
Hearing the commotion from the main hall, Toad opened the window and shouted at both villains, “HEY SHUT UP!”
He threw a Blue Koopa Shell at them and it loomed over their heads.
Their faces dropped and sweat poured from their heads.
“Oh no…” Waluigi gulped.
“WALUIGI, RUN!” Wario shouted as he jumped off the tree.
But it was already too late.
All that was left was a broken tree and two wounded idiots.
THE END
Happy Mario Day!