The Dinner Party

"ATTENTION ONE AND ALL!" the announcer's voice boomed across the mansion. "I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE WHICH AFFECTS YOU, SO I SUGGEST YOU ALL STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND LISTEN!"

Everyone, indeed, stopped what they were doing and listened.

"IN A FEW DAYS TIME, WE WILL BE HOSTING FORMAL DINNER PARTY THAT ALL OF YOU ARE INVITED TO! NONE OF YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DECLINE, BUT IT'S NOT AS IF YOU'D WANT TO MISS SUCH AN EXTRAVAGANT EVENT WITH YOUR FRIENDS, ENEMIES, AND FELLOW COMPETITORS. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PROPER ATTIRE BEFORE THEN, THE DETAILS OF WHEN AND WHERE ARE IN THE LETTER I HAVE PLACED IN THE MAILBOXES OF EVERY DORM ROOM! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!"

Hearing the news, Terry jumped out of bed.

"Where you going, Terry?" Ken asked from his side of the dorm room they shared.

"To get a new look," Terry answered. "Something tells me this doesn't really count as formal." The fighter gestured to his red jacket and jeans. "Wanna come, K?"

"May as well," Ken answered. "When's the dinner?"

The two fighters walked out of their dorm room, chatting amongst themselves. They walked right past Mario and Isabelle, who were reading their own letter.

"So the dinner will be held in five days at Popstar Buffet," Mario read to his puppy assistant.

"Popstar Buffet!?" Isabelle gasped in shock. "You mean that really expensive buffet with every single kind of food available? It's impossible to get a reservation there!"

"They found a way believe it or not," Mario said. "Not only that, they rented the whole place just for us."

"Well this is exciting!" Isabelle said as she clapped her paws. "I'm going to get my fancy kimono! How about you, Mr. Mario?"

"I'm just gonna dust off my wedding suit," Mario answered. A white suit and matching top hat seemed just perfect for a formal party. "I just hope everyone else can manage..."

The two walked downstairs and into the foyer, right by Bowser Jr. and the seven Koopalings. Being children, they all had something to say about this sudden turn of events, and it was all but positive.

"Man, this sucks!" Morton said. "Why do we gotta dress up for this stupid dinner anyway?"

"I look pretty fabulous as is anyway," Wendy said, posing a bit.

"Please, you couldn't get a guy to look at you for more than three seconds," Roy jeered.

"I think instead of dressing up formally, we should blow the place up!" Ludwig suggested.

"Yeah, with fireworks!" Larry cheered, liking the idea.

"And fireballs!" Lemmy added.

"Uh, guys, you think that's a good idea?" Bowser Jr. said. "I don't think Dad will be very happy about it."

"Please, knowing him, he'd probably LOVE for us to explode the buffet!" Iggy cackled. Before the conversation could go on, Bowser walked by them and eyed them angrily. He was decked out in his wedding suit he used to try and marry Peach that one time, and was upset his kids weren't looking sharp like he was.

"Why aren't you little headaches dressed yet?" Bowser asked. "We got a dinner party to go to! Didn't you hear the Announcer!?"

"Dad... the dinner's not for five days..." Jr. said.

Bowser thought about it for a little bit, then sighed and sadly stomped off, holding his head down.

"See, I told you he wanted to go," Bowser Jr. said. The Koopalings nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly. They still weren't too happy about having to wear fancy clothes.

The day of the dinner party was growing closer, and those who weren't so great at planning ahead were plugging up the lines at any supermarket they could find. Banjo stood outside one of the dressing rooms, sporting a black tuxedo, matching dress pants, and a bowtie, waiting for Kazooie to come out.

"I look stupid," Kazooie said from inside.

"No you don't," Banjo argued.

"I look like Robin Hood's accountant," Kazooie said.

"Kazooie, I'm sure you look dapper!" Banjo said, trying to give his friend some encouragement. "Come on out."

"Banjo, I look like a stuffed animal that you give to your kid after you tell them grandma died," Kazooie sighed. Deciding there was no other way out of this, she opened the door, revealing her dress shirt, matching pants, and black shoes. She also wore a black ribbon on her head.

"See, I told you you'd look good!" Banjo said.

"Next time, I pick the outfits," Kazooie muttered.

In another aisle, Blaze and Ankha were looking around for shoes. Blaze had decided to wear a purple kimono with pink shoes. Ankha was wearing a white dress, as much as she didn't want to. The two were scrolling around for shoes the cat pharaoh could wear, and Blaze found a particularly pretty white pair of dress shoes.

"How about these?" Blaze asked, holding the shoes to Ankha.

"No," Ankha answered. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't wear the shirt. What makes you think I'd wear the shoes too?"

"Ankha," Blaze sighed. "You have to wear something. We need to look formal, remember?"

"But barefoot-" Ankha started before Blaze interrupted her.

"Is the way of the pharaoh, yes, you told me that 20 times already!" Blaze sighed. She put the shoes back and found another pair, this time red. "How about these?"

"No," Anha deadpanned.

Blaze sighed.

Outside another store on the opposite side of town, the Plant Gang were busy planning for their outfits. Or, more specifically, the Blooming Trio were. Since the girls were more experienced in fashion than any of their plant friends, they took to drawing out pictures of what they should look like while Piranha Plant, Deku Baba, Chomper, and Petey Piranha stood by idly.

"So, Popstar Buffet, huh?" Chomper asked, trying to striking up a conversation. "I hear they have every kind of food in the world!" The other plants just looked at him blanky.

"Oh right," he said. "Can't talk. Forgot."

A call from Steenee told the group the trio were done drawing. Comfey and Floette dropped their crayons and hoisted the picture up, letting everyone see it. Steenee was wearing a white dress as if she was being wedded, and Floette and Comfey also had dresses with adorable ribbons on their heads. Piranha Plant, Deku Baba, and Chomper all wore black bowler hats with a cane in their mouths, and Petey Piranha had a brown top hat and a matching brown suit. The boys all nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's go then!" Chomper said.

The Plant Gang went into the store to find their respective attire, and following them were Olimar, Alph, and 10 assorted Pikmin. They quickly went under one of the desks to make sure no unsuspecting consumers would step on them. Olimar held up a small list and read it aloud to the Pikmin.

"OK, Cedric, Lillian, Roger, and Bobby," Olimar called, the respective Pikmin listening in. "Your job is to find a giant hat so we can cut it into small enough hats for everyone."

The four Pikmin nodded and spread out. "Leo, Michael, Lex, and Marianne," Olimar continued. "You four find a big black shirt for us to cut up. Finally, Billy and Mitchel will look for a tie. We had a vote, and the winner is a black tie with white stripes, so find one!"

The rest of the Pikmin scattered around the store to look for their assigned items. "You sure that's going to be enough for everyone?" Alph asked.

"One shirt, one hat, and one tie is more than enough for all of our Pikmin," Olimar answered. "They've also requested we give the Onion a little hat, but we can manage that as well."

"That's a relief," Alph sighed.

Those who did not want to wait in the long lines of the shops to get their clothes needed to turn to others for help. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to set up business and make a profit, Rarity quickly transformed her dorm room into a makeshift Carousel Boutique. Outside the door, tons of Smashers were waiting in line for Rarity to design them some fitting attire. Right now, Rarity was tending to Pikachu.

"Alright darling," Rarity said as she held up some small hats with her magic. "Pick a hat and your outfit will be complete!"

Pikachu thought for a moment before selecting the bowler hat. Nodding, Rarity coated the bowler hat in brown to match with the rest of his outfit, and stuck it in a small box. She closed it and handed it to Pikachu, who handed her 30 Coins in exchange.

"I'm sure you'll look fabulous in that suit," Rarity said.

'Pika!" Pikachu nodded before walking out. The next Smasher to walk into the room was Rambi. Rarity was taken aback a bit, but when fashion is involved, there was no challenge she would back down from!

"Alright, er... Rambi," Rarity said. "Please come to this big stand."

Each stomp he made towards the small elevated pedestal in the room's center shook the floor. Rarity was surprised that the stand didn't break under his weight. She quickly took out some measuring tape and got the rhino's measurements, brainstorming what would look best on him. Suddenly, inspiration hit.

"I-DE-AAAAAAA!" she called out. Using her magic, she quickly pulled out some green, sequined fabric and wrapped it around Rambi's torso. Satisfied, she took the fabric and used scissors to snip it away, making small comments such as "Yes!" and "Perfect!" The unicorn quickly threw it onto the sewing machine, and in just over a minute, her creation was done. Rarity took the green suit and wrapped it over Rambi.

"Now then, what do you think?" Rarity asked as she pulled a mirror so Rambi could see for himself. "I do believe that sparkly green contrasts nicely with your dark-gray hide."

Rambi studied his reflection a bit, and grinned in approval. One last addition she had to make was a small golden ring, which she placed over Rambi's horn.

"Ah, perfect!" she said. "It just brings the whole outfit together! Rarity, once again you strike of genius!"

She quickly took off Rambi's suit and ring and put it in a big box, placing it on the rhino's back. Rambi leaned to the side and let some Coins he was carrying slide off, letting Rarity catch them.

"I hope you look marvelous out there, darling," Rarity called as he stepped out. Her next customer was Engineer Monkey, who was already draped in a black tuxedo and white undershirt, with matching shoes. The unicorn was confused.

"Err, pardon me, but you look like you're already dressed," Rarity said.

Engineer Monkey nodded his head no, and pulled out a wagon of three green sentry guns into the door. He placed each of them on the stand.

"So... you want me to design something for your sentries?" Rarity asked. Engineer Monkey nodded.

"Well... that's a bit unorthodox but simple enough," Rarity said. Taking the measurements of one sentry, she quickly formed some black fabric into a bowtie, placing it under its barrel. She also pulled out a small top hat and placed it on top of the sentry. The monkey clapped in approval, so Rarity did the same for the other two sentries.

Satisfied, Engineer Monkey gave Rarity 30 Coins and put his now dressed-to-impress sentries back on his wagon, and headed out. Rarity looked out her door and saw tons of other Smashers waiting for their turn.

The life of a fashionista wasn't easy, especially when you're one of the few under your roof into fashion.

The day of the party was upon them faster than any of the Smashers anticipated. In two hours everyone was due to board the Smash Train to Popstar Buffet, and everyone needed to be dressed up properly before then.

As one would imagine, the men's changing room was in absolute chaos.

Toon Link took a good look in the mirror, dusting himself off. He wore a nice green tuxedo with a matching hat, adorned with a vibrant yellow necktie. Adjusting it, the young Hero of Winds was dressed to impress!

"Pants are on backwards, squirt," Dark Pit said as he walked by.

Toon Link took another look in the mirror and, indeed, his dress pants were on backwards. Sighing, he went back into his changing room to set it right.

"Hey Pitoo!" Pit said as he came out of his changing room. "How do I look?"

Pit had gone all out with his attire. He wore a white cape over his tuxedo, a pair of dress pants, and a bowler hat on his head. He also held a cane in one hand and donned a monocle over one of his eyes. Completing the entire image was a fake, brown mustache that covered his mouth. He looked like he was ready to go into a tap dance at a moment's notice!

"Stupid," Dark Pit deadpanned. By contrast, Dark Pit seemed to have gone the bare minimum, all he wore was a black dress shirt and some jeans. He had considered wearing something on his head, but decided against it.

"Oh you don't really mean that," Pit said as he strutted around the room. "I'd say I look pretty fancy!"

"And I say you look the whole formal thing way too many steps to far," Dark Pit fired back.

Before Pit could respond, the Duck Hunt dog jumped right past them. Hot on his tail was his duck friend, who held a small, dog-sized tuxedo in his feet. The duck himself had a nice necktie around him as well as a small top hat. The dog was cornered, and didn't want anything to do with wearing that suit.

"C'mon!" the duck yelled. "I paid good money for this dog tuxedo, and you need to wear it! We need to dress formally, remember?"

The dog wasn't having any of it though. He darted past the room, and the duck kept his pursuit. He nearly flew into Wolf, who would have clawed him as punishment if he wasn't going so fast.

"Watch where you're going!" Wolf huffed. The Star Wolf pilot turned back to the mirror. The tie he had worked so hard to get in place had become undone by the sudden interruption. Grumbling, he tried to put it back together, careful not to tear it up with his claws.

"Y'know, Wolf, I never took you as a bowtie kinda guy," Fox commented as he walked right next to him. "I always pictured you as a loose, barely-tied straight tie kinda guy."

"And I never took you as someone to care so much about someone else's appearance," Wolf fired back, no small hint of venom in his voice. Truthfully, it was less because it was coming from his rival and more because Fox had very much upstaged him when it came to dressing up. With a sleek black tuxedo, black dress jeans, white undershirt, and a black necktie, it looked like he could have come straight from a *James Bond* film.

Wolf meanwhile looked like he was someone's drunk uncle who had to slap on a formal suit for the event. Not to mention the small holes in his brown jacket.

"Jeez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Fox said. "And what's with all the holes?"

"Sharp claws don't do formal, McCloud," Wolf answered. "You're lucky I'm even making an attempt."

"Well have fun with that," Fox said, slipping on his late father's famous shades to complete the picture. Satisfied with his appearance, he headed out the dressing room, leaving Wolf to tend to his bowtie.

Preparation for the party was under way over at Popstar Buffet. The finest food was being served, and all the seats were being set. Or at least, the workers were TRYING to set them up.

"No no NO!" Twilight Sparkle shouted at the workers. "We had a system people! Big round tables with 15 seats each! Why do some of these have 16?" Using her alicorn magic, she took some of the seats and rearranged them. To their credit, the workers were doing their best, but in Twilight's eyes it was like herding cats getting these guys to work the way she wanted.

Behind her stood Spike and Joker. "Uh, Twilight?" Spike asked. "You sure you don't want us to help?"

"I can do just fine, thank you," Twilight said, not taking her gaze off of the task at hand. The alicorn princess had a beautiful dark-purple gown designed by Rarity, and on her head sat her crown, which she only wore for royal business and special occasions such as this.

Joker broke out his Phantom Thief outfit for the party, as it already seemed pretty formal. Spike meanwhile decked himself out in a golden tuxedo and a matching top hat, courtesy of Rarity. On his snout was a fake mustache, completing the picture.

"I'm surprised this place is big enough for everyone," Joker commented.

"Me too," Spike followed. "This is probably the biggest restaurant I've ever been in!"

Satisfied with how things were organized for now, Twilight turned back to the other two. "I don't think I've ever been in a place this big either," she said. "I hear they've imported food all the way from Equestria! It'll be refreshing to try out some of the food we had back home."

"Hayburgers... don't sound appealing," Joker said, scratching the back of his head.

"Well we've also got carrot dogs, Zap Apple jam, and even- SWEET CELESTIA WHAT IS THAT!?"

Shocked by her sudden outburst, Spike turned around and jumped a mile high, landing in Twilight's hooves. Joker saw Morgana standing right behind them. He had managed to sneak his way into Popstar Buffet, intent on showing Joker his new costume.

Twilight was less than impressed.

"Rude," Morgana spat as he jumped around Joker. "Hey Joker! Joker! Check what I got! Look familiar?"

"Igor," Joker muttered. "Morgana, take that mask off."

"C'mon, Igor's like the snazziest guy I know!" Morgana complained. His tiny red suit was indeed formal... but the mask was not.

"Do what he says," Spike said, shivering. "That's just... creepy." Twilight said nothing, but nodded in agreement.

"Everyone's a critic," Morgana sighed as he took off his mask.

A loud noise was heard, and Twilight turned around, noticing that one of the tables had somehow caught fire. She sighed and facehoofed. This was going to be harder than she thought.