For weeks, the night seemed darker than was typical no matter the hour before sunrise. The stars that normally twinkled so beautifully had seemingly lost their brilliant shine. Even the brightest celestial bodies seemed dimmer than usual, making the endless black sweep of night appear dull and lifeless. The most peculiar of all was the cancellation of the annual Star Festival, a global celebration of the coming of a grand meteor shower once every century, due to the absence of the proud, gleaming comet that lead the parade of shooting stars across the sky.

Billions of people and creatures from all over the world scratched their heads in confusion at the abrupt change. However, only the tiniest fraction of these billions knew the reason behind it. The answer lay in the heart of outer space itself, within the comet.

The ones who knew spoke of the Eternal Queen, the High Monarch of the Cosmos, a young woman with an old soul in mourning, grieving a deep personal loss she had not felt in centuries. They said perhaps her grief was the reason behind the darkened skies, the dimmed stars, and the months of ominous nights that resulted from them. It had been rumoured that her loss cut so deeply into her soul that the skies mourned alongside her.

***

So sat Rosalina in the library of her Comet Observatory in quiet solitude, as was her preference. Yet in the midst of it all she still sat tall, though weeks' worth of tears had drenched her gentle visage. Her only visible eye, though not dry at all, were not visibly puffy or red. Instead, the electric cyan hue of her irises seemed much more prominent, though the twinkle it once held was gone. The other was hidden under a cloak of silvery-blonde bangs.

For weeks, she had wept. For weeks, she had eaten very little. For weeks, she was alone in the library. For weeks, she had not slept, haunted by the memories of the past, when her four friends were once by her side.

Now, like her family before them, they were gone. Yes, their time was coming for several years now, but she had not anticipated that their lives slip away so soon. And here she was, still as young as they were when they first met her. Even as her four friends aged (and gracefully so), and when they were old and gray, she knew their youthful spirits burned deep within them, and in their children, and their grandchildren, who she still kept correspondence with.

In fact, it was actually them who had informed her of her friends, how they breathed their last breath within only days of each other. Thousands of people attended their funeral, she among them, though she politely declined their offer to speak. It was a difficult memory to shake from her head.

The only thing that distracted her was a series of little urgent squeaks that came from just behind the door. She arose from her chair quietly and approached the source of the noise: a floating yellow star-shaped creature with little beady black eyes. As the Queen approached it, the squeaking stopped.

"Is something troubling you, little one?" she asked. Her voice was shaky; she had not spoken to anyone in weeks.

The creature shook its head. "Mama," it replied, "Four new Lumas were brought into the Observatory!"

Immediately, she snapped into action. She could not neglect her duties as that of the mother of the little star creature's kind. What was she thinking to leave them behind like that? "Where are they?" she inquired. "I would like to greet them."

"They're at the beacon!"

With that, the yellow Luma zipped away, and the Queen followed suit, floating quickly behind.

***

Before long, they had reached the beacon of the Observatory. What greeted Rosalina were, as the yellow Luma said, four more of its same kind, floating about in wide-eyed wonder at the marvels that lay before them.

But something strange caught her eye. The colors of the four little creatures before her looked oddly familiar. From left to right were a red, green, pink, and orange Luma. The red one slowly and cautiously floated over to her, circling around her once or twice. The other three stayed back, the green and pink ones with worried looks in their eyes. After the second time, the red one let out a shrill squeal of delight, spinning around and hugging her arm. The green one followed suit while the pink one squeaked happily and floated over. Finally, the orange one squealed, twirled, and zipped around the Queen with great enthusiasm.

Suddenly she knew what it was that made the Lumas so familiar. Memories by the dozens flooded her mind, although she did not cry as she remembered them. Instead, she looked upon them very fondly as she observed every Luma.

The red Luma brought back memories of a young man of great renown and considerable valor. He was the talk of the kingdom in which he lived, a hero to all who knew him, and an open-minded adventurer at heart with great wisdom gained after countless journeys near and far to defend his home from a tyrant reptilian king, among other things. He was a knight in every sense of the word, albeit a very nontraditional one. Aside from that, he was a kind and humorous soul, a fierce and loyal friend, a loving twin brother, and eventually, a husband and father, after his imminent marriage into nobility, which surprised almost nobody.

His wife instantly reminded Rosalina of the pink Luma. His wife was the pinnacle of elegance, and her love seemed to know no bounds. This woman was a natural-born leader, filled to the brim with knowledge and intelligence far beyond her years. She was polite, as well, due to her royal upbringing, though she knew full well, as she grew to learn, when manners perhaps weren't completely necessary. Over time, she grew to rise from her position from a damsel in distress to a woman who went on adventures of her very own to prove to the world that a woman like her could be her own hero. This of course, made her best friend very happy.

The best friend in question also happened to be born into royalty, and instantly reminded the Queen of the orange Luma. Its jubilant and cheerful personality reminded her exactly of the vivid royal. That, combined with her unapologetic boldness, made her the perfect blend of strength and grace. Even as she aged, the radiant beauty she possessed never faded. Throughout her life, everyone around the globe grew to know her name, and her kingdom's name, practically from nothing, as she brought about a golden age of prosperity there thanks to her close ties with her friend, her friend's husband, and his own brother, who she would eventually marry.

The brother brought to mind the last Luma, colored a vivid green. Just like the little star-shaped creature, the brother was a cautious man, and painfully shy, but humble and gentle to everyone he met. Though his coward-like nature left him in the shadows, nearly to the point of anonymity, he eventually overcame it. This actually attributed to his marriage to the princess from the neighboring kingdom, which many saw as a great shock. But his sweet-natured personality lead many to believe that perhaps he did, indeed, have the heart of a noble. And a noble man, he was, for his own heroics in this kingdom left a lasting legacy for the ages much like his brother's.

***

She remembered then the wise words of her advisor, a Luma named Polari, the day she heard the news:

"Remember, young one, the first seed of wisdom I have granted to you: the stars never lie. And the stars tell me that your friends shall return to you...all in due time."

She wiped away the stains of tears from her cheeks and, for the first time in weeks, a smile made its way across her face. Slowly, the Eternal Queen stepped forward to greet her four "new" children.

"My name is Rosalina," she said, her spirit renewed with hope. "I watch over and protect the cosmos...and I have been waiting for all of you."

***

Some time later, Polari found her standing at the edge of the highest tower. Several other Lumas, including the four she addressed earlier, flew about as she stared pensively into the vast vacuum of space. Slowly, he floated over next to her. "Your recovery seemed quite speedy," he said to her.

"It was simply as you said," she replied. "They would return...all in due time."

"Did you ever doubt the wisdom of the stars, child?"

She looked away from her advisor. "Since the passing of my friends, I did question their guidance, though only briefly."

A look of concern made its way across the black Luma's face. "If I may inquire you...why did you doubt them?"

The Queen sighed. "Stars tell stories, any and all sides, with the wisdom, truth, and brutal honesty of sages. Some stars are even said to determine fate. Some fates are fixed. Others are not, and so those fates change." She turned to face Polari. "A part of my sorrows had given way to anger. Why must their deaths be fixed fates? I see no reasoning behind it. They possessed power enough to control their own fate, and when and where their stories end."

Polari floated in silence for a while. Finally, after some time he spoke again. "Yes, they were the subject matter of their own stories. But these stories do not end in death. No...these stories continue. But someone must take their place for them. That is where the stars carry their narrative." He looked at Rosalina. "That is where the living continue to keep their flames shining bright. That is where YOU, as one of their most trusted companions, resume telling their stories for all future generations and beyond to hear."

The solemn expression on her face, upon hearing these words, softened. "You speak the truth, Polari," she answered. "It is my sworn duty as their friend to carry out their legacies." She summoned her wand, which appeared in her left hand almost immediately. "So shall it be."

She raised her wand to the open space and closed her eyes. Five of the brightest stars, along with several other celestial clusters within her field of vision, suddenly began to move closer to one another. Eventually, they shaped into an arrangement that looked rather odd in the perspective of those looking from her view.

But the red, green, pink, and orange Lumas zipped away from the tower, drawn immediately to the bright stars. When they were far enough, they positioned themselves each next to a star, and in a fantastic flash of bright light, they disappeared. However, the stars shone even brighter than ever.

Watching from afar, a knowing smile crossed Rosalina's face. A puzzled Polari looked her way with wide eyes. "How can this be?!" he asked. "They were still so young!"

She still kept a watchful eye on the stars. "They were Star Children," she answered. "Their spirits have returned home, so they are one with the stars, at last."

"But one of them is not occupied," Polari observed. "Why is there a fifth star?"

She turned to face her advisor. "It is as you said...all in due time."

The black Luma's eyes widened. "Surely you cannot be serious!"

"Though my guardianship of the cosmos has endured the test of time for several centuries, I realize now that the rest of it, along with the remainder of my own life, is but a small grain of sand compared to the endless stretch of time, and space along with it."

"You mean–"

"When I am deceased, I too shall join my friends in this constellation. But for now, those from their home planet shall forever know of the brave and noble Mario, the kind and humble Luigi, the wise and gentle Peach, and the lively and radiant Daisy. Though immortal they are not, their narratives shall forever be honored."

As she looked up at the new constellation immortalizing her friends, she remembered a poem she read in her library while she grieved. It was a poem by a woman named Sara Teasdale. The words echoed in her mind, clear as the day, as she reflected upon the future to come:

"There will be rest and sure stars shining
Over the rooftops crowned with snow.
A reign of rest, serene forgetting
The music of stillness, holy and low.
I will make this world of my devising
Out of a dream in my lonely mind.
I shall find the crystal of peace.
Above me, stars I shall find."