On the edges of Toad Town, in a humble cottage with a red roof, lay our hero Mario. He was dozing off, having wonderful dreams of ravioli and spaghetti. His brother, Luigi, sat in the kitchen area, reading a book. It was a peaceful day of doing absolutely nothing. Just what the plumbers wanted.
That would come to change, however.
"AAAAH!" the green plumber cried as a series of bangs knocked on the front door. Luigi was so fearful that he lept under the kitchen table, before realizing he was perfectly fine.
"Phew!" he sighed in relief, getting back up. Mario, being abruptly awoken by the knocking and his brother's screams. "Who's there?" Mario asked, rubbing his eyes awake.
"Special delivery for the Mario Bros. from Princess Peach!" the voice answered. Eagerly, Mario swung the door open, nearly hitting Luigi in the face. A toad with a satchel was on the other side.
"Good morning, Mario and Luigi! I have a letter from the Princess!" the delivery toad announced. He handed the letter to Mario, and took off in the opposite direction, heading to his next mailing destination.
"A letter from Peach? Let's see what we got here!" Mario exclaimed, opening the letter with an excited grin. Luigi gave Mario his full attention as he began reading it.
Dear Mario and Luigi,
I've decided to take a trip on vacation, and you're both invited to come along. Toadsworth introduced me to a far-away place called Haya Island. I heard it has amazing sights to see, and many people! I think it'd be wonderful if you two could join us on this journey.
We'll be waiting for you at the castle. Don't be long!
Yours truly,
Princess Peach
"Vacation! How does that sound, Luigi?" Mario asked, showing the letter to his brother. "I'd love to go!" Luigi exclaimed.
"So it's settled. Let's get packing!" Mario hurriedly began packing his suitcase immediately, not wanting to waste a single second. Luigi followed suit, packing an extra pair of overalls incase of an 'emergency'.
The brothers quickly moved towards the castle, carrying their stuffed suitcases. They passed through Toad Town and headed to the castle gate. Two toads, wielding spears, opened the way in.
"Thanks, you two!" Mario waved to the guards, and stepped inside the castle. Toadette was waiting for them inside, and she began excitedly hopping up and down.
"Mario! Luigi! Peach and Toadsworth are waiting for you at the airstrip!" she announced, pointing a finger to their destination. Mario gave her a thumbs up and the pair continued down the castle halls.
Finally, they reached the back of the castle, where the airstrip was located. The Princess's pink plane was awaiting them, its propeller already spinning.
"There you two are! I'm so glad you decided to come with! Hurry now, we're about to leave!" Peach waved, motioning towards the plane.
"Master Mario, Master Luigi! It's good to see you two. C'mon then!" Toadsworth ordered, pushing the exhausted plumbers inside the plane. "Can we- can we take a break first?" Luigi huffed, desperate for air. The plumbers sat down on a pair of soft pink chairs. Peach and Toadsworth sat on the side opposite of them.
"Now we have to wait for one more person," the Mushroom Princess explained. The brothers glanced at eachother.
"Who else was missing? I thought she said it was just her, Toadsworth, and us," Mario thought, racking his brain for any clues.
Fortunately, he did not have to think for long, as a bubbly voice snapped him to attention:
"Hello yello! Sorry for being late, again..." It was none other than Starlow. Mario and Luigi both shared an epiphany at the same moment. The floating yellow star ball smiled when she saw the bros.
"Hey Mario and Luigi! Peach invited me to come too, and I had nothing else going on, so I said why not!" she exclaimed. Mario smiled, glad to have another companion for the ride, "That's great!" he told her.
The plane door finally shut itself, and the plane's engine whirred as the plane made its way down the airstrip. At that moment, a message over the intercom was broadcasted:
"Attention passengers of the Peach Private Jet! We are about to takeoff, please have your seatbelts on at all times! Thank you, and have a nice flight."
The group fastened their seatbelts; minus Starlow, who just awkwardly sat on a chair. Star sprites are not used to actually sitting down, as they hover for their entire lives. Regardless, the plane took off down the airstrip, and into the air. Toadsworth already began snoozing, which didn't really surprise anyone.
"I don't really know much of this Haya Island place," Mario sheepishly admitted. He'd never heard of the place at all, in fact. "Mind telling us a little bit, princess?"
"Certainly! It's a large island—think of Isle Delfino—with several cities located on it, each with its own unique culture!" Peach explained. Mario began to tune her out, as she droned on and on. Something that piqued his interest, however, was when Peach mentioned a mysterious legend.
"...According to local myth, an ancient temple lies in the center of the island. Long ago, many great star sprites were said to have combined their powers to seal away a great evil on the island. Well, that's what they say, atleast. Nobody even knows the temple's true whereabouts," Peach sighed, giving it some thought. Starlow was attentively listening, replying "Star Sprites, huh? Since I'm a Star Sprite, I bet I could find that temple thingy!"
"Wait, Starlow, has anyone mentioned that place to you before?" Luigi asked. Starlow shook her head, "Nope! Never heard of it 'till today!"
Toadsworth had woken himself after hearing the chattering, and barged into the conversation, "If I may, I believe all that talk of myths and legends is total hogwash!"
"How can you be so sure, Toadsworth?" The Mushroom princess asked him. The old toad chuckled. "If there's no solid evidence of the Star Temple's existence, then it probably doesn't exist at all!" He declared, boasting with confidence.
Luigi yawned and stretched his arms out, still feeling a bit tired. "I'm going to rest up a bit," he announced, leaning his chair back. "That's actually a good idea, Luigi. I'll need plenty of energy to be able to do all the sightseeing I'm planning!" Peach gushed, extremely excited to be visiting a completely new location.
The others agreed, and began resting themselves for the long journey ahead.