Chapter 1 Comets Collide

The stars twinkled in the ever growing void of space. Rosalina watched them from the edge of the Terrace at her Comet Observatory. She slowly adjusted her telescope so she could see some shooting stars engaging in an endless race across the cosmos. They painted their paths silver, determined to let everyone in the universe know that they had been their.

Rosalina rotated her telescope slightly to the right. The silver tanooki constellation, normally only visible over the Mushroom World's southern hemisphere, was shining brightly. Rosalina smiled. She remembered visiting the stars that made up that constellation. Around them revolved alien worlds, absolutely rich with life. She would love to visit them again.

Rosalina moved her telescope even more to the right. The starlight shined in her eye. Some of the stars were as gold as a sunflower. Some were sapphire blue, and others were blazing white. They seemed to twinkle extra brightly every time Rosalina set her eyes on them. It was like they were trying to communicate with her, tell her that they saw her and were happy to know that she was still there.

Rosalina smiled wistfully. That very well may be the case. She knew each of these stars by name, could tell their backstories like they were etched into her heart. She leaned forward and directed the telescope upward. She stopped moving it when she saw one particularly bright star, its glow a fiery red. That star used to be the luma known as Lulu. Lulu had been an adventurous spirit, a feisty little firecracker. Her dream had always been to become a star. A glistening tear welled in the corner of Rosalina's eye, which she hastily wiped away.

She moved her telescope slightly to the left. This time, instead of a star, her eyes fell upon a galaxy. This galaxy used to be called Twincool. Twincool was a timid luma, a luma who didn't dare look at his shadow, for fear that it may eat him. He had often looked upon the lumas who turned into stars as great heroes, heroes that he would never emulate fully. When it had been his turn to transform, he became the last thing he expected; a beautiful, glorious galaxy. Rosalina couldn't have been more proud of him.

Rosalina pulled away from the telescope. She stared out into the void of space. Each of the stars, each of these galaxies, each of these nebulas had once been her lumas. They had achieved their dreams of being the great lights of the universe. They had become great sources of life.

And Rosalina couldn't have been prouder. Really, she couldn't. She wanted the lumas to achieve their dreams. She wanted them to find their identity and their place in the universe. Nobody should go through life not knowing their purpose. Such a practice left a person as empty as a black hole.

Rosalina placed her hand to her chest. An aching void was growing in her heart. It hurt. But why was it there?

"Rosie?"

Rosalina turned. A black luma with icy blue eyes floated up to her. She sighed.

"Yes, Polari?" she said.

"How are you doing? You look a little tense."

Rosalina removed her hand from her chest. "I'm fine, Polari. I'm just fine."

Polari's eyes drifted over to the telescope, which by now was almost pointing directly upward. Despite his lack of a mouth, Rosalina could tell that he was grinning. "Let me guess." He placed one of his points up to the top of his tear-shaped head in a sort of mock thinking gesture. "You're doing laundry!"

Rosalina snorted and placed her hand to her mouth. "You are so observant, my friend."

Polari laughed. "They don't call me the most astute of the lumas for nothing!"

Rosalina rolled her eyes. "Who? Who calls you that?"

"Why, my inner thoughts, of course!" Polari puffed out his chest. "And I know my thoughts and opinions are always right."

Rosalina shook her head, chuckling. "Whatever you say." She adjusted her telescope so that it was pointing in a horizontal direction rather than a vertical one. "Anyway, what I was actually doing was stargazing."

"Yeah, I figured that," Polari said with a serious inflection. He floated closer to the Lady of the Shooting Stars. "You've been doing that a lot recently."

Rosalina sighed. "I know. I just can't help myself."

Polari smirked. "You can't help yourself? What are you, an addict?"

"No," Rosalina replied. "I am not an addict. I am the watcher of the Cosmos; it is only natural that I spend some time observing the universe."

Polari snorted and turned away. "Because staying in one place is the perfect way to do that," he muttered under his breath.

Roslaina turned toward her companion with a glare. "What was that?"

Polari shook his head. "We've been stuck in this spot for the past week or so. Can't we go somewhere else? I can literally feel the seconds bring drained off of my soul."

Rosalina sharply exhaled. "We don't have enough star power to go anywhere."

Polari's brow scrunched up. He turned toward the beacon, which was shining a bright blue. Rosalina felt her heart sink, realizing the lie was an obvious one.

"Okay, so maybe we do have some star power," she said as Polari turned back to her.

"We have enough star power to cause a supernova!" Polari exclaimed.

Rosalina sighed. "Okay, okay, you're right, you're right." She swept her hand across her platinum blonde hair. "It's...completely possible that I have been enjoying the stand still we have had."

"But don't you always say that we can't experience the best of life at a standstill?" Polari said as he crossed his arms. "Don't you think it's a little hypocritical of you to say that and yet stay in one place for the better part of a week?"

Rosalina bit her lip. "Maybe."

Polari shook his head and sighed. "Tell you what. I'll go tell the lumas that we are heading on a trip. You cast your little spell or whatever so that we can get going."

Polari floated away. Rosalina considered what he said before sighing. "I chose him as my confidant," she mumbled. "I chose him."

With that, she floated up toward the garden dome. Levitating right above the Comet Observatory, she raised her wand. A stream of turquoise light shot out of the tip and formed into a force field around the Observatory. The lower levels retracted inward, and the rocket-like boosters appeared on the bottom. The planetoids that encircled the Observatory zoomed around in an elliptical pattern.

Rosalina took in a deep breath when she saw lumas gathering around her. The star-like creatures huddled against her dress, not in fear, but in anticipation. Rosalina pointed forward.

"Let's go!"

With that, the Observatory shot through space. The stars grew bigger the closer that it got to them. Planets almost got in its path, but thankfully, Rosalina steered around them. The navy blue void appeared opulent from the inside of the dome.

Polari floated up to Rosalina. Through his eyes, she could see that he had a taste for adventure. He held onto her hand. "Where to?"

Rosalina's eyebrows lowered. "What do you mean where to? You were the one who wanted this?"

Polari rose a little higher. "That doesn't mean I had a destination in mind!"

Rosalina shook her head. "Wow, Polari. Just wow."

"Hey, don't blame me because I was prompting you to get off your lazy butt." He looked out at space zooming around them. He squinted downward. "Hey, isn't that your home planet, Rosie?"

Rosalina squinted downward and smiled. "It is! Why don't we stop there!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Polari said. With that, he zipped off.

…

Rosalina took a deep breath. The air of her home planet was as crisp as ever. It smelt of freshly cut grass, of healthy soil, and beautiful evergreens. She could hear the sound of goldfish leaping out of the pool near her old house. She giggled.

"See?" Polari said as he floated up to her. "Now, isn't this nice? You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me."

"Yes, you're right. Thank you, Polari."

Polari smiled. Rosalina lowered herself out of the air and slowly walked around the planetoid. It wasn't very large; Rosalina could make her way around the circumference in less than ten minutes. To others, this planet might not be much at all. Yet, to Rosalina, it was everything. It was here where she grew into a teenager. It was here where she had developed her appreciation for stars. It was here that she was born.

She stopped near her old home. The cottage was dormant, yet it was still as snug as a bug in a rug. She slowly turned the knob and stepped inside. It smelt of home.

"Home sweet home," she uttered as she stood in the living room.

"I'll say," said Polari. "Man, this house is a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"Mmhm." Rosalina went over to the kitchen, which the kitchen dome in her Comet Observatory had been modeled after. In fact, all of the domes in the observatory had been modeled after this place in some shape or form. She brushed her fingers along the brown table in the room's center. The fireplace was empty, as were the cupboards.

"What a beautiful view!" Polari said as he floated in front of the window. Rosalina went over and stared out at the cosmos. Perhaps it was because of their position that the sky appeared more starry than it did through her telescope.

"It is," she said. She pointed upward at a twinkling magenta star. "That one was our good friend Luca."

"Oh, I remember Luca!" said Polari. "She was quite…" Polari stopped when he saw Rosalina wipe a tear from her eye. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Rosalina sniffled. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong. The lumas who we have cared for have fulfilled their purpose. Everything is how it should be."

Polari slowly nodded. "Yes. That is a beautiful thing."

Rosalina turned away from Polari, trying to prevent him from seeing her tears. Even if he did see her sadness, there was nothing he could do to fix it. The lumas were destined to leave. They were destined to become inanimate stars, planets, and galaxies. Rosalina would never be able to talk with Luca, Twincool, or Lulu again. She had to deal with this pain every time one of them left, and it never got easier.

Couldn't there be a way to make it so that she wouldn't have to let go? Couldn't there be a way that she could hold onto a loved one?

"Hey, Rose, come look at this!"

Rosalina went over to Polari, who had not moved from his spot in front of the window. She looked out and saw that five comets were making their way across the sky. One had a blue tail, meaning it was a cosmic comet. Another had a yellow tail, meaning it was a fast foe. The third was red, meaning it was a speedy comet. The fourth white, a daredevil. Finally, the fifth was purple; a purple coin comet. All of the comets were shooting across the sky at incredible speeds.

"Isn't that cool?" Polari asked. "It isn't everyday you see a prankster comet."

"Let alone all five at once," said Rosalina. She placed her palms on the windowsill. "It looks like they might cross each other's paths!"

"Yeah it does," said Polari. He bobbed up and down. "Let's hope they cross and not…"

Boom!

The comets rammed into each other. Sparkling dust of all five colors sailed through the sky like an enormous fireworks display. The light was so blinding that Rosalina had to turn away. The sound of the explosion left her ears ringing.

"Holy shrooms!" Polari exclaimed.

Rosalina nodded. Her breathing rate sped up as the shock came to the forefront. The comets collided!

"We need to go up there to see if no lumas were caught in the explosion!" she yelled over her ringing ears.