This Masque of Mine

The girls stood in obvious shock, neither one of them expecting such a reaction from their tutor. Good. he thought. Better to have them scared about it now than have them muck it up later from laziness. He gazed around the room, taking in the sites of his Librae Maxima, or Complete Library for those lacking in the Ancient Tongue. Walls upon walls, filled to the brim with total knowledge of all things in the earthly plane, beyond and even further than that. Dust settled on the higher tiers of the shelves, but flying feather dusters regularly flew from shelf to shelf, keeping everything neat and tidy.

Starswirl coughed, then spoke to the gaping mare princesses. "I'm pretty sure you both know just what it is I was I normally say in this situation." He winked, saying "This, however, is not a normal situation." Confusion crossed Celestia and Luna's faces, and the old one turned to the colossal bookshelves behind him. He lifted a book with magic, nodding his head toward the epicenter of the room. He walked onward, the sisters following behind.

Luna turned to her sister, doing her best to be quiet. "What do suppose he wants from us, Tia? Some sort of new punishment?"

So much for not talking to me. Celestia thought. She said, honestly "I don't know, sister. I just hope it doesn't take too long." Her voice escalated slightly in excitement."I still need to prepare for the Gala tomorrow!"

Luna sighed, moving her head to easily dodge an oncoming feather duster. She had spent many hours in the LIbrae Maxima and could tell the flight patterns of the little things like the back of her hoof. Celestia had not invested as much  dedication to the facility however, and the duster flew right into her face. A large dust ball plumed from her muzzle, unleashing a fit of sneezes from the young Alicorn and gaining the attention of the annoyed old colt ahead of them.

"Celestia, if you spent half as much time thinking about your future as you do daydreaming, then I would have no need to worry about this matter." Starswirl barked.

Celestia raised a magnificent eyebrow in confusion. "What is there to worry about?", she said dismissively. "Equestria has been at peace for decades now,  ever since-" she stopped herself, feeling her true emotions well up inside. Luna looked just as despondent, and Starswirl looked grim. The particular incident they were referring to happened so long ago, she had nearly forgotten how much it still affected everypony, including herself.

"That invasion may have been centuries ago," said their tutor,   but that threat is still a very unknown and volatile likelihood that we must take great care to eradicate in due time." Starswirl looked upon the girls, his expression softening at their melancholy. "I understand your pain, girls. All of Equestria still mourns that day, but we can't let that stop us from progressing."  He lifted the large book onto a table, the girls approaching from both sides.

"However, the land still needs time to heal, and is under our constant care. It may seem like we are at peace, but we've been under attack for a few months now by forces unknown." He opened to book seemingly to a random page, but he landed right on his mark. Page 103 of his journal, symbolized by the golden Pegasus on the front cover. He pointed his hoof at the images he had drawn.

"These creatures you see before you are mere doodles compared to the vast size and power of their actual counterparts." The girls leaned in closer, getting a better view. Before them were three creatures, shaped like ponies but not exactly. They seemed more like fish than ponies, yet it seemed they could fly through the air despite having no wings. Emblazoned on each of their chests were magnificent jewels, all a bloody crimson.

Luna spoke first, breaking the silence. "What are these bizarre creatures, Master? Where do they come from?"

He shook his head. "These beasts are called Sirens. They are creatures that feed entirely on distrust and negativity. They've been dormant for centuries, but they've awoken under unknown circumstances."

"They are quite lovely looking, if I may say so." Celestia said.

Starswirl blushed slightly, mistaking her comment as a compliment for his artwork. He continued. "If these creatures are left to roam our land, they will brainwash every pony into becoming bitter and jealous husks. They must be stopped at any cost, elsewise Equestria will be doomed." He breathed deeply, preparing himself for the obvious responses. "I alone must face these creatures, and banish them from whence they came. Now, I'll have no arguing, no debating, and no complaining this time girls. When I say I'm going, I'm go-" .

He stopped when he realized that no pony had said anything in objection yet. Now it was his turn to be shocked.

Celestia stepped forward, nuzzling her mentor. "Don't worry, Master Starswirl. We have faith that you can do it alone." She turned to her sister. "Isn't that right, Luna?"

Luna, clearly confused, started to speak before she noticed her sisters eyebrow raise slightly. Playing along with the ruse, she said "Oh, yes Master! We believe in you whole-heartedly. We know you'll return safely after banishing the Sirens! We-"

"Yes, yes, thank you Luna." Celestia cut her off dryly. She turned to Starswirl, smiling in her cutest fashion. "You see, Master? We can handle ourselves here just fine." Nearly there now she thought. If she buttered him up enough, he may just let them host the Gala at the LIbrae Maxima instead of the Gardens this year! Maybe then her and her coltfriend could sneak away for a while...

Their mentor smiled, pride filling him. "Why, thank you girls! I'm honestly relieved to hear no protesting or begging this time." He hugged them both with his forelegs. Celestia mouth the words "I'll explain later" behind his back to Luna, causing her to shrug. He released them, giving them both a once over. It seemed like yesterday he had just met the two mares, yet it was a little over a century ago. They could barely lift a pebble with their magic back then, yet here they were shaping the cosmos themselves. A small tear welled up in his eye, causing the girls to look taken aback. He wiped it away, pretending nothing had happened whilst clearing his throat.

"Well, I think it's been long enough now. You both have proven yourselves to be capable of your abilities, despite a few hiccups now and again." Celestia grinned, suppressing the urge to giggle. "It's time you both inherited your proper home once more." Both sisters were confused by this. Starswirls' laboratory had been their home for several years now, and there was nowhere else they could think of to call home.

Starswirl had the two girls sit down at the table before continuing. He pulled out a map of Equestria, though many places marked on there were unknown to them. The map before them was a hyper-detailed enchanted map, able to expand on a single area of the known world provided the user has its matching magnifying glass. What were all of these odd places? Camelu? The Echo? Heliopolis? These would be questions for a much later time. The colt focused on Equestria, using a magnifying glass to show the exact location.

He zoomed in on the Everfree Forest, and then on the darkest section of the wood that was incredibly familiar to them all. Celestia's face grew pale, which was a feat considering her pale coat was already a snowy white. Luna whimpered slightly before crying, terrible memories flooding back to her. Starswirl lowered the glass, sighing and turning to the girls.

"Look girls, I know this is an upsetting subject for the both of you. It's painful for me as well." He paused slightly, wanting to just leave it there and drop the subject. He continued though, as this was too important to hold off any more.

"I've been training you for this moment ever since you were entrusted into my care. You must claim your home back, and rule this land as you were meant to since birth. I truly do believe that you two can do it, though you must overcome your petty differences to do so." He paused, eyeing them. He had a hard time believing his own claim, but his heart warmed with confidence in the two. He continued. "Your training with me is complete, and the council has already accepted you as the rightful heirs to the thrones. All that's left is to take back your castle and be coroneted. This is my last task for you, as well as my graduation gift of sorts." He noted their silence, then turned towards the door to leave.

Before exiting through the door, he turned and looked at Celestia. "My dear girl, I hope you will fulfill your part as the elder sister, and guide Luna's studies and morals as well as I have guided yours."

Silence.

"I love you both. So very dearly. Please lead this land with grace and dignity."

Luna looked up from her sobbing, confusion once again showing her innocence. "But Master, you'll come back, right?" No response. Luna started panicking.  "You have to come back! We need... We...." More sobbing.

Celestia, stonily, turned to her long-time friend and teacher. This was far more important than any Gala. "You aren't coming back, are you?"

Minutes passed, though they each felt like individual eternities. Starswirl, eyes closed and silent, shook his head slowly, causing his beard to sway to and fro. He would not return.

Celestia walked over to her sister, wrapping a wing around her in an embrace. The old colt had one last thing to say to his surrogate daughters, then he would face his destiny. "My dear Luna. I impart to you this library. You know it better than any pony before you. Actually, you know it better than I do, come to think of it." Luna smiled, sadly. "Celestia, I hVe a gift thT you are more than familiar with. May her presence help warm your souls in the coldest of times." He whistled a peculIr melody, just barely out of their hearing ranges.

just then, a magnificent burning avian flew in through an open window of the LIbrae, landing on the colt's hoof. Before them was a gift Celestia had received when she was just a filly, back when times made sense and the world wasn't the chaotic mess it was revealing itself to be now. Her oldest friends and eternal pet-

"Philomena!" Celestia rose from her sisters side, trotting happily as the fire-bird flew around over her head. It had been ages since they had seen each other, and now nothing could keep the two apart. She turned to thank Starswirl, but by then he was already gone, a faint aura of sparkles where he last stood. The silence was like a black hole, creating an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Philomena cawed.

They were on their own.