Sun & Moon Act I: Ascending Star

by cursedchords

Chapter 4: The Four Masters

“Fate is a cruel friend. It will steal up to our doors in the middle of the night, rapping quietly and waiting only a short while. If one is not ready to answer, one can only curse the missed opportunity forever more.”

- Star Swirl the Bearded

Aqua and Atlas wasted no time in getting away from Upper Eridian. The journey down through the city again passed in silence, though now that the immediate danger of the moment had passed it was a peaceful silence, or at least as peaceful as a silence could get in the ruined city. With things being calm once more, Celestia took a moment to once again analyze their two companions. Atlas and Aqua each walked with pride, a carefree smile having returned to the pegasus’s face, though a stern frown remained upon that of his partner. Even so, Celestia guessed that Aqua too was now more relaxed, though she hid it very well. It seemed almost as though a hidden weight had been removed from their shoulders, and now they were free to enjoy themselves once again, each in their own way.

Celestia also noticed the subtle glances that passed between the two of them as they walked at the head of the party, the unspoken communication that spoke of a deep history between Aqua and Atlas. Clearly the two of them were very close, yet Celestia found it difficult to fathom this pair: Atlas’s jovial idealism did not seem to fit well with Aqua’s stony dispassion. Then again, Celestia stole a glance over at her own sister, and realized that the world seemed to have a way of creating such apparently unlikely sets of friends.

Once they had gotten back down into the winding and shadowy alleyways of the lower city, the group stopped. Aqua turned around to address them. “Now that you have made your choice, you have a journey to make. The resistance does not operate here in Eridian, as there is not much we can do this close to Discord’s base of power. We can only be safe far away from this wretched place. I will go on ahead to prepare for you, and Altas will lead you after me to our safe place. Soon enough, you will finally be free.” Aqua bowed her head, and then, in a bright flash of white light, she vanished.

Celestia was left midway through opening her mouth to voice one more question, but realized immediately that such things would have to wait. The awkward silence lasted only a moment though, before Atlas stepped in to fill the void left by his partner, and his calm chuckle steadied Celestia’s heart. “I’m afraid that I must apologize for her,” he said. “Aqua never did care much for standard social graces. Still, she is correct. The three of us have a long journey to follow her. We're far enough down the mountain that we can fly now, if we stay low. Are you both ready to go?”

Celestia mentally went over what little they did have here in the city. Most of it was trivial things: food, water, and other supplies. The only things that she would have difficulty leaving behind would be her books. They were tokens of a past life, a life that it now seemed she would be leaving behind. Still, they had many memories attached to them. She could not simply leave them for the next wandering soul to happen across.

She looked over to Luna, and sent a clear message with her eyes. Luna nodded very slightly, and Celestia knew that the message had been understood. “Not yet,” she said. “We have to get a few things from our home.”

Atlas looked disappointed. Likely he had been looking forward to getting away from Eridian once more. “Fair enough,” he said evenly. “Lead on. But try to stay off the main thoroughfares. We don’t want to be seen by any prying eyes.”

Even though they were still far up the mountainside and a long way from home, it took Celestia only a couple of seconds to orient herself. She had lived in this city her whole life after all, and had had to fend for herself for much of that time. She set off with Atlas by her side, and Luna a couple of steps behind. Celestia realized that it had been some time since her sister had said anything, but perhaps that was to be expected. She cast a look back at her sister, and could clearly see the look of excitement on her face. Luna was about to live out her personal dream, of fighting for freedom alongside the heroes of the struggle against Discord. It was almost like a story from the old history books that she was now going to retrieve, but to Celestia the thought still seemed absurd. Such days were past.

A thought occurred to her as she picked her way cautiously down the mountainside. “You don’t know where we live?” she asked, turning to Atlas beside her.

The pegasus chuckled. “Suppose instead that it simply means I trust you. Even though clearly you still don’t trust me.”

Celestia realized that she was perhaps still being a bit too hard on Atlas. Thus far, he had given her no reason to believe that he was not what he claimed to be. Still, trust was one of the few remaining resources in Equestria that held value. Experience had taught her that those who gave their trust away freely soon came to regret it.

She chose to leave off with the conversation there, and the trio progressed in silence for some minutes more, occasionally pausing at a dim street corner to investigate the paths ahead for suspicious eyes. Slowly, Celestia grew more comfortable with her sense of direction, and she became able to pick out recognizable spires and landmarks from the ruins of the old city.

It was as they were turning the final corner, and Celestia spied their crumbling old building rising on the right-hoof side of the street that Atlas finally chose to speak up once more. “These books of yours,” he asked, “what are they about?”

Celestia stopped in front of the façade of their residence, and examined it for what she realized would likely be the last time. The front of the building was marked by a row of partially collapsed columns, which had likely once been a proudly arched colonnade, but now more closely resembled a row of splintered teeth, worn down into dull points by the years of decay. The cold stone of the edifice above them was more of the same: large bricks of rock that whispered a tale of once being bright and respectable, but were now merely blank and lifeless. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Behind her, Luna did the same.

Celestia glanced over at Atlas, and then decided to answer his question. “My books are kind of like this building. They tell stories of a time long ago, when this nation was bright, fair, and peaceful. They say that back then ponies cooperated with each other for the good of all, and lived together in harmony and prosperity. Discord changed all of that, of course, and now only the memories remain, locked away in stories.”

The pegasus did not immediately reply, and so she led the way into the structure and up to their room, which was of course just as they had left it. The place still retained a warm coziness to Celestia, as it was still all that her and Luna had to show for their lives so far. She noticed that Atlas maintained a nonchalant, even bored, expression. Perhaps he had seen many such dwellings in his travels. Luna immediately went to the pantry and began rummaging about, picking out a few choice snacks for what might be a long journey. Once again, Celestia and Atlas were left momentarily alone.

Celestia walked over to her bed and, reaching down, scooped up her collection, depositing the books carefully into her saddlebag. She took one last look over her living arrangements, and then with a sigh turned back towards Atlas in the center of the room. From the look on his face, she could tell that he was thinking about something. “Something to say, Atlas?” she said.

“Oh, nothing,” he replied calmly. “I was just thinking about what you said earlier. It sounds like Equestria really was a great place to live back then.”

To Celestia, his statement seemed almost certainly be leading on to something more. She decided to go along with it, to see what he might be getting at. “That place is gone though,” she said confidently, and walked over the window, from which both of them could see a view out over much of the lower city. “It only exists in the storybooks now. There is no hope left here, no harmony or prosperity.”

She turned back to look at him. “If there is any of the old Equestria left, I’m not seeing it.”

In response, the pegasus reached out his right fore-hoof, and cautiously brought it to rest upon her shoulder. The look in his eyes was clear, confident and bright, and when he spoke his voice was just as crisp and jovial as it had been when they had first met. “Celestia, there is a lot of Equestria that you haven’t seen yet.”

The clarity of the moment was broken by Luna’s return, as the younger sister, clearly excited to be off, practically jumped across the room to join them by the window. “You’ve got all your things?” she asked. “Then let’s be off!” Without waiting for a reply, she started off toward the door.

Atlas turned immediately to follow her, and after a couple of steps he turned back to Celestia. “Ready?” he asked, gesturing on in the direction Luna had gone.

Celestia steeled herself a final time, and took one last look out the window. Eridian’s edge could be spied from it, although the country remained bleak and grim all the way to the horizon. Somewhere out there was where her future was going to take her. Apparently, there was much that she still had left to discover. She took one last deep breath. “Let’s go.”

---

Over mile upon mile of bleak countryside, the three winged ponies soared swiftly on toward their ultimate destination. Atlas had remained tight-lipped about where precisely they were headed, although Celestia could at least guess from what Aqua had said earlier: somewhere far enough from Eridian that Discord’s power was not so clearly felt. Could such a place really exist? In Eridian the King’s power had seemed so absolute that Celestia found it hard to believe there could be places he did not control.

About ten minutes along, they broke out of the eternal twilight of Eridian, and both of the sisters laid their eyes on the light of dawn for the first time in their lives. The golden light of the Sun cut its way through low-lying clouds over the far eastern deserts, illuminating the countryside in gleaming shades of gold. The grasslands lit up with a pristine fire, and every lake became as a sparkling diamond. From their altitude, it seemed as though the entire country of Equestria was one gigantic pile of treasure, glittering in the glow of a new day.

The stunning vista was, however, short-lived. In the blink of an eye, the brilliant Sun plunged toward the horizon, to be replaced instead by the silver fullness of the Equestrian Moon. Now, when Celestia looked down around her, she beheld a countryside wreathed in shadows. But even darkness was infinitely better than Eridian’s perpetual sameness, so even though she much preferred the look of Equestria during the day, the night still brought a sense of calm into Celestia’s heart. Indeed, the country looked to have much life left in it yet.

In an attempt to pass some of the time, Celestia flew ahead until she was alongside Atlas, matching the rhythm of the strokes of his wings. In a conversational tone she spoke up, “I suppose you’ve made your point.”

Carefree, Atlas turned over so that he was flying upside-down, looking sidelong at Celestia with a grin. “You like it?” he asked. “That's great to hear. In reality, while Eridian is the center of Discord’s power, his influence will decrease as we move farther away. So the view is only going to get better from here.” Without even looking, he cut lazily to the left to avoid a patch of cloud. Celestia and Luna followed as best as they could.

The miles of their journey progressed in a similar fashion for several hours more. For the most part, the trio flew in silence, since Celestia was taking in the countryside, and neither Luna nor Atlas seemed to have anything else to say. As they flew farther and farther from Eridian, the mark that Discord’s power had left on the countryside seemed to fall away, and the land steadily grew brighter and fairer.

Eventually, Celestia again noticed a change coming over the ground beneath them. It was growing hillier, and rising steadily up into foothills. When she looked ahead, she could a line of grim mountains stretching across the horizon. Their rough crags clawed upwards in shards of obsidian-black, razor-sharp and menacing. Finally, as the three ponies passed through the first high passes of the mountains, Atlas broke the silence once more.

“We’ve reached the far northern frontier of Equestria,” he said. “It is desolate land, far enough from Eridian that Discord’s power holds no sway over it, which makes it the perfect place for Aqua’s headquarters. It is there that you shall stay while you learn from her.”

“So you don’t live here then?” asked Luna quickly.

“No, I don’t. Like many pegasi, my heart yearns for the wide open spaces that only the sky can offer. I don’t really have a permanent home, but I dally around in the cloud layer above Equestria. It might not have the same amenities as Aqua’s base might offer, but it is a wonderful place to think and exercise.”

He stopped himself there, as a column of purest white light had become visible over the jagged profiles of the mountains in front of them. Like a beacon, it called out to the weary travelers, illuminating the path to their final destination. Finally, through a crack in the sheer cliffs ahead of them, Celestia caught a glimpse of Aqua’s headquarters.

In a hidden vale, a clear stream tumbled over the cliffs and down the mountainside. Around it, a complex of buildings had been constructed out of bluish-grey stone. The steeply peaked roofs of the structures were shingled in polished tile, catching the light of the Moon to appear as if edged with silver. The buildings were arranged in a simple horseshoe pattern, bisected by the river as it cut its way through the valley. In the open space between them, a cultivated forest could be seen, a speck of green in amongst the lifeless mountains. Within these moonlit grounds, numerous unicorns could be seen going about their routines, some practicing magic, others simply enjoying the peace of the night.

But the crown jewel of the compound, and also the structure to which the illuminating column pointed, stood in the centre of the horseshoe’s gap, its foundation straddling the stream with a finely crafted arch. Atop this foundation stood a slender tower, glistening in pristine whiteness as it stretched toward the heavens like a spike of porcelain. At its very peak was a small platform, atop which Aqua could be seen, horn aglow like the new dawn, calling them in. Here indeed was the Equestria that still lived on, in spite of all that the King had done. Faced with this gleaming jewel of the past, she could almost picture Eridian and its surrounding area as it must have once been, shining with silver upon its mountain perch. The sight was beautiful beyond measure, and suddenly Celestia realized that she very much was living out a story from one of the books within her saddlebag. But this was the here and now, the spark of enlightenment that still remained smouldering in an otherwise lost realm.

As the three companions came in for their landing, Aqua ceased her spell, causing the night to go dark once again. In turn, each of them landed softly on the smooth silver stone of the roof, which was inset with patterns of still water. Celestia allowed herself the luxury of a deep breath. The flight had taken more out of her than she had expected, and she was slightly embarrassed at the show of weakness, since Luna clearly wasn’t the least bit fatigued.

As was her style, Aqua wasted no time on pleasantries, instead electing to get straight down to business. “Welcome, Celestia and Luna, to our haven against the chaos of this time. Each of you will stay here while you study magic under my tutelage. Tonight, however, we will celebrate your new birth as free ponies. You will dine with us, at the places of honour.” Having said her piece, Aqua dipped her head, creating a slight glow around her horn. Before anyone else could speak, they were inside the tower, materializing in a well-lit reading room.

From there, the group began a journey downwards, circling about a grand spiral staircase that ran the circumference of the tower down to ground level. The rails and steps of the stairs had been hoof-etched with patterns of flowing water, such that the entire stairway felt like one giant waterfall, collecting the many tributaries of the tower’s other rooms downward to its base. As they passed, Celestia spied many different sorts of rooms through doorways that had been left ajar. While most were utilitarian office spaces, her interest was captured by the occasional library of scrolls that they passed, each one filled with documents and tended to by silent librarians.

At the base of the tower, they exited out of a grand doorway onto a spindly staircase that was positioned directly over the loudly rushing mountain stream, its two landings straddling the river. Aqua and Atlas led the two sisters down one of the landings and out into the orchard in the center of the compound, which was hung with the intoxicating smell of ripe fruit.

All of these details had been building themselves into a record in Celestia’s mind, as slowly but surely she built up an impression of Aqua, just as she had for Atlas over the course of their several meetings. Given that this place was the white unicorn’s home and workplace, after all, there was much to be learned about her personality from it. Now, Celestia felt confident enough to ask a question. “Aqua?” she began, suddenly realizing that she had not been informed of the proper way to address her new teacher.

“Yes, Celestia?” Aqua replied.

“If you don’t think it too forward of me to ask, does water bear some significance for the Resistance?”

Without stopping, Aqua turned back to face her, and from the look in her eyes, Celestia sensed that she was pleased at the question, although she did not smile. “Yes, it is my personal motif. The Resistance consists of four groups, you see, and I am the head of one of them, the Order of Water. Our members seek to use magic to bring about change in the country.”

Emboldened by the fact that she had been right, Celestia pressed on. “If I may make a second guess, then, is Atlas the leader of another of these groups?”

This time Atlas answered. “Indeed. In fact, I am the Master of the Order of Air, those who seek excellence in some of the more physical arts, in which the pegasi usually excel.”

“And what then of the other two? Fire and Earth, I presume?”

Finally, the two corners of Aqua’s mouth were tugged upwards into the barest of slim smiles. For some reason, the thought of pleasing her new companion brought Celestia great satisfaction. However, again it was Atlas who actually answered the question. “Correct again, Celestia. The Order of Earth is the oldest of the groups that make up the Resistance, and they are focused on history and on the ways of nature. They are led by Terraria, the oldest and wisest among us. Her and the rest of her Order make their residence in a wondrous citadel in the country’s southern forests. It was her that taught each of us the skills to unlock our potential, and it will be her that ultimately judges each of you, if you are found worthy.”

Celestia filed away all of this information into its requisite spots in her memory. A complete mental picture of the situation that she was now in had begun to form. “And Fire?” she asked again, eager to hear the last pieces of the puzzle.

For the first time, Atlas appeared uncertain. “Well, um, actually—”

“There will be time for all of that later,” Aqua cut in. The group had arrived at the far side of the orchard, and the unicorn had opened a door into one of the tall structures that ringed the compound. She gestured into it with a solemn expression. Celestia realized that the rest of the conversation would have to be saved for later.

The two alicorns followed Atlas through the door, and he eventually led them on into an expansive hall, which was dotted with tables here and there. Presumably, this was to be the location for the dinner that Aqua had mentioned earlier. The room was lit up by blazing torches in the far corners, and on the supporting columns to either side. Overhead, a dramatic circular dome arced gracefully upwards, framing the shining full Moon in a wide skylight. Atlas directed the two of them to seats at the lengthy head table at the front of the room.

As time went on, the smaller tables began to fill with the rest of Aqua’s students, who slowly filtered in through several doorways. The vast majority of them were unicorns, but Celestia spied a few alicorns in the crowd as well. As the room filled up, the floor became a multicoloured tapestry from all the different manes and coats. Finally, once everyone was seated, the meal was served. The head table was naturally served first, receiving a collection of delicately prepared rolls, infused with natural flax from the low-lying foothills. As the silence of the room was broken by the sound of the meal getting underway, Celestia was finally able to turn to her sister and engage in some much needed conversation.

“Well, Sister,” Luna began, “it seems that this is what we have been missing. See what can be accomplished by letting one’s guard down just once every so often?”

“Perhaps,” Celestia admitted. “But if I always let you have your way, we wouldn’t even have had enough apples to trade that night, and we wouldn’t even have run into Atlas in the first place.”

“Hmm, but if I always listened to you we would be back at home right now, lamenting our forlorn circumstances instead of doing something about them,” Luna countered in a friendly tone. “Check.”

Admitting the point, Celestia took a small bite of her roll. The food melted in her mouth, releasing the sweet taste of cherries. Astonished, she examined the delicate pastry again, but there was most certainly not any fruit in the cooking. Taking another bite, she felt the same flavour explosion.

Eventually, she glanced over at Aqua, who was grinning for the first time since Celestia had met her. Her roll was surrounded with a light blue corona, as it levitated next to her mouth. It was Atlas beside her, though, that finally let Celestia in on the secret. “Magic,” he said simply. “It’s good for plenty more than just moving books around.” With a chuckle he took a bite of his own appetizer.

Celestia wasn’t entirely sure why the idea had never occurred to her of using magic to enhance the flavour of food. It wasn’t merely a question of convenience, but the formation of an entirely new art form. Suddenly she was very eager to see what else this evening had in store. But first, there was a small amount of business that they still needed to finish up with. “So, Atlas,” she began once all four of them had finished with the course, “what were you going to tell us before we came in here? About Fire?”

The contented smile vanished immediately from the yellow pegasus’s face, and once more his complexion grew cloudy and uncertain. For an instant there was an uncomfortable silence, broken only by murmurs of conversation from the other tables. “Yes, yes, concerning Fire.” A bead of sweat materialized over the right side of his brow, and Celestia caught a rapid look that passed between the two Masters. It was a look of caution. “It’s, um, something of a sensitive subject,” Atlas finally continued. “Not really fit for table.”

At that moment, the second course arrived, and both of the Masters immediately began once more to eat, cutting off the conversation. Put off, Celestia glanced over to her sister, who merely shrugged before also recommencing the meal. It had seemed like such an innocuous question, and yet all of a sudden she had apparently broached a most unseemly topic. Still, her survival sense told her that whatever this information was, it was going to be very important to her going forward. For the moment, she decided to also progress with the meal, though it was now rather uncomfortable since the group was eating in silence.

When the dessert came and still no conversation had transpired, Luna took it upon herself to break the ice. “So what’s next for us?” she proffered in a chipper tone.

Atlas seized on the new conversation hook with all of his usual enthusiasm. “Excellent question. As the two of you have no doubt gathered, you will be spending some time over the next little while studying under each of us, learning the ways of wisdom and power. Each of our two Orders emphasizes different elements of the psyche, which is why you shall learn from both of us separately. Only through balance can true power be obtained."

“Each of you will spend six months with either of us,” continued Aqua sternly. “Celestia, your first rotation will be here with me. Luna, you shall begin in the sky with Atlas. At the conclusion of a year, if you are ready, you will undergo the final test.”

“Excuse me?” interrupted Celestia. “There’s no way for us to stay together? We have lived together all of our lives, you see.”

“Indeed,” Luna elaborated. “I’ve never lived without my sister. Must we be separated?”

Aqua was stonily dispassionate. “It is necessary that you be removed from each other’s influence for the duration of your studies. Each of you has individual talents, which must be probed and stretched in their own ways. You must learn to live independently.”

Celestia looked over to her sister in dismay. Indeed, the two of them had been at each other’s side for as long as they could remember. In Luna’s case, it had been for her whole life. Their mother had died during Luna’s birth, and their father had been killed in the streets of Eridian only several weeks later. By circumstance, they had been forced to care for each other, forced to rely on each other’s skills to stay alive. The thought of being apart from her sister, if only for a year, filled Celestia with unease. She could tell that Luna had similar misgivings about the situation.

Playing the role of the conciliator, Atlas stepped in to fill the silence. “I know that it may seem like a difficult thing to do, but both of you are adults, and certainly should be able to survive alone. Besides, we are not stranded in the anarchy of Eridian anymore. Both of you will be perfectly safe among us.”

With eyes of sorrow, Luna turned to face her sister. “Whatever it takes to do the right thing,” she said softly. “You promised.”

“We both did,” Celestia returned. “Stay safe, Sister.” She reached over to give Luna a hug.

“I will,” Luna replied, holding the embrace for a moment. Then, with finality, the two released their hold on each other.

Now that the meal was finished, Aqua rose from the table. “Tomorrow your studies will begin,” she stated, back to her usual calm and commanding voice. “Make sure to get some rest, as we will begin in earnest.”

Standing, the rest of the students began to file out of the great hall. The two sisters also left, following Atlas to their allotted rooms. Celestia, though, knew that her evening was not done just yet. She still had one thing that she needed to know.

Fire.

---

Under the light of the twinkling stars, Atlas lay upon the warm earth, letting the sound of the brook calm his mind. In the peace, he let his thoughts swirl around where they may, eventually leading him back to the math he loved. Numbers and symbols danced in his mind’s eye, flowing over each other just as the waters of the river cascaded about between rocks and sheer walls. Always leading on somewhere, falling downward to some great truth. In math, the end was always some conclusion, some theorem resting just beneath the numbers, waiting to be teased out into the light of day. Numbers were so much more malleable than the world, so much easier to control. If only Equestria was as logical as his proofs, then he would never have to worry about the problems of this world ever again.

He sensed Celestia behind him before she made her presence known, as he could feel the slight reverberations caused by her hooves contacting the ground. Nonchalantly, and without opening his eyes, he spoke. “I was wondering when you would come.”

Coming around in front of him, Celestia regarded him with calm interest. “So you know why I am here.”

Finally looking at her, he motioned for her to join him on the grass. For an instant, both of them simply admired the starlit night. Then he continued, “Celestia, from the moment we met, I knew that you were not the kind of pony who could let sleeping dogs lie. You want to know about the Master of Fire, and why we are so hesitant to speak of him.”

Celestia remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Around them, the calm scent of the green meadow intermingled with the humid vapour from the cold water, creating an invitingly peaceful atmosphere.

With a sigh, Atlas began again. “It is a long and tragic story, but I know you won’t rest until you hear it, so here goes. There is indeed a Master of Fire, and he is out there in Equestria somewhere, though I know not where. Once, long ago, he was with us, in fact he was my closest companion. His name was Seraph, and together with Aqua, we made up a very close circle of friends, probably as close as you are to your sister, if you need a comparison.

“We had grown up together, weathered the tragedies of Discord’s rule, and hoped for a better time. The three of us even became daring revolutionaries for a while, running raids on Eridian to try to incite a rebellion. Seraph was a genius with his hooves, and devised all kinds of mechanisms and contraptions to aid in our plots. Together with Aqua’s magic and my aerial skill, we made a great team.”

Atlas let a wistful smile grace his face. “But then, destiny found us. It wasn’t long before we came in contact with Terraria’s group, the real resistance in Equestria. The three of us were the greatest hope the country had found yet, and Terraria recognized that we could pose a legitimate threat to Discord. In keeping with the ancient ways, she christened us the new Triumvirs, so that we could bring back the age of peace.”

Celestia had of course heard of the ancient Triumvirate, the government of the ponies from even the most ancient of histories: three ponies, one chosen from each of the tribes of Equestria, acting together for the good of all. “Seraph was an earth pony, then?” she asked.

Atlas’s face had clouded over by then. “Yes, he was, but tragedy befell us that day. For Seraph’s heart had grown ambitious through our success. Faced with the possibility of ruling Equestria, he decided that he deserved single rule and domination of the kingdom under his own hoof. He allowed greed and pride to cloud his thoughts, and neither Aqua nor I could turn him from his ambitions. It wasn’t long before he left us, seeking his own future in Equestria. We searched for him, but he had disappeared into the mist of the country, and we could find no trace. He was like a brother to me, but now it has been very long since I heard any sign of him. Perhaps he moved on in his own way, but in any case neither Aqua nor I like to speak of him much. I think that the wounds are still too fresh for both of us.”

Celestia listened to all of this, fitting it all into the various empty spaces that their earlier conversations had left. It all made sense, except for one thing. “But if Terraria made you the new Triumvirs, and said you could challenge Discord, why have you not done so? Why is Equestria still under his control?”

“A Triumvirate needs three members. It’s all in the constitution. With Seraph gone, we needed another member to complete us. And so, that is what we have done since then: searched the countryside far and wide for one powerful enough to join us as the third Triumvir of Equestria.”

Atlas fell silent then, admiring the skies again. After a moment, Celestia wished him good-night, and made her way back to the Order’s dormitories. Finally, she had put the pieces of tonight’s mystery together, forming a proper picture of the story of the Four Masters, and more importantly, how she and Luna fit into it. Could that really be her destiny? Triumvir of Equestria in the new government? It seemed almost like she had stepped into a dream as soon as she had exited Eridian. More troubling, though, was the question of whether or not she should tell Luna about these new developments. For if what Atlas said was true, then only one of them could achieve that ultimate goal. Did she have it in her to leave her sister behind if the chance presented itself? Celestia didn’t know the answer to that question.