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 for evermore."

-Star Swirl the Bearded

In the end, Celeste remembered only select pieces of their long flight. Over fen and valley, hill and forest, the three winged ponies soared on in pursuit of their final resting place. Altas had remained tight-lipped about where precisely they were headed, and of course neither of the two sisters knew much of anything where Equestrian geography was concerned, so they just followed along.

About ten minutes along, they had broken out of the eternal twilight of Eridian, and both of the sisters lay 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 new glow of day.

Cruelly, just as Celeste flew a little lower, to let the rays of gold caress her own wings, the scene was cut away with an almost insulting acuity. Day flashed to night in the blink of an eye, and the three travelers found themselves looking at the darkened countryside under the light of the full Equestrian moon, which was admittedly large and impressive from this height. This time it was Claire that descended, letting the pearl-white sheen of the moonlight flow around her wingspan. Celeste meanwhile couldn't help but consider: which was better? No sense of time at all, like it was in Eridian; or a random day/night cycle like it was out here? In the end, she let the question sit unanswered.

In an attempt to pass some of the time, Celeste flew ahead until she was alongside Altas, matching the rhythm of the strokes of his wings. In a conversational tone (though of course slightly louder than normal to accommodate for the wind), she spoke up, "I wasn't aware that beauty like this existed under Discord."

Carefree, Altas turned over so that he was flying upside-down, looking sidelong at Celeste with a grin. "Like it?" he asked. "Better get used to it. While the general cycle is random, Discord seems to prefer night to day for some reason. When I was young, we once had a full week of constant midnight. I think I memorized every detail of that old moon." Without even looking, he cut lazily to the left to avoid a patch of cloud. Celeste and Claire followed as best as they could.

Celeste's next memory had been some time later. They must have been flying for quite some time, as she remembered feeling a little tired, although Altas wasn't even breaking a sweat yet. She remembered looking beneath her, only to find that the rolling hillsides of Equestria had disappeared, replaced instead by rough mountain crags, clawing upward in shards of obsidian black, razor-sharp and menacing. She had asked Altas where they were, and he had replied in characteristic good humour.

"We've reached the far northern frontier of Equestria. It is desolate land, free from interference, which made it the perfect place for Aquos to set up her headquarters. It is there that you shall stay while you learn from her."

"So you don't live here then?" asked Claire quickly.

"No, I don't. Like many Pegasi, my heart yearns for the wide open spaces that only the sky itself 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 Aquos' 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, Celeste caught a glimpse of Aquos' headquarters.

In a hidden vale of the mountainside, 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 Aquos could be seen, horn aglow like the new dawn, calling them in. It was all a bit much for Celeste and Claire, who, it must be remembered, had been stuck in the dullness of Eridian their whole lives. Perhaps some of that city's older buildings had whispered of a grandiose past, but time and disrepair had reached them ages ago. Architecture on this scale was something of which neither of them had ever dreamed.

But this was the here and now, the spark of enlightenment that still remained smouldering in the otherwise lost realm of Equestria. As the three companions came in for their landing, Aquos 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. Celeste allowed herself the luxury of a deep breath. The flight had taken a little bit more out of her than she had expected, and she was slightly embarrassed at the show of weakness, since Claire clearly wasn't the least bit fatigued.

As was her style, Aquos wasted no time on pleasantries, instead electing to get straight down to business. "Welcome, Celeste and Claire, 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, Aquos dipped her head slightly, creating a slight glow from her horn. Before anyone else could speak, they were inside the tower, materializing in a well-lit reading room.

The next several minutes again faded into a blur in Celeste's memory. They were given a selection of formal garments to wear, each one miraculously fitting well. Each of them was guided downstairs and through numerous rooms in the complex, some large and some small. Finally, they were seated together at a long table, situated at the head of an expansive chamber. 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 moon.

The rest of the room was filled with other smaller tables, and as time went on, these were slowly populated with the remainder of Aquos' students. The vast majority of them were unicorns, but Celeste 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 natural conversation, Celeste was finally able to turn to her sister and engage in some much-needed conversation.

"Well, sister," Claire 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," Celeste admitted. "But if I always let you have your way, we wouldn't even have had enough apples to trade that night, and this whole opportunity would have passed us by."

"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," Claire countered in a friendly tone. "Check."

Admitting the point, Celeste 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 Aquos, who was grinning. Her roll was surrounded with a light-blue corona, as it levitated next to her mouth. It was Altas beside her, though, that finally let Celeste 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.

Celeste 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 there was one thing still on her mind, a question that had been niggling at her for a little while now.

"Aquos?" she spoke up hesitantly, realizing that they had never been instructed as to the proper way to address their new teacher. When the white unicorn nodded to her, she continued.

"When we first met, you introduced yourself as 'Master of the Order of Water'. I always remembered there being four ancient elements, of which Water was one. If it isn't too forward of me to guess, is Altas then your counterpart in Air?"

To Aquos' left, Altas nodded once, although his gaze fell out across the floor afterwards, as though he was afraid of Celeste's next question. Unperturbed, she continued. "Then where are the other two of your compatriots, Earth and Fire? Are they here also, to teach us in their own ways?"

For an instant after she spoke, there was an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the murmuring of conversation from other tables, and the clink of cutlery. As the next course was brought out, the two Masters exchanged uneasy glances, as if trying to figure out which of them would answer the question. Nervously, Celeste turned her attention back to the food. It had seemed like such an innocuous question, but all of a sudden she had apparently broached a most unseemly topic.

After an eternity, Altas finally coughed, and pulled his seat in closer to the table. Leaning forward, and turning to address the two sisters to his right, he coughed again before continuing. His smile had all but vanished. "You'll have to excuse us, unfortunately. We don't discuss the others much lately. However, to answer your question: yes, there are in fact two other Masters within Equestria, although neither of them is here tonight."

"If you are found worthy, you may meet Terraria, the Master of Earth in time," cut in Aquos. "She is the oldest and wisest among us, the leader of the resistance to the King's tyranny. She makes her residence in a wondrous citadel in the country's southern forests. There she studies nature and contemplates the mysteries of our existence. It was her that first taught each of us the skills needed to unlock our potential, and it will be her that ultimately judges each of you, in time."

"Okay, and what of Fire?" Celeste pressed on.

Again, there was silence. Celeste noticed a torrent of unspoken communications passing between the two Masters: shakes of the head and subtle taps on the table. It seemed that they were discussing how much they would reveal, or perhaps whether or not to answer the question at all. She decided to progress with the meal, which was rather uncomfortable now that her and Claire were eating in silence. When the dessert came and still no response had been offered, Claire took it upon herself to break the ice. "So what's next for us?" she proffered in a chipper tone.

Altas seized on the new conversation hook with all of his usual enthusiasm. "Excellent question, Claire. 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 Aquos sternly. "Celeste, your first rotation will be here with me. Claire, you shall begin in the sky with Altas. At the conclusion of a year, if you are ready, you will undergo the final test."

"Excuse me?" interrupted Celeste. "There's no way for us to stay together? We have lived together all of our lives, you see."

"Indeed," Claire elaborated. "I've never lived without my sister. Must we be separated?"

Aquos 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."

Celeste 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 Claire's case, it had been for her whole life. Their mother had died during Claire'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 even for six months, or a year, filled Celeste with unease. She could tell that Claire had similar misgivings about the situation.

Playing the role of the conciliator, Altas 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, Claire turned to face her sister. "Whatever it takes to do the right thing," she said softly. "You promised."

"We both did," Celeste returned. "Stay safe, sister." She reached over to give Claire a hug.

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

Finishing with her meal, Aquos 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 Altas to their allotted room. Celeste, 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, Altas 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 Celeste 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, Celeste 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, "Celeste Albright, 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."

Celeste 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, Altas 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 Aquos, 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 Aquos' magic and my aerial skill, we made a great team."

Altas 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."

Celeste 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.

Altas' 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 Aquos 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 Aquos nor I like to speak of him much. I think that the wounds are still too fresh for both of us."

Celeste listened to all of this, fitting it all into the various empty spaces that their dinner conversation 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, Celeste. 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."

Altas fell silent then, admiring the skies again. After a moment, Celeste 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 Claire fit into the overall picture. 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 Claire about these new developments. For if what Altas 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? Celeste didn't know the answer to that question.